THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

know you don’t want to hear this, Ainsley, but you must. Somehow Janecek has figured out who you are. And now that he knows, the clock is ticking.”
    “But how?”
    “How did he figure it out? He lived with me for a time. While he showed no particular interest in my work, I expect he was cognizant of the nature of it.”
    “No, those women! How could they give up their babies?” A tear broke from her eyelash and streaked down her right cheek.
    Delano’s grip on her wrists softened. “They had no choice. It was imperative for the survival of the bloodline. The offspring had to be hidden.”
    She gripped his wrist now, her fingers digging fiercely into his flesh. “But how would they know? The foundlings … if they never knew their mothers, never heard this story, how could they possibly know of the danger to their offspring? What would possess them give up their own daughters?”
    “Somehow the instinct was born in them, and thank God for that miracle. Else there’d be no hope of a successful vaccine.”
    Oh, this was too much. Too fast. Too awful. It couldn’t be true. She released her grip on him and stepped back, glancing wildly around the room.
    “Ainsley? What is it? Do you need something? A drink of water?”
    Yeah, she needed something. An argument to refute everything he’d said. She choked back a laugh. Lord, did she really think she was going to find one lying around the kitchen?
    “Ainsley?” He moved closer. “Are you all right? Do you need to sit down?”
    “No.” She lifted an arm, both to fend off his concern and to prevent him from getting any closer. “I don’t need anything except answers.”
    He didn’t look persuaded, but he accepted her assurance. “Very well. Then ask a question.”
    She took a deep breath, exhaled, then another one. What to ask first?
    “Okay, presuming all of this is true, how do you know if I actually carry the Merzetti blood? Huh? If I’m the first candidate you’ve caught up to on this side of the Atlantic, and if my ancestors on the other side of the pond were slain hundreds of years ago, how can you be sure?”
    “DNA retrieved from the skeletal remains of one of your ancestors confirms it. You are most definitely a Merzetti, from the port town of Licata, in provincia di Agrigento.”
    Nausea roiled in her stomach. “Oh, my Lord, you dug someone up? You dug up one of my ancestors?”
    Delano drew himself up to his full height. “Before you accuse me of grave robbery, it was all part of sanctioned research, I assure you. And yes, we obtained a legitimate exhumation order from the proper authorities.”
    “So that proves what?” She lifted her chin in challenge. “That I’m descended from the Lucata Merzettis?”
    “Licata.”
    “Okay, the Licata Merzettis, then. Great. Wonderful. If the DNA says that’s the case, I guess I’ll have to accept it. But who’s to say I have this mysterious anti-vampire agent in my blood? After all these generations, it must be well and truly diluted.”
    He shot her an offended look. “Of course you carry it. Do you think I’d have put you through all this if I weren’t absolutely certain?”
    This time, a sharp, hysterical laugh did escape. “Frankly, Delano, I don’t know what to think. I no longer have any idea what degree of manipulation you’re capable of.”
    “Okay, I deserve that, I guess.”
    The words came out calmly enough, but she saw the way his hands clenched into fists. Good. She hoped his leashed tension was adding to his headache.
    “Damn right you do! And now you’re going to tell my why you’re so certain I have this agent in my blood.”
    He held her gaze. “Because when I located Edward Webber, he was already dying.”
    Oh, dear Lord. “Dying? Because of my blood?”
    “The short answer is yes. Though I’m not sure of the mechanism.”
    She laughed, a harsh sound echoing dully in the small kitchen. “The mechanism? I should think that would be obvious. He bit me and he died. Ergo, I killed him.”
    “No.” His eyebrows drew together in a fierce scowl. “You mustn’t think of it that way. If anyone should be held to account for that, it’s me. I’m the one who put you in his path. I’m the one — the only one — who knew what might result if he attacked you.” The timbre of his voice dropped down a notch. “Simply put, you were victimized, Ainsley. By both of us.”
    “I killed a man.”
    “You did not!” He seized her wrist again, using his other hand to