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

put it like that, at least we know what we are up against,” Kevin finished.
    Kevin stood up, ready to leave, when Erica glanced over at Charles. “May I ask you a favor?”
    “Anything, honey, what is it that you need?” He replied as he glanced back up to her. She had always been rather shy around him, and he was a little surprised to hear her request a favor.
    “I know hardly anything about my real mother, and even less about my father. What little bit I do know is in this diary. It was my mother’s,” Erica stated hesitantly as she held out the little book for him. “My father’s name is in this book, and I have tried to locate him using the Internet, but have come up blank. Kevin mentioned you are good at research and gaining information. I was wondering, if you have a little extra time, would you mind looking into this?” Her heart was pumping wildly as she finished. Other than Kevin, she had never discussed her birth parents with anyone.
    Charles reached up and gently took the book out of her hand. “I’ll be glad to see what I can do,” he stated with a kind smile on his face.
    Erica gave him a gentle smile as she replied, “Thank you.”
    “By the way, Erica, you have an appointment with our judicial committee the day after tomorrow,” Charles stated as the couple headed out the door.

Chapter Nine
     
    The day of the appointment with the judicial board found Erica with a nervous stomach. Kevin knew Charles was planning on attending with her, but she seemed so nervous, he decided to call Marshall and make a last-minute shift change, allowing him to join her also.
    It was a short appointment. Charles stood up when Erica’s name was called, and walked up to the front of the room where the judicial board members were seated in a semicircle.
    Charles bowed slightly as a sign of respect to the board members. “I have the necessary paperwork requesting the immediate dissolve of marriage between Erica Harper, mortal, and Shawn Harper, vampire.” He then glanced back and nodded for Erica to join him.
    Kevin stood up and escorted her up the walkway to stand next to Charles. He could feel her trembling and her heart racing as he gently placed a hand on her lower back to urge her forwards. When he felt her legs become shaky, he wrapped his arm around her waist to help steady her, as they approached the board.
    “Mrs. Harper, are you requesting the dissolve of your marriage on your own free will?” The female board member sitting in the middle of the semicircle seemed to be the one in charge.
    “I am,” Erica responded in just barely a whisper.
    “And on what grounds is this request being made?”
    “Madam, if I may interrupt for a moment,” Charles quickly cut in. “Mrs. Harper has been through a tremendous amount of physical abuse and is still suffering emotional trauma from that abuse.” Charles reached over and snatched one of Erica’s arms and quickly pulled up her long sleeve, exposing her arm. “As you can see, Mrs. Harper was forced to be a food source for her husband for an extended period of time. Any one of you can do a quick mind sweep to discover the other abuse and torture this young woman was forced to endure, but I would request that you do not make her relive this nightmare by forcing her to recount the events.”
    “Mrs. Harper, please approach the bench,” the female board member instructed. The woman wore a cold, stern, hard look with no compassion or feelings of any kind showing on her expression. Her black eyes stared at Erica while waiting for her to comply.
    Erica felt slightly better when she realized Kevin was sticking by her. The woman in front of her was downright scary. She stopped in front of the half circle table that separated her from the board members, and Kevin stood directly behind her, keeping his hands on her waist. “Please place your hand face down on the table in front of you,” she was instructed.
    Three hands from various board members covered Erica’s tiny hand the moment it hit the table in front of her. She immediately felt a sharp pressure in her head. Her knees started to buckle beneath her, and Kevin wrapped his arm tighter around her middle, while whispering, “Just relax, this will only take a few seconds.”
    Ten seconds later, the pressure lifted. The three hands that were on top of hers were now removed, and she found herself taking several calming deep breaths while she attempted to purge her system from the intense pressure her