As Long As Read Online Free PDF Page A

finding the cell gone.
    Because she’d been outmaneuvered by a vampire.
    Oh no!
    No.
    Where had that thought come from? He wasn’t a vampire. He was just a man claiming to be one...and for some reason, he’d seemed to have the strength and ethos to back it up. Come on, Geena. Vampires don’t exist . But then, how could she explain it? He’d had fangs. He’d bitten her. She had two sore spots on her neck that got there somehow. It wasn’t possible...but what other explanation was there? How could she tell anyone? There wasn’t any way to explain what happened.
    That was the bottom line. And once she’d reached that conclusion, the rest of her decisions came easier. It was best to remain silent. She wouldn’t alert anyone. To anything.
    It wouldn’t be the first time.
    Besides, she still had the statue to deal with. It seemed to be reaching for her, despite how she’d wrapped it in layers of soft cotton, followed by several yards of shrink wrap, and then secured it in her hotel safe. Secured. Far from sight. Out of mind.
    It hadn’t worked.
    She knew why. She’d translated the inscription, including those along the base. Armand had been right. There was a curse. Anyone touching an item from the tomb of the Pharaoh Senusret the Fourth would die. Horribly. Gruesomely. Painfully. The curse couldn’t be stopped. It would always be there. Coming.
    For as long as it took.
    If any of this was true, the vampire man would be back. It was inescapable. Immutable. Inexorable. The only thing she didn’t know was when. That’s the reason she’d booked this suite. Purchased a floor-length, white-satin evening gown with matching heels. Taken a lengthy bath in scented oil. She couldn’t remember the brand, something expensive and exotic. Dressed with particular care. She’d pinned her hair up. Highlighted her eyes with liquid liner. Applied ruby-shaded lipstick. That was also why she’d ordered the most expensive thing on the room service menu.
    Lobster tail. Delivered in a silver bucket. Still steaming as it arrived.
    The remnants of her selection rested on fine bone china, alongside silver utensils, accompanied by a crystal goblet filled with champagne. All atop a pristine white tablecloth. Complete with a set of tall candles. It had been delivered by a fellow in a white suit. He’d assembled her dinner, lit the tapers, dimmed the room lights, and then he’d wished her a good evening before he’d gone.
    She’d followed him. Set the dead bolt. Wedged a triangular doorstop into place beneath the door. She was alone. Still. Again.
    Geena sucked on the succulent morsel for some time, pondering the blend of flavor and how it caressed her tongue. The butter-covered lobster bombarded her taste buds with flavor. She hadn’t given much thought to why some people could be gourmets. Take such time and care over food. But now, she knew. Food could be absolute heaven. She couldn’t remember her senses being so aware. Taste was just one of them. Every sense had heightened. Nothing was in muted gray tones anymore. All around her was color. Brightness. Life.
    All of it infinitely precious.
    She swallowed her lobster, pressed the linen napkin to her lips before setting it atop her plate, lifted her champagne flute and rose from the chair. The sunset from her balcony window called to her. She watched reds and yellows mesh into oranges as they transformed the sky into a vista of beauty against a wash of encroaching darkness.
    She inhaled a deep breath of sun-baked air. Even that was vivid, the smell tempered by some sort of spice aroma. It felt as if someone had turned on a switch deep within her somehow. And she didn’t know how to turn it off. Or even, where to find it. All because of him.
    That vampire.
    She lifted her chin. Drained the glass. And barely kept a gasp from sounding when she’d finished, although she lurched back a half-step. There was a man on the balcony with her. Just inside the drape edge at one side. A large