Chapter 29.

M elissa was nearly half an hour late for work, for the first time in her life. As she thought of the reason why and shot a shy glance at Sebastian, she smiled.

It had definitely been worth it. She gripped Sebastian's hand tightly.

It was a good feeling to have first thing in the morning, she thought, waving at Sara as they walked past the nurses' station. Her friend gave her a knowing look and a wink.

Heat blossomed across her cheeks, but that didn't stop Melissa's smile from growing broader as she strolled down the hall and around the bend to her office, Sebastian beside her. She paused at her door, tried the handle. Still locked, she thought with satisfaction.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

That was when she heard a loud thud followed by the forceful closing of the door.

She whirled. Sebastian lay on the ground, an ugly bruise already forming on the side of his face. Blood trickled from a cut along his brow. Standing over him, a gun with a silencer in his hand, was Edward Sloan. "Good morning, my dear."

His manner was calm in a way that was disturbing.

"What are you doing?" She took a step toward Sebastian, but stopped short as Edward aimed the gun in her direction.

"I think you know, Melissa. The lab. The rats. The fake blood," he said in tones so sedate that it was frightening.

Somehow she mustered bravado, trying not to reveal her fear for both herself and Sebastian. "You didn't think I'd use the real deal, did you, Edward?"

"I was hoping you'd be foolish enough, like your father-"

"The only foolish thing he did was trust you." "My, my. We've grown some spine, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have," she answered, irritated by his demeanor and inexplicably filled with a new sense of power. The worst had finally happened and she was ready for it.

Edward lowered the muzzle of the gun toward Sebastian's head. "Do you know what a.22 does inside a person's brain?"

At her silence, he continued, "Most people think it's the shot itself that kills, but it isn't. It's the way the bullet ricochets around inside the skull, scrambling the brains until there's nothing worthwhile left."

He bent a little more until the muzzle of the gun was barely inches from Sebastian's head. "Then it kills them."

"What do you want, Edward?" She surprised herself at how calm she sounded.

He rose, but kept the gun trained on Sebastian's head. "The blood and the process."

"You have the journal, don't you?" She placed her arms across her chest.

"But that doesn't tell me anything." The words burst from his lips. He dragged a hand through his thinning hair and strands came away in his fingers. At her shocked expression, he said, "Surprised? You of all people should know what chemo can do to a body."

"Is that why-"

"Would that help ease your pain? To know that I did it because I was dying?"

That would have made it a little easier for her to reconcile the Edward she had known for so long with the murderous coward now standing before her, she thought. But she didn't need to hear his next words to know the truth.

"At first I wasn't dying. It was about the power and the money. The NSA didn't believe me, but I knew there were others who would pay handsomely for something as wondrous as what your father had stumbled upon."

He paced as he continued with his story. Melissa heard his words, but she wasn't listening. She was wondering how she could get Sebastian out of harm's way. Maybe if she moved slowly enough, she could reach the cell phone clipped to her waist and alert Ryder. At the slight movement of her hand, Edward regained his focus and aimed the gun straight at her head.

"Scrambled, remember?" He lowered the gun to Sebastian's head. He pulled the trigger. There was a m.u.f.fled pop. The bullet ripped into the carpet barely inches from Sebastian's head, leaving a small but deadly looking hole. "Take that as a warning. Next time I won't miss."

Melissa inched her hand away from the cell phone. "What next, Edward? If we stand here all day, eventually someone will walk through that door looking for me."

"And we wouldn't want that. We have enough dead bodies already don't we?"

"So where do we go from here?"

"Somewhere more private." He motioned with the gun toward the door. When she moved, he grabbed the raincoat off the arm of her sofa. Draping it over the hand holding the gun, he stepped behind her and jabbed the muzzle into her back. She was about to open the door when he said, "Hold on a minute."

Edward reached to her side, unclipped the cell phone and tossed it on the couch. "GPS chips are a wondrous thing, aren't they?"

s.h.i.t. Of course Edward would leave nothing to chance. He hadn't left any clues so far and the body count was up to five. "Please open the door. Go to the stairs. I've got a car waiting for us at the curb."

She did as he asked. Knowing that he wouldn't take her by the nurses' station made her alternately grateful-she didn't want to expose Sara to any possible danger-and angry-since no one would know which way they'd gone. Except maybe for the surveillance cameras, she thought and made sure to look straight up into the lens of one as they pa.s.sed it. She wanted Security to know it was her. And, just in case, she wanted to leave one last message.

She slowed her pace and mouthed "I love you, Sebastian."

Edward jabbed her in the back with the gun and she had no choice but to move on.

Ryder slipped on what he could to protect himself against the sun. Jacket. Hat. Gloves. Sungla.s.ses.

Hurrying to the bas.e.m.e.nt level, he went out through the back door of the apartment building. That side of the street was in shade at this time of day. He stayed away from the strongest rays of the sun, hurried across block after block, always keeping within the shade created by the buildings lining the street.

He moved as quickly as he could, accelerating beyond human speed to the vamp velocity he had only recently discovered and had yet to fully master. With that speed, he slipped unnoticed by the security guards and entered the stairwell. Maintaining that preternatural pace, he hurried to the door of Melissa's office, expecting to find Melissa and Sebastian waiting for him within.

The smell of blood instantly a.s.sailed him. He had to shake himself to curb his natural vampire urge. It had been harder since his injuries to maintain the line between demon and human. He closed his eyes and through sheer force of will he controlled the beast and let the human rise to the surface.

When he opened his eyes, Sebastian was lying on the floor, a trickle of blood trailing down his face from a ragged cut at his brow.

There was a large purpling bruise on his temple directly above the cut.

Sebastian had been coldc.o.c.ked with a gun. Ryder hurried to his side, concerned about the extent of his injuries and Melissa's whereabouts. "Sebastian." He gently shook the young man's shoulder in an effort to rouse him.

Sebastian's reaction was minimal. A groan and a slight flutter of his eyelids.

Ryder shook him more forcefully. Sebastian's eyes opened, but they were unfocused.

His helplessness sent anger surging through him. He took a deep breath and hurried to the nurses' station. "I need help," he said to the young Latina woman behind the counter. "In Dr. Danvers's office." The woman immediately swept into action.

"Is Melissa okay? Sebastian?"

The nurse clearly knew Melissa, but Ryder didn't have a clue who the young woman was. Guilt swept over him at the realization that he knew so little about Melissa's life. But he didn't have time to beat himself up about it now, not when Melissa's life might be at risk.

He followed the nurse back to Melissa's office.

She dropped to Sebastian's side. Removing a flashlight from her jacket pocket, she opened his eyelids and shone the light into his pupils. Sebastian moved and the young woman reached for the phone on the table beside the sofa.

"Security. Alert all the guards that Dr. Danvers might be in trouble. I need a gurney in her office stat to take someone to the E.R.

Male. Late twenties. Possible skull fracture. Definite concussion."

Ryder didn't have time to be impressed by her actions. A second later, Diana and Detective Daly appeared at the door. "Sebastian." Diana rushed to her brother's side.

Ryder nodded at Daly, who asked the nurse, "Did you see who did this?"

"I saw Melissa and Sebastian come in about half an hour ago. But I didn't see you go by," Sara said, and pointed to Ryder.

"I used the stairwell," he explained.

"Did you see Dr. Sloan?" Diana asked.

"No. Not for days, actually. Is Melissa okay?"

"We don't know." Daly grabbed his cell phone. "I need an APB on an Edward Sloan. Male. Caucasian. Gray hair, about six foot. Late seventies." He paused. "He's armed and dangerous. Sloan's wanted for five homicides, a.s.sault and kidnapping. He may have a hostage-white female. Early thirties. Blond hair. About five foot three."

Ryder stepped away as Daly gave additional details to the dispatcher. He kneeled beside Diana and laid a hand on her shoulder as she tried to comfort her brother. "He's going to be fine. Melissa's going to be fine."

She looked at him with determination on her face. From the fire in her eyes, he knew Edward Sloan would be one sorry man when Diana got her hands on him. "I know," she said.

The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Security and the E.R. personnel.

Diana and Ryder stepped away. As the staff wheeled Sebastian to the door, Ryder could see Diana was conflicted about what to do. He grabbed her hand and gave it a rea.s.suring squeeze. "I'll make sure he's fine. You find Melissa."

With a last touch for her brother, who was lying motionless on the gurney, Diana nodded. "You make sure he's okay."

"I will. Take care and hurry."

Diana watched Ryder follow the gurney, then pulled her ID from her jacket and flashed it at the security guards. "Special Agent Reyes. Is there surveillance on this floor and if so, where can we view the tapes?"

"Right this way, ma'am," one tall, overly muscled guard said.

Diana met Peter's gaze. "It's personal now. You understand, don't you?"

Peter gave a curt nod and followed her out the door.

The tapes had helped in numerous ways. First, they confirmed Sloan had taken Melissa. Second, they got a partial plate off the photo of Sloan's Jeep. The photo also confirmed the existence of an EZ-Pa.s.s on the Jeep's windshield, an electronic system for the New York area toll booths that would allow the vehicle to be tracked, and a third person behind the wheel. Likely another of Edward's junkie a.s.sociates who would soon end up on the medical examiner's table.

Peter called in the description of the car and partial plate and asked for a trace on the EZ-Pa.s.s activity.

The tapes had also revealed yet one more thing. Something she would keep to herself until Melissa was found. Diana couldn't imagine having to relay that message if what Melissa had obviously feared came to pa.s.s.

With all the information at hand, she and Peter drove to Sloan's brownstone, although she doubted he'd be stupid enough to go to such an obvious place.She only hoped she could figure out where Sloan was taking Melissa before it was too late.

His head felt heavy and large. Sebastian opened his eyes, but the light was painfully harsh. He raised his hand to block the glare, but something pulled it back. He tried to rise to see what was going on, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Take it easy, Sebastian."

"Ryder?" He turned in the direction of the voice, but could only see a blurry outline. Forcing himself to focus, Ryder's face finally came into view. When it did, memory returned as well. "Melissa. Is she-"

"Missing."

"s.h.i.t. Someone hit me. I don't remember anything else." It pained him just to talk. Every movement sent shards through his temple and the words bounced around in his skull along with an equally distressing thought-he'd failed Melissa.

He couldn't just lie there, doing nothing. He gripped the rails of the hospital bed and tried to sit up, but again Ryder held him back.

"You need to rest. You've got a severe concussion."

Like he needed Ryder to tell him. His head was throbbing and his jaw hurt. At the slightest movement, everything around him whirled. The remains of the coffee he'd grabbed on the way to the hospital with Melissa rose up in the back of his throat, but he forced it down. "Let go, Ryder. Now. Before I have to hurt you."

The words reverberated in his head, but he suspected they'd been barely more than a whisper. Nevertheless, Ryder not only complied, but helped him to sit up.

Once the room had stopped spinning, he said, "I can't just do nothing while she's in danger."

"Diana called a little while ago. Sloan's on his way somewhere, but so far, they haven't been able to track the car."

There was something lurking in the back of his brain. Addresses that he had seen, but couldn't quite recollect. "There was something in Sloan's file. A piece I skimmed, but didn't download."

"What was it?" Ryder asked.

"A list of his safe houses, I think. He may be taking her to one of them."

"How can we-"

"Help me get me out of here and to my computer," Sebastian said, swinging his legs to the floor. He nearly crumpled as he tried to stand.

"We need to get you dressed."

Sebastian glanced down at the blue hospital gown and frowned. "Please don't tell me they cut off my jeans."

"'Fraid so."

"No. They were Melissa's favorites." He tried not to think that she might not be able to help him pick out another pair.