There was a pause. "Bella?"
"Mary! I called you earlier today. Hold on a sec, I've got to feed the raccoons." She put the phone on the table, shot out to the yard, dumped the load and headed back in. When the pan was in the sink, she picked up the receiver. "How are you?"
"Bella, I need to know something." The human's voice was strained.
"Anything, Mary. What's wrong?"
"Are you... one of them?"
Bella sank down into a chair at her kitchen table. "You mean, am I different from you?"
"Uh-huh."
Bella glanced over at her fish tank. Everything always looked so calm in there, she thought.
"Yes, Mary. Yes, I am different."
There was a rush of breath on the line. "Oh, thank God."
"Somehow, I didn't think knowing that would be a relief."
"It is. I... I really have to talk to someone. I'm so confused."
"Confused about..." Wait a minute. Why were they even having this conversation? "Mary, how do you know about us?"
"Rhage told me. Well, showed me, too."
"You mean he hasn't wiped... You remember him?"
"I'm staying with him."
"You're what?"
"Here. At the house. With a bunch of men, vampires... God, that word..." The female cleared her throat. "I'm here with about five other guys just like him."
Bella put her hand over her mouth. No one stayed with the Brotherhood. No one even knew where they lived. And this female was a human.
"Mary, how did you... how did this happen?"
When the story was all out, Bella was stunned.
"Hello? Bella?"
"Sorry, I... Are you okay?"
"I think so. I'm all right now, at least. Listen, I have to know. Why did you put the two of us together? Rhage and me?"
"He saw you and he... liked you. He promised me he wouldn't hurt you, which was the only reason I agreed to set you up on that date."
"When did he see me?"
"The night we took John to the training center. Or don't you remember that?"
"No, I don't, but Rhage told me I'd gone there. Is John... a vampire?"
"Yes, he is. His change is coming, which is why I got involved. He'll die unless one of our kind is with him when the transition hits. He needs a female to drink from."
"So that night, when you met him, you knew."
"I did." Bella chose her words carefully. "Mary, is the warrior treating you well? Is he... gentle with you?"
"He's taking care of me. Protecting me. I have no idea why, though."
Bella sighed, thinking she knew. Given the warrior's fixation on the human, he had probably bonded with her.
"But I'll be home soon," the female said. "Just a couple of days."
Bella wasn't so sure about that. Mary was so much deeper in their world than she realized.
The smell of gas fumes was nasty, O thought as he maneuvered the Toro Dingo around in the dark.
"That's good. We're good to go," U called out.
O shut the thing off and surveyed the area he'd carved from the forest. Hat, about forty-by-forty-feet square, it was the layout of the persuasion building plus room for them to work.
U stepped into the leveled area and addressed the assembled lessers. "Let's start getting the walls up. I want three sides raised. Leave one open." U motioned impatiently with his hand. "Come on. Move it."
The men picked up frames made out of eight-foot-long two-by-fours and carried the things around.
The sound of an approaching vehicle stopped everyone, though the lack of headlights suggested it was another lesser. With their superior night vision, Society members were able to dance around in the dark as if it were high noon; whoever was behind that wheel dodging trees had the same acuity.
When Mr. X got out of the minivan, O went over.
"Sensei," O said, bowing. He knew the bastard appreciated the respect and somehow pissing off the guy just wasn't as fun as it used to be.
"Mr. O, it looks like you're making progress."
"Let me show you what we're doing."
They had to shout over the clapping of hammerheads, but there was no reason to worry about any of the noise. They were smack-dab in the middle of a seventy-five-acre plot of land about thirty minutes from Caldwell's downtown area. To the west of the property was a swamp that served as one of the Hudson River's flood zones. Covering the north and east was Big Notch Mountain, a pile of state-owned rock that climbers didn't favor because of its rattlesnake dens, and that tourists found all-around unappealing. The only point of exposure was from the south, but the rednecks who lived in the scattered, decaying farmhouses didn't seem like the type to wander.
"This looks good," Mr. X said. "Now where are you putting in the storage facilities?"
"Here." O stood over a section of ground. "We'll have the supplies in the morning. We should be ready to receive visitors in a day."
"You've done pretty well, son."
Goddamn it, O hated the son shit. He really did.
"Thank you, sensei," he said.
"Now walk me to my car." When they were a distance away from the work, Mr. X said, "Tell me something. Do you have much contact with the Betas?"
O made sure their eye contact didn't waver. "Not really."
"Have you seen any of them lately?"
Christ, where was the Fore-lesser going with this? "No."
"Not any time last night?"
"No, like I said, I don't hang with the Betas." O frowned. He knew that if he demanded an explanation, he'd just look defensive, but f**k it. "What's this about?"
"Those Betas we lost in the park last night had shown some promise. I'd hate to think you were slaughtering your competition."
"A brother - "
"Yes, a member of the Brotherhood attacked them. Right. Funny, though, the brothers always make sure they stab their kills so the bodies disintegrate. But last night, those Betas were left for dead. And hurt badly enough so they couldn't really respond to questions when they were found by their backup squad. So no one knows what happened."
"I wasn't in that park and you know it."
"Do I?"
"For chrissakes - "
"Watch your mouth. And watch yourself." Mr. X's pale eyes narrowed into slits. "You know who I'll call if I need to pull your choke chain again. Now get back to work. I'll see you and the other primes at first light for your check-in."
"I thought that's why we had e-mail," O said through gritted teeth.
"It's in person from now on for you and your team."
When the minivan drove off, O stared into the night, listening to the cracking sounds of construction work. He should have been seething with anger. Instead he was just... tired.
God, he had no enthusiasm left for this job of his. And he couldn't even get worked up over Mr. X's bullshit. The thrill was gone.
Mary glanced at the digital clock: 1:56. Dawn was still hours and hours away, and sleep was out of the question. All she pictured when she closed her eyes were those weapons hanging off Rhage's body.
She rolled over onto her back. The idea of not seeing him ever again was so disturbing, she refused to look into the feelings too closely. She just accepted them, bore them badly, and hoped for some relief.
God, she wished she could go back to when he'd left. She would have hugged him hard. And given him a stiff lecture about staying safe even though she knew nothing about fighting and he was, hopefully, a master at it. She just wanted him safe -
Suddenly the door was unlocked. As it swung open, Rhage's blond hair gleamed in the light from the hall.
Mary shot off the bed, crossed the room at a dead run, and threw herself at him.
"Whoa, what the..." His arm went around her and picked her up, keeping her with him as he came through the door and shut it. When he released her, she slid down his body. "You all right?"
As her feet hit the floor, she came back to reality.
"Mary?"
"Ah, yeah... yes, I'm okay." She stepped to the side. Looked around. Blushed like all hell. "I'm just... yeah, I'm just going to go back to bed now."
"Hold up, female." Rhage took off his trench coat, the chest holster, and the belt. "Get back over here. I like the way you welcome me home."
He opened his arms wide and she went into them, holding on hard, feeling him breathe. His body was so warm and he smelled wonderful, like fresh air and good clean sweat.