Vampire: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella by Rebecca Zanetti (love letters to the dead .txt) 📕

Mariana paused. She should’ve thought of that. “Okay.” She started the camera, and a beautiful woman with soft brown eyes and long brown hair came into view. Mariana compared the woman in the phone to a picture of Dr. Cooper online, and then spent about thirty minutes questioning the woman about neurology, some of the papers she’d written, and other tidbits. By the end of the time, Mariana was convinced the woman on the phone was Dr. Cooper. “Sorry about the inquisition,” she murmured.

Faith laughed. “No problem. Hearing that there’s yet another unknown genetic mutation that causes death is common, but hearing there’s one that causes a male like Raine to die quickly has to make you suspicious. I don’t blame you.”

Mariana sat back at her table. “So it’s true? I don’t see how.”

Faith was dressed in a pretty yellow sweater that contrasted with the rain falling outside the window behind her. “The Maxwell Curse is a little like Huntington’s disease, where a person is healthy until the disease takes effect—usually in the thirties or forties. Or Alzheimer’s, which doesn’t attack until later in life. But for those inflicted with Maxwell’s, the decline is rapid once symptoms appear.”

Holy crap. Nausea rolled through Mariana’s stomach. She was such an asshole. “I thought he was making it up as a come-on,” she whispered.

Faith winced. “Yeah, it does sound crazy if you were looking at him, because he looks so healthy. But the decline will be rapid unless he gets the cure.”

Mariana stiffened. “There’s a cure?”

Faith blanched. “There’s a treatment, I guess. Not really a cure. But sometimes the treatment causes more complications than the disease, and I’m sure Raine is concerned about that.”

“What’s the treatment?” Mariana asked, ignoring the man now lounging on her sofa and flipping through channels to a soccer game.

Faith grimaced. “That’s all I’ve been cleared to tell you. HIPAA laws and all of that. You’ll have to get more information from Raine, and I think you should. You really should.”

“Hey. Enough with my phone.” Benny came into focus. “I have a mission to do, and I’m going now. I hope you found your answers, Lopez. If not, punch Raine a few times and make him tell you everything. I swear. Why does everyone have to make every damn situation so difficult these days? Fate matters. When you find the one, you—” The phone went dead.

Mariana stared at the blank screen. “I think somebody disengaged the call. What was Benny talking about?”

Raine didn’t look away from the soccer match. “Benjamin Reese is a quart low of a full tank, if you know what I mean. He’s slightly nutty but a great guy in a fight—so long as he remembers who’s on his side.”

Mariana left her phone in place and poured two glasses of wine this time, taking one over to Raine on the sofa. “I owe you an apology.”

He took the glass. “Don’t worry about it.”

She gingerly touched his arm and waited until he turned to face her. “I’m very sorry I made light of your illness. Honestly, I thought you were lying. It all seems so bizarre.” But comparing the genetic illness to Huntington’s or Alzheimer’s did bring the reality home. “I don’t want you to die.”

His lip quirked. “Sorry. Now you have to be the one to pull the plug.”

She dropped her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I was just kidding. Don’t worry about it. I understand that it’s all crazy, and since I’m not telling you some details, I’m sure this doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to die, believe me. But I think I made the most of what time I was given.”

She set down her full wineglass. “What’s the treatment you don’t want to try?” If she was in the same boat, she’d probably try any treatment to stay alive, unless it was so horrible it wasn’t worth it.

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to use the treatment, so there’s no reason to discuss it.”

She leaned into him as one of the teams scored a goal and the crowd went nuts on the television. “Is the treatment painful? Experimental?”

He rubbed his knuckle along her jawline, sending nice tingles through her face. “Can we not discuss this any longer? I don’t like talking about any of this, and honestly, this is as open as I’ve been in a long while. Let’s just enjoy a few moments of wine and a game, and then we can get back to your case. I really do want to take this stalker out before I have to head home.” He turned to her, set an arm over her shoulders, and tugged her against him.

She stiffened for the briefest of seconds and then snuggled into his side. It felt right. They felt right. Why couldn’t she take time to explore this? “Please tell me about the treatments. Maybe there’s something I could do.”

His chest moved as he chuckled. “How about you just relax and enjoy the moment with me?” Then he leaned them both over and reclaimed her wine glass to set in her hand before settling back.

It wasn’t too much for him to ask. “Okay. One more question. You said the disease only affects male members of your family. Do you have any brothers and have they already gone through this?” She took a sip of the drink, her mind still reeling.

“Yeah. I have six brothers, and I’m the oldest. The disease has hit me first in this generation.” He kissed the top of her head and then kicked his legs out to relax. “My offer of sex as we work this case is still on the table.”

She choked on her wine even as her body perked right up.

The doorbell rang, and she jumped. “I’ll get it.”

“No.” He released her and set his wine down. “I’ve got it.” He stretched to his feet, appearing so healthy and virile that it hurt to look at him.

She peered over her shoulder at the door