Dianne Duvall - Phantom Shadows

Removing her lab coat, she donned the turtleneck she had discarded earlier and topped it with a sweater.

No, it wasn’t about his recovery. It was . . .

She liked Bastien, damn it. She had liked him long before she had ever met him just from the things the vampires had told her about him. He may play the black sheep and be hated by his immortal brethren for past misdeeds, but he seemed to be an honorable man. A compassionate man. He wasn’t the monster Chris Reordon and some of the others thought him. He just wanted to help people. Help the vampires. End the suffering of men he had considered his brothers for two centuries.

Was that so wrong?

Locating her purse, she picked it up and drew her keys from an outer pocket.

Someone needed to stand up for him. Defend him. And, though it may sound ludicrous that a man of his strength and power would need her, she intended to be that someone. She had more insight into his character than anyone.

Except, perhaps, for Ami. Bastien seemed to have a real soft spot for Amiriska.

Melanie frowned as she wondered just how soft a soft spot that was.

She headed back across the hallway.

Todd crossed his arms over his chest as Melanie approached him. “Maybe Dr. Whetsman should accompany him instead.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Dr. Whetsman? Really?”

Todd grimaced and stepped aside. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Melanie entered the room and found Bastien standing beside the gurney. When he wavered, Cliff reached out and took his shoulder to steady him.

“Ready?” she asked.

Bastien nodded once, then gripped Cliff ’s arm to keep his balance.

Todd strode over to the desk, grabbed a pen and a Post-it pad, and leaned down to scribble something on it. Peeling off the top note, he turned and handed it to Melanie.

Three telephone numbers had been scrawled across it.

“The first number is Seth’s. The second is Richart’s. The third is mine. If anything should happen”—his gaze slid to Bastien and back—“call them in that order. Seth can teleport directly to you. If you can’t reach him, Richart can probably teleport to your general area and find you. If he can’t be reached, call me and I’ll track your GPS signal and bring a small army of men.”

Bastien raised one eyebrow. “A small army of men couldn’t stop me last night.”

Melanie sighed. Why did Bastien have to antagonize everyone every chance he could get?

Todd huffed a laugh. “Did you or did you not have to be carried in here?”

Melanie hoped that would end the exchange.

It didn’t. True to form, Bastien spoke in a taunting voice. “Not before I killed every human that was gunning for me.”

Todd’s jaw tightened.

“Enough,” Melanie said, throwing up her hands. “If you two want to continue duking it out verbally later, then feel free. Right now we need to get going. Bastien has someplace he needs to be.” She turned a stern look on Bastien. “Don’t you?”

Some of the tension in his face eased as the corners of his lips twitched. “I suppose I do.” He glanced at Cliff, then down at the manacle around Cliff ’s ankle. “What about Cliff?”

“Todd, would you please release Cliff and escort him back to his apartment?”

The soldier nodded, his countenance relaxing. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” Melanie looked to Bastien. “Shall we?”

She noticed he didn’t nod this time and wondered how bad the lingering headache and dizziness were.

Bastien clasped Cliff ’s arm and pulled him into a man hug. “Thanks for watching over me.”

“Any time, man. You’ve been doing the same for me for years.”

Bastien strolled over to the door, bumping Todd hard with his shoulder as he passed.

Melanie shook her head and followed him out of the room. She was beginning to suspect Bastien would have had a hard time fitting in with the immortals even if he hadn’t killed one of their own and injured dozens of their human assistants at the network.

In the hallway, the guards’ close scrutiny unnerved her.

Bastien seemed utterly unaffected by it. He also exhibited none of the weakness he had demonstrated in the holding room. Not until they were alone inside the elevator with the doors closed, traveling upward.

Staggering, he threw out a hand and leaned against the wall.

Melanie grabbed his other arm to steady him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked down at her. “You’re irritated.”

She shrugged. “You don’t exactly make it easy for them to like you.”

“I don’t care if they like me.”

“Don’t you?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Why should I? They judged me and condemned me before they even knew me.”

“Well, you have to admit your past is a little . . . dark.”

He emitted a humorless laugh. “And my present isn’t?”

Melanie didn’t know what to say to that.

When the elevator pinged, letting them know the five-story climb to the ground floor was over, Bastien straightened. Melanie’s pulse jumped when he removed her hand from his arm and gave it a squeeze before releasing her.

The doors opened.

Melanie swallowed.

John Wendleck, head of security at the network, waited for them in the lobby with at least two dozen men. “Dr. Lipton,” he said with a nod of his head.

“Hi, John.” She had known him ever since she had come to work for the network right out of medical school and had tried numerous times to coax him into calling her Melanie or Lanie. But he insisted on calling her by her title, telling her merrily that she had earned it.

Well, he wasn’t merry now. He was all business.

Melanie stepped off the elevator, Bastien beside her.

Before Bastien could muscle his way through the guards or do something else to rile them, she asked, “Did Todd by any chance call you?”

“He did. These men”—he motioned to the soldiers standing at attention behind him, fingers on the triggers of their automatic weapons—“are going to accompany you wherever you choose to take Mr. Newcombe.”

Not a good idea. Bastien was bound to say or do something to set them off and she really didn’t want to end up digging more bullets out of him.

“I’mmmmm pretty sure my Chevy Volt won’t hold this many,” she commented.

Beside her, Bastien laughed. It was the first time she had heard him do so, the deep rumble warming her insides like hot cocoa.

John’s lips twitched. “I’m sure it won’t,” he agreed. “Two men will ride with you. The others will follow in separate vehicles.”

“That really isn’t necessary—”

“I believe it is. You’re an important member of our family.” Chris worked hard to make the network feel like a family. “We just want to make sure nothing happens to you.” His eyes shot Bastien a warning.

Bastien stiffened. “I didn’t harm her when I breeched the network. What reason would I have for harming her now?”

“You threatened her life and forced her to allow you access to Vincent.”

Guilt rose up inside Melanie, souring her stomach. Bastien had done no such thing, but had told Chris he had when interrogated. To protect her. Melanie had freely and willingly aided Bastien in seeing Vince that last time. But Bastien had feared she would lose her job and all credibility if she admitted as much.

“That was then. This is now,” Bastien gritted.

“I have no way of knowing what motivates you from one moment to the next,” John spoke evenly. “If you mean her no harm, you shouldn’t object to the added security.”

Melanie could have sworn she actually heard Bastien’s teeth grind together.

“So be it,” he said again and headed for the back doors.