“You have got to stop doing that,” I muttered. “Fuck, man. Can’t you holler ‘honey I’m home’ when you come inside?”
His head tilted. “You wish me to mimic a domestic relationship?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “No. Just announce you’re there so I don’t shit myself when I turn around and you’re looming in the dark like some kind of… spider.”
“Spiders do not loom. Neither do I.” Dragomir looked behind me at the bathtub and the otter-puppy merrily shredding my loofah. The vampire recoiled. “What is that doing inside?”
“You know what it is?”
“Yes.” He retreated a step, upper lip curling in disgust. “Do you not?”
“He looked like an otter, maybe kind of a sea lion. Part dog, maybe?” My blood raced in excitement.
“It is a waterhound,” Dragomir said, walking away. “You should dispose of it immediately.”
“A waterhound? What’s a waterhound?” I tripped on his heels in my pursuit. “You’ve seen one before? What’s it doing here? Is it native to Tennessee?”
Dragomir turned on his heel and I bumped into his chest. The vampire held my shoulders and moved me out of his way. “I am given to understand you enjoy research. So research. After you have solved my problem. Kill this one and get rid of it. They are trouble.”
“Dude, he’s a cryptid. He proves everything I’ve been doing is right. That I’m right. I’m not getting rid of him.” I blinked and smacked my forehead. “And I saw a sasquatch. It tried to eat Hopper, then ran off. It could have been the Tennessee wild man, I don’t know. I’m going back tomorrow to search for evidence.”
The silver eyes narrowed in disapproval. “No, you will be here, working. You do not have the sense of urgency I expected.”
“I do,” I said, frowning. “I want that information you offered up about Jamie. And I have made progress. It takes time for supplies to arrive, you know. I just got the silicone and plaster today.”
His eerie stillness made my nerves twitch. “Silicone and plaster. What do you expect me to do with that?”
“I’m going to make a mold of your face, then I’m going to make silicone masks for you to try. Silicone blocks UV rays. It’s an interim solution while I work on the genetics part.”
Dragomir adjusted his cuff links. “No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” I hobbled past him to the kitchen. Maybe coffee would do the trick and give me a few hours of work before I crashed again. If Hopper let me sleep. Were waterhounds nocturnal?
“I will not wear a mask.”
“Why not?” I filled the pot and pushed the buttons so the ancient thing hissed to life. “Serial killer like you should want some anonymity, right? What if someone recognizes you and summons some of those vampire hunters? The silicone would let you walk around during daylight. What’s the issue?”
Annoyance filtered through whatever he projected at my thoughts, and I folded my arms. “You asked me to find an immediate solution. That’s it. Not ideal, I agree, but good enough for now.”
Dragomir looked down the hall toward where Hopper no doubt soaked every inch of the bathroom. The vampire remained unmoving as the coffee brewed, as I poured myself a cup, as I sat down at the table to sip it and prop my leg up.
The vampire turned without an explanation for his distraction. “You have the requested equipment. You will use it.”
“I have to go slow,” I said. The coffee definitely wasn’t working. My eyelids drooped even more since I wasn’t being splashed with cold water every ten seconds. “If I turn on two machines, maybe three, it blows the breakers and I have to start over. I’m not going to start my research when I can’t be sure the equipment will run long enough to complete the task.”
Dragomir watched with cold dark eyes as I dragged myself to the fridge, pulled out a bag of blood, and squirted a drop or two into the coffee. It didn’t gross me out quite as much, since I knew the results were worth the temporary ickiness. I closed my eyes and sipped, waiting for the rush.
It didn’t come.
I glanced down into the mug. Two drops didn’t do it.
The mug flew out of my hand and I found myself pinned against the wall once again. Dragomir held my throat and the front of my shirt to hold me immobile. His eyes flashed silver. “You do enjoy your blood, little gazelle. Perhaps you will feed from me one day.”
That got the revulsion back. The cool, papery feel of his palm against my throat made my toes curl in alarm. “It’s just for energy. I don’t like it. But if you want me to figure this shit out, I need amphetamines or this. If you procure some speed, I’ll roll the dice. For now, this is what I’ve got.”
He smiled without any amusement, displaying two very long, very sharp fangs. “You must use caution. Your injuries heal too quickly. Someone will note it.”
“Come on,” I said. I kicked my feet, dangling a foot off the ground, and gripped the wrist near my neck. “Everyone already thinks it’s a bullshit story. It’ll be easier if people think the doctors were over-cautious. I’ll saw this damn cast off tomorrow so I can actually move around, and we’ll all be happier.”
Dragomir might have stood there all night if something hadn’t scampered across the living room, bounced off the couch, and sunk its teeth into his shoulder. Hopper’s green eyes flashed a brilliant scarlet and then his teeth got bigger with a savage growl.
The vampire spun, flinging the waterhound across the room against the wall. I dropped to the ground, coughing and rubbing my throat, and made a face as sludgy black blood dripped from Dragomir’s shoulder. So that was what I gulped down so casually. Fucking gross.
The vampire bared his fangs at the waterhound, hissing, and his nails lengthened into freaky knives. He braced for battle and waited for Hopper’s next move. I scrambled around him to crouch near the waterhound. “Dragomir, stop. Leave him alone.”
Whatever humanity remained in Dragomir disappeared as he stared down the cryptid. My instincts screamed to run, to hide, to let the waterhound defend me so I could escape. No wonder the vampires mesmerized their victims; one look at him meant the adrenaline dump of a lifetime. At least the puddle from Hopper’s dripping wet fur masked whatever I might contributed to it.
The vampire straightened, brushed his hair back into place, and adjusted his tie. “My patience wears thin, Ada.”
“I could hardly tell.” I took a deep breath. My heart had to stop pounding eventually. I’d have nightmares about his eyes for the rest of my life, but at least I’d faced Death and survived.
“You are being melodramatic.”
“And you’re being really nosy.” I leaned against the couch and studied him. The suit jacket stayed ripped and stained, but no new blood fell. Self-sealing wounds, maybe? Ultrafast healing? Magic? “Look, I need a generator and some kind of metal container for the lab stuff. Generator is more important than the other. If you feel inclined to obtain one, just leave cash. People can investigate purchase orders and come up with weird information.”
His attention sharpened. “Who?”
I cleared my throat and hauled myself off the floor to the couch cushions. Hopper remained crouched next to me, whiskers trembling, with his own wounds opened back up. “If someone called the company that delivered the lab equipment, they would find out that a company in Chicago purchased it for delivery. And they could google that company to figure out it has nothing to do with medical supplies or research. That could be suspicious.”
“More suspicious than a destitute woman having tens of thousands of dollars in cash?”
“I’m not destitute,” I muttered. “I’m frugal. And yeah, it’s more suspicious. There’s a paper trail, and that means people can unravel it. Cash is better.”
His upper lip twitched and the tip of his fang peeped out. “I will consider it.”
“Something else to consider,” I called as he moved toward the front door. “Maybe don’t name your company after Vlad the Impaler’s hometown. Seriously? Did you think no one would notice that? Or are you taunting someone? Do vampires not believe in subtlety?”
The door slammed behind him and I snorted, letting my head rest against the cushions. Wonderful.