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

glasses in his hands. He handed a glass of water to Erica, a glass of blood to Kate and Elizabeth each, and then carried the fourth glass over to where he was sitting.
    “Erica, what happened to your head?” Mr. Atkins asked curiously.
    “Um, I had a bit of an accident,” she replied as she looked over to Kate for some assistance as to how much information she could release.
    Kate quickly came to the rescue. “It is okay, Erica. He knows about Kevin. In fact, Mr. Atkins helped train Kevin for his position at the VCTF.”
    This tidbit of news surprised Erica. Quickly forgetting the original question he asked, she looked over to Mr. Atkins and stated, “I didn’t even realize you knew Kevin. What type of training did you provide?” She realized as she glanced down at his hand that he was wearing the same ring Kevin and all the other VCTF members wore. “You are wearing the VCTF ring. Are you part of the team?”
    “Well, dear, after the war I came back to the states, it was 1946. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at that point. I had quit the military completely, by this time I had seen enough humans dying to last me the rest of my life. I found myself down in Atlanta, and was surprised to discover a vampire society. They told me there were other societies set up throughout the US, and I decided to visit the one here in Fresno. I met Charles O’Rourke shortly after arriving, he was running the VCTF at the time. We became fast friends, and I even helped him at the VCTF for a period of time. When Kevin came along, Charles insisted he went through college first before he began his training. All through the early 1960s, Charles and I spent most of our time training Kevin to handle any type of situation he might come across. This meant Kevin needed to be trained in martial arts, police and military training. As I already had extensive training in both martial arts and military training, I could assist in his training of these. I also accompanied him to other countries to get a look at how they train their military personnel. He then took all of his training and redefined it for his own use in conjunction with his animal skills. By the time Charles handed him the ropes in 1966, I could not have been more proud of the man he turned out to be. I knew then he would be a huge asset to this society, as he still is today. I continued to stay on for a few more years, bouncing between helping Charles with the intelligence gathering, and being a backup for Kevin. Once Marshall came onboard, I started backing off, and then when Alec and Joshua came onboard, I went into retirement.”
    Mr. Atkins sat back for a moment and studied Erica. “Now my dear, I’ve told you my story. Do I get to hear yours?”
    Erica glanced down at her glass of water. “A couple of days ago, there was a drug bust at the local college I attend. In the middle of the bust, my ex-husband showed up, trying to kidnap me. He attacked Jennifer with a knife, and grabbed me after taking her down. Kevin showed up in tiger form right before Shawn had us out the door. As Kevin went to take a swipe out of him, Shawn threw me in the way. If that wasn’t bad enough, a few seconds later he threw me into a wall, in which I hit the other side of my head and wound up with a concussion.”
    “Good heavens, dear, no wonder Kate said no alcohol! I’m surprised Kevin even let you out of bed! Are you even supposed to be up and moving about?” Mr. Atkins inquired out of concern, as he sat up ramrod straight in her chair.
    “I’m okay, Dr. Carlson instructed me to take it easy for a few days, but I am otherwise fine,” Erica replied, with a shy smile.
    “I heard there was a bit of commotion down at the medical center yesterday, but I didn’t realize Jennifer was involved! Is she okay?” Mr. Atkins continued, glancing over to Kate and Elizabeth.
    “She is fine. Once her arm was reset, it healed completely, and nothing major was hit with the knife wound in the abdomen,” Kate answered.
    He turned his attention to Kate and Elizabeth. “I have enjoyed your visit, girls, but I wouldn’t push things with her too much. Head wounds are nothing to mess around with.”
    The girls said their good-byes to Mr. Atkins shortly after this, and promised another visit very soon.
    As they headed for the door, Mr. Atkins followed. “Girls, thank you for such a lovely visit today. You have no idea how happy you have made me. And Erica, you, my dear, are an absolute delight.