The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks Page B

obvious?
    “You don’t deny it.” Gregori sighed. “You realize Laszlo has a crush on her?”
    “Aye.”
    “But you’re still going to pursue her?”
    “Aye.” When Gregori continued to frown at him, Dougal added, “As far as I can tell, she’s no’ interested in either of us.”
    “Her heartbeat shot off like a rocket the minute you stepped into the room.”
    Dougal nodded. “I know. I frighten her.”
    “Maybe.” Gregori gave him a speculative look. “But not the way you think.” Without explaining further, he walked back to Abby. “Sweetheart, do you have time to examine Dougal’s hand?”
    “Sure.” She dipped a French fry into a dollop of ketchup. “As soon as I’m done here.”
    A n hour later Dougal sat in Abby’s office as she studied the results of the ultrasound and X-ray of his hand. He’d asked Gregori to explain his cryptic remark, but Gregori had simply passed him Wilson’s phone number and said, “Let the best man win.”
    Dougal frowned. The best man was most likely Laszlo. Intellectually, he was a better match for Leah. And he didn’t have the checkered past that Dougal had. Most probably, Laszlo had never been kidnapped or forced to work as a slave or a pirate. He’d probably never failed someone he loved. Or buried her.
    “Everything looks fine.” Abby set the X-ray down and handed him a hand exerciser with black rubber grips. “The sensors in this will measure the strength of your grip. Give it a tiny squeeze.”
    He did, and on Abby’s computer screen, a red light went up an inch on a bar graph.
    “Okay, that was within the normal range for a mortal.” She wrote it down in her notes. “Try again, a little harder.”
    He flexed his hand tighter, and the red light traveled halfway up the bar.
    “It seems to be working perfectly.” She gave him a curious look. “Why do you think it malfunctioned last night?”
    “I think the fault was mine,” Dougal confessed.
    “I don’t see how. Your mind is controlling it perfectly now. Why would it go awry all of a sudden?”
    He recalled the moment his hand had shattered the bottle. He’d been watching Leah on the monitor. Was she the reason he’d lost control? His hand flinched, and the red light shot nearly to the top of the bar.
    “Whoa, careful there.” Abby cast him a worried look. “Did you do that on purpose?”
    He hesitated, then shook his head.
    Abby frowned. “So there is a problem. Can you remember when it first started?”
    He shifted in his chair. “Last night.”
    “What happened last night?”
    He shrugged. “I got promoted.”
    “That must have made you happy.” Abby tapped her pen on the desk as she considered. “I wonder if your emotional state is influencing your mind control.”
    “It shouldna.” He winced. “But I doona know how else to explain it.”
    “Did something upset you last night?” Abby’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Could it be that you’re so old you hate birthday parties?”
    A knock on the door sounded.
    “Abby?” Leah cracked the door open.
    Dougal’s hand clenched, snapping the metal spring in two. The red light shot to the top of the bar and beeped.
    Abby gasped.
    He dropped the hand exerciser, and the beeping stopped.
    Abby stared at him, agape.
    “Is something wrong?” Leah eased into the room, giving him a wary look.
    “Nay.” Dougal stood. “I’m done here.”
    Leah turned to Abby. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I wanted to get your opinion on something.”
    Abby was staring wide-eyed at the monitor, then her gaze shifted to the broken hand exerciser, then to Dougal. “Did you do that on purpose?”
    “Sure,” he lied. There was no way he was going to admit that he only lost control when Leah was in the vicinity. Especially when she was standing in the same room.
    Abby’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
    Damn. She was going to figure it out. “I should get back to work now.” He headed toward the door, then paused close to Leah. “What time