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two drove out of the garage. As soon as he was sure they were safely gone, he returned to the unfinished business in the stairwell. It was a good thing no one else had come this way. Finding a decapitated body would have been quite a shock for most people.
    The corpse was where he had left it on the top landing—a body with a head lying nearby. Dirk stared at it, wishing that the vampires would just vanish in a burst of exploding dust like in the movies. It would make cleanup so much easier. Now he had to haul the damn thing to his Expedition and hope he didn't run into anyone.
    Stepping back into the garage, he looked around and spotted a large trash canister. Hauling it into the stairwell, he bent over to pick up the body, feeling the duster pull tight over the sword at his back. He was grateful once again for his increased strength because this vampire had been almost as tall as he was and would have been difficult to pick up otherwise.
    He stuffed the body into the trash bin and then pulled the edges of the plastic liner together to hide the body. Then, leaving it there, he raced down the steps to the lower level where his SUV was parked and drove it up, coming to a stop beside the stairwell. From there, it was a simple matter of loading the body into the back of his vehicle. At least vampires didn't bleed a lot.
    He left the garage and drove to Bethany 's apartment. He parked along an empty stretch of street and then walked the short distance to the spot he'd been using lately to stand sentry. It gave him a clear view of the street in both directions, the front entrance to her apartment building, and the front and side windows of her corner apartment on the third floor.
    She was home now and the lights were on. He saw the shadow of a figure pass in front of the curtained windows and knew from the stance and height that it was the bodyguard. A second later, another shadow appeared in the corner window. This one was smaller and he knew it had to be Bethany . He wondered if she was in her bedroom and as she disappeared from view, his mind conjured an image of her getting ready for bed. A small growl rumbled low in his throat when he thought of the bodyguard  there with her and he had to remind himself that it was none of his business.
    A second later, the lights in both rooms went out, but Dirk continued to stand there. He wouldn't leave until the first rays of sunlight shone over the horizon. Only when he knew the vampires were fast asleep would he leave his post.
    A flutter of movement at the corner window caught his attention and as he watched, the curtain pulled to one side and Bethany 's face appeared. With his improved night vision, Dirk had no trouble making out her troubled expression or the way her light blue camisole hugged her upper body.
    He saw her eyes peruse the street below as if she was searching for something and it finally occurred to him that she was looking for him. He knew she couldn't see him standing in the unlit entryway where he stood and it would be smarter to leave it that way, but he stepped forward anyway, into the glow of the streetlamp.
    The moment she spotted him, her eyes lit up and a small smile touched her lips. Or maybe that was his imagination. He raised his hand in acknowledgment and couldn't stop the warm feeling that filled him when he saw her hand lift in a small wave. Then the curtain closed and she was gone, but the warm feeling stayed with him the rest of the night.
    Bethany woke late the next morning feeling more rested than she had in several days. It took her a moment to realize why. It was because, for the first time since this ordeal started, she felt truly safe. She knew nothing about Dirk Adams and on the surface his dark looks and mysterious habits of lurking in the shadows should have scared her. Instead, he made her feel safe.
    She decided not to try to figure out why that was and climbed out of bed. She was having lunch with Miles to go over the announcement of their