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

see that Jennifer seemed to be taking a liking to Erica.
    Once he sent his sister on her way, he found himself wandering aimlessly around the apartment. Erica was safely tucked away in his extra bedroom, and protecting her was his top priority. He would have preferred her to be tucked in his bed, but knew that would take time.
    He felt oddly at loose ends, and found himself poking his head into her room every few minutes to check on her. He walked into his kitchen and made a quick call to Marshall, checking for any updates. Marshall had no new information to report. He stole a quick peek out the window, and noticed the sun just beginning to set. It would be dark within the next hour, and that would mean patrol time.
    When nine p.m. hit, he quietly checked on Erica again and found her still sleeping soundly. It seemed Jennifer had been correct, and she would probably sleep through the night. Kevin walked back out into the living room and changed forms in the middle of the room. A Doberman would be standing guard over his girl tonight, because nothing and no one was coming near her!

Chapter Three
     
    Kevin stood in front of the stove in his kitchen. This was actually the first time the contraption had ever been turned on. He had run downstairs to the library looking for a cookbook, after tracking down his sister and begging for her help with his houseguest. Now, she was standing at the counter, giving him pointers on how to cook a medium well-done steak. Go figure! Who would have guessed his little sister spent her free time watching Rachael Ray?
    When Erica first woke up, her stomach growled loudly. She settled for a slice of bread before taking a shower. Kevin promised her a big lunch as soon as she was finished. It had hit him that she had been under his care since the day before, but hadn’t eaten. He could have kicked himself for not taking care of her. He made a quick mental note to be certain she ate appropriately from now on. Besides, if he got to watch her each time, well, the damn woman was sexy as hell. And to make matters worse, as far as he could tell, she had no idea she held a rare and beautiful gift.
    After he had fed her, he urged her back to bed so she could rest. Her body was still battered and bruised, and needed to time to heal. He waited until he knew she was back asleep to head back out to the kitchen to call Marshall for an update.
    “Hey, bud, I was just getting ready to call you,” Marshall stated in greeting. “We have intel that Shawn will be at Ol’ Moe’s tonight about nine.” Ol’ Moe’s was a bar on the outside fringes of town. It was a seedy joint, owned by a human, but the manager was a vamp. For this reason, it tended to be a popular hot spot for the unsavory characters of his kind.
    “Okay, I’ll meet you there at 9:15. Let’s give him a chance to get inside and then we will ambush him,” Kevin responded. As he hung up the phone, he regretted his decision to return the motorcycle back to the office the day before and exchange it for his truck. A fast-paced motorcycle ride would have done wonders for clearing his head. At the time, his only concern was getting his truck back home in case he needed it for Erica. With broken ribs, riding on the back of a motorcycle would not have been very comfortable. Now, he would need to see if Jennifer could cover for him tonight. He slipped out his front door, and went down the hall to her suite.
    When Erica awoke some time later, she guessed it to be late afternoon. She could hear noise coming from the living room that sounded like a television was on. Soon curiosity won out and she carefully slipped out of bed and donned the robe she found at the foot of the bed. It smelled like Kevin, and she found herself wrapping it around her as she brought the lapel up to her nose for a good sniff. Just having it around her made her feel safe and secure. She silently walked out into the living room on bare feet. Kevin was lounging on the couch, a book in one hand, and the television remote in the other.
    Although she had been silent in coming into the room, Kevin turned to face her the second she stepped in. “Hey, did the television wake you?” He asked solicitously as he sat up and closed his book.
    “No, I really need to get up anyway. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” She rounded the edge of the couch and cautiously sat next to him.
    “Are you feeling better?” he inquired.
    “I am feeling better,” she replied with