Page 3 of The Healer and the Vampire
"I got nothing." Victor snorted, and Remi chuckled.
"I have a job to do, and I'll do it; the details are not my job." He concluded. "The wolves have a satisfactory system for weeding out staff issues, which I will tighten, and they can deal with whatever needs to be dealt with."
“Good plan.”
Conrad woke early, eager to get back on the road, and saw that he had several more messages from Patrick. When his phone rang, he picked up. "Hello." He said tentatively and was not sure if he would stay on the line, but then he heard Patrick's voice, and it was strange.
“Conrad, listen to me and don’t talk.” He began clipped and fast. "You're in danger, and I mean serious fucking danger.Aunt Lydia and the boys have gone underground or . . ." He fell off briefly and then caught himself. "And I'm going to do the same, it's imperative that we disappear for a while." He was breathless as if he were running.
"We pissed someone off, someone powerful, and they're looking for me, and I know they're looking for you. You need to hide, do whatever you have to do, but go low and stay hidden. I don't know what they want or what they will do, but it could be really bad. He's a scary guy." He heard a car door open and close and an engine start.
"I know you're running, and I don't care. It's better that we're separated; we'll be harder to track. Be careful and trust no one." With that, he closed the call without letting Conrad speak.
Conrad sat down hard on the bed and stared at his phone, trying to take it all in and trying to decide if Patrick was being truthful or manipulative. He genuinely sounded scared and didn't ask him where he was or why he left. He didn't care which, if true, was great news. But if the warning of someone angry and powerful looking for him was true, then that was not great news.
He would continue as he started, either Patrick was looking for him or this other person was looking for him; either way, he needed to keep moving and stay hidden. His original plan was still good enough.
With that settled, he packed up and headed out, grabbing a bite to eat from one of the local drive-thru locations. The busy highway kept his mind occupied, and soon he was entering Michigan, a state he'd never visited before, and hopefully no one would look for him here. He kept going north as his heart told him, and then suddenly he veered off on an exit.
The exit led him to Eastport, a town of approximately thirty thousand people. It meant nothing to him, and yet hewas compelled to keep driving until he reached downtown and pulled up and parked in a parking lot across the street from an obviously affluent Hotel. The Indigo Hotel was rich, and it did not try to hide how lavish and excessive it was.
He sat in his little ten-year-old Ford sedan and contemplated his next move. The Hotel was calling to him, but it was not the type of establishment that welcomed someone like Conrad. He looked down at his clothing and decided to give it a try. He was dressed okay, not great, but not terrible. The place was busy, so he could blend in. It looked as if there were shops and restaurants on the main floor of the Hotel that would give him somewhere to sit without looking too out of place.
He could get a cup of coffee and take a cursory look around. Something was drawing him to this location, and he had to find out what it was. The pull that he felt was not so much desperate as it was insistent; the need to know was overwhelming. After about twenty minutes, he got out and headed across the street to the Indigo Hotel.
The doors to the restaurants and shops were off the main street, whereas the Hotel entrance was off the primary drive in behind the hustle and bustle of the busy street. It was posh, and it was elite; every inch screamed expensive. Conrad stepped into the large lobby that spanned the ground floor with luxury shops, restaurants, and several coffee shops.
He picked the one that was open onto the lobby with a large seating area where he could keep watch on things and figure out why he was there. It wasn't going to be a cheap cup of coffee by the looks of the place, but for some reason, he needed to be here, so he ordered a plain black coffee and found a seat.
He could see people coming and going, people checking in, people shopping, and people meeting other people. Afternearly thirty minutes, there was nothing that stood out apart from the fact that the place was filled with paranormal beings.
Having been born and raised in Baton Rouge, he was well aware of the supernatural, and he was also aware of the necessity of being discreet. Nothing would get you killed faster than to start mouthing off about vampires or shifters; they took their anonymity very seriously. He wondered if all of Eastport was populated by paranormals. Conrad ordered another coffee and decided to break the bank, and this time included a frosted donut.
Conrad was enjoying the rest and the ambiance of the gorgeous Hotel when he noticed someone coming out of a back office located behind the front desk. The man was striking and caused Conrad to do a double take, not believing that any one man could be so attractive.
He followed him with his eyes, taking in every aspect of his look, his stance, his movements, and that face. Holy cow, the guy was making Conrad sweat. His reaction was so immediate that it confounded him for a second. He had black hair that was swept back from his face in a very sexy style. Conrad couldn't stop himself from admiring every single aspect as he watched and wanted.
The gorgeous man’s eyes took in everything, scanning the area in several quick sweeps and then narrowing in on specifics. That guy never missed anything. He was well over six feet tall and built not all muscle but firm and sculpted with thick thighs that filled out those dress pants to perfection. Conrad felt his heart palpitating, and his tongue snaked out to hydrate his dry lips. He was transfixed and fighting with himself to stop breaking the spell.
Conrad managed to quickly glance away when it looked as if the handsome stranger was looking directly at him. He'd stared too long, but hell, the man deserved more time. Conrad ached to look back but feared he'd get caught. The guy was probably part of security, he obviously worked there, and Conrad did not want to get on his radar.
He held out for about a minute, and after taking a sip of his coffee and another bite of his donut, he looked over toward the desk to see if the adonis was still there. He again dropped his head to appear as if he were checking his phone when the guy looked at him again. Okay, he had to stop checking him out, it was becoming obvious. Every molecule of his being was screaming at him to take another look to follow the handsome man with his eyes and to enjoy the visual perfection.
Taking a glance around the open-air seating of the little coffee shop, he noticed someone a couple of tables away get up rather awkwardly and stumble out into the lobby walkway. He leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths. He didn't look well. Conrad continued to keep an eye on him, wondering if anyone else would notice his subtle distress. Conrad got up and slowly walked towards the man, but kept his distance.
Suddenly, the man clutched his chest and dropped to the floor, not moving. It took a few seconds before anyone moved toward him, and in those seconds, Conrad rushed up to him, touched his chest over his heart, and then abruptly stood and walked away with his eyes on the door.
He could hear the man coughing and waking up, apologizing for the scene. The man had been at death's door; sometimes Conrad failed to bring them back when they were in death's grip, but sometimes death would release them. It had something to do with whether they'd cross the threshold, that is why he tried to get to him as soon as possible.
There was a lot of activity, and he heard an ambulance being called, but he just kept walking. He couldn't draw attention to himself, he couldn't be noticed, he couldn't be questioned.
There was no time to be caught up in what happened or have to try and explain his actions, he just kept walking. Stepping outside onto the street, he soon blended into the crowd. Conrad did not go to his car; instead, he walked a couple of blocks down the street and ducked into a café.
Sitting there, going over the events of the last hour, had him wondering if his purpose in going to the Indigo Hotel was simply to save that man's life. Who was he that Fate had him intervene? If he hadn't been there, it was unlikely that the man would have survived. He got a look at the damage the second he touched him without a healer, that heart would not have restarted.
Somehow Conrad still felt that he was not finished, he felt again the urge to return to the Indigo Hotel, but that was impossible, he couldn't go back there now. The place was crawling with paranormals, and they didn't miss much, and it was imperative that he keep a low profile. If one of them decided to question him, they would see right through his cover. Vampires were perceptive, and shifters were wary and smart. He wouldn't be able to hide what he was for very long.
He remembered seeing a motel not far from the downtown district, it was set back on a less affluent block and might be affordable. It wasn't time to leave yet, more needed to be done, he just needed to figure out what it was. His mind went to the handsome man at the front desk and wondered if it had anything to do with him. Somewhere deep in his heart, he hoped that it did.
