Page 30 of Guarding the Doctor
“Not Russian,” Yuri shot back, a touch of temper in his voice. If there was anything the brothers hated, it was being mistaken for Russians. He mumbled something under his breath that I was pretty sure was Belarusian for ‘asshole’.
“Just clean up all this water and get off my floor!” Xi said angrily, her voice farther down the hallway now. “I’d better not see you down here again.”
“Yes ma’am.”
When we got back down to the conference room, Lois and Martha were packed and ready to go. We would debrief at the office where we had more privacy. The four of us took to the emergency stairs, separating in the parking garage and pulling out in two cars with our lights off. As I drove past the stairs, Yuri popped out, diving into the backseat of the SUV before I’d even come to a complete stop.
I turned my lights on as I exited onto the street, heading for the office. None of us spoke. We’d have to debrief with Lois anyway so there was no point in repeating ourselves. When we got to the office, Wanda took a detour to get her laptop, tapping away while Yuri and I did our report outs.
“I won’t be able to tell if we’re in their systems until someone does something on a computer,” Wanda reported. “But the mics are transmitting.”
She turned up the volume on her laptop, and we heard the faint sound of voices, though we couldn’t make any of it out.
“We need them to be closer to the mic for us to hear anything,” she said. “I’m guessing they’re in one of the exam rooms.”
“Probably trying to figure out how to dispose of another body,” I said.
“Who is the dead guy?” Lois asked, studying the pictures I’d taken. “Did he have an ID on him?”
“Not that I saw, but I didn’t look in his pockets or anything,” I said. “Maybe Kathryn knows who he is though.”
“Yes, show the picture to your mate,” Lois directed, “and if she doesn’t recognize him, we’ll do facial recognition.”
“I will.”
By the time I was on my way back to the safe house, exhaustion was setting in fast. It always happened this way – once the danger of a mission was past, the adrenaline dumped and the desire to sleep came on its heels. Fortunately after working five twelve-hour days in a row, we had a three day weekend, so both Kathryn and I were off work tomorrow.
Kathryn and my coworkers were gathered around the kitchen table when I got back, the three of them engaged in what looked like a very competitive game of rummy. They all dropped their cards when I came in through the garage.
“Well?” Bella asked.
My mate stood up and placed her hand on Bella’s arm. “Let her sit down first, she looks exhausted. I’ll get you a drink and a snack.”
Kathryn bustled around, making me a thick sandwich and bringing it back with a bottle of water.
“Do you need a shot of blood?” she asked.
I looked at her in surprise. “You’d bring me blood?”
She shrugged. “What’s the difference? Blood, milk, a protein drink… it’s all nourishment, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I said around the lump in my throat. “That would be great, thanks.”
It had been a long time since anyone tried to take care of me. My sister read my thoughts, leaning close and murmuring, “You’d better mark her soon and lock this down.”
Kathryn slid the sandwich in front of me, returning a second later with some blood. I drank it down in one gulp, sighing as I felt the nutrients flow through my body. When I looked up, my mate was staring at my mouth.
“What?”
“Sorry, I’ve just never seen your fangs descend all the way before,” she replied. “It’s fascinating. Does it hurt when they do that?”
I shook my head as I took a bite of my sandwich. “No, they kind of tingle though.”
“What does it feel like when you drink the blood? Can you feel it working?”
I thought about it for a second. “It’s kind of like blowing up a balloon, like everything gets a form.”
At her confused look I added, “Well, it’s more like I can feel a jolt of energy that starts in my belly and radiates out to all my limbs. Like a shock or something, but a good shock.”
