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

excused herself, heading straight for Kevin’s suite.
     
    * * * *
     
    Once the team arrived in the jungle, they set up camp amongst the trees and bushes, ensuring they remained out of sight. They carefully hid the bikes, making certain they would not be easily found should someone stumble across the camp. The next job was to start retrieving the necessary information Charles had for them. Kevin changed over to animal form at this point. He chose a cheetah, and quickly made his way through the jungle to the location marked on his map. He chose to go alone on this surveillance run. The remainder of the team needed to start retrieving the needed information from Charles. Kevin came across his target about twenty minutes later, right where it was supposed to be. Big, two-story white house, big bay window, large covered front porch. Description matched perfectly to what Charles had been able to obtain for them. The house looked deserted at this point, but Kevin was not going anywhere near it until he had the entire team ready. He now quietly backed away, and went to join the rest of his team. It was time to refine the plan of attack.
    It was two in the morning when Erica’s nightmare sent her sitting straight up in bed, gasping for air. The dream seemed so genuine and graphic. It was as if she were standing on-site, watching everything happen without any way of stopping it. In her dream, she envisioned the VCTF team preparing to enter a large, white house. They were entering the house in order to make an arrest, only the house was a trap filled with explosives. The team knew nothing about this, and just as they started entering the front door, there was a huge explosion. Erica sat up in bed shuddering and sobbing, gasping for breath, recalling the faces of the team members in her dream as they were being burned alive from the explosion. She sat there trembling, her stomach threatening to heave at any given second, trying to force air through her lungs in order to calm herself. She tried convincing herself that it was only a dream, yet something about it kept bothering her. It just seemed too real. Going back to sleep now was virtually impossible. The dream stayed at the forefront of her mind, refusing to leave or be shut out, and she knew, even if she could return to sleep, she would only experience the same nightmare again. After a couple of minutes had passed and she had been able to halfway calm herself down, she decided to go downstairs and see if Charles was in his office. Maybe he would confirm the team’s safety. Maybe then she could go back to sleep peacefully.
    As she reached Charles’s office, she could not see any lights on under the door, and she hesitated. Deciding to knock softly, she held her breath to see if it was answered.
    “Come in,” answered Charles.
    “Hey Charles, did I wake you?” Erica asked hesitantly, as she slowly entered the office.
    “Sweetie, my kind generally doesn’t need much rest. I was just reading,” Charles responded kindly. He sat the book down he had been reading after studying her for a few seconds. “What’s wrong, Erica?”
    “Do you know where the team is right now?” Erica asked. Charles noticed she was chewing on her bottom lip, and her face was very pale.
    He sat up in his chair, moving towards his desk. “Yes, do you need Kevin?”
    “I just wanted to make sure he was safe. I had a horrible nightmare.” Charles watched a shiver run down her spine as she spoke.
    “Erica, sit down, you look like you are ready to collapse, dear,” Charles stated with concern. “Give me just a minute.”
    He leaned over to the microphone and stated, “Freeze, mission is on hold until new info is confirmed.”
    “What are you doing?” Erica asked. She knew he had spoken to the team when he had issued the order. “Is the team waiting on needed information?”
    “No, I assume your dream concerned Kevin and the team. Am I right?” he asked, raising his eyebrow up at Erica.
    “Yes,” she slowly answered.
    He slid his chair over until he was seated directly across from her. “I want to know about this dream. Call it a hunch on my part, but as upset as you are, I need to know what that dream entailed.” He held out his hand in front of her. “May I?”
    “What?” she responded as she stared down at his outstretched hand.
    “I want to touch your hand so I can have access to your thoughts. It is the quickest and easiest way of retrieving your dream,” he explained