THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

almost blue from her tears, sparkled with temper.
    “My need is great, as you’ve pointed out on numerous occasions, and your pockets are clearly very deep, but I could hardly take your money if I’m not working.”
    “Nonsense. You wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t answered my advertisement.”
    “But—”
    “But nothing. Had you not answered my ad, you would not have ventured near that alley, and thus you would not have been savaged by Edward Webber. And had you not been bitten, you would not have been under my care, indeed under my roof, when Janecek attacked. In short, you would not be here, in the particular situation in which you find yourself. So, whether you choose to work or not, your salary will continue.”
    She inclined her head. “That’s very generous of you, Dr. Bowen, but I insist on earning my pay. But before you rush to canonize me, you should know that I’ll be insisting on something else.”
    Something else? His pulse kicked. “And what would that be?”
    “Danger pay.” She fixed him with a steely look. “I think twenty-five percent over the basic compensation package ought to do it.”
    Danger pay? That was all she wanted? He’d been half afraid she was going to try to extract something much harder for him to give. Money, however, was not a problem. Hell, he could easily afford to pay her ten times the salary she was earning, and he wouldn’t begrudge a penny of it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t risk handing her so much money that her financial pressures evaporated altogether. Her financial need was a major tool in keeping her close. But surely twenty-five percent he could do without jeopardizing the situation. And she was quite right — danger pay was definitely in order.
    Still, he mustn’t grant the concession too easily. She wasn’t the type to enjoy a victory if it were too readily ceded.
    “Twenty-five percent over an already generous base?” He lifted his eyebrows in what he hoped conveyed surprise. “You realize our armed forces would be lucky to get that, even as they march into imminent danger.”
    “Twenty-five percent,” she repeated. “And as far as I’m concerned, we are in imminent danger. You’re lucky I’m not asking for it retroactively.”
    “Then excuse me while I thank my lucky stars.”
    Her chin came up higher. “No need for sarcasm, Dr. Bowen. Oh, and I expect you’ll make the same adjustment for Eli.”
    Delano’s snort of disbelief was genuine. “You’re bargaining for Eli now? What’s this? A union?”
    “Both of us. Twenty-five percent.”
    Wait until Eli heard about this! He already protested that Delano paid him far too much. “What about the security I’ll be providing? Throw the cost of that in with the compensation package, and it’s a pricey office overhead I’ll be paying.”
    “True, but it’s a risky enterprise you’re engaged in, particularly here, where your activities will be unsanctioned, in an underground clinic.”
    Delano thought about prolonging the exchange just to keep her looking at him with that fire of determination in her eyes. But the time had come to cede her point.
    “You make a good argument, Nurse Crawford.” He pretended to consider the issue for another moment. “Okay, twenty-five percent it is, for both of you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Now, if there’s nothing else, I really must be going. I need to make contact with potential clients.”
    The change of subject left her blinking. “You’re going trolling for vampires?”
    “Precisely. We have to get the word out on the street if we expect to do business by tomorrow night.”
    “Of course.”
    He started to move toward the door when she spoke again.
    “Delano?”
    He turned back toward her. “Yes?”
    “Be careful.”
    He knew she wasn’t alluding to the law-abiding vampires he’d be recruiting in the all night establishments down on the street. She meant Janecek.
    Something lurched painfully inside of him, something rusty that hadn’t moved in a long time. He turned away from the concern in her eyes before it undid him.
    “I’m always careful,” he said. Then he left.
     
     

 
    Chapter 8
     
    AINSLEY FOUND Eli on the phone.
    “Can you hold on just a sec?” he said into the telephone, then covered the mouthpiece. His eyes took in her face, which was no doubt still blotchy and hideous from that crying jag. “You okay?”
    She grimaced. “Small meltdown, but I’m better now.”
    “Long overdue, you ask me.”