Page 85 of Damian’s Conquest

Ryder raised an eyebrow.

“Pancreatic cancer,” Damian said.

“Shit!” Ryder sighed. “This isn’t gonna be an easy case to judge. How do we punish her for what she’s done to Mick and Tracy? It’s not all black and white.”

“No, it’s not. I hope I won’t have to make that decision.”

“Then who? The vampire council?” Vanessa asked, while she let her blood drip into Tracy’s mouth.

“If it comes to that.” Damian motioned to Tracy. “She and Mick will have a say in it. But for right now, we have to bring everybody to HQ, including Ralph. We can’t take the chance of him talking to anybody about what’s going on here.” He turned to the door. “Cooper and I will get him ready, and once the ambulance arrives, we’ll transport them both back to Scanguards.”

36

The ambulance pulled into Scanguards’ parking garage, and Naomi watched it stop right in front of the elevators, two dark SUVs entering behind it. The driver jumped out of the ambulance, and with relief, Naomi saw that Damian was uninjured. Without looking at her or at Nina and Amaury, with whom she’d been waiting for their arrival, he ran to the back of the ambulance, and opened the doors.

Damian helped lift out the gurney, and Maya, who Amaury had explained was the vampire physician who ran the medical center, jumped out. Together, they rolled the gurney toward the elevators. On it lay Tracy. She was unconscious.

“Damian,” Naomi said, and walked toward him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

He cast her a quick look, but she didn’t see the warmth in his eyes with which he normally looked at her.

“I’m Benjamin.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Damian is behind me.”

“Oh, sorry.” She whirled around, and saw Damian help a frail young man out of the SUV. She looked at the stranger’s face, and could barely recognize him as Ralph Lassiter, the man whose driver’s license Eddie had projected on the monitor in the conference room. His cheeks were hollow, and his eyes had sunken in, his skin had an ashen quality to it. He looked gravely ill. This man, who by the looks of it couldn’t walk on his own, and was now helped by both Damian and Sebastian, was the thief who’d kidnapped Mick and his girlfriend? Impossible.

She caught Damian’s gaze, and their eyes locked for a moment. Yes, this was Damian. How could she have ever mistaken Benjamin for him? Though they were identical twins, there was something in Damian’s eyes that made him look so very different from his bother. She saw that now, and she realized that she would never again mix the two brothers up.

“Hey,” he murmured softly as he and Sebastian passed her with Ralph.

“Hey,” she replied, then looked back toward the elevator where Maya and Benjamin were waiting with the gurney.

Nina stepped closer to Maya and Benjamin. “How is she?”

“Morphine overdose, but I gave her Naloxone in the ambulance,” Maya, a beautiful dark-haired woman who looked like she was in her thirties replied. But just like Nina, she was much older than she looked. “She’ll pull through, but she has a few rough hours ahead of her.”

The elevator doors opened, and a young woman exited, pushing an empty wheelchair. While Benjamin and Maya wheeled the gurney into the elevator, Damian and Cooper helped Ralph into the wheelchair.

“Jenny,” Damian ordered the young woman, “take him down into the med center. Maya will check him out after she’s taken care of Tracy. Cooper, go with her. And send the elevator back up for us.”

When the elevator doors closed behind them, Damian walked back to Naomi and hugged her for a short moment. “Everything went well.”

She sighed with relief. “I was worried that something would go wrong.”

Damian released her and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s all over now. But it wasn’t exactly what we expected.”

“What’s wrong with Ralph?” she asked. “He looks sick.”

“Pancreatic cancer. Final stage.”

Shocked, a gasp issued from her throat.

Damian turned to his parents, and Naomi’s gaze fell onto a woman and a man who’d gotten out of the second SUV. They had to be Ryder and Vanessa, who’d helped with Tracy’s rescue.

“Have Grayson and Sebastian gotten back yet with Cynthia Lassiter and Mick?” Damian asked, addressing his father.

“They got here fifteen minutes ago. Cynthia is locked up downstairs for now. Mick is upstairs in the conference room. We were waiting for you. Didn’t want him to have to tell us everything twice,” Amaury replied.

Damian nodded. “Good. Let’s talk to him.” He put his arm around Naomi’s waist, and together, they all packed into the elevator.