He smiled grimly. “No. You fear the darkness in me—the vampire. But I am not two beings, and you cannot fear one without fearing the other."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don't care about the technicalities, Michael. I just want—"
He placed a finger against her lips, quickly silencing her. Someone approached the room. He turned and watched the heat of life approach. After a moment, he relaxed. It was only Jake. And just in the nick of time, too.
Smiling wryly, he glanced back at Nikki. “Jake's about to knock at the door. He's angry about something."
"How can you tell?” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, a gesture that spoke of the fear he could see in her thoughts.
"His heart is racing, and fury runs through his thoughts."
"Something's happened."
He entwined his fingers through hers and squeezed them lightly. She smiled, then motioned him towards the door when Jake knocked.
Jake's smile was anything but warm. “Have you heard the news yet?"
"No.” It wasn't too hard to guess what had happened, though. He stepped aside, allowing Jake to enter.
“Why?"
"Our vampires are on the loose again. There's been a triple murder in Highgate Park."
"When did this happen?"
"They figure about ten this evening.” Jake grimaced and walked into the small kitchen. “But the bodies weren't discovered until two. The cops are still crawling all over the place."
"You've been there?” Nikki said, surprise in her voice.
"No. I asked Mark to let me know if anything like this happened.” He glanced across at Michael and added. “Mark's the crime reporter for The Mail ."
Michael nodded. Jasper had been hungry when he'd left the hotel, so these murders had to be Monica's doing. He met Nikki's gaze and saw she was thinking the same thing.
"We have to stop her,” she murmured.
He shook his head in exasperation. Did she never learn? Jasper was still out there, and no doubt waiting for such a move.
Her gaze was defiant. “You can't find her without me."
Maybe they could, and maybe they couldn't. It wasn't worth jeopardizing her safety to find out.
"You'll slow us down,” Jake commented into the brief silence. “You're a liability, Nik. Trying to protect you might well get us all killed."
"We'll be moving in the daylight—we'll have the advantage, remember?"
"The zombies can still get around during the day,” Michael reminded her. “And Jasper has proven he can move at dawn or dusk."
She lifted her chin, though he could hear the unsteady pounding of her pulse. “I'm going. I refuse to let fear rule my life."
Or anything, or anyone, else. He clamped down on a surge of anger and glanced at his watch. “It's past four now. We'll have to give it a few more hours before we move. That way we'll be sure to find them asleep—if we find them."
Jake frowned as he poured some soup into two coffee cups. “And you? Won't you be affected?" Nikki raised an eyebrow, and Michael smiled. “As long as we avoid the sun between ten and three, I'll be fine."
Jake poured soup into two cups and handed one to Nikki. “I'll be back at eight, then. That way, we'll still have two hours to hunt around. Nice soup, by the way." Michael walked him to the door. Jake turned the handle, then hesitated. “Don't let her come with us,” he said softly.
He raised an eyebrow. “I can't really stop her."
"Find a way. Stop her. I don't care how. Just don't let that madman get his hands on her again." This from the man who had once told him Nikki could be difficult when it came to getting her to do anything she didn't want to do. He nodded and closed the door, then turned to find her watching him. Her knuckles were almost white against the cup.