Rayne stood at the massive island in the middle of the kitchen, staring down at the amazing omelet Camden had made her. It was absolutely delicious! She hadn't eaten that well in a while. She took another bite and watched as he used a hand towel to dry the dishes he'd just washed.
It felt right. Two people, friends, hanging out in the kitchen, bantering back and forth with sarcastic remarks and comebacks. They joked and laughed. There was no awkwardness at all, and it almost made her forget all the chaos that was happening around her.
Almost...
She didn't know what was different. Maybe it was the peace of mind after realizing that she was meant to be there for whatever reason. Things were going to happen as they were meant to, one way or another. She wasn't going to worry or avoid certain circumstances or situations that may or may not ever happen. Life as she knew it was already over, anyway. There was no going back to normalcy once you had learned the things she had.
Vampires do exist...
She'd battled with the notion all morning, fighting all logical sense that told her it couldn't be. She wrestled with fact over fiction and while her mind told her there was no possible way, she could not deny the bulletproof evidence that was sitting right in front of her. It was irrefutable, so she might as well accept it and run with it.
If it turned out badly, well, then she would either be a better person for it or she wouldn't be around to regret it.
Rayne popped the last bit of her eggs into her mouth and pushed the plate toward him. "So, when are you going to answer my questions?" she asked, coming around the counter to grab the sponge to wash her plate.
"Ask away," he said, and turned to place a pan in the cabinet. He came back to the counter and crossed his sculpted arms over his chest, leaning against the island as he watched her.
"Ok. How did you meet my grandfather?"
Camden inhaled deeply and thought for a moment. "Remember when I told you that some of us vampires feed by getting close to people or places that have access to blood?"
She nodded and began rinsing the plate. She kept her focus on the dish, unsure of what answers she was going to get and whether or not she was going to like them. She had this image of her grandfather in her mind, and she didn't want it to change because she learned of some inside deals with the wrong crowd. But she wasn't going to let it stop her. She clenched her teeth and prepared herself.
"Well, that's what I did. A few years before all of the stuff with the formula went down, I heard about an opening at a pharmaceutical lab for a night guard. I figured that would be a good place to get blood samples, so I took it."
Rayne raised an eyebrow at him as she turned off the water and grabbed the towel. She dried the plate and handed it to him. She shook her head. "If you had all this money, why didn't you just buy blood from someone? I'm sure there are people out there who would gladly sell blood for a handful of cash. Just seems like that would be easier. Why take a job if you didn't need the money?"
Camden shrugged and moved to put the plate away. "Remember, this was almost thirty years ago. Vampires are still hush-hush now, but it was even worse then, not nearly as many knew about us." He shrugged. "Now it's not a problem. I've paid lots of money for blood."
She cringed. Just the thought of the metallic taste in her mouth made her stomach churn. How could anyone ever actually crave the stuff? Rayne leaned against the island where he'd just been and Camden moved to the counter across from her, mimicking the cross-armed pose. He was silent for a moment as if debating the best way to tell her.
"I happened to be the guard on duty the night Martin took the serum from Dr. Schultz. It had been a while since I'd eaten and was getting desperate and afraid that I might lose control if I didn't get something soon."
Lose control?
What had he meant by that? Rayne made a mental note to ask him later. She didn't want to interrupt and risk losing the chance to learn a few things.
"I was around the corner from the lab when I overheard them talking in the hall. At first, I hadn't thought much about it, wasn't really interested. The only thing I cared about, was food."
She nodded in understanding to let him know that she was following.
"After they left, I ran into the lab and grabbed the first container of blood that I could find. I didn't know or care that it was blood that had been treated by the formula. I drank it all."
Rayne made a face, acting as though she were gagging, then smiled at him. In return, he narrowed his eyes mockingly before he laughed and shook his head.
"The next morning driving home, some idiot rear-ended me at a red light." He paused and sighed. "I knew that I only had a small chance to make it home before the sunrise, but I was worried about upholding my human appearance. I couldn't very well just run off at incredible speeds and leave my truck. It would have raised too much suspicion." He shrugged. "So, I waited it out."
Rayne nodded.
"By the time the police were finished filing the report, the sun was almost up. I sped the rest of the way home."
"I was finally almost to the front door when the sun first peeked over the trees and hit my skin." He laughed and ran his hand through his messy black hair. "I was only a few steps from the porch, and I was prepared for the excruciating burn, but it never came. In fact, it was little more than a tingle."
Rayne's eyebrows creased in question.
"That's when I realized what was happening." He flashed his devilishly handsome smile at her again and watched as her cheeks went rosy. "Rayne, the very same serum your grandfather gave you somehow bonded with my body and allowed me to walk in the sun without burning for a limited amount of time."
Rayne's eyes widened. "That's how you do it. You're using a secret formula." Her mind was reeling.
How can all of this be true? First vampires, and now some magic potion that protects them from sunlight.
Where were the cameras hidden? This had to be a joke.
Camden unfurled his arms and began using his hands animatedly as he continued the story. "I couldn't believe what was happening and I knew that this could change everything for humans and vampires alike. So, I approached Dr. Schultz with a business proposal," he shrugged. "I had plenty of money to invest and if I was right, then there would be plenty more to come, so I offered to fund his entire operation and lab if he would come work for me producing the same formula. Of course, to get him to fully understand my true motives for his work, I had to tell him everything."
He shrugged once again and resumed his cross-armed position. "But apparently, Schultz wanted more than my offer. Somehow, word got around to some very old and not-too-happy vampires. And well, the result was none too good for Schultz. Within a week he was dead, and any evidence of his research was nowhere to be found. It's either very well-hidden or he may have even had it destroyed."
Camden pushed away from the counter. "I'm betting that it was Schultz himself who hid it and not a vampire that took it."
Rayne held up her hand. "What makes you think that?" she asked.
"Think about it. Vampires have been in hiding for thousands of years. We can't always eat when we want to; if anyone finds out, we are hunted if they even really believe it, and it goes on and on, never ending until we are killed. It gets old after the first hundred years or so. There are plenty of vampires out there that are looking for any way and any excuse to make their existence known and enslave the human race. If a vampire had it after twenty years, I'm sure we would both know it." He paused again. "Not to mention the lengths they are going to just to get their hands on it."
Rayne nodded. I get it. Vampires are real. I was sick and given an experimental drug that could somehow let those very real vampires walk in the daylight. Check, got it.
Every person who ever knew anything of how it was made and what it contained was dead. Horrible, but check. Those still very real vampires are after her because she was given the drug and they think she knows about it. Yay me.
Wow. Even she couldn't believe how crazy it sounded when she sifted through everything. She couldn't imagine what it would sound like if she actually said it out loud. Staring at the floor with her lower lip caught between her teeth in thought, there was a long pause. "So, what would normally happen if a vampire went out into the sun?" she asked, trying to think of anything to break the awkward silence.
"Instant severe burns, to the point that within minutes, we are dead. Sort of like a deadly sun allergy."
She put on a show of mock disappointment. "What, no ball-of-fire, turn-to-ash type stuff?"
He laughed and shifted his position. "Oh, we'll turn into ash alright. Leave us out in it long enough and it'll just burn, burn, burn until there is nothing but dust left."
She cringed. "Yikes."
Camden nodded. "If you think it sounds bad, you should feel it." He laughed.
Rayne picked up her glass of water and took a drink. "So how does all of this tie into me, again?"
He pressed his lips into a thin line. "After Schultz sought out other venues, I figured my only other option was to find your grandfather. I found him right after your mother took you and left. I wanted to see what he knew about the formula, and as expected, he had questions." He shrugged. "I had to tell him everything in order to get what I wanted. It had only been a few days since Schultz was killed. We didn't know what or how much was known about him, so we assumed the worst and assumed he was next." He paused for a moment. "So we faked his death."
Rayne nodded. She was following, but she was still confused. "So why did they wait twenty years to do anything about it?"
"He was pretty well-hidden and usually very cautious. Martin never left the property, and very seldom did he ever go outside. He stayed in his study most days. The only thing we could come up with was that someone had to have seen him and Schultz together all that time ago or maybe Schultz even revealed his name as a 'successful client' when pitching his drug to others. We aren't sure. It wasn't until about 6 months ago he insisted on going to a rare antique book dealer in the middle of New Orleans. Someone had to have recognized and followed him. That's the only way they could have figured us out."
She cocked her head to the side, just slightly. "So wait... if the only people that knew about the formula are dead, then how are you getting treated blood?"
Camden pressed his lips into a thin line. "There's still someone out there who has it and knows how to make it." He started using his hands to speak again. "Martin had a connection but wouldn't tell any of us. He was very secretive about it. He said that he would provide us with it if we didn't snoop or pry. He thought that something like this was too dangerous in any vampire's hands... even one with good intentions."
She nodded. That was understandable. People, and she was sure vampires as well, could be very deceiving and manipulative when it came to something that they wanted.
"We never saw him contact his supplier, but it was always shipped here in a plain brown box. Same time every month. No return address, no name, no logo. We have no idea who or where this person is. We don't even know what this person got in return for it."
She thought back to his previous statement about her grandfather and how he'd spent the last twenty years. It was hard to imagine the loving, caring man she'd known as a child, living like that.
"What kind of life was that for him? Hiding for twenty years, never socializing with other people, doing everything in secret?"
Camden shrugged. "He did what he had to. You were the most important thing to him. He wanted to make sure you had the chance to grow up and live a full life, even if it meant giving up his own." His hand ran through his hair again. "He couldn't take the risk of someone connecting the two of you."
Rayne's heart sank and she felt a pang of regret and guilt. Somehow, all of this felt like her fault. She couldn't help that she had been sick or what her grandfather had sacrificed to help her. All this time, she'd thought he was dead and never had the chance at a relationship with him. She suddenly became quiet.
Camden leaned forward to look at her face. "Are you ok?"
Pulled from her thoughts, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pushed away from the counter. "Yeah, I'm fine." She crossed her arms over her chest and made it a point not to look him in the eyes as she turned for the door. "I'm tired. I think I'm going to lay down." She left him standing there against the counter and disappeared around the corner.