Flameout by Keri Arthur

“I’ll report what happened, and will probably be back once the power is restored.”
    â€œCan’t be sad about that.” Frank’s smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. He made a motion with his hand. “After you.”
    â€œWhat rumors did you hear about Rosen’s death?” I asked as we headed out of the apartment. “The gossip at the office is that he was attacked by a vampire, but that can’t be right, surely?”
    Frank shrugged and punched the CA LL button. “The men from the special unit didn’t say much, but the two cops who initially searched the apartment did say it was a vampire.”
    â€œI wouldn’t have thought a man like Rosen would have much to do with vamps,” Jackson said.
    The elevator appeared and we all stepped in. “You’d think so, but he seemed to get a lot of visits from them.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
    Frank nodded. “Yeah. None of my business, of course, but it’s hard not to notice things like that.”
    Instinct began to prickle, and I wasn’t entirely sure why. “Can you describe any of them?”
    As the elevator began its descent, Frank shrugged and said, “The one who visited most was tall, with gray hair, thin features, and these weird old-fashioned rimmed glasses that seemed precariously perched at the end of his nose.”
    Which was an almost exact description of the vampire we knew only as Professor Heaton. That prickle of wrongness got stronger. I glanced at Jackson and saw him surreptitiously open the backpack then roll up the file I’d taken.
    I stepped forward, blocking Frank’s view of him as the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open. “I don’t suppose you know why he visited so often, do you?”
    â€œTo be truly factual, I have never
actually
visited Rosen here,” a new voice said. “But if I had, it would be for the same reason as now. For information.”
    Fear surged, and I had to clench my fists against the fire that instinctively sparked across my fingertips.
    Because the man who was now blocking our exit was none other than Heaton himself.

C HAPTER 4
    â€œW hat the fuck is going on?” Shona said, her tone a mix of outrage and fear. “Frank, do you know this man?”
    â€œNo, he doesn’t.” Though amusement touched Heaton’s lips, there was nothing warm or pleasant about his smile. “As I’ve already said, this is the first time I’ve appeared in this building.”
    â€œThen why would he give such an accurate description of you?” The fear was stronger in Shona’s voice. She glanced at Jackson, then at me, obviously seeking some sort of clarification.
    â€œI’m afraid Frank was just relaying what Heaton here wished him to say,” I said softly. “He’s under Heaton’s control.”
    â€œHe’s a vampire? Oh shit,” she muttered, and took a step back.
    â€œTo put it mildly.” Jackson placed himself in front of Shona. “Let them go, Heaton. Neither she nor the guard know anything about our purpose here.”
    â€œOh, that much I already know.” His smile gained a predatory edge. “Nor will they remember this little encounter. They are, however, excellent hostages against your good behavior.”
    He made a brief motion with his hand, and bothFrank and Shona collapsed. Jackson swore and somehow managed to catch Shona before she hit the ground
and
keep his back to the wall.
    I stared at Heaton, the unease becoming full-blown fear. While most vamps
could
read the minds of others, they rarely had carte blanche access, let alone the capability to take over the minds of their victims so completely that they could control body functions.
    And I was suddenly very,
very
glad that both Jackson and I were immune to such mental invasions.
    â€œThey’re fine.” Heaton’s low, almost pleasant tone was totally at odds