"Congratulations," Dougal told him. His gaze shifted back to the monitor just as Leah glanced over her shoulder straight at the camera. His hand flinched, the fist tightening around the handle of the dustpan.
"Are we being watched?" Leah asked.
Hell, yes. He winced at the dents he'd left in the metal handle. Why was he reacting so strongly? She wasn't Li Lei.
"Maybe," Abby replied. "We have excellent security."
"Can they hear us?" Leah asked.
He turned away, feeling a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping. As he returned the broom and dustpan to the closet, he spotted a half-empty bottle of Blissky on the top shelf. Just what he needed. He set the bottle on the desk, then fetched three paper cups from the sideboard.
When Abby explained about the bombing a few years back, he glanced at the monitor just in time to see Leah's wide-eyed reaction. Damn, they had no right to drag her into this world. She looked so young. Early twenties, perhaps. There was a fragile innocence to her features, an innocence about to be crushed.
He poured Blissky into the three cups. "How about a wee dram?"
"Great idea!" Gregori lifted his cup in the air. "To our beautiful wives!"
"I'll drink to that." Angus grabbed a cup and downed the contents.
Gregori shot Dougal an amused look. "Or in your case, a future beautiful wife."
Dougal snorted, then looked at the monitor and found Leah staring at the camera as if she could see him. His heart stilled. Another itch skittered along the length of his tattoo, and he shrugged his right shoulder.
"I know the world is full of weirdos," she said softly.
Och, lass, ye have no idea. But she would be finding out soon. He had a sudden urge to teleport straight to her and take her away, far away from a world of vampires and shifters and demons. But how could he protect her from the weirdos when he was one of them?
"Cheers." He tossed back the Blissky and let it burn down his throat. He deserved the burn.
"Welcome to my lab." Abby opened the door and ushered Leah inside.
Angus moved to the monitor that showed the lab and turned up the volume.
"Must we listen in on them?" Dougal asked.
Angus sighed. "I know it isna normal procedure, but I'm worried about how Dr. Chin will take the news."
"This is a colleague of mine." Abby motioned to Laszlo as he rushed forward. "Laszlo Veszto. He's the most brilliant chemist I've ever met."
Laszlo blushed and extended a hand toward Abby. "I'm delighted to meet you." When she placed her hand in his, he pumped her arm. "We're very excited to have you here. I've been busy all evening getting the lab ready."
"Really?" Leah eased her hand from his grip.
"Yes!" Laszlo's hand gravitated straight to his lab coat, where he grabbed onto a button. "We have some interesting case studies to show you."
"Sounds good." Leah glanced around the lab. "This is very nice."
"Yes." Laszlo smiled at her while he fiddled with his buttons.
Leah's eyes narrowed as she spotted the camera in the corner. Dougal poured more Blissky into his paper cup and downed it.
Abby strode toward the long stainless steel table that was topped with several microscopes and stacks of paper. "Everything is ready?"
"Yes," Laszlo answered, still smiling at Leah.
"Ha!" Gregori pointed at the monitor. "Look at that silly grin on Laszlo's face. He's in love!"
Dougal's fist snapped shut, crushing the paper cup in his hand. What the hell? Before anyone could see the mangled cup, he tossed it into the litterbin. Or attempted to. His fist refused to open. Release, he ordered his hand. It remained locked around the crushed paper cup.
Angus shook his head. "Smitten, perhaps. I'll have a talk with Laszlo. We canna let anyone's personal feelings jeopardize our plans."
Release, dammit! Open! Finally Dougal's fist relaxed, and the cup fell into the litterbin.
Meanwhile, Leah had moved to the table and was peering into the first microscope. "Interesting," she murmured, then picked up the stack of papers beside it.
"Let's hope she takes the bait," Angus said.
Dougal moved closer to the monitors.
Leah scanned the first page, then the second. Abby watched, chewing on her lip. Laszlo twisted a button on his lab coat.
"Definite mutations in the DNA sequencing." Leah moved on to the third page. "Some rather drastic changes. Is this man still alive?"
Abby hesitated. "At the moment, yes."
Gregori snorted.
Leah set the papers down. "I've never seen anything like this. Some of these mutations might possibly strengthen a person, but others . . ." She shook her head. "I'm not sure a human can survive this. Is he exhibiting any bizarre symptoms?"
Abby's mouth twitched. "Other than a strange desire to disco dance, no."
Gregori stiffened. "What's so strange about that?"
Angus hushed him.
Leah shook her head, confused. "Where is the patient? Can I see him?"
"You've already seen him," Abby replied. "It's Gregori."
Leah gasped. "What?" She thumbed through the papers once more. "I don't understand. Your husband seems so healthy."
"He is," Abby agreed. "When he's . . . awake."
Dougal winced. The shit was about to hit the fan.
Angus frowned. "I have a bad feeling about this. Gregori, call Dr. Lee. Tell him to get to the lab right away."
While Gregori made the call, Leah tapped her hand on the stack of paper. "Your husband could be in serious trouble. He should be hospitalized immediately for observation." Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, you're pregnant with his child?"
"I'm fine, really. And so is Gregori." Abby exchanged a worried look with Laszlo.
He nodded, furiously twirling a button. "There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, I assure you."
"Really?" Leah gave them an incredulous look. "How do you explain it?"
Abby took a deep breath. "My husband is a vampire."
Chapter Three
Leah's heart leaped into a fast, pounding rhythm. She stepped back, resisting an urge to run for the door. Her gaze shifted from the president's daughter to the so-called brilliant chemist, then back. Did the president know his daughter was insane?
Holy crapoly, the whole building might be full of crazy people. Even the creepy people watching her through the camera - her breath caught. Of course, she was being punked! The camera was recording this, and it was going to end up on the Internet somewhere. It wasn't the first time people had tried to make her look like an idiot.
In college, her young age and genius label had rendered her a target for silly pranks. One time a bunch of frat boys had circled the girls' dormitory dressed as the Living Dead, while the girls had begged her to use her superior intellect to save them from the zombie apocalypse.
So this time it was the Undead. She crossed her arms and acted nonchalant. "You're married to a vampire?"
"Yes." Abby nodded with a hopeful expression as if she expected her to believe this nonsense.
Leah shot the camera a wry look, then turned back to Abby. "How did you reach that conclusion? Did he turn into a bat and fly around the bedroom?"
Abby's eager expression faded into disappointment. "You think I'm kidding."
"Did you expect me to take this seriously?" Leah asked.
Laszlo motioned to the stack of papers on the table. "But we showed you the lab work. And the data - "
"Which can be manipulated," Leah interrupted. "Or in this case, manufactured." She glowered at the camera. "The game is over. I'm not playing." She headed toward the door, but halfway there, it opened.
Dr. Lee rushed inside. "Is there a problem?"
"Yes," Leah replied in the affirmative, at the same time as Abby and Laszlo. She aimed a frown at them. "They're playing a dumb joke on me."
"It's not a joke," Abby insisted. "Vampires are real."
Leah snorted. "Why would you believe that? Did your husband bite you?"
"Well, yes, he has. And he can - "
"What? Leap from one tree to another like a monkey?" Leah lifted a hand to stop Abby. The poor woman was suffering from delusions. "You should lie down and get some rest. Given your condition, you could be experiencing some hormonal fluctuations - "
"I'm not imagining this," Abby grumbled.
"Or it could be a case of being overworked," Leah continued. "I know how it is. When I get really involved in a project, I can forget to eat or sleep. Just this last week, I was so busy, I can hardly remember it."
Dr. Lee winced. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order."
"Good idea." Abby turned to Laszlo. "How about you levitate to the ceiling?"
Laszlo frowned, tugging hard at a button. "If you wish, but it might cause her to panic."
"Go ahead," Dr. Lee told him. "She needs physical evidence."
Leah scoffed. "So the chemist is a vampire, too?"
Laszlo's button popped off and landed on the stainless steel table with a ping. He gave her an apologetic look. "It's not really a bad thing. Just think of it as a . . . an unusual medical condition."
Leah shook her head. These people were certifiable. "You're a vampire?"
"Yes," Laszlo admitted but hastened to add, "but a very friendly one, I assure you."
"Well, that is . . . comforting," Leah muttered. A friendly bloodsucker. That made as much sense as a friendly serial killer. She glanced at Abby. "And you? Are you Casper, the friendly ghost?"
Abby gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm mortal like you. I know you must be shocked. I was shocked, too, when I found out. I even fainted."
"I don't faint." Leah waved a dismissive hand. "And I'm not shocked. I'm . . . saddened that you've deluded yourselves into believing such a ridiculous - " She halted when Laszlo's body floated up to the ceiling.
Okay, that wasn't normal. It had to be wires. A spark of anger flared inside her. These people were really taking the joke too far. "That's enough! I don't believe anyone here is a vampire!"
"But I am." Laszlo winced as his head bumped into the ceiling.
"Me, too," Dr. Lee added.
Leah spun to face him. Her boss was a vampire?
"I am as well." Another man sauntered into the lab. He was tall, dark, and handsome.
And Undead? Leah stared at him. "Who are you?"
He bowed his head. "Roman Draganesti, at your service. I'm delighted to meet you, Dr. Chin."
This was the scientific genius who had invented synthetic blood? Leah swallowed hard. He was either as crazy as the other guys in the room, or they were actually . . .
Vampires.
Her skin chilled with instant goose bumps. No, this isn't possible. There had to be a reasonable, scientific explanation for this. Why bother to explain it? Just get the hell out of here!
She stepped toward the door, but Dr. Lee and Mr. Draganesti were blocking the exit. A quick look around confirmed it was the only way out.
"Her heart is racing," Mr. Draganesti murmured.