Page 41 of Guarding the Doctor
Lois:Wait for back-up.
Darla:He’s been missing for hours. I’m going to see if I can get into the lab and look for him.
Lois:Be careful. We’ll be there as soon as we escape this traffic jam.
I flew down the stairs to the subterranean lab, trying to decide how to play it. It wasn’t like I could bust down the door, so I decided to take the simplest approach. Slowing to a walk, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door to the lab.
A light-skinned Black man in a lab coat opened the door looking irritated about the interruption. Subtly I sniffed. He was human.
“Yes?”
I recognized his voice, this was the guy who was with Dr. Xi Sunday night when she ran into Yuri in the hallway. Today his voice was carefully neutral, but I could hear his heartrate pick up. He was nervous. Or scared. Or both.
“I’m looking for Yuri,” I said. “We need him in the ER. We got a big mess.”
“Yuri?” he asked in feigned confusion. I could sense the deception.
“Giant guy with an accent?” I said, playing along. “Works for janitorial.”
“Your friend is in here, Miss Pavlovski.”
I’d never given her my last name, but I wasn’t surprised that Dr. Xi knew it. I had a feeling she’d been sniffing around the ER ever since I got here. My proximity to Kathryn had made me a person of interest. The doctor was evil. What I didn’t know was if anyone in hospital leadership was complicit in her crimes.
“Dr. Xi.” I let the tips of my fangs down as a warning, but Xi just rolled her eyes.
“No need for that, I’ll take you to the bear. He came down to apologize for making a mess, but he wasn’t feeling well so he’s resting in one of our treatment rooms. Come.”
The human male scurried away as Xi gestured for me to follow her. I looked around, seeing several people working, some of them looking through microscopes, and a few others tapping on computers. At first glance, this could be any research lab at any hospital. Nothing gave the outward appearance of evil, although there was something in the air… a sense of nervous desperation.
Xi led me to the north side of the lab, stopping in front of the same treatment room where I’d seen the dead human a few nights ago. Through the window, I could see Yuri strapped to a table, not moving. From here I couldn’t see if he was alive.
“What did you do to him?” I demanded.
“He’s just taking a little nap,” Xi said, her tone amused, like this was all a game.
That should have made me suspicious.
I heard a whoosh, then a sharp pinch as something poked me in the back of the leg. I swung around to see who’d shot me. The man who’d opened the door was standing ten feet away, a tranquilizer gun in his hand. I started to transform into my vampire, but my vision turned fuzzy before I could shift. I swayed on my feet, trying to fight the tranquilizer, but it was no use, it was too strong. Everything turned black, then I dropped to the floor like a ton of bricks.
As I faded out of consciousness, I heard Xi say, “Stupid vampire.”
Kathryn
“Darla’s been gone a long time,” I said worriedly.
Stacy sent me an amused look. “When are you going to admit that you two are together? It’s so obvious you’re hot for each other.”
“The way you’re hot for Yuri?” I shot back.
Her expression got a little sheepish.
“There’s something about him. I can’t explain it. I mean, we haven’t even kissed or gone on a date yet, but I can’t stop thinking about him. It’s like we’re somehow… I don’t know, tethered together?”
“He seems like a great guy,” I replied.
“Yeah, he does. It’s just weird because I literally swore off men two months ago after Brad. I was so done. But with Yuri... it’s like everything’s different. Does that sound crazy?”
I knew the feeling, because I felt the same way myself. But I remembered Darla explaining how humans felt the mate bond, just not as strong as the supernaturals did. Before I could explain what was happening, Martha popped her head into the room.
