Solving the Vampire Murders

thirteen

The quick drive from her sorority house in Ypsilanti to Faris' lab at The University of Michigan's Biomedical Science Research Building was over before Mandy had time to frame her thoughts.

While she wasn't quite sure what he was researching, she knew it had something to do with vampire well-being.

Easing her car into the nearby parking garage, Mandy hurried along the empty street until she saw Faris perched in front of the massive research building. It was a collection of windows and lights against the inky night—modern architecture in striking contrast to the campus' historic feel.

Eastern Michigan University shared none of Big Blue's prestige. It was the ugly little brother, banished to the shadows of it's more worthy sibling.

"That's quite the outfit," Faris said in his smooth voice. "I can't say I was a fan of the eighties. Too loud."

Mandy pursed her lips. "I could say the same about your outfit. Scrubs? Should I start calling you Doctor Faris?"

"You most certainly can. I've had the title conferred upon me twelve times. Once I finish my research, it'll be thirteen."

Mandy slipped her arm through his. "Come on, Dr. Faris. Let's get inside before undergrads start asking which frat is hosting the costume party."

Faris tried to hide his smile as he entered a passcode into the lock, then pushed open the door. "After you."

He led her through the airy halls over to an elevator that took them down a level. After a series of twisting hallways, Faris unlocked another heavy metal door.

"Welcome to my home away from home." He flicked a set of lights on and hung his keys on a hook.

Mandy stepped cautiously inside, taking in the scents and sounds of the laboratory. The rush of filtered air. The acidic tang of chemicals. Percolating water and beeping equipment.

The lab was devoid of natural light, dark curtains blocking out what little light the high windows would have provided during the day. Mandy caught the stale aroma of cold human blood, and a wave of nausea rocked against her. Blood was kinda like potato salad at a picnic--questionable when left out too long. Smells aside, whenever she had imagined Faris' laboratory, it was clean and polished and bright. Much like him.

A grin twisted its way around her lips. "You're kidding me, right?"

"What?" Faris said leerily.

"This lab screams vampire. It's like you're not even trying to hide it. I mean, do you have a coffin stashed somewhere?"

"That would be impractical. And my lab does not scream vampire. It screams, busy. Which I am—or I was until you called." He mussed his already messy hair, curls uncharacteristically wild. "What was so urgent that you needed to speak in person?"

Torren's name bubbled on her tongue, but she didn't know how to broach the topic. Faris' moods were difficult to read, and she needed to catch him at just the right moment.

"You do realize this whole building is like one big window. Did you have to put in a special request to get a basement view?" Mandy said, trying to ignore the way Faris was staring at her. And the way it made her lifeless heart twitch in her chest. "How did you even get my call down here?

Faris' mouth quirked up in an infuriating grin. "It's called a sat phone, love. Maybe if you put it on your Crimbo list, Father Christmas will bring you one."

"Ugh, Crimbo?" Mandy picked up one of the lab reports cluttering his desk. Thumbing through pages of data organized into neat little columns and rows. "You know, I used to think British accents were hot."

Faris was at her side in the span of a breath. He snatched the thick lab report out of her hand, causing Mandy's new instincts to pump fiery adrenaline through her veins. A primal fury. As a new vampire, her brain was inundated with stimuli that demanded attention, but anger and self-defense, well, they muted everything else.

Clasping hold of Faris' wrist, Mandy yanked hard and set him off-balance. When she had been human, his skin felt cold and hard. But now, it was warm. Hot even as her grip tightened. Mandy took advantage of his momentum and twisted his arm behind his back, sharp fangs peeking from behind her lips.

She was strong, but Faris was long-limbed and exceptionally quick. With his free hand, Faris latched on to her bicep, pain lacing his touch, and whirled her around so they were face to face. His hands like claws on her shoulders.

The urge to strike rose in her throat. Growing with each passing moment as she fell deeper into his poisonous green eyes. Mandy didn't want to bite him. She wanted to consume him. Not just the thick cords of his neck, but every piece of him. An urgent desire that demanded action.

Twisting out of his grip, Mandy grabbed both of his wrists and hugged them against his back, nails digging into hard flesh as a snarl rattled her throat.

For a long moment, the two vampires stared at each other. Chest to chest. Skin touching skin. The thrum of a centrifuge and the low beep of a digital timer like music, rising and falling with their breath. Faris curled his lip, and Mandy knew that he wasn't even trying. He was toying with her—a game for the newbie.

Sense poured over her like frozen pond water, and Mandy dropped his wrists. Faris stared back at her with that infuriating grin. Strands of unruly hair falling in his eyes.

He blew a stray curl out of his perfect face before saying, "We both know that isn't true."

"What?" Mandy gasped. Breath coming and going in fits and starts. "What isn't true?"

Faris took a lazy step forward, his thumb coming to rest on her long chin. If her heart could race, it would be blazing a trail. "You love the way I talk."

"Get over yourself," Mandy replied. Not allowing her cheek to fall into his hand. "You baited me into that."

He dropped his thumb, letting smooth fingers glide down her throat. "Maybe."

Mandy sent her gaze to the polished concrete floor. Fingers seeking out the tin of mints from her purse.

Fading back to his desk, Faris grabbed a micropipette and returned to his work. Attended to his chirping lab like a needy child, silencing the incessant timer and checking on a set of test tubes bubbling away in a hot water bath. Mandy let the mints do their job, fizzling on her tongue and calming her mind.

"If you're hungry, I have fresh bags." Faris motioned across the lab to a row of floor-to-ceiling refrigerators, taking a seat on a low stool.

"Maybe later," Mandy said. Setting her purse down on his desk, she watched him slip on medical gloves and a face mask before pulling a set of slides out from a drawer. With practiced movements, he extracted a single test tube with a set of prongs and placed it in a rack. Smoke billowed over the clear liquid as he slid the micropipette inside. The liquid hissed as he dribbled it onto the wet slide.

Mandy crept over to his stool, stopping just over his shoulder.

"So, what are you working on?"

Faris closed his eyes. Tension cording the lines of his forehead. "Answer my question, and maybe I'll answer yours."

Mandy's throat went dry. She didn't know how to ask this of him. Please help me keep my friend out of trouble? Lie for me? Now that she was here, the words stuck in her throat.

When she didn't answer, Faris opened his eyes and went back to work. Inserting the slide into a microscope that had more dials than seemed necessary, adjusting each one as he squinted in the eyepiece.

"Why don't you start by telling me what's so bloody important you had to drive to Ann Arbor in the middle of the night?"