"What do you suggest?" Angus wanted to know.
"I thought we were just going to visit these guys," I interrupted, frowning. "What's to plan?"
"Could be a trap," muttered Fergus. "We don't know them at all, apart from the reading Angus got on that male at the airport. Sure, the family means us no harm, but that male seemed awfully keen on our little sister here."
I blushed. "Yes, but I'm not keen on him."
"That doesn't always mean much. I'm assuming you weren't keen on Jack, either, and look what happened there."
"Ew, that's gross." I shuddered. "Angus would have picked it up if he was intending to kidnap me." And then he would probably have torn him apart right there and then in the airport, I thought to myself. Amazing how comforting that thought was. I looked up at my beautiful and dangerous man, and felt the now familiar heat in my belly. His eyes met mine, and I watched as his pupils dilated to fill the irises, and his nostrils flared.
"Get a room, guys," Fergus said, chuckling.
I blushed again, and looked down at my plate. Angus reached out and put his hand over mine.
"No, Fergus." Fergus looked appropriately penitent for a fleeting second, then he started smirking again.
"I have my Glock and three magazines," Angus continued. "That, plus the three of us, should be enough to repel any amorous advances from any iron metaboliser. And don't forget that Rebecca is one of us too. She gets stronger every day, and it would take a lot of force to overpower her now. She's easily a match for one or two humans, and would give a vampire a hard time too."
"Actually," said Marcus, " I was thinking more along the lines of how we should approach them for tissue and blood samples. I don't think the Glock would be of much help in that situation, unless we wanted really big samples, like an entire brain."
"Typical," Fergus said dryly. "We should have known it was going to be all about the samples."
"Absolutely," said Marcus simply. "You lot can handle the other details - I have supreme faith in your abilities with regards to non-scientific matters. For that reason I feel it is unnecessary to intervene, or even display any interest. However, I am quite willing to help you out if you insist on fighting." He grinned.
"You fight?" I tried not to sound too shocked. Marcus had always seemed so civilised, certainly more so than Fergus. And definitely more so than Angus.
"Yes, Rebecca, I fight. But unlike your Angus there, I only engage in physical combat when I have to. I don't go out looking for trouble."