Fang Hospital

  Gabriella exhaled. “You scared me, too.” And they are real, dear.

  “I guess you were so deep in thought that you didn’t hear me call you.”

  “Sorry. I was chilly and I came in here to grab a sweater.” Thankfully, she did keep one in her locker. “And like a doctor, I was mentally going over each patient.”

  “You’re a great Doc. I always trust your judgment. You’re thorough, and you care about the patients. Which brings me to why I followed you in here. I know the day shift Docs practically signed out that man in bed 3 with indigestion, but I think his discomfort is really cardiac. I just have this feeling. You know what I mean.”

  Yes, she did.

  The nurse tilted her head toward Gabriella. “Can you review his record? He doesn’t look right. They must be slammed in the lab, because his cardiac enzymes are still pending.”

  Gabriella nodded. “I’ll check it out.”

  “Thank you. Hey, where did you get those awesome fangs? I’m going to a costume party this weekend; it’ll be a weird, belated Halloween blow-out since we’re all working tonight.”

  “I got them on line.”

  It was a quick solution. Mortals liked getting goods “on line.”

  The nurse shot a finger at Gabriella. “I’ll check that out.”

  After the nurse left, she ravaged the top shelf of her locker. Where is it? It was just here. She reached into the back and felt the bottom of the flask. It had tipped over. She looked around. The flask had been upright moments ago. Maybe she did knock it over in her hurry to attend to her nails while the locker room was empty. Distracted by her name being called, and the nerve-gripping thought of Volk behind her, she hadn’t heard the flask fall. Gabriella donned the cardigan, grasped the flask, and headed back to her little vamp patient. She’d give him a sip of the potion and send him on his way. Then she’d find out what was taking so long for the man’s blood work to come back. She’d pay K.L a visit.

  With the flask tucked into the front pocket of her cardigan, Gabriella glanced behind her, making sure neither human nor vamp had tagged along with her before stepping into Michael’s cubicle. She took out her magical mixture with an inventor’s pride, swirling its rainbow contents in front of Michael’s transfixed eyes.

  “Wow! What cool colors!”

  “It’s not red, but it works.”

  Gabriella poured the potion into a medicine cup and handed the remedy to him. Michael gulped it as she directed.

  He looked up at Anabella. “It’s not bad. It actually tastes better than human candy.”

  “You should have stuck to tricks instead of treats,” Anabella admonished him.

  Michael set the empty medicine cup onto the bedside tray. He sighed. “If Anabella can eat croissants, and if Dr. Van Court can have clams, what can I eat?”

  Gabriella patted his head. “Chances are you didn’t live long enough to know what that is yet. But never say never.” She winked at him. “Especially for vampires. Why don’t you go home and think about how something you ate before made you feel alive?”

  “Thanks, Dr. Van Court. I’ll do that. I guess I can rule out chocolate.”

  “I think so, too.” She approached them and softly said, “There’s an alley next to the hospital. I use the same one to go home.”

  “We’ll find it,” Anabella said.

  Gabriella waved to them as they left. “Happy Halloween.”

  “Happy Halloween to you, too, Doc,” they called back as they walked through the closed glass doors of Fang E.R. and disappeared.

  She winced. I hope nobody saw that.

  ****

  Gabriella turned around and smacked into Max. He hugged her and rubbed her back.

  “I see you’re wearing your sweater, but I’ll warm you up...soon.”

  No chance in hell, she thought. He was as valiant as he was sexy.

  She gently pushed him away. What she wanted to do was to yank him into the call room and continue where they’d left off on the picnic bench. No one would walk in on them there. She’d be free to pillage him!

  “Max, hold that thought. I need to run down to the lab.” She stroked his neck. “I won’t be long.”

  He brought his lips to hers and kissed her. They were soft and velvet. She rose to her toes and her stomach stirred. She wished she were alive. Damn that Volk! He robbed her of her warmth. But then again, if she had lived, she would never have met Max. Nor would she be a physician at The Fang, tending to mortals and her kind. Perhaps he had done her a favor, after all.

  He slowly parted from her. “You’re killing me, Gabriella.”

  She arched her brows. “Not yet. But there’s still time.” She skipped around him, teasingly. “See you later. All of you, that is!”

  Max patted her behind. “I’ll be ready and waiting.”

  “I’ll be ready, likewise!”

  Gabriella shot Max a parting grin. Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed the bulge in her cardigan pocket. She headed down the stairwell to the lab. She’d ask K.L. to hurry up with that patient’s blood work.

  The gray metal hospital door slammed behind Gabriella. A frigid gust, colder than her vampire skin, grazed her cheek. Her heart thudded against her breastbone.

  “Who’s there?”

  “Who’s there? Who’s there?” echoed back.

  “It’s Dr. Van Court. I can help you. Don’t be frightened.”

  What irony! She was the one whose skin pulsed. She couldn’t feel or see the vamp. She hadn’t even sensed Max behind her earlier. Something strange was happening. Her powers were not up to snuff.

  “Show yourself.”

  A swirl of leaves blew through an open window in the stairwell. Gabriella thumped her palm to her chest. Someone probably stealing a smoke had left it open. She shut it and laughed to herself about her paranoia. There was no vamp or mortal present. Between Barbara and her escalating desire for Max, she’d been preoccupied. No wonder she’d faltered a bit. She raced down the stairs and halted before the exit door, the door that led to the lab. She had to reassure herself that her powers were not on hiatus. Gabriella flung her hands up. The door flew open without her touching it. She straightened her shoulders, walked coolly through the opening, and flicked her wrist to slam it shut. She swished her hands. So there! There was no kink in her mojo!

  K.L. glanced up from his computer screen. “Nice entrance.”

  “Thank you,” she relied with a smug smile.

  K.L. cast his eyes back down to his work. Gabriella walked up behind him and before she could tap his shoulder, he teased, “You’re too early for the festivities. What can I do for you?”

  “I need the results on the cardiac enzymes for the patient in E.R. bed #3. What’s taking so long?”

  He smacked his fist on the counter. “Humans! I have to do everything around here. The lab tech was supposed to run it in that antiquated machine. I’ll get you your results, stat!” K.L. pushed back in his seat and grumbled. “The incompetence! Why do I put up with this?”

  “Because you love chemistry!”

  K.L. had been a chemist before he was turned. It was his passion then, and his love for all things chemical never waned. He’d worked side-by-side with the greats like Joseph Lister and Jonas Salk. Antisepsis and the polio vaccine, he swore, were his discoveries. But he let the mortals take the credit. He grabbed the test tube the lab tech hadn’t yet picked up and popped off its seal. The rubber cork sailed across the room. Blood was the champagne for vampires. K.L. took a swig of the patient’s blood in the test tube. He swished it around in his mouth and swallowed it.

  “His cardiac enzymes are positive,” he announced. “This patient doesn’t have indigestion. He’s having a heart attack.”

  Gabriella kissed him on the cheek. “You saved this man’s life.”

  K.L. flicked his wrist at her. “Nah, go on. You’re the savior of mortals in this little troop.”

  His smiled humbly. Chemistry was K.L.’s gift. Hers was healing. She wondered what
Barbara’s vampire talent would be.

  Gabriella grabbed the lab phone and punched in the E.R. extension. Her fingernails clacked at every stroke of the keys. An E.R. nurse answered.

  “This is Dr. Van Court. I need to speak to Dr. Cade immediately.”

  “I’ll get him right away, Doctor.”

  One hospital floor away, she could hear his footsteps as he approached the phone.

  “Max! Don’t sign that man in cubicle 1 out. His enzymes are positive.”

  Max’s heartbeat thumped in her ear.

  “I’ll get him transferred to ICU, thanks to you.”

  “I know you suspected the same.” Gabriella paused. “We work well together.”

  “We do,” he said softly. He toned down his voice to whisper. “When we’re all done taking care of others, I’ll take care of you.”

  “I look forward to showing our appreciation to one another.”

  “I will appreciate every inch of you.”

  “Here’s to exploration! Meet you in the doctor’s call room.”

  “I’ll beat you there.”

  “I’ll give you a head start.”

  “Then I better get going. Later, Dr. Van Court.”

  “Later, Dr. Cade.”

  Gabriella lowered the receiver. She rested her hand over the handle feeling the heat from his hand lingering on the other end. He finally let go. She traced her tongue across her fangs, anticipating his taste. Soon Max would be all hers. She’d pull him to the brink of her world. He’d beg for more, but she would not turn him. Gabriella nodded. It was possible—a vampire and mortal amour. She pressed her lips. I’ll make it work!

  “Not in the long run,” K.L. said.

  Gabriella’s eyes grew large. Her powers were weirdly weakening again. She’d always been able to keep her musings private, until now. She whipped around to face him. “You read my thoughts!”

  He shrugged. “Odd, isn’t it? But they came through, crystal clear. I was only giving you my thoughts on the situation.”

  She quickly cut off any errant rumination, just in case. Gabriella dug her hands into her hips. “It’s none of your business, anyway.”

  K.L. rolled his eyes. “Oui, oui, mademoiselle. Pardonez moi!”

  Gabriella eased her grip on her hips. “Pardon me, too. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know you meant well. I was just shocked that you could intrude into my thoughts. No one except Volk has been able to do that.” Gooseflesh snaked down her spine. Her fingers quivered as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “And thank you for speaking French.” She lowered her gaze. Her heart squeezed. “I miss my home. I miss my family.”

  K.L. took her hand. He kissed it and held it to his cheek. “I know. I get weepy at times, too. But we are family now.” He lowered her hand and squeezed it. “Quit worrying. A lot has happened to you. You, my dear, are hopelessly in love with a human. That’s got to sap some of your vamp energy. And there’s the whole Barbara incident.” He winked. “It’s not easy being a new vamp parent.”

  Gabriella massaged her forehead. “No, it isn’t.” She panned the lab. A nauseating pressure built in her chest. “So, uh, where is our little darling?”

  K.L.’s head flitted about on his neck, scanning the lab 360. “Merde! She was just here!”

  “I trusted you to watch her!”

  He shot his finger at her. “I was doing you a favor!”

  “You volunteered!”

  K.L and Gabriella glared at each other. It was a vampire stand-off!

  She willed her pulse to slow and pulled back her fangs. K.L retracted his.

  Their stare melted. They hugged. Gabriella patted his back. He patted hers.

  “I’m sorry,” they blurted out simultaneously.

  Gabriella gathered her wits. With Barbara feral and on the loose somewhere in The Fang, bodies would soon be stacking up. She grabbed K.L’s hand. “Fighting is only wasting time. We need to find Barbara, and fast.”

  Chapter Seven

  Cardiology arrived minutes after Max had hung up the phone from them, calling for a stat transfer of his patient to the intensive care unit. He rushed to cubicle 3 to send him off. Max tapped the man’s hand.

  “Everything will be fine. They’ll take good care of you in the ICU.”

  “Thank you for taking me seriously.”

  “Actually, you have Dr. Van Court to thank. She’s the one who put a rush on your blood work.”

  “Tell her thank-you, until I can tell her in person. Let her know where I am, will you?”

  “Will do. I’m sure she’ll come to visit with you soon. But for now, the folks in ICU will keep you plenty busy.” He waved to the man as the cardiology team rolled him away.

  The E.R. was finally quiet. He prayed it would stay that way. Max leaned against the counter. “I’ll be in the call room getting some R&R.”

  The nurses smiled. “So, where is Dr. Van Court?”

  Max smiled back and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Uh-huh,” they teased.

  “Uh-huh,” he parried back. “We’ll both be around. Call us if you need us.” Max crossed his index fingers and held them up as a cross, as if to ward off evil spirits. “I emphasize ‘need’.”

  “We’ll make it a point not to disturb you...two,” a nurse said. “Unless it’s an emergency.”

  “Cute!” He gave them a finger pop. “We, uh, I will only be a call away.”

  The nurse wiggled her fingers. “Goodnight, Dr. Cade. Of course you’ll miss all the Halloween fun.”

  He nodded and grinned. “No, I won’t.”

  He’d treat himself to Gabriella. He’d leave the tricks up to her.

  Max headed down the corridor that led to the doctor’s on call room with renewed stride. He’d get himself and the room ready before Gabriella arrived. He entered the call room and fluffed the two pillows as much as one can fluff hospital brand vinyl and pulled down the white starched sheet, with the Fang Memorial Hospital logo stamped across it, over the cotton blanket, making a neat triangle. It wasn’t a five-star hotel, or maybe even a one-star, but it beat the picnic table. The muted ambiance didn’t matter. What did matter was that they were finally going to be together, alone. With the bed prepared as comfy as possible, he’d make sure he was groomed as well.

  Max ducked into the adjoining bathroom and looked into the mirror. He raked his hand through his tussled hair, sniffed his armpits, and massaged his stubbly chin. No, that wouldn’t do. He’d hurry to his locker and get his toiletries. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t care about his rumpled state. But Gabriella was worth it.

  He sprinted up the back stairwell leading to the men’s locker room and grabbed the exit door handle. An icy wind wafted down the back of his scrubs. He shivered. It wasn’t that cold when he and Gabriella had come on shift. He let go of the handle, but the mysterious gust had ceased. The bottom stairwell door slammed shut. Figuring he hadn’t shut that door tight enough, he convinced himself the opening must have created a back draft. Max grasped the handle again and opened the door. He whistled all the way to the locker room. The notes of his happy tune echoed off the walls. He stopped whistling and glanced back. Except for an abandoned wheelchair, the hallway was empty. He hadn’t noticed that the corridor had an echo, but then again, he hadn’t whistled en route to the locker room before. He hurried inside the men’s locker room and snatched his black bag containing the necessities of hospital life from his locker. His mission accomplished, he sped back to the call room. No frigid draft. No echo.

  Max turned the corner and froze in front of the call room. He dropped his bag.

  “Shit! Who the hell did this?”

  The pillows were strewn on the floor, and the sheets and blanket he had left in an orderly fashion were crumpled in a wad. He gritted his teeth and whipped his head toward the hallway, searching for the culprit.

  “Not cool,” he called out.

  No one answered.

  He kicked his bag into the call room. He’d have to straighten
up this mess before Gabriella arrived. Max picked up the pillows and tossed them onto the bed. He’d have to get clean linen. Footsteps approached. Max stared at the open doorway. George Toth, the on call OB, skidded to a stop and peeked into the room.

  “Whoa, Max. You certainly did a rock star job here!”

  “I didn’t do this.” He arched his brows. “I’m expecting company.”

  “My sympathies. I hope she’s into Picasso.”

  Max quirked his lips. “Did you see anyone or hear anything?”

  “Nope. I was asleep down the hall. But hey, it’s Halloween. I think you’ve been pranked. You can always call housekeeping.”

  “Nah, they’re busy enough. I’ll take care of it.”

  George waved to him. “Good luck cleaning up. I have to go get messy doing a delivery.” He teasingly rolled his eyes. “I hate the sight of blood.”

  Max laughed. “Good luck to you.”

  The OB stretched his sleepy body and tottered away.

  Max walked to the linen room for new supplies. “At least there’ll be no blood involved,” he muttered.

  He grabbed the clean, crisply folded bedding and returned to the call room. After remaking the bed to his satisfaction, Max picked up his bag and headed into the bathroom. He’d have to work quickly. Gabriella was probably on her way up. He combed his hair and swiped a deodorant stick under each pit. All that remained was a shave. He slapped lather on his face and mowed through it with his razor. He winced. “Ouch!” A ribbon of blood seeped through the foam. Great. That’s all I need. Max dotted his face with a white hospital towel. It was hardly the smoothest cotton, but it would do. He glanced at the red smudges on the towel and looked into the mirror. Blood trickled down his cheek. It looked like he’d used a hatchet, but it was only a dull blade. He applied pressure to the cut. “Facial wounds always bleed like stink,” he muttered. At least that bug bite on his neck had faded. He lifted the towel off his face and assessed the damage in the mirror. Better. He tossed the blood-stained towel into the hamper and applied torn strips of toilet paper to the nicks on his face. That would help clot the remaining droplets while he brushed his teeth.

  Max checked himself out in the mirror. He bared his polished teeth, smoothed back his hair, and puffed into his palm, sniffing for any telltale garlic from his spaghetti dinner. Testing his hack job of a shave was next. Max peeled one tissue from his face. He arched his eyebrows in satisfaction. The tiny tissue tourniquets had worked. He plucked the rest of the tissues off and tossed them into the trash. Max gazed back into the mirror and nodded with approval.