His to Protect (2 page)

The human victim—it helped not to think of
either of them by name—was lying on his back with his right arm stretched toward
the vampire. The vampire was facedown, his right arm resting on the human's
chest. It wasn't until Adrian noticed the thick, almost gelatinous, pool of
blood underneath the vampire's hand and the bite marks on his wrist that Adrian
realized what his friend had tried to do.

He checked Logan's mouth, noticed the blood
on his lips, and prayed for a miracle.

~*~

"Tyler," the man said as he
stepped onto the porch. "Did you move your friend?"

"His name is Logan," Tyler said
angrily.

"I'm sorry," the man said as he
moved to sit beside him on the step. His voice was deep and soothing. "Did
you move Logan?"

Tyler took a deep halting breath, looked
down at the blood on his hands, and nodded sadly. "I was going to try
resuscitation." He swallowed hard as the words jammed in his throat. "B–But
then I realized how cold he was."

The chill had seeped into
his
own
bones, and he shook violently as he tried not to see again in his
mind the peaceful look that had been on Logan's face. He'd died wearing a soft
smile. Considering the violence of his death it seemed so very inappropriate.

"Here."

The man shrugged out of his jacket, placed
it over Tyler's shivering frame, and then stayed beside him as Tyler shrank
into the warmth of the very large coat. Hell, Tyler couldn't even remember the
guy's name but he was very grateful for his thoughtfulness.

"Did Logan ever talk about his
roommate?"

It seemed a strange turn in the
conversation, but it at least distracted Tyler from the sick feeling in his
stomach.

"Not really. He worked nights, so I
only met him a couple of times."

"William was a friend of mine,"
the man said softly. "He was a good man, and I think he tried to save
Logan before he died."

Tyler wasn't sure he agreed with that
assessment—there had been so much blood he had no idea how anyone could tell
what happened—but he understood the man needing to think well of his friend.
God, he was investigating the murder of someone he knew. He was sitting here
supporting Tyler when he was probably feeling all the same things.

"I'm sorry," Tyler said, not
really knowing what to say but feeling the need to say something, "about
your friend. Logan always spoke well of him."

"I'm glad to hear that," the man
said. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead as if he too were fighting
tears. "Did Logan ever explain their relationship?"

"Only that they were friends."

The man nodded, swallowed hard, and then
gave Tyler a look that suggested what he was about to tell him might not be
something he wanted to hear.

"Logan was William's donor." The
man watched Tyler closely, perhaps waiting for him to ask what the hell he
meant, but all Tyler could do was wait for the man to tell the rest. "William
was a vampire, and I think he tried to make Logan a vampire before he died. I'm
not sure it worked, but we'll know either way in about fifteen minutes."

A vampire?
Was the man insane?

But the words never left Tyler's mouth
because a seriously delusional part of him wanted it to be true.

He glanced at the horizon as the sun dropped
lower and wondered if maybe he was having a breakdown. Was he making up
fantastical stories in his head to compensate for the horror he'd discovered?
Was this man even sitting beside him?

"If it worked, it will be easier for
Logan if he can see a familiar face when he wakes up." The man climbed to
his feet and held his hand out to help Tyler up. "Will you come inside
with me and wait?"

"Of course," Tyler said,
completely beyond caring which one of them was delusional. If there was any
chance whatsoever that Logan might be alive, Tyler would walk to the ends of
the Earth to be there to help him.

Chapter Two

Adrian smiled as Logan woke slowly. He'd
managed to clean him up a bit and then wrap him in a soft quilt, but the last
five minutes had been unnerving. Adrian had sat in a chair opposite the sofa
and prayed that he wasn't giving Tyler false hope. Making a vampire was never
easy.

Thankfully, so far things were going as
expected. Tyler glanced at him worriedly as Logan sighed and snuggled deeper
into the warmth of the quilt.

"It worked?" Tyler asked in a
voice that sounded filled with awe.

"What worked?" Logan mumbled as he
tried to roll slightly. When he didn't get an answer he pried open his sleepy
eyes and frowned at Tyler.

"What worked?" he asked again,
sounding grumpy. "Why do I feel like I've got a hangover? Did I catch that
awful bug going through the school?"

"Logan," Adrian said, "do you
remember what happened?"

"No," Logan mumbled, frowning as
if he was trying hard to remember.

"William was attacked. It looks like
you tried to help him."

Logan shook his head. "No, that's not
possible. It can't be true. William never hurt anyone in his life. Why would
someone try to hurt him?" Logan sat up violently, sliding off the sofa and
onto the floor as he struggled with the confining quilt. "It's dark
outside. You need to go. William will be waking up soon."

"Logan," Tyler said quietly. It
was clear that he was trying to calm his friend down. "William was
attacked. He was murdered."

"No," Logan growled, still
struggling with the quilt. "You don't understand. He'll need to feed
straight away. Recovering from such horrific injuries takes a lot of energy,
even for a vampire."

Logan froze as the "V" word came
out of his mouth, glancing at Adrian worriedly before turning his attention
back to Tyler.

"You need to go."

"I'm sorry, Logan," Adrian said. "There's
nothing you can do for him. He's gone."

"But he's…" William had been a
very private person and it was apparent by his hesitation that Logan had never
told anyone about him being a vampire. It was also clear that he was still
trying to protect the man who'd been his friend.

"He was a vampire," Adrian
finished for him.
"And a friend of mine."
Logan glanced at Tyler most likely wondering why his friend seemed so calm. "Logan,
we think William died saving you."

"Me?" he asked sounding
bewildered. "Why would he need to save me?"

Tyler turned to Adrian, obviously asking for
his help. Unfortunately Logan would remember soon enough the gory details of
his death. Images of what Adrian had seen in William's supposedly safe room
still burned in his mind, the professional investigator in him still trying to
set aside his personal reactions for the man who'd been his friend.

Obviously distressed, Logan moved a hand to
his lower belly, his fingers roaming over the place where his wound had been.
He gasped, his gaze bouncing frantically between both him and Tyler.

"He…He stabbed me," he said
anxiously. "But…" He shook his head, his hand still covering the
place where he'd been fatally attacked. "He was trying to kill William
while he slept. I heard him. I–I…I tried to stop h–him, b–but h–he—"

"Breathe, Logan," Adrian said as
he leaned over and lifted the fledgling vampire back onto the sofa. He shook
violently all over, his hands cold to the touch. "He's going into shock.
Tyler, grab another quilt."

~*~

"Shock?"
Tyler asked as fear for his friend pounded through him. "But
he's a vampire."

"Yes," the man said, tucking the
quilt around Logan more tightly, "but he's a newly made vampire who's
going into shock. Grab me another damn quilt."

Tyler rushed into Logan's bedroom, dragged
the quilt off his bed, and ran back into the living area. Adrian quickly tucked
it around Logan, watching as his pale features paled even more.

"Logan, you need to feed," the man
said as he rubbed Logan's arm through the quilt. "Did William ever tell
you about his fangs? How they worked?"

But Logan was violently shaking all over,
his eyes glazed like he was caught in a nightmare only he could see.

"Logan!" the man said in a deep,
commanding voice that certainly had Tyler standing to attention. Logan's eyes
darted to the man's face, but he continued to shiver inside the quilt. "Good
boy." The man caressed Logan's face, pushing the hair away from his eyes
as he spoke in a tone that a parent might use on a frightened child. "Did William
ever explain to you how his fangs worked?"

"No," Logan said, his voice a nearly
silent whisper.

"Okay," the man said turning his
gaze to Tyler. "Grab a knife from the kitchen.
Something
small with a sharp point."

Tyler wasn't entirely certain that fetching
a knife in a situation as messed up as this one was the safest thing to do.
What he probably should do was run into the kitchen and then
keep
going straight out the back door.

But he wouldn't leave Logan alone with a
stranger—even if the man knew stuff about creatures that weren't supposed to
exist but had apparently been living under this very roof.

Desperately trying to drag in enough oxygen,
Tyler grabbed a small paring knife and headed back to Logan and the man Tyler
still couldn't put a name to.

"Perfect," the man said when he
saw the knife Tyler had chosen. "Okay, I want you to squeeze the tip of
your finger until it goes really red and then prick it with the tip of the
knife. It doesn't need to be deep, just enough to make you bleed."

Tyler hesitated. The entire situation seemed
surreal. In the space of a half hour his entire world had been turned upside
down. He stared at the man shivering inside the quilt and wondered again if he
was seeing only what he wanted to see. Twenty minutes ago his best friend had
seemed dead, completely cold, totally lifeless.

Was Tyler really going to feed Logan human
blood?

"Tyler," the big man said quietly.
"I know this has got to be weird, and I promise I'll explain everything
the best I can, but Logan really needs your help right now."

Tyler nodded, biting his lip as he did what
the man had instructed. It took a couple of stabs with the knife to draw blood,
but as soon as a small drop appeared on his finger, the man reached over and
grabbed his arm, guiding Tyler's finger to Logan's mouth.

"Open up, Logan," he said in a
tone of voice that suggested he would get his way whether Logan did as he asked
or not. The man pressed Tyler's bloodied finger against Logan's mouth, rubbing
the blood across his lips until he opened up and licked the small bead. He
continued to shiver even as Tyler's blood slowly dripped into his mouth.

Tyler leaned closer, surprised to realize
the man had moved his arm to pull Tyler into his embrace. He should probably be
embarrassed by his need to be held—Logan was the one who needed attention at
the moment—but Tyler couldn't find the strength to pull away. He sat there
watching his best friend feed on blood as a man whose name he couldn't remember
held him close and made him feel safe.

~*~

Adrian kept Tyler close and tried not to
think too deeply on his motives. Yes, the newly made vampire needed help to
feed. Yes, the vampire's best friend was himself shaking with shock. And yes,
the situation warranted Adrian's intervention.

But, it was the feeling of rightness that
kept confusing him. It felt entirely too good—and completely inappropriate—to
be feeling this sense of closeness to Tyler.

Adrian was helping because he knew about
vampires, but it sure as hell didn't explain why he continued to hold Tyler
close as Logan eventually succumbed to his need for sleep.

"Is he okay?" Tyler asked in a
whisper. He didn't try to move away. He may even have moved a little closer.

"He will be," Adrian answered,
injecting as much confidence into that statement as possible. Far from the
legends that surrounded vampires, it was still quite possible that Logan might
not survive the transformation. His change had been traumatic and, judging by
the amount of blood Adrian had seen on his cold body, in response to a mortal
injury.

Adrian understood enough of the situation to
realize that William probably would have survived his own injuries if he'd been
able to sleep until nightfall and then feed immediately. Instead he'd chosen to
give up his own life in an effort to save Logan's. It had come down to himself
or the human, and William had chosen the human.

It made Adrian proud to have known the man.
He mourned the vampire's passing, but knew without a shadow of a doubt that William
would have wanted Adrian to help his progeny—the vampire equivalent of a
daughter or son. Adrian had every intention of making certain that Logan not
only survived William's gift but that he also learned how to live a full and
happy life as a vampire.

"What happens now?" Tyler asked in
a monotone voice. It was obvious that he was having trouble processing
everything that had happened in so short a time, but Adrian was glad to see Tyler
refusing to give in to the shock that was certainly a well-deserved reaction.

"He'll mostly sleep for the next few
days and nights. Nighttime he'll look simply like a man sleeping, during the
day he'll…" Adrian let the words trail away. Describing a vampire's day
rest as "sleeping like the dead" seemed a poor choice of words
considering the murder scene that still needed to be dealt with in the other
room.

"The sun?"

"The sun will kill him. He needs to be
in a completely darkened room before the sun rises each day. He will very
literally fall asleep wherever he is, even if that place leaves him vulnerable.
As vampires get older, they're able to move slightly during the day—usually
only enough to get out of danger."

"Or to make a
vampire?"
Tyler asked as he carefully
lifted his finger away from Logan's mouth and checked to make sure he was no
longer bleeding.

Adrian nodded. "And as you saw with William,
he wasn't able to move enough to get away from someone determined to kill him.
I'm glad he was able to reach Logan and had enough consciousness to be able to
turn him. It wouldn't have been possible for a younger vampire."

Adrian half smiled when Tyler reached out
and caught the single tear that escaped his control. It wasn't like him to let
his emotions rule his decisions, but William had been a close friend for a long
time. He'd been a man of solid character and certainly hadn't deserved what had
happened to him.

But because he was a paranormal his murder
would never be recorded and, unless his killer was also paranormal, it was
unlikely he or she would ever be brought to justice. It didn't feel right, even
though Adrian had known his whole life that it was the way things were, he felt
a nearly crushing need to make certain his friend wasn't forgotten.

"William was a vampire for a little
over one hundred years. He was a good man and I'm glad he had a chance to save
Logan."

"Me, too," Tyler said quietly.

"Until tonight I hadn't even known for
sure if it was possible for a vampire to do what William has managed. I've
heard rumors that the older vampires get, the more abilities they develop, but
since he was the oldest vampire I know, I can't be certain what those abilities
are."

"I thought vampires lived for thousands
of years."

"Myth," Adrian said as an ache
settled in his chest. Vampires showed no signs of aging, so it was possible
they might be capable of living that long, but it was human intervention that
made them an endangered species. "Vampires need human blood to live, so it
is very difficult to keep their secret for long."

"Can't they compel humans?"

"Yes, but not in the way you're
probably thinking. They can get a weak-willed or confused human to do their
bidding, but they can't erase the memory."

"So they can compel a human to feed
them, but the human will remember afterward?"

"Correct," Adrian said as he checked
the sleeping vampire beside them. He'd stopped shivering as he'd fallen asleep,
and now he simply looked like a pale, tired human. "History suggests that
fear and hysteria led to the murder of countless vampires—and probably more
than a few innocent humans as well. If William's murder was motivated by a
hatred for vampires, then it's likely the killer will come back for Logan."

"He can't stay here," Tyler said
quickly.

"I agree," Adrian said
anticipating Tyler's next suggestion, "but if the killer was watching William
long enough to know what he was
,
chances are he knows
plenty about you as well." Adrian let his arm fall away as Tyler moved to
sit up. It couldn't have been a comfortable angle for the man, but Adrian had
to mentally rein in his desire to pull Tyler back into his embrace.