Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

this.”
    “Do you really think that is for the best? The council members have not even met me yet,” Erica replied, stating the obvious.
    “Erica, you are family now, and they will soon realize that. You’ll be fine. Trust me,” he stated, as he gently smiled over to her. “I’ll give the presentation if you’re not up to it, but this was your idea, I would really like to see you take credit for it.”
    “Okay, I’ll go over everything tonight. Will I have time to get with you before the meeting if I run into any questions?” she asked him.
    “I’ll be here all night,” he replied smoothly.
    As Erica headed back up to her bedroom, she reasoned that Charles must not get too much rest when the team is on a mission. Despite her best intentions, she ended up falling asleep reading the report. She woke up early Wednesday morning feeling refreshed. She finished up reading over the report and added a few notes of her own. After showering and dressing, she went to find Charles.
    “Good morning, Charles. Is everything good with the team?” Erica inquired the moment she entered the office.
    Charles smiled up at her as he replied, “Everything is on track, dear. How are you today?”
    “Good,” she replied. “If you have a minute, I thought we could go over some notes that I made regarding the presentation.”
    They spent the next fifteen minutes going over the report, and Erica was happy to see that Charles seemed to agree with everything she had noted.
    “What time is the meeting?” Erica asked.
    “The meeting is at one o’clock, and we will need to leave about twelve. Go on upstairs and grab an early lunch. I am working on retrieving some information the team needs. However, I’ll be wrapped up in plenty of time.”
    Erica took that as her cue to leave. She went back to Kevin’s suite to fix lunch and go over the report one more time.
    Charles and Erica arrived at the council meeting about fifteen minutes early. The arrival itself was a bit of an ordeal. It probably didn’t seem like much to a vampire, but to a human, well, that was a different matter altogether.
    Although Erica had been underground twice before, she had spent little time inspecting her surroundings either time. Now, she found it fascinating. Charles had driven them to the VCTF office and unlocked the front door for them to enter. She was somewhat confused when she watched him turn around and lock the door behind them. Then, she followed him toward the back of the building, until he came up to a wall. Stopping, she briefly wondered what he was doing, as she observed him reach out, placing his hand lightly on the wall. A door that seemed to appear quite literally out of nowhere opened into the elevator. They entered the elevator and he pushed the button to go down. When the doors opened, Erica was surprised to find her surroundings reminded her of a small town. The only difference that she noted was it wasn’t as bright, but more like dusk. Recessed lighting could be spotted above her head. They were walking on what appeared to be a normal sidewalk, with Charles stopping occasionally to issue a quick hello to someone he recognized.
    Erica kept a step behind him, slightly overwhelmed by her surroundings. She had not taken the time to notice any details when she had been down before. Charles led her past several buildings, then suddenly turned a sharp left and entered into one of the buildings. He slowed up long enough to issue a cheery hello to the receptionist, and to inform her that Erica was accompanying him.
    Charles then proceeded down a long hall and entered in an open door on the right. Erica wasn’t sure what to expect at this point, and she was a little taken aback as she entered a very spacious, well maintained office. In the middle of the room was a large oval polished mahogany table with comfortable chairs all around. She noticed a couple of the councilmen had wine glasses in their hands, and she assumed they were having their “lunch” of blood. All heads popped up as she and Charles entered, with all eyes on Erica instantaneously.
    “What is this?” hissed one of the councilmen in a heavy French accent, as he came to stand directly in front of Charles and her.
    Erica could almost see Charles squaring off his shoulders as he sidestepped her, placing himself between Erica and the hissing vampire.
    “She is with me. Felippe, this is Erica. She is now part of my family. My son Kevin has found someone to share his