Alice tilted her head. “What the…” She stood still, straining to hear around the corner.
“Of course. Yes. All clear,” the man said.
Her stomach dropped when she heard the last two words. She knew what “all clear” meant. They were code words that her father used with his contacts. Those were the words someone would say to signal the colonel that their identity hadn’t been compromised, and the plan was moving forward as scheduled. This man, whoever he was, was a double agent. Now the question was, did she tell Cain? Where did her loyalty lie? “Dammit.” She hurried away. Alice had no desire to meet the man who was in league with her father, or maybe just pretending to be. Maybe he was actually working for Cain and playing Alice’s father. When had things gotten so complicated? She thought figuring out a virus mutation was difficult. That was nothing compared to politics.
Alice grimaced as her heels clicked against the floor, and her heart seemed to beat in time with each step. She took several deep breaths to steady herself. As she rounded another corner, Alice slammed into a body and nearly fell backward, but strong hands wrapped around her upper arms and caught her.
“Crap.” Alice hissed and rubbed her forehead, which had collided with the person’s chest. She looked up and saw a man, nearly as handsome as Cain and obviously a vampire. He had this otherness about him, but it wasn’t a werewolf otherness like Finn. This vampire seemed more sinister than Cain. And he was staring at her like he’d just won the lottery. Oh, hell no. She pulled out of his hold.
“My apologies, madam.” His voice was like velvet, with a hint of an accent she couldn’t quite place. Maybe because it was a mixture of multiple accents, all tossed together, creating something unique.
“No, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” She straightened her clothes. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“Are you Alice?” Once again, she stopped in her tracks.
“Who wants to know?”
His lips turned up. “Well, considering I’m the one who asked, me.”
She lifted a brow at him. “And who are you?”
“I am Claude, Cain’s right-hand man.” It seemed he wanted to impress her, but all he did was put her on edge.
“I’ve not seen you around before.” If he was so important, wouldn’t she have seen him by now?
“I’ve been out on errands for my king. But that’s not important.” Claude glanced around, his eyes looking up and scanning the ceiling. “I need to speak with you. I assure you I mean you no ill will or harm.”
The urgency in his voice alarmed Alice, not to mention the genuine look in his eyes, which moments ago had held a smugness that made her want to smack him in the face. “What do you need to speak with me about?”
“It’s of a sensitive nature. But it has to do with your species.” His words were halting, as if he was considering how to tell her this.
“You know what I am?”
He gave a sharp nod. “What’s more important is how I know what you are.”
“Cain didn’t tell you?”
“Not exactly.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and kept it close to his body, as if he didn't want anyone to see it. “There’s someone who wants to speak with you.”
“Who?” Her stomach churned, and she looked at the device as if it might bite her.
“Follow me. There’s a room that’s soundproof and has no cameras.”
She laughed, though she kept it soft. “Right. That sounds super smart. Follow the vampire into a soundproof, non-monitored room.”
“I swear on the grave of my mother that I will not harm you.” His gaze was intense as he stared straight into her eyes. “I promise you will not regret making this call.”
Alice closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “Shit.” She huffed and opened her eyes before motioning with her hand. “Lead the way.” She was about to do the smartest thing she’d ever done or the absolute dumbest, even dumber than taking this stupid job. Alice could have told her father no and gone about her life blissfully unaware of supernatural beings. Sure, her father would have ruined her career, but that would have been better than what she now faced. Maybe she could have gotten a job somewhere as a lab tech and changed her name, living the entire rest of her life doing menial work for a pharmaceutical company. Nice, safe, menial work.
Perhaps it was the curse of her name. From the moment her mother named her Alice, she had been destined to fall down a damn rabbit hole. And the probability of having her head cut off by an evil queen was always going to be high. Only instead of a queen, she was going to be done in by a vampire. Note to self: If I have children, thoroughly research their names, and make sure there is no gruesome downfall associated with anyone who has previously had that name. Not that there was a chance in hell of her having a child, especially if she was beginning to have feelings for a vampire. Her steps faltered as the thought ran through her mind. I have feelings for Cain. Feelings strong enough to consider what it would be like if she were with him and what the consequences would be. “Double shit.”
Chapter
Sixteen
“Things just got a lot more complicated. How is that possible, you ask? Well, a gypsy healer is considering the possibility that the king of vampires has a conscience. Yeah, we laughed, too. For about ten seconds … and then we realized she was serious.” ~Tenia
The soundproof room that Claude promised turned out to be little more than a broom closet. He opened the door and gestured for Alice to enter. She sucked in a breath and took a hesitant step inside. What a way to go. Murdered by a vampire in a broom closet. Alice nearly jumped at the sound of the door’s lock clicking in place behind her. She turned and Claude was holding out the phone. “It won’t bite you.”
