Chapter 23

Back in her dorm room, Rachael had her laptop open. Scrappy snuggled up next to her leg while she looked through report after report noting the violent actions of one Sasha Thornsby. Even though Rachael had written several of the scenes noted in the reports herself, she wanted to go through as many as she possibly could, especially the ones she wasn’t aware of for whatever reason. Sasha had been around for hundreds of years, so there were plenty that predated the antagonistic relationship between the bloodsucker and Chell. The ones from before the hunter entered her life were foreign to Rachael, as were Sasha's activities in other parts of the world.

She’d accessed a database she wasn’t supposed to even know existed yet. It wasn’t something students were ever made aware of, not unless they were asked to join the team. If that happened at all, it wouldn’t be until after she finished her two year program. So Rachael should’ve had no idea the VRD, or Vampire Reports Database, for lack of a cooler sounding name, even existed, let alone known how to get in without being granted credentials or her own password. She was using Chell’s, which had never been deactivated. If anyone happened to check the logs in the next few days to see who had been snooping around, they might get a little bit of a shock, but she doubted anyone would be paying too close attention to the login history.

Sasha was a beast. Page after page of detailed accounts of her murderous rampages read like a series of horror movies. Rachael had purposely crafted the woman to be a badass, nearly unstoppable, so that Chell would have to be all the stronger for taking her out. Of course, if Rachael had realized at the time she’d actually be the one who’d have to find a way to destroy the vampire once and for all, she might’ve written in an Achilles heel. Since there didn’t seem to be one, she hoped information from the reports might be useful. So far, all it was doing was making her stomach roll and her head hurt.

At least her bed was comfortable. After she’d gotten completely unpacked, she’d realized her bed at home had a full-sized mattress, and this was a queen, so she’d had to go into town to buy some new linens. Imagine her surprise when she saw the exact same comforter set that Chell had purchased two years ago still on the shelf in her local discount department store. The red and gold really did look nice with the beige walls of the bedroom, and the fabric was a lot softer than Rachael had realized. Scrappy was comfortable, anyway, and that meant something. She wished she could put her computer down and get some rest herself, but she had a feeling the moment she closed her eyes, nightmares where Sasha ripped her throat out would invade her every thought.

It was getting late. The clock on her nightstand said it was past midnight, and she could hear Jazz’s box fan whirring through the wall, though it wasn’t as loud in her bedroom as it had been when she'd heard it from the hallway earlier. The idea that she should quit reading about drained bodies and terrorized teens crossed her mind again. She could go to the library tomorrow and see if there was anything helpful in there. That had been where Chell had discovered the spell that had locked Sasha in that cave. There might be other useful incantations to be had. Perhaps she could go back to the original manuscript notes she still had on her laptop, the earliest version, and plug some magic words in. Would that work?

A light knock on her door had her pausing mid-solution. Who would be stopping by this time of night? She figured it had to be Rex. He had seemed just as concerned about Sasha as Rachael was earlier. She set her laptop aside and went to the door, glad she was still somewhat presentable in a nice pair of pajamas she’d picked up at the store. Not only were the adorable bunnies hard to pass up, she realized she couldn’t let any more of her teammates catch her looking a mess the way Graham had.

Her planning paid off when she pulled the door open to see familiar lavender eyes. “Graham?” Her voice was a squeaky whisper. “What are you doing here?

“Sorry. I didn’t wake you did I?

Realizing her surprise may have sounded unwelcoming, Rachael shook her head and found a smile. “No, not at all. I thought… you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.

“I wasn’t.” He shifted his weight from one black boot to the other. “I have to leave again in the morning, in a few hours. I just… wanted to see if you got settled okay.

A glint in his eyes told her this was more than just checking up on a new recruit, though she couldn’t quite identify what it was about his tone, the way he was looking at her, that let her know that was the case. Rachael felt her heart pound inside of her chest as she weighed the options. “I did, thanks,” she muttered, leaning against the door and trying to decide whether or not she should ask him in. Why was he really here?

“Good. Did Trip help you with the boxes?

“Nah, I got Rex to help me. He’s a good kid.

Graham chuckled, running a hand through those luscious locks. “Yeah, he is a good kid. He’s not that much younger than you, Rach.

She shrugged. “I’m old enough to be these kids'... older sister. Or aunt.” She wasn't old enough to be their mom, even if it seemed like it.

He shook his head at her but didn’t further comment. Scrappy suddenly sprang to life behind her, realizing who was at the door, and shot past the partially open divide between the living room and bedroom, on Graham’s leg before even the lightning fast vampire hunter could react. “Well, hello there, kitty.

“Sorry.” Rachael had gotten the impression he wasn’t a huge fan of cats, but he wasn’t backing away now like he had the other day at her apartment. “She just really loves you.

He bent down to pet her, and Scrappy's purring filled the hall. “It’s okay. She’s sweet.” He stood, and Scrappy laid down on the floor at his feet, still tired from her exhausting day of catnapping.

Again, as lavender met blue, she pondered whether she should ask him in. She hadn’t even asked about his trip or where he was headed the next day. Or why he was here….

“I should probably let you get some sleep. I’m sure it’s been a long day for you.

“Oh, yeah. Well, okay.” Sentences, Rachael, she scolded herself. “I mean… I was just surfing the Internet. Did you….” she paused, watching his face for an indication that he knew what she was going to ask and how he might respond. His eyebrows arched, but he didn’t do her the service of jumping in and finishing the sentence. “Did you get your recruit?” On the inside, she groaned, thinking she probably sounded as stupid to him as she did to herself.

“I did. His name is Tony. He’s a little older than the other two kids, twenty-two. He’ll be here next week.

“Great.” She wondered what Tony would be like, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the man in front of her to try and picture him. Graham was wearing his leather jacket, and though he looked tired, his five o’clock shadow long passed into something closer to a fifteen year old’s first attempt at a beard, thoughts of grabbing his collar and tugging him into her room came to mind, and she had to fight them off to hear what he was saying.

“I should be back to campus tomorrow afternoon. Feel free to wander around tomorrow. Visit the library, go watch the training in the gym, that sort of thing. You can use the workout room, too, if you want to. You should have your first semester schedule tomorrow or the next day, and Trip will probably stop by tomorrow with your badge and any access codes you didn’t get today.

“Awesome.” She wished she could think of something better to say, but visions of pressing herself against him, of sinking her teeth into that bottom lip, were messing with her head.

He shifted again; she knew he was going to walk away, and she wouldn’t see him again until tomorrow afternoon at best. While she wanted him to stay, she had to remember this wasn’t just a book to him. He had just lost a very real fiancee, and it was way too soon for him to be considering starting anything up.

So… why was he there?

“Have a good night, Rach.

“Thanks. You too. Thank you for stopping by.

Graham smiled at her, holding her gaze for a second, and then headed off down the hallway. Scrappy stood, watching him with longing in her eyes, and Rachael focused on her cat, not his retreating form, though her heart concurred with her kitty. “Come on, Scrap. Let’s get some sleep.

Reluctantly, Scrappy headed inside of the dorm room, and Rachael locked the door, flicking off the main light switch as she headed back to her bedroom. Exactly why Graham had shown up, she might not ever know. But the fact that he had done so left a smile on her face.

She didn’t put her laptop away just yet, though. Instead, she logged out of VRD and searched for, “How long after a girlfriend dies can I make my move?

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