Seduced by the Night by Robin T. Popp Page A

Homes are old money. Growing up, I doubt the guy wanted for a single thing."
    Something in the way he said the words told her that his childhood hadn't been the happiest. She wanted to ask him about it when her cell phone rang. Digging in her purse, she pulled out her phone.
    "Hello?"
    "Bethany, it's Miles. I'm sorry, my dear. I'm not going to make dinner tonight. Something unexpected has come up. Business. I hope you'll forgive me."
    "Oh. Can't you get out of it? Please?"
    "I'm afraid not. There's just no way. Are you already at the restaurant?"
    "Yes."
    "Did you come alone?" He sounded worried.
    She glanced over at Dirk. "No."
    There was a pause and she heard him sigh. "I need to go. We'll talk later, okay?"
    "All right." She disconnected the call and put away her cell phone. "Miles won't be joining us," she told Dirk as she looked around. "Do you see our waiter? We should try to cancel our order."
    "Why?"
    His question surprised her. "Well, you don't want to really stay here and eat—do you?"
    "Have you eaten here before?"
    "Yes, Miles likes it, so we come here often."
    "Is the food any good?"
    "Well, yes."
    "Great, then I don't see a problem. We have to eat anyway and we're already here. Why leave and go someplace else?"
    She gave him a doubtful look. "This is a fondue restaurant. You don't strike me as the kind of man who eats a lot of fondue."
    He shrugged. "Food's food. I'll give it a try and if we don't get enough to eat, we'll stop off and grab a burger on the way home. How's that?"
    "Actually, that sounds really good."
    That caused him to raise an eyebrow. "You a burger and fries girl?"
    "I can't tell you how long it's been since I had a really great burger and hot, crisp French fries. Miles refuses to eat such 'common fare,' as he puts it." She shrugged, a little embarrassed to have shared that. "You know what they say—simple pleasures for simple minds."
    He gave her an intense look. "There's nothing simple about you, Beth."
    At that moment, the waiter appeared with their drinks and Dirk ordered a selection of meats and vegetables for two. When they were alone again, Bethany glanced around to make sure no one was within listening range before leaning forward slightly. "Tell me about vampires. We didn't get a chance to talk yesterday."
    Dirk raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"
    "Everything. Start at the beginning. Where'd they come from? How'd you get involved? Is righting vampires something you do for the police? How long have you been doing it? What—?"
    "Whoa, slow down," he said, chuckling. "First things first. I don't know how long vampires have been around, exactly, but the sword you saw earlier today was forged centuries ago to slay them, so they must have been around for at least that long. Here in the United States , though, I don't think any existed until six months ago."
    "I don't understand. Isn't it a chicken and egg scenario? You have to have at least one vampire to create another."
    "Not necessarily. Have you ever beard of El Chupacabra ?"
    "No, what's that?"
    "It's the name of the creature that created the vampires we're dealing with today."
    She waited for him to go on.
    "A year ago, I hadn't heard of it either. The name, El Chupacabra , is Spanish for the goatsucker. Goats are the creatures' preferred food source—or rather the blood of the goats, because chupacabras live off blood. Until a year ago, they were considered to be like Bigfoot. Nothing more than the product of folklore—tales told at night around the campfire. There have even been sightings, but nothing that could ever be proven."
    He glanced at her, maybe to see how she was reacting  to his story, but she kept her face blank, waiting for him to continue.
    "About a year ago, the U.S. government found two creatures in the Amazon that they believed to be El Chupacabras . They called in a scientist to study them—a cryptozoologist , Dr. Clinton Weber. Lanie's father."
    He took a swallow of his drink before continuing.