A low growl vibrated in Phil's throat.
Jack smiled. "We're coming." He joined Macy in the hallway with Phil trudging behind him.
As they entered the studio, Jack noticed the walls were painted lavender and decorated with hot pink hearts and cupids. He passed a line of pink reclining chairs and sinks for washing hair. He came to an abrupt halt as he noticed all the styling cubicles. Each one was lined on three sides with mirrors. And each cubicle was occupied by a male stylist and customer.
He couldn't possibly get past all of them without their realizing that he didn't reflect in the mirrors.
"Let's go," Phil hissed. "It's just a beauty salon."
Macy spun to face him with an appalled expression. "Just a beauty salon? Don't you think this world needs more beauty in it?"
Heads popped out from cubicles as stylists tried to get a peek at the offensive strangers in their midst.
Jack stepped back, not wanting to be near all the mirrors. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid we can't... go any further. This was a mistake."
"Don't say that. You two are gorgeous together." Macy whirled around to face the cubicles. "Apollo! We have an emergency! Cupid alert!"
More heads popped out to look at Jack and Phil.
A slender young man with short platinum blond hair, a black fishnet shirt, and a pink utility belt rushed from the first styling cubicle. "What's wrong?" He jammed a long comb into one of the slots on his utility belt. "This had better be super serious. I'm in the middle of a perm."
"These two guys came to see you." Macy pointed at Jack and Phil, and his bottom lip trembled. "But now they want to break up!"
Apollo's eyes widened as he looked them over. "Oh my. You poor dears. You have to work it out. I mean, look at you. You look fabulous together." He turned back to the stylists and customers who were filling the center aisle. "Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?"
"Just kill me now," Phil muttered.
"We shouldn't have come," Jack said. "Is there a back door we could use?"
Macy gasped. "You mustn't be ashamed! You're beautiful the way you are."
The audience all murmured encouragement.
"Yes, a lovely couple like you should shout your love from the rooftops." Apollo came closer and motioned to Phil's hair. "Macy, have you ever seen such a delicious blend of colors? There must be twenty shades of brown, auburn, and gold in his hair. It looks fabulous."
Macy pressed a hand against his flat bosom. "I would die to have hair like that. Who on earth is your colorist?"
"I... don't have a colorist," Phil mumbled.
Apollo jumped back. "It's natural?"
A series of gasps reverberated through the audience.
Apollo touched Phil's hair, and the shape shifter stiffened. "It's incredibly thick," Apollo said. "Very rugged and manly, but a little too shaggy for my taste. I'm thinking layers and a tad bit shorter."
"Oh yes," Macy breathed, and the audience murmured in agreement.
"And you." Apollo circled Jack, studying him. "All that dark hair and black leather. It just screams 'bad boy.?
"Mmm." Macy eyed him as he twirled a strand of blond hair around a finger.
"I'm thinking we'll keep your hair long." Apollo scrutinized him carefully. "You have such interesting gold flecks in your eyes. I'm thinking" - he tapped his chin-"gold highlights."
Macy gasped. "Brilliant!"
The audience applauded.
Jack cleared his throat. "You wouldn't happen to have a few female college students around here, would you?"
Apollo blinked. "Females?" He exchanged a confused look with Macy, then burst into giggles. He slapped Jack's arm. "You're so hilarious."
Macy joined in the laughter, and chuckles spread across the room.
Phil grabbed Jack's arm. "Let's get out of here."
"I can see you're very busy here." Jack retreated down the back hallway. "We'll come back another time."
"Oh please do." Apollo looked at them fondly. "And don't forget. I do weddings!"
"Thank you." Jack spotted a back door and pulled it open. He and Phil dashed into the back alley.
He grabbed Phil's arm to teleport back to Romatech.
Phil muttered a curse. "If you say one word about this to the other guys, I will stake you in your sleep."
"Don't worry, sweetheart. If they find out about this, I'll stake myself."
The next night, Jack considered going to Syracuse University. It would be easy enough to teleport into the admissions office and access the list of new students. He didn't expect there would be too many in June, so even if Lara was using a false name, he could track her down fairly quickly. He paused, ready to punch in the phone number for the admissions office. He'd simply use their recorded message as a beacon to teleport straight in.
Merda. He was starting to feel like a stalker. If Lara didn't want to see him, he shouldn't force himself on her. What kind of future could she have with him? Even if she fell madly in love with him and agreed to marry him, he could only be there for her at night. If she had children with him, they wouldn't be fully mortal. And sooner or later, she'd be faced with a terrible decision-whether to join him as one of the Undead.
Did he have the right to force such decisions on her? If he behaved like his famous father, he would satisfy his desires today and not worry about tomorrow. But he had never made a good Casanova. He knew deep inside that love should be unselfish. He should leave Lara alone.
But he couldn't let her walk into Apollo's clutches unprepared. He had to do his best to make sure she survived. Then, if she wanted never to see him again, he would leave her alone.
He called her apartment, and LaToya answered.
"You again," she muttered. "Don't you ever give up?"
"I'm still worried about Lara. We haven't been able to find Apollo."
"No shit."
"I know Lara feels that her immunity to mind control gives her an advantage. I was never able to control her."
LaToya snorted. "Tough break, creepazoid."
"Her ability to resist is definitely good, but her inability to hear the psychic voice could spell disaster for her. Once Apollo figures out that he has no control over her, he will probably kill her."
There was silence.
"She'll be safe as long as he's giving psychic orders to a group," Jack continued. "She can mimic the other girls. But if he gives her a direct order, and she can't hear it and obey, the jig will be up."
"I see what you mean," LaToya said quietly.
"I could work with her and help her develop the ability to hear the psychic voice."
"What if she loses her ability to resist his control?" LaToya asked.
"I'll teach her how to listen but not succumb. I strongly feel that she needs to do this."
There was a pause. "Maybe."
"I could find her myself," Jack said. "I believe she's at Syracuse University."
There was a sharp intake of breath. "I'm not confirming that."
As far as Jack was concerned, she just had. "I don't want to force my presence on her, so will you tell her what I said? If she agrees to see me, I'll try to help her."
There was another long pause. "I'll tell her."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me," LaToya growled. "You try any tricky stuff with my girlfriend, and I'm coming after you. You'll wish you'd never left your home planet." She hung up.
As the third Saturday in June approached, Jack was ready to rip his hair out. Every lead that he and his team had checked out had proven false. The damned resort could be anywhere. They had assumed Apollo would stay close to his hunting grounds, but with teleportation, he could be anywhere. Even Greece, although teleporting east, into the rising sun, was always a dangerous proposition for a vampire.
Roman extended their search parameters by asking coven masters around the world to report any leads in their areas of jurisdiction. This kept Jack and his team busy every night. Still, with a growing sense of despair, he realized time was slipping by. And LaToya had not called him back.
Lara must really hate him if she was willing to risk more danger rather than see him again.
When Saturday arrived, he paced around the conference table. One week to go before Apollo would strike again. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He hadn't seen Lara in almost a month, but his love for her was stronger than ever. His desperation to keep her alive was overwhelming. He was sorely tempted to hunt her down, grab her, and teleport her far away. She would never forgive him, but so what? He was already in hell without her love. How could it get any worse?
His phone rang, and he whipped it open. "Pronto?"
"Jack, is that you?" LaToya asked.
"Yes." He held his breath and sent up a silent prayer.
"Lara wants to see you."
CHAPTER 19
Sunday night, Lara left the Graham Dining Center on the north campus of Syracuse University and strolled down the street to her new home. The special task force had found her a room in Day Hall, since the last victim from Syracuse had lived there. No doubt Apollo found it amusing to kidnap a girl who lived off Mount Olympus Drive.
She could have taken the passageway from the dining center to the residence hall, but she wanted to get away from the constant noise of jabbering students. How could she worry properly if she couldn't hear herself think? And she had a whole lot to worry about.
She glanced to the west, where the setting sun was gleaming pink and gold off the Carrier Dome. Jack would be up soon. Rising from the grave, she thought with a shudder. Would he call her? She was so nervous about the prospect of seeing him again that she'd hardly touched her supper.
She'd asked LaToya to call him last night. LaToya was supposed to give him her new cell-phone number and ask him to call tonight. Lara had been a nervous wreck all day.
Damn that man! She'd tried so hard to put him out of her mind. And her heart. She'd immersed herself in the preparations for her assignment. Hours of martial arts, strength training, and coaching on how to handle stress and the criminal mastermind. And still, Jack had crept into her thoughts. With every muscle in her body aching from exhaustive workouts, she still felt the ache in her heart.
It was akin to mourning, she'd decided. She'd lost the man who could have been the love of her life.
She'd tried denial at first. There were no such things as vampires, and poor Jack was simply crazy. He couldn't be a vampire. He didn't act like a monster. Sure didn't kiss like one. Or make love like one. But she refused to think about that. Denial had worked well. For about two hours.
Then anger had taken root, growing into rage. How could such monsters exist unknown for centuries? And how on earth could she fall for one? How could she have missed all the signs? And how dare Jack pursue her as if a relationship was actually possible? A mortal would have to be clinically insane to marry a vampire.
Then she recalled Shanna and her beautiful children. Shanna was obviously a happy woman. But how could anyone marry a monster who fed on people? She had to admit, though, that Jack had never tried to feed on her. He'd always behaved like a perfect gentleman. Well, more like a naughty gentleman, but he was a Casanova, after all. The few times she'd seen him drink, he must have been drinking synthetic blood. Did that mean he didn't like to bite people?
And then the revelation had hit. Jack could have been transformed against his will. He could have been a victim, much like the poor girls who were kidnapped by Apollo. He could have been forced to bite people for years just in order to survive. Was that why he referred to the nine circles of hell so much? He was trapped in a living hell.
Lara shook her head as she entered Day Hall. She couldn't allow herself to feel sorry for Jack. He was over two hundred years old, so he'd obviously bitten a lot of people. She ought to feel sorry for his victims, not him.
She stepped into an elevator and punched the button for the eighth floor. Great. A couple was kissing in the back corner. She kept her back to them and ignored the moans of passion. The memory flitted back of her elevator trip to the top of the campanile in Venice. Jack had been so romantic, so sweet. Why couldn't he have been a normal guy? Would you have been so fascinated with him if he were a normal guy? Would you have fallen in love?
"I'm not in love," she muttered, and the elevator lurched to a stop on the fifth floor.
"Then find another guy," the young woman said with a laugh as she exited the elevator with her boyfriend.
Lara groaned and pushed the button to close the elevator. Another guy? There was no one who came close to Jack. No other man had that combination of cleverness, old-world charm, and mouthwatering good looks. She'd been totally intrigued by his unusual powers and the mystery surrounding him. Until she'd found out the truth.
Her vision blurred with unshed tears as she recalled the look on his face the last time she'd seen him. She'd yelled at him to leave, and there had been so much pain and sadness in his eyes. Poor Jack.
"Aargh!" She was doing it again. Jack was not a poor, abandoned puppy. He was a vampire. She exited the elevator and trudged down the hallway to Room 843.
The problem was, now that she was under cover, she had too much time to think. It had been easier when the special task force had kept her busy.
They'd given her a new identity-Lara Booker. Everything was set. Her only job now was to check the bulletin boards every day in the twenty residence halls spread over the huge campus. She was waiting for the flyer from Apollo to show up.