Cliff’s Descent by Dianne Duvall

Chapter Five

“Emma!”

Yelping, Emma jumped and banged her head on the underside of her desk’s keyboard tray. “Ouch! Damn it, don’t do that,” she grumbled, backpedaling on her hands and knees. Sitting up, she glared over the desk at Cynthia and rubbed the back of her head.

Cynthia rolled her eyes as she entered. “Oh please. Your hair is so thick and pretty it’s like wearing a cushioned helmet. You probably barely felt that.”

Emma laughed. She’d pulled her hair back from her face in braids today and wore the rest in a fluffy Afro Cynthia had repeatedly said she envied, usually after disparaging her own hair, which Emma thought was lovely but Cynthia wished was thicker and curlier.

“What are you doing under there anyway?”

“Trying to see how many miles I’ve pedaled. I got one of those under-desk ellipticals Mr. Reordon offered to buy employees, and the display is too dark to read unless I get right up on it.”

Surprise lit her friend’s face as she sank down in the visitor’s chair. “You did? Why?” She motioned to Emma’s body when Emma rose and returned to her chair. “As Todd would say, you’re smokin’ hot.”

Unease slithered through Emma, driving her to fiddle with her keyboard’s position as she debated answering her friend’s innocent query. “You’re going to think I’m weird if I tell you. Or paranoid or something.”

All humor left Cynthia’s countenance, replaced by concern. “Why? What’s wrong? Tell me.”

Emma considered refusing but reluctantly admitted, “I’ve kinda been on a big exercise kick lately.” She darted her friend a look, then shifted her keyboard again and fiddled with a pen. “Since the mercenary attack.”

Cynthia’s gaze turned watchful as she leaned forward. “Go on.”

Emma sighed. “It’s just… I keep thinking about it. And I know it will probably never happen again. But if it did…” She shrugged. “What if Mr. Reordon hadn’t let the vampires help us that day? What if the ceiling hadn’t collapsed on us and Sadie and I had made it down the hallway on our own? The elevator wasn’t functional.” It had already plummeted to sublevel 5, killing those inside it. “And there’s no way Sadie could’ve made it down four flights of stairs without help. So I thought I might have to piggyback her and…” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do it. I don’t know if I would’ve been strong enough.”

“I’m sure someone else would’ve taken up the slack and helped you.”

“But what if they didn’t? What if they couldn’t because they were injured?”

“Oh honey.” Cynthia’s features softened. “Is that why you’ve been lifting weights? So if the network falls under attack again, you’ll be able to sling people over your shoulders in a fireman’s carry and get them to safety?”

“Maybe?” Emma responded, thinking it sounded lame and hoping Cynthia wouldn’t worry she was suffering from PTSD or something. She wasn’t. At least she didn’t think so. She just wanted to be prepared.

For anything.

Rising, Cynthia circled the desk and wrapped her in a hug. “Well, now I feel bad.”

Emma hugged her back with a smile. “Why?”

“Because while you’ve been doing the whole heroic Let me build greater strength so I can save more lives in the future thing, I’ve been more like I’m going to eat all the junk food I want because who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

She laughed.

“It isn’t funny,” Cynthia protested as she released her and backed away. “I’ve gained like fifteen pounds since the mercenaries struck.”

“Is Todd complaining?” He’d better not be. Emma would kick his ass if he so much as—

Cynthia snorted. “Hell no. That man loves me. And my curves.”

“He really does.” And Cynthia did indeed have lovely curves.

Her eyes lit with excitement. “Which is why I’m here.”

Because Todd loved her?

Emma stared. “Oh crap. Did Todd propose?”

Her friend laughed. “No. He just gave me some news that’s going to make you very happy.”

Wariness rose. They weren’t going to try to set her up again, were they? Because the last double date Cynthia and Todd had dragged Emma on had been a disaster. The guy had been attractive and polite but had talked incessantly. He’d spent so much time bragging about his job and his bank account, his fancy car and ludicrously expensive watch, that the rest of them had barely gotten in a word or two. “What news?”

So excited she practically jumped up and down, Cynthia blurted, “Vampire Cliff eats lunch in the cafeteria now!” Throwing her hands up in the air, she gave a delighted scream as if she had just found out she was going to have a one-on-one meeting with Dwayne Johnson.

Cynthia loved Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock. Which made her devotion to Todd all the more adorable. While Dwayne Johnson could easily sweep a woman off her feet, Todd was more likely to trip her.

Emma smiled, not quite sure why Cynthia found the news so exciting. “Good for him. I didn’t know they had a cafeteria down on sublevel 5.”

“They don’t. They only have a break room.”

“Oh.”

Cynthia stood on the opposite side of the desk, watching her expectantly.

“I don’t—”

“He’s eating lunch in our cafeteria now.”

Emma’s eyes widened. Her heart gave a little leap. Her pulse quickened. Excitement warred with disbelief, soon joined by nervousness.

Cliff ate lunch in their cafeteria?

Cynthia pointed at her with a knowing grin. “And that’s the reaction I was waiting for. If you were white, you’d totally be blushing right now. You have it so bad for him.”

“No I don’t,” Emma hissed. “And would you keep your damn voice down? They can hear us down there!”

Cynthia’s eyes widened. “Oh crap. I forgot. Sorry.”

“Anyway, I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about it. We work the day shift, and he’s a vampire. He probably eats lunch at midnight.”

Shaking her head, Cynthia retook her seat and lowered her voice to a whisper. “No, he doesn’t. Most days he eats lunch the same time we do.” Some of the joy left her pretty face. “Todd said Cliff has been… struggling a little since the attack. Since he had his first… you know.”

Psychotic break?

Emma nibbled her lower lip as worry blossomed. Once the smoke had cleared and Mr. Reordon had gotten everyone settled in the new network headquarters building, then briefed them on the injuries and deaths among employee ranks, the first thing Emma had wanted to know was if the vampires had survived the blitz. If Cliff had survived.

Mercenaries had already begun to infiltrate the building when Cliff had unburied her, gently tended her broken arm, and whisked her away to safety. And she’d spent much of the ensuing hours wondering if he had returned to sublevel 1 and confronted them. If he’d had help or if he’d fought them alone. If they had wounded him. Or killed him. There had been so many…

It had never occurred to her that they might capture him. She had assumed they were there to nab an immortal. So her heart had gone out to him when she’d learned those bastards had captured him and tortured him to such an extent that he’d experienced his first psychotic break. And he had lost his friend Joe, too.

“It’s okay,” Cynthia said softly, dragging her from her thoughts. “He’s doing okay.” Leaning forward, she whispered, “Todd said he’s been doing better since Mr. Reordon showed him footage of his actions the day of the mercenary attack. Apparently Cliff worried everyone was bullshitting him when they said he’d helped. He was afraid he’d hurt someone or something.”

Poor guy.

“So,” Cynthia said louder. “No more eating lunch at the picnic tables outside. You’re eating lunch in the cafeteria today.”

A little zing of excitement shot through her. Whenever weather permitted, Emma ate lunch outside at the picnic tables around back. She liked the quiet, the fresh air, the wildflowers, and enjoyed getting in a little uninterrupted reading while she ate.

She looked at the comfortable slacks and casual blouse she wore, then raised her hands and patted her hair.

Cynthia grinned. “You look fine. Beautiful as always. Let’s go.”

Nerves jangling, Emma rose and rounded her desk.

Her friend glanced down, then winced. “Well, maybe wear some sexy pumps tomorrow.”

Emma wiggled her toes inside her running shoes. “Nope. It’s this or nothing.” She’d done the whole attractive but uncomfortable savvy suit, high heels, and perfect makeup thing in the past but would do so no more. Anyone who didn’t like her the way she was could kiss her ass.

Grabbing her cell phone, she followed Cynthia out into the hallway and closed her door. She didn’t bother locking it. No one would slip in to steal her purse or disturb anything while she was gone. If anyone did, the plethora of surveillance cameras would swiftly identify the culprit. And if any doubt remained, Reordon would simply summon a telepathic Immortal Guardian to ferret out the thief.

So… yeah. No one so much as stole a pen around here.

Her heart beat a little faster as they approached the cafeteria. And she discovered she was actually holding her breath as she passed through the wide doorway. Pausing just inside, she swept the large room with an eager gaze.

Disappointment struck when she didn’t spy Cliff.

Beside her, Cynthia made a hmmm sound. “Maybe he’s running late.”

Or not. Cliff didn’t show the whole time they dined. Nor did he appear the next day or the day after that.

“Well, now I feel like crap for getting your hopes up,” Cynthia said in the privacy of the soundproof women’s restroom as she washed her hands. “Sorry.”

Emma smiled to hide her disappointment. “I’ll take it as a good sign. Maybe he’s sleeping better.”

“Could be. Todd said Cliff seemed to relax quite a bit after viewing that footage Mr. Reordon showed him.”

Emma hoped so. Just in case though, she found herself once more dining in the cafeteria the following week. Cynthia was spending her lunch break running errands, so Emma chose to sit at a small table in the corner where she could lose herself in a sci-fi romance novel while she ate.

She had barely made a dent in the spicy fried rice on her plate when a hush fell over the room.

Pausing with the fork halfway to her mouth, she looked up.

All eyes focused on the doorway.

Several network guards garbed all in black and sporting semiautomatic rifles and tranq guns entered and took up positions around the room like Secret Service agents preceding the president of the United States. Her heart stopped, then began to pound when a familiar figure stepped into the doorway and paused.

Cliff.