THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

eleven?”
    Ainsley grinned. “No. Although now that you mention it, I still owe you one.”
    “Ainsley, I think this has been the weirdest conversation we’ve ever had. And we’ve had some strange ones over the years.”
    “Yes, we have. But I didn’t call just to share the weirdness. There’s more.”
    “More?”
    “Apparently Delano finding me was no coincidence. He’s been looking for me, or someone like me, for a good part of his life.”
    “No way! You’re together? As in engaged? Or maybe eloped already. Oh, honey, that’s—”
    Ack! “No! Nothing like that.” Ainsley felt her face flushing. “He was looking for me, all right, but not for my gorgeous body, my keen mind or my razor-sharp wit.”
    “Then what did he want?”
    “My blood.”
    “Well, you did say he was a vampire, right?”
    She rolled her eyes at Lucy’s hopeful tone. “Gawd, you are such a romantic.”
    “Which I consider a personal triumph, all things considered.”
    “Don’t I know it.” Ainsley gripped the phone tighter. “But trust me, Luce, his interest is overwhelmingly clinical. Apparently, my blood contains some anti-vampire agent that he hopes to capitalize on in developing this vaccine.”
    Another of those pauses. “I guess that explains a lot.”
    “How so?”
    “When you told me you were quitting the hospital to go work for him, I wondered how he could be competitive on the salary package. I can’t see your average research assistant-slash-phlebotomist earning anywhere near as much as an experienced trauma room nurse.”
    Ainsley bit her lip. She hadn’t told Lucy about her constructive dismissal. No point subjecting her friend to that kind of worry. “That’s another thing. The man is rolling in money, Luce. He tells me they all are, the old ones who’ve been around a long time.”
    “Of course. Investments.”
    “Luce? There’s still more I have to tell you.”
    “More? Do I need to pour myself a drink?”
    “I’d recommend it, except I know you don’t touch the stuff.”
    “Just hit me with it. It can’t possibly give me more of a jolt than what you’ve told me so far.”
    “I gave Delano your phone number, so his people could trace you.”
    “You what ?”
    “I had to, Luce. You’re in danger, and it’s all my fault.”
    “You gave away my location ? No, you gave away my location to a vampire .”
    Ainsley shut her eyes against the horrified disbelief in her friend’s voice. “I had no choice. Luce, there’s this other vampire, Janecek. He’s a bad guy, one of those rogues I mentioned before, like the one who attacked me. The kind who believes we lesser mortals are merely prey. Somehow, he knows about me, knows about the properties in my blood. He wants to thwart Delano’s research, and the surest way to do that is to eliminate me.”
    “Oh, Ainsley, honey, what have you gotten yourself into?”
    Her throat ached. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got more security hovering around me than most heads of state. But I’m afraid you and Devon could be in danger, too. If this Janecek guy finds out about you, I’m afraid he might try to use you to get to me.”
    “Us? But how? I mean, if Weldon can’t find me with all the law enforcement resources he can command, how can this other guy find me?”
    “Believe me, if Weldy had pockets half as deep as these guys, he’d have found you long ago. In fact, Delano’s security team had already uncovered your name through the Cayman Islands account. I just sped the process up by giving him your phone number.”
    “What? I thought that Cayman account was supposed to be top-secret!”
    “It is.”
    “Someone sold my information?”
    “That’s about the size of it. And if Delano could find you, it stands to reason Janecek might be able to find you, too. So I thought it was best to put some security in place for you and Devon, as a preventative measure.”
    “I think I’m going to be sick.”
    Ainsley pressed a thumb and forefinger to her closed eyes. “I’m so sorry, Luce. You know I wouldn’t endanger you or Devon for the world.”
    “Can’t you tell this guy to find somebody else with this funky blood thing? It doesn’t have to be you, does it?”
    “That’s the other bad news. Apparently, this property is confined to one family, the family from which I’m descended. An old Sicilian family. Unfortunately, Delano thinks I’m the last one. They died out there over a century ago, but somewhere along the line, my