Free Aris Rising: The Court of Vampires: AN INFINITY DIARIES NOVEL by Devin Morgan Page A

bed. She rushed out the door. Shaking, she entered the elevator, watching the door close behind her.
    “Tom,” her voice was shaking as she spoke to the security guard behind the desk. “Has there been anyone asking for me this evening?”
    “No, Miss Hagan. No one I know of.”
    “Someone has been in my apartment without my knowledge.” She took a few deep breaths to regain control of herself before she continued. “Is it possible to see the footage from the security cameras.” As a full security building, there were cameras trained on all the entrances and exits of the building at all times.
    “I don’t know how it’s possible for someone to get past me. I was here all evening, Miss, but I’ll call my supervisor right away and get the okay to check the camera footage. You want to just stay here until I get someone to go through your apartment and make sure it’s safe?”
    “Yes.” She shivered, not because she was cold. She was very frightened. “Yes, I’ll wait here. I have a friend coming over to stay with me but until then, I’ll just sit in the corner there and wait.” She pointed to the grouping of chairs near the elevators.
    “I’ll get you some water.”
    “No, Tom. I’d feel better if you just stayed within view until my friend gets here if you don’t mind.”
    “Not at all, Miss Hagan. Not at all.” He helped her settle into a comfortable chair.
    She felt a little more calm as she sat in the well-lit lobby with the well-muscled security man standing close to her. She would feel much more secure when Aris arrived and they figured out who or what had been in her apartment. She grinned sardonically at her thoughts. What kind of convoluted world did she live in where she felt less danger in the presence of the undead than she did alone? There was no sane answer to the question. Time seemed to stand still as she waited.
    It took every bit of control she had to keep from crying out inrelief when she saw Aris come through the revolving door. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and she began to relax a little. “It will be alright. Everything will be alright. I am here now. You are safe. You will always be safe with me, Sarah.” He stroked her hair as she rested her cheek against his strong chest. “You are fine. No one is going to harm you, I will see to that.” He kissed the top of her head then settled her back into the over-stuffed chair. “Stay here. I’m going to talk to the guard.” He approached the man behind the security desk.
    “You saw no one this evening?”
    “No, sir. No one even came into the building after Miss Hagan. It’s been like a tomb here all night. I called my supervisor to get a release to go through the security tapes and to send someone over to go through her apartment. I’m waiting for him to call me back right now.”
    “You needn’t send for anyone else. I am going to her apartment now. Please watch her until I return.”
    “Glad to, sir. We all really like Miss Hagan around here. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
    “Thank you.” He returned to Sarah. Bending down, he spoke softly. “Are you feeling better?”
    “A little.”
    “Please, may I have your keys?”
    Panic lit her eyes. “Where are you going?”
    “To your apartment.”
    “What if they’re still there?”
    He tapped his chest lightly as he smiled. “Invincible, remember?”
    “I hope so.” Her hand trembled as she relinquished her keys.
    It was as if she was physically pushing the hands of the clock on the wall, forcing the minutes to tick by. At last the elevator door opened and Aris stepped out. He hurried to her side. “There is noone there and no sign of any forced entry. Sarah, who has a key to your apartment?”
    “Colleen and Maggie both do.”
    “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll stay with you tonight. We’ll tuck you into bed and check with your friends tomorrow. Maybe one of them left you the rose as a joke and you didn’t