Eat Prey Love

Chapter Eight

Caitlyn exited the elevator and strode across the foyer. Just as she entered the hallway, she spotted her father leaving the nursery. His head turned at the sound of her heels on the marble floor. His eyes widened.

She steeled her nerves for his reaction.

“Caitlyn,” he demanded, “what are you doing here?”

She continued to walk calmly toward him. “I work here.”

He flinched, then his face turned red. “The hell you do. Is this some kind of sick joke?”

Shanna peered out the open top half of the nursery door and gave Caitlyn a worried look. “There’s no reason for anyone to get upset. I’m sure we can discuss this in a rational manner.”

“It’s really quite simple,” Caitlyn added. “I’ve accepted a job with MacKay Security and Investigation.”

“No!” Sean’s face grew a darker red and his hands fisted. “I’ve lost one daughter to this foul place. I refuse to lose another!”

“There’s nothing wrong with this place.” Caitlyn stopped across the hall from the nursery.

“It’s infested with vermin,” Sean hissed. “Foul creatures of the—”

“Enough!” Shanna stepped into the hall, closing the nursery door behind her. She lowered her voice. “Don’t talk like that in front of my children.”

Sean ground his teeth as he visibly fought for control. “This is a nightmare.” His head snapped to the side and he glared. “Get lost. This is a private conversation.”

Caitlyn whirled around and found Carlos walking toward them. Damn. He didn’t follow instructions well. She’d told him and Phineas that she wanted to handle this alone.

“Don’t mind me,” Carlos muttered as he strolled by. “Just passing through. I have a meeting to attend.”

Sean waited till Carlos swiped his ID card by the MacKay security office, then he stepped closer to Caitlyn. “I can’t believe you did this to me. Do you know how hard it was to get the CIA to accept you? They were not impressed by the fiasco you created at your last job.”

Caitlyn glanced at Carlos. He’d paused outside the door, his head cocked in a way that made it obvious he was listening. Damn him. Though she probably deserved it for eavesdropping on him last night. “I wouldn’t call it a fiasco.”

“It got you fired,” Sean argued.

“It saved a woman’s life.” She noticed Carlos had stopped pretending not to listen. He was now leaning against the door, studying her with his gleaming amber eyes.

“It caused a scandal,” Sean said. “I had to call in some major markers to get you a job working for me.”

“I appreciate your efforts, but I decided to work here.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Sean gave Shanna an angry look. “This is your fault, isn’t it?”

Shanna frowned. “I invited her to Tino’s party last night and explained the situation to her.”

“You mean you brainwashed her,” Sean growled. “You were always the one to cause problems.”

“She did nothing wrong.” Caitlyn jumped to her sister’s defense. She had a terrible feeling there were secrets she still didn’t know about. “I could see with my own eyes that the vampires, mortals, and shape shifters here have combined to make one loving, supportive family. And I’m happy to be a part of it.”

“I will not allow it,” Sean growled. “You will not live with these monsters!”

“I’m not a monster!” Tino yelled.

Caitlyn gasped when she saw the little boy had levitated so he could see over the closed bottom half of the door. “Dad!” she shouted, drawing his attention to her before he could turn. “My mind is made up.” She noted with relief that Shanna was hurrying into the nursery to grab Tino.

“Cait, you’re not thinking clearly,” Sean said, facing her. “Who would you trust the most—vampires or the government?”

She tilted her head. “That’s a tough one.”

Carlos chuckled.

Sean spun toward him. “What the hell are you doing, listening in on us?”

Carlos smiled. “Good night, sir.” He glanced at Caitlyn and switched to Portuguese. “Brava, menina. You’re a brave and fearless fighter.”

Her heart swelled at the compliment. “Thank you.”

“What did he say?” Sean demanded as Carlos slipped inside the MacKay office.

“Nothing,” she mumbled. She noted with relief that Shanna was now holding Constantine. The little boy’s secret was safe.

“I’m not letting this go,” Sean warned her. “I’ll talk to MacKay myself and get him to release you.”

“You will let it go.” Caitlyn lifted her chin. “Or I’ll ask Mom why Shanna never received any of the letters I wrote to her.”

Sean’s face paled. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“After Shanna left home, I wrote letters to her, lots of letters, and Mom gave them to you so you could mail them from your office.”

Sean shrugged. “They must have gotten lost. Or maybe we had the wrong address.”

“Or maybe you never mailed them,” Caitlyn said quietly.

Shanna shook her head sadly. “Cait, let it go.”

“Right,” Sean agreed. “It was a long time ago. Water under the bridge.”

“It was a bridge I never got to cross,” Caitlyn snapped. “I needed my sister. I felt all alone and abandoned. And Shanna felt abandoned, too.”

Sean crossed his arms, scowling at her. “You have no reason to complain. You were well provided for, both of you. You always had everything you needed.”

“Except each other,” Caitlyn muttered.

Sean’s mouth thinned. “I thought it was for the best.”

Caitlyn planted her hands on her hips. “And I’m doing what I think is best. I’m working for MacKay. It’s my decision, and I expect you to respect it.”

With a groan, Sean shook his head. “It’s a big mistake, but I guess you’ll have to learn the hard way. Whatever you do, please don’t get involved with a vampire. I know they’re somehow attractive to females, but—”

“It’s all right, Dad. I won’t fall for a vampire. I promise.” Because for better or for worse, her interests were focused on a shape shifter.

When Carlos stepped inside the security office, he discovered the meeting had already commenced. Angus sat behind the desk, talking, while Emma perched on a corner. The two chairs in front of the desk were occupied by Lara and Olivia. Their Vamp husbands, Jack and Robby, stood behind them.

The Draganestis’ daytime bodyguard, Howard Barr, eased behind the desk to select a bear claw from the doughnut box on the console. As a were-bear, Howard constantly ate as if he were preparing for a winter’s hibernation. Roman’s nighttime bodyguard, Connor Buchanan, leaned against a wall, his arms folded across his chest. Next to him was J.L. Wang, a fairly new Vamp who had worked with Olivia at the FBI. Ian MacPhie had teleported in from Dragon Nest Academy and brought Phil Jones, the werewolf, with him.

Phineas was missing. Since Caitlyn had asked him and Phineas to let her deal with her father alone, Phineas had gone outside to do his rounds. Carlos spotted him on a surveillance monitor, zipping over the grounds at vampire speed.

Carlos had been too curious to stay away from Caitlyn’s conversation with her father. He preferred to think of it as curiosity. Not protectiveness. Even though he had been prepared to punch Sean if necessary.

Caitlyn had handled the situation remarkably well. Carlos doubted she was very strong physically, but mentally and emotionally, she was tough. He’d heard her the night before, talking to Raquel and Coco. She’d helped them more in just a few minutes than he had in the last five years. It had sorely aggravated him at first, but now he realized he was grateful for the compassion she’d shown to his girls and the comfort she’d given them. She was brave in a way that he was lacking.

And she was monopolizing his thoughts, dammit. He pushed her to the back of his mind and concentrated on the discussion at hand. Robby MacKay was voicing his frustration over their inability to locate Casimir.

“Aye,” Angus agreed. “The bloody coward is too good at hiding.”

“Could be worse,” J.L. observed. “At least when he’s hiding, he’s not killing people.”

“Aye,” Connor muttered. “When he stops leaving a trail of dead bodies, he’s impossible to find. He could be anywhere. And if we get close, he only has to teleport away.”

“We need to keep watch on his entry points into America,” Jack warned. For safety reasons, a vampire either used a sensory beacon to teleport somewhere or he would go to places he’d teleported to before. Those locations would be embedded in his psychic memory.

“We know of several places he’s teleported to,” Robby said. “Apollo’s compound in Maine, the coven house in New Orleans, the campground south of Mount Rushmore, and the federal prison in Leavenworth.”

“And those farmhouses in Nebraska,” Olivia added. “My old boss at the FBI will let us know if anything happens in Nebraska or Leavenworth.”

“I’ve asked the werewolves in Maine to keep an eye on the compound,” Phil said. “And I’ve contacted some Lakota Indians who can shift into wolves. They’ve promised to watch over the area around Mount Rushmore. The Black Hills are sacred to them. They want no more spilled blood there.”

“Excellent.” Angus nodded. “Now let’s move on to some new assignments. Zoltan Czakvar is hunting for Casimir in Eastern Europe, and he’d appreciate some help.”

“We can go,” Robby offered. He looked at his newly wedded bride. “If ye doona mind being stationed in Budapest for a while.”

“I’d love it.” Olivia leaned close to her husband. “We’ll be close to my grandmother on Patmos.”

“Aye.” Robby nodded. “I can teleport you there on the weekends.”

Angus fumbled through the papers on the desk. “We have a request here from Rafferty McCall, the West Coast coven master. Two of his members have disappeared in San Francisco and he’d like some help investigating it.”

J.L. Wang raised his hand. “I’ll go.” Although he’d only been a vampire for a short while, he’d previously served as a special agent for the FBI, and so completed his training at MacKay S & I in record time.

“Verra good.” Angus passed J.L. a sheet of paper. “This has all the information ye need to get started. Ye can teleport there tonight.”

Olivia touched him on the arm. “We’ll miss you. Be careful.”

“And we have a request from Jean-Luc,” Angus continued. “His coven in Paris has reported a resurgence of Malcontents.”

“They probably figured it was safe to move in since Jean-Luc is still hiding in Texas,” Robby said.

“We can go to Paris,” Jack offered, then glanced at his wife Lara. “Is that all right with you?”

She snorted. “Are you kidding? Let’s go pack.”

Jack chuckled and kissed her cheek.

Carlos stifled a groan. It was so damned easy for the Vamps to find a mate. Any woman, mortal or Vamp, would do. They didn’t have the survival of an entire species hanging on their selection.

Phineas entered the office. “Hey, dudes. What’s up?”

“We’re about to congratulate you for becoming the head of security here at Romatech,” Angus announced.

Everyone in the room applauded as Phineas gave them high fives and knuckle pounds. “Oh yeah, baby, who’s bad?”

“I’m sure ye’ll do an excellent job.” Angus stood to shake his hand. “Continue to monitor our spy, Stanislav.”

“Will do,” Phineas assured him. “Stan’s my man.”

“And we have a new employee living at the townhouse in Manhattan,” Angus continued. “Shanna’s younger sister, Caitlyn Whelan.”

“She’s a hot babe.” Phineas grinned at Carlos, who scowled back.

“We hope to get her trained as soon as possible,” Emma added. “Her unique ability to understand any language could prove invaluable for discovering information on Casimir.”

Murmurs spread across the room as everyone marveled over Caitlyn’s special talent.

“How fast do ye think ye can train her, Carlos?” Angus asked.

All eyes in the room shifted to him. Carlos’s jaw ticked. “A few days. A week at the most.”

Phineas snorted. “Are you kidding? She’s a complete rookie. And you guys do not want to know where that girl aims her bullets.”

“She hit the target,” Carlos defended her.

“One hit out of twenty attempts,” Phineas muttered.

Carlos groaned inwardly. He was so screwed. “My trip can’t wait for weeks or months. Maybe Phineas or Toni can train her.”

“Give it a week, Carlos, and then we’ll reassess the situation,” Angus told him. “Emma and I will be leaving in a few days for Moscow to assist Mikhail with his search for Casimir. Everyone has their assignments, so off ye go.”

After a round of good-byes and hugs, people began to teleport away.

Ian approached Carlos with a sheepish look. “Sorry about the punch last night.”

Carlos shrugged. “I deserved it.”

“Aye.” Ian grinned. “That ye did. Toni told me about yer trip. I wanted to wish you good luck finding yer mate.”

“Thank you. Fernando should be arriving in New York in two days. He’ll help you take care of the children.”

Ian nodded. “I expect you to come see them before ye go.” He stepped back, grabbed Phil by the arm, then teleported to the school, taking the werewolf with him.

Carlos grabbed his duffel bag. The room was clearing out fast. “I need to hitch a ride to the townhouse.”

Emma approached him. “Caitlyn will be driving there soon, and I hate for her to be alone after the confrontation she had with her father. Do you mind accompanying her?”

Carlos gritted his teeth. How could he say he wanted to avoid her when it was his job to train her? But he needed to avoid her. Every time he came near her, he ended up touching her. And liking it too damned much.

Emma regarded him curiously. “Are you all right? You seem a little tense.”

“I’m fine,” Carlos growled. “I’ll go with her.”