Dianne Duvall: Night Reigns

Several emergency response vehicles—fire trucks, an ambulance, unmarked cars with detachable sirens—had joined the van Ami and the others had left behind. Chris Reordon stood beside one of the cars, wearing a dark jacket that read DEA on the back and sleeves in large white letters.

Curses erupted as Roland and Sarah struggled to restrain the vampire king beneath a tree near the van.

Chris waved to the other vehicles.

Engines roared to life and sirens blared as they peeled away.

Marcus hurried over to lend Roland and Sarah a hand. Had they been allowed to kill the king, they would’ve had no problem. But they needed whatever information he could give them.

Ami held onto her Glocks in case the vampire managed to break free.

Chris strode forward and drew a familiar weapon. When he was close enough to ensure he wouldn’t hurt any of the immortals, he fired. A tranquilizer dart struck the vampire in the chest. His struggles ceased as his muscles went limp and his eyelids closed.

“Thank you,” Sarah said breathlessly.

All three immortals released their holds and let the vamp drop to the ground in a heap at their feet.

“No problem,” Chris said. “Glad to see you all made it out safely.” He handed Marcus the gun. “In case you need it later. Dr. Lipton duplicated the serum and made us several darts. Seth is waiting for me at the clearing and says he’ll meet you at the network.”

Marcus took the weapon. “Thanks.”

Chris returned to his car and, tires churning up dirt, sped away.

Roland slid open the van’s side door and tossed the vamp inside like old luggage. Ami holstered her weapons, climbed in, and got behind the wheel, since the sun wouldn’t harm her.

While Marcus settled on the seat behind her, she waited for relief to fill her. They had all made it out unharmed as Chris had said. Another uprising, hopefully the last uprising, had been halted in its tracks.

Roland waited for Sarah to enter, then sat beside her, and slid the door closed.

But those cries, those shrieks of agony ...

Ami thought they would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Marcus had never visited the network headquarters in this region. The need had simply never arisen. But he had to admit he was impressed.

From the outside, the building possessed not one characteristic that would encourage a second glance. Set far back from the highway behind a thick wall of evergreens, it boasted only a single story. The windowless tan brick exterior appeared aged and worn. Had it lived and breathed, one would have expected to hear nothing from it but sighs of weariness.

The front door lacked windows that might allow peeks inside, though who would wander back this way he didn’t know. It sort of reminded Marcus of a storage facility for a package delivery company: wide, uninteresting, with a large parking lot behind it.

Inside was a whole other story.

Roland, Sarah, Marcus, and Ami headed for the front entrance. The immortals still wore their protective suits, and Roland carried the vampire king—covered with a blanket—over one shoulder.

Upon opening the plain, wooden door, Marcus discovered it was lined with steel and as thick and heavy as the door of a bank vault.

The small vestibule inside was enclosed in bulletproof glass he would bet could deflect a sodding heat-seeking missile. Beside a second door’s handle rested a key card swiper and a keypad for entering a security code.

Glad to be out of the sun, he pulled off his mask and gloves and tucked them in his belt. Sarah did the same, then helped Roland remove his.

Ami’s hand slipped into Marcus’s while he peered through the glass. The lobby was modern, minimalist, a collection of grays that boasted a single gathering of comfortable-looking chairs in a U-shape with large, shade-loving plants on side tables for color.

Three guards sat behind a granite-topped security desk across from the door. A dozen more served sentry duty at the elevators and staircase behind the desk. All were heavily armed.

A buzz sounded.

Sarah gripped the doorknob and pushed the glass door open. One of the men seated behind the desk rose and walked around it. Rather than a generic security guard’s uniform, he wore the standard black fatigues of a Second. Tall, thin, with broad shoulders and closely cropped auburn hair, he bore an air of authority that told Marcus he was no mere security guard. He was one of Chris’s higher-ups.

“Aren’t you going to ask us for ID?” Marcus inquired.

The man grinned. “No need. We’ve been expecting you. And even if we weren’t, I’ve been doing this long enough to recognize immortals when I see them.” He held out his hand. “John Wendleck.”

Marcus shook his hand. “Marcus Grayden.” He motioned to the others. “Roland Warbrook. His wife Sarah. And Amiriska.”

“It’s an honor to meet you all,” he said and waved toward the elevators. “If you’ll come with me ...”

The guards posted on either side of the two elevator doors watched their approach with eyes full of fascination.

Marcus nodded to them.

Smiles broke out all around.

“Honor to meet you, sir,” one offered. Several seconded the notion.

Roland, Marcus noticed, did not receive the same greeting. Most network employees tended to fear him because of the way he had terrorized anyone sent to serve as his Second.

Sarah and Ami both received warm greetings and downright flirty smiles until Roland’s eyes flared amber and he bared his fangs. Many an Adam’s apple bobbed then as the men swallowed with trepidation.

For once, Marcus supported his friend’s show of temper.

The elevator they entered was large, like those one might find in an opera house. According to the buttons inside, there were five subterranean floors.

John pressed S5. “The holding cell is on the same floor as the labs.”

Ami’s hold on Marcus’s hand tightened. Her palm dampened. Her fingers began to tremble.

Frowning, Marcus pried his hand away and wrapped his arm around her. “We can wait in Chris’s office if you’d like,” he murmured, lips pressed to her hair.

John’s perceptive gaze went from one to the other. “Perhaps, Amiriska and Sarah, you would like a tour of the building? You’re both fairly new to the operation.” He smiled. “I’d be happy to show you around, let you see some of what we do here at the network.”

Her eyes on Ami, Sarah produced a bright smile. “Thank you. That would be wonderful. I’ve sort of had my fill of vampires today.”

John laughed. “I can understand that. Amiriska?”

“Thank you. I’d like that,” she said, voice tight.

I’m sorry, she said in Marcus’s head.

Don’t be. We really aren’t doing anything other than delivering the goods. Seth will look into the vamp’s head, see what he knows, then we’re done.

A ding sounded. The doors slid open.

Marcus and Roland exited.

John nodded to the dozen men waiting beside the security desk positioned between the elevator and the hallway. All carried assault rifles. “Todd, show Marcus and Roland to the holding cell we prepared earlier.”

One of the men, garbed in black with short blond hair, stepped forward. “Yes, sir.”

Marcus glanced back. Ami looked so pale.

Sarah moved over and slid her arm through Ami’s. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” she teased.

Roland snorted. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?”

She laughed.

Marcus thought Ami’s shoulders relaxed just a bit as the corners of her lips tilted up.

The doors slid closed.

“This way, sirs,” Todd said.

Marcus felt Roland’s gaze as they followed the guard down a long, white hallway lit with fluorescents.