Enduring Service Read Online Free PDF Page B

any elderly history professor you’d stumble upon on any college campus.
    Dixon took in a deep breath. Daniel was living the life Dixon had asked for, but could not have because the Vampire Council had denied his request. He couldn’t hold it against Daniel for being a vampire, but grew envious as hell for the vamp’s good fortune.
    He now stared at the empty spot at the table. Sulie usually sat next to Dixon, but tonight her chair remained empty. She should be here.
    Each time he heard a car approaching the mansion, Dixon felt hopeful. But each time, it wasn’t Sulie. As the night went on, his worry increased, especially since she didn’t answer her cell phone.
    He had sent her six unanswered texts over the last few hours. She always answered his calls and texts. He shifted in his seat and tried to get comfortable, but it seemed a lost cause. His mind wasn’t on poker, and he had already lost every hand they played. Studying his watch, he asked for the fourth time, “Shouldn’t Sulie be here by now?”
    “I’m sure she’s fine,” Raymond assured him. He dealt another round, but Dixon didn’t even glance at his cards. Instead, Dixon tried to fill his mind with technical details of weapons and other work related information. He knew his worry was manifested into strong emotions and thought patterns that Raymond could easily pick up. The last thing he wanted to do was to alarm Raymond that a human was interested in his sister.
    “She’s been late before. Why are you so worried?” Ben asked.
    Damn. Ben’s ability to pick up a human aura had been always the hardest for Dixon to fool.
    “Sulie seemed irritable today,” Dixon said, latching onto something which had bothered him since lunch. “Something was obviously on her mind, but she wouldn’t tell me what bothered her. We went to lunch today, and she had so many double scotches the waiter refused to serve her more.”
    “Scotch?” Ben asked. Everyone at the table exchanged glances.
    “It does sound rather off,” Daniel said in his faded English accent.
    “That doesn’t sound like her,” Sterling added.
    It didn’t. Dixon knew she never went for the hard stuff. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He should have pressed her for more details. “After the press conference, she received a call from the hospital and left. I haven’t seen or talked to her since.”
    “Well, we all saw her at the press conference earlier,” Sterling said. “But, I haven’t talked to her since last night.”
    Daniel shook his head. “Yesterday morning for me.”
    “Breakfast — two days ago,” Ben added.
    “So I was the last one to see her? That was about 3:00 this afternoon.” He raked through his snowy white hair. “She’s been gone hours and no one knows where she is.”
    “I got a text from her a little after she left you,” Raymond said.
    Dixon darted his eyes over to Raymond’s. “And?” Dixon demanded, his voice slightly raised.
    Raymond tossed his cards on the table, obviously giving up any hope of continuing the game. He took a deep breath, and then in an even tone said, “She was upset.”
    Dixon now sat at the edge of his chair, not even caring that he had given up quoting long range scanner variants in his mind. “What did she text?”
    “It’s a private matter.”
    Dixon felt the tension in the air and knew something was up; he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Of course, Sulie and Raymond were close, but it almost sounded like they were keeping secrets. That didn’t sound like either of them. He looked around the table at the other team members. The expressions on their faces were those of surprise as well.
    Raising his voice, Dixon asked, “Why was she upset?”
    Raymond shook his head. “Again, it was personal.”
    “Damn it, Raymond. Something could have happened to her. No one has heard from her in hours, she’s not answering her phone… she could be hurt, in the hospital, or something.”
    Biting his lip, Raymond said