THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

Janecek to have slipped past guards who are watching for him…” Delano shook his head. “He must have cultivated a talent far beyond anything he possessed when I knew him.”
    Eli swore. “Does this mean he can slip past our check points whenever he likes?”
    Delano shook his head emphatically. “Highly doubtful. You need a certain degree of willingness on the part of the person fooled before the trick can work, and after this incident, everyone will be on high alert. Having said that, I don’t think we should take any chances. From now on, I want a vampire at every post for the night shifts.”
    Eli coughed.
    “Do you have a problem with that?”
    “I hope you’re not suggesting we replace our agents altogether?”
    “Of course not. They’d be in addition to the current complement.”
    “I presume they’d be civilians, for lack of a better word. No tactical training?”
    “They won’t need tactical training to see through a vampire glamour. No matter how slick young Radak has gotten, he’ll never slip by another vampire.”
    Ainsley put up her hand. “Ah, excuse me?”
    Both men turned to frown at her, which she chose to interpret as leave to interject. “Umm, if Janecek couldn’t fool a vampire, how come he got right up to us tonight without you sensing him, Delano? Unless, of course, your own power is waning while Janecek’s is growing?”
    There was a collective hiss of indrawn breath from the men who circled them.
    Delano’s face in the harsh streetlight looked carved from stone. “I know you’re angry, Ainsley, so that was a free shot. But I assure you, my powers are as potent as the day I was made.” He turned back to Eli. “Perhaps it was the clothing?”
    Eli nodded vigorously. “Of course. There’d be Kevlar in the turn-out suit, and it looked like he had a hot shield around his neck, not to mention a helmet. Maybe all that shielding was sufficient to muffle his vamp vibe.”
    “Sounds reasonable.”
    “Okay, we’ll add excessive shielding to the list of flags. From now on, anybody wearing more than a summer-weight business suit gets an extra-hard look. Firemen, riot police, hell, the fuckin’ Marlboro Man if he’s wearing an oilskin duster. I’ll spread the word.”
    They went on to discuss where Janecek’s operatives had been spotted, the situation on the roof, and so on, but Ainsley listened with only half an ear. Her brain was too busy going over the confrontation with Janecek, dredging up every word that had been said.
    Delano was using her. There could be no other conclusion. And everyone seemed to know about it — Janecek, Eli, and who else? The security staff? Her personal bodyguard? Everyone but stupid, unsuspecting Ainsley?
    Well, she was going to get to the bottom of it tonight. Come hell or high water, she’d have her answers before the sunrise chased Delano to his bed.
     
    Delano found his gaze straying more and more frequently to Ainsley as he listened to Eli. They’d been cleared to go back into the building, but Eli had insisted a tactical team go in first to search and secure every floor, just in case Janecek wasn’t the only vampire who’d gotten past their checkpoints. Delano had hoped the long wait might give Ainsley an opportunity to cool down, but she hadn’t shown much sign of it.
    He stole another glance at her. Nope, no cooling off happening there. If anything, she looked to have whipped herself up, imagining God knows what nefarious plots.
    Too bad the truth was going to be so much worse than anything she might have conjured.
    Eli’s radio squawked and he answered it.
    “Looks like we’re cleared to go back in,” he said.
    Ainsley smiled, a cool, frightening thing any vampress would have been proud of. “Splendid.”
    Delano sighed. The hour of reckoning was upon him.
     
     

 
    Chapter 13
     
    BACK AT the penthouse, Eli insisted they stick with him while he did his own thorough check, notwithstanding that the whole building had already been searched and cleared. Delano should have been grateful for the reprieve, but now he just wanted it over.
    “It’s clear.”
    “Thanks, Eli. Now if you’ll excuse us?”
    He grimaced. “Not quite yet, I’m afraid. I need to clear the lab, as well, since it has direct access to the penthouse.”
    This time Delano and Ainsley stayed put while Eli descended the stairs alone to search the 28th floor. As soon as his footsteps faded, Ainsley broke away.
    “I need to make some tea.”
    “Fine.