Kerrelyn Sparks - The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo

“Abby picked her up this afternoon at LaGuardia and took her to Roman’s townhouse. After the sun set, Dr. Lee and Gregori joined them. That’s Gregori’s car. He’s driving.”

“They plan on telling her the truth soon?” Dougal asked.

“Aye,” Angus replied. “Abby will take her to the lab first. Laszlo’s been getting things ready.”

Dougal glanced at the monitor, where Laszlo could be seen straightening a stack of papers. No wonder the chemist had cleaned the room. He’d even combed his unruly hair and put on a fresh white lab coat with a full array of buttons.

Dougal’s gaze shifted back to the dimly lit parking lot, where the Town Car had come to a stop by the front entrance. His nerves tensed as a heavy feeling swept over him. Something was wrong. The air was suddenly too thick to breathe. He grabbed the bottle of Bubbly Blood and swallowed down a gulp. It didn’t help.

Gregori and Dr. Lee exited the front seats and opened the rear car doors. Two women emerged. One was short with curly auburn hair. Abigail Tucker Holstein: renowned scientist, daughter of the American president, and Gregori’s wife. The other . . . Dougal glimpsed a slim young woman, who turned away from the camera, her long black hair swinging about her shoulders.

His prosthetic hand tightened around the bottle of Bubbly Blood.

Gregori punched in the security code at the entrance, then opened the doors so they could enter the foyer.

“Dr. Lee made the mistake of simply blurting out the truth,” Angus said, watching the monitors. “Abby thinks we should pique her scientific curiosity first. Then we’ll have a better chance at reeling her in.”

They paused in the well-lit foyer, and Dougal had a clearer view of her from behind. The graceful curve of her spine and firm set of her shoulders, the inquisitive lean of her head as she looked about . . . so familiar. Painfully familiar.

His shoulder blade itched as his tattoo grew warm. Turn, turn toward the camera.

Her head moved slightly as if she might have heard him. Turn, turn to me. A sizzling sensation started on the tail of his tattoo, then burned a path along the dragon’s body, over his shoulder to his chest, till it erupted in the fiery breath etched in crimson over his heart.

He gritted his teeth against the surprising burst of pain. Why was the tattoo tormenting him now, when it had been quiet since 1746? It took a great effort just to whisper. “What’s her name?”

“Dr. Chin. Leah Chin,” Angus replied.

Li Lei. Dougal’s heart thudded in his ears, a pounding rhythm for the sad melody that had haunted him for so long. I will find you. No matter what. If it takes a thousand years, I will find you.

It had taken almost three hundred years, but he’d found her. Turn, Li Lei, turn to me.

She swiveled, looking around the foyer, then glanced straight up at the camera.

It wasn’t her.

His heart seized with an abrupt pain. Of course it wasn’t her. How could it be? He’d buried her himself in a grassy mound overlooking the Yangtze River that had claimed her life. She was lost to him forever.

His fist clenched, and the bottle of Bubbly Blood shattered in his prosthetic hand.

Leah Chin was not in a partying mood. After one glance at the large room where a party was in full swing, her nerves tensed. So many people, laughing and chatting, happy and comfortable with each other. She’d witnessed similar events numerous times in college, med school, and grad school. And she’d never fit in.

She’d grown up without the benefit of friends or classmates, so she’d been ill prepared for the social aspects of college. And starting at the age of fourteen hadn’t helped. She found people fascinating, but only from a distance. She could watch the lively antics of brightly colored fish in a giant aquarium but never dive in and play. Jump in and you risk drowning. Or being eaten by sharks.

She glanced again at the security camera in the corner by the front door. Someone was staring at her, she could feel it. Stop being so paranoid! Still, her skin prickled with a strange sensation. Instead of being the scientist observing a specimen under a microscope, tonight she had an odd feeling that she was the specimen.

“Would you like to drop in and say hello?” Dr. Lee motioned to the large, noisy room.

“I-I don’t want to interrupt.” After all, she’d come here believing she would tour Romatech Industries and meet its owner, the renowned scientist Roman Draganesti. No one had said anything about a party. “I wasn’t invited.”

“Everyone’s invited,” Dr. Lee told her. “It’s a birthday party for three kids. Very friendly people. You’ll like them.”

“They won’t bite,” Gregori Holstein added, his eyes twinkling when his wife shot him a disapproving look.

“You can meet them later.” Abby Holstein gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. “How about we go to my lab first?”

“Yes.” Leah jumped at the lifeline. “Please.”

“Wonderful.” Abby smiled at her. “I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on.”

“I’ll see if I can find Roman for you.” Gregori winked at his wife, then strode down a corridor on the left.

Leah noted the tender look in Abby’s eyes as she watched her husband walk away. Must be nice to love someone that much.

“I’ll join you in a few minutes after I see how the birthday kids are doing.” Dr. Lee paused at the entrance to the large, noisy room. “I delivered them, you know.”

Leah blinked. “You mean these people are your patients?” A week ago, when Dr. Lee had hired her, he’d mentioned he was the personal physician for a select group of clients. She would be expected to help him whenever he needed her, but she’d been hired mainly for her expertise in genetics.

He smiled. “You’re their doctor now, too. They’ll want to meet you sometime tonight. When you’re ready.”

She swallowed hard as Dr. Lee sauntered into the noisy room. There were so many of them. It would take her awhile to be comfortable with them all. Her gaze flitted quickly over the crowd. Bouncy, happy children. Only a few adults looked over the age of forty. In fact, most of them appeared to be in their peak years of fitness.

“They’re really nice people,” Abby said softly.

“They seem very healthy.” Leah retreated into the foyer when a few partiers cast curious glances her way. “Why do they need two doctors at their beck and call?”

Abby hesitated before replying, “They have . . . special needs.” With a quick smile, she motioned toward the double doors at the back of the foyer. “My lab’s this way.”

After one last worried glance at the party, Leah headed toward the double doors.

“Not much of a people person?” Abby asked as she held open a door.

Leah entered the next corridor. “I’ve always wanted to help people. That’s why I became a doctor. But I discovered I was better suited for lab work.” And being alone.

“I recognized the deer-in-the-headlights look on your face.” Abby gave her a sympathetic smile. “I felt the same way when my father wanted me to attend campaign rallies or state dinners. It was all I could do not to throw up.”

“Really?” Leah stared at her, stunned. “But you seem so . . . confident.”

Abby snorted. “I learned to mask it, but I always felt terribly awkward at social events. Once I left the lab, I never knew what to say. Is it like that for you, too?”

“Yes. I’ve always found science much more reliable than people.”

With a nod, Abby smiled. “I felt the same way . . . but then I met my husband.” She turned left into the corridor. “Come on, this way.”