The front of the main building exploded into chunks of granite and glass as Yuri and Stanislav passed it. Yuri saw David plow right through it—Lisette, Zach, and Marcus on his heels—and grinned.
He loved a good fight!
When Yuri reached the training field, bullets tore through the air like swarms of bees.
Yuri cut a swath through the mercenaries. Screams erupted. And the suit he so hated to wear stopped a hell of a lot of the bullets. Apparently, Chris and the network had made some improvements.
Yuri sheathed one of his katanas and yanked an AK-47 from the hands of one of the mercenaries. As he continued toward the armory, his pace never slowing, he sprayed the enemy with bullets.
Stanislav laughed behind him and soon followed suit.
The armory rose before them. Two stories. Larger than Yuri had anticipated.
What the hell did they store in there?
Most of the humans in sight ran toward it.
Yuri took out all he could with the automatic weapon, ran out of ammo, then grabbed another.
“I’ll clear it out,” Stanislav called and ducked inside.
Yuri planted his back against the wall on one side of the door and let the bullets fly. While guns had never been his weapon of choice, he did know how to use them.
By the time Stanislav returned, Yuri had run out of ammo again.
“Clear,” Stanislav said and planted his back against the wall on the opposite side of the door.
The number of humans charging toward them dwindled as the network’s special ops soldiers swarmed the grounds, Bastien and Melanie in their midst.
Yuri dropped the AK and went to work with his swords.
Dmitry and Alexei, Yuri and Stanislav’s Seconds, approached in a crouch, barely recognizable beneath their helmets and body armor. Automatic weapons spitting fire, they parked themselves at either corner of the building to keep mercenaries from sneaking up on Yuri and Stanislav from the sides.
A tank rumbled forth from one of the hangars.
Ah, shit. The mercenaries must have—
Two missiles struck it, launched by Chris’s men.
Dmitry whooped.
Yuri grinned, then grunted as a bullet penetrated his suit where the material thinned under his arm. Another grazed his neck.
Beside him, Stanislav swore. “How many of these bastards are there?”
Good question. Yuri had slain dozens and they just kept coming, each and every one of them determined to get their hands on the weapons the two Immortal Guardians guarded.
Explosions pierced Yuri’s ears periodically.
In the distance, flames spewed forth from the flame thrower atop one of Chris’s Humvees as vampires opted to risk sun exposure and darted outside in an attempt to flee the blades of the immortals who had invaded their building.
Another bullet struck Yuri. Gritting his teeth, he swung his blades at two mercenaries who attacked his front.
Dmitry’s weapon quieted as he hastily reloaded.
At least Yuri didn’t have to worry about running out of ammo. His blades never failed him.
Breathing hard, he slew two more mercenaries.
Stanislav leapt to the edge of the building to take out a mercenary who crept up behind Alexei as Alexei fired like hell at mercenaries who must have been trying to come around the side of the building.
Mercenaries saw only one immortal guarding the door and seized the opportunity, rushing forward en masse. Those who were armed came with guns blazing.
Yuri took another bullet, then another and another as he held them at bay.
“Behind you!” Dmitry shouted.
Yuri spun around and found a mercenary aiming a tranquilizer gun at him.
The world went black.
Cat couldn’t stand the quiet at David’s house, couldn’t take the waiting with nothing to do, so she hied herself off to network headquarters.
She knew the moment the battle began. The tension among the medical staff skyrocketed.
Soon Richart, the French immortal, began to teleport in members of the human network’s special ops team who had been injured. Cat watched the dedicated doctors and nurses go to work, saving what lives they could. In very little time, a dozen patients filled the infirmary.
Was this what war was like? she wondered, her heart going out to a grim-faced Dr. Linda Machen when Linda couldn’t save her latest patient.
By the time word came that the battle had ended, over a dozen more network soldiers fought for their lives.
Cat left the network and returned to David’s home, happy to discover that no injured immortals had been teleported there for a blood infusion or treatment by the emergency medical staff on hand today.
A good sign. Yet Darnell and Ami, who had remained behind, still evinced worry.
Cat waited impatiently for the Immortal Guardians to return, nearly wilting with relief when their vehicles finally pulled up outside.
Thuds sounded.
The front door opened.
Cat stared. She had expected the warriors to return triumphant, tired smiles wreathing their faces as they congratulated one another on a job well done, pleased that they had defeated their enemies and eliminated the threat they posed. Instead . . .
Tight lips spoke no words as the Immortal Guardians filed inside, their Seconds with them. Shoulders slumped. Soot-stained faces bore clean streaks carved by tears.
Cat’s heart sank. What had happened?
Her eyes searched each blackened face, looking for Yuri’s, and failed to find him.
The front door closed.
Fear rose.
She searched again and found her gaze ensnared by Marcus’s.
The British immortal stared at her with red-rimmed eyes. His Adam’s apple rose and fell with a hard swallow. Then he shook his head.
Cat staggered backward. Surely he didn’t mean . . .
Ami crossed to Marcus and hugged him tight.
Mouthing, “I’m sorry,” Marcus buried his face in his wife’s hair.
Denial gripping her, Cat looked for Stanislav and didn’t see him either. Instead, she found Dmitry and Alexei, their noses red, tears streaming down their faces, and watched them walk numbly toward the back of the house.
Cat’s eyes began to burn. Yuri couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t have fallen in battle.
Unable to believe it, unwilling to believe it, she went to Yuri’s bedroom, sat down, and waited.
She didn’t know how much time passed . . . perhaps an hour . . . before the door opened.
Heart leaping, she looked up, then swallowed hard when Marcus slipped inside and closed the door.
He leaned back against it, his expression telling her everything she knew he didn’t want to voice.
Cat’s vision blurred as tears rose.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “He was killed during the battle.”
She fought back the sobs that threatened to erupt. “Did he suffer?” she forced past the lump in her throat.
“No. He was tranqed right before it happened.”
“What did they do to him?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “He didn’t feel it. And I don’t want . . .” He looked away and swallowed hard. “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone.”
“Stanislav, too?”
“Yes.”
She did sob then, her heart breaking.
Marcus approached her slowly and crouched down in front of her. “Yuri loves you, Catherine. I wasn’t there when it happened. I didn’t see his spirit leave his body. And I don’t know where he is now. I half expected him to already be here when we returned.”
“Then why isn’t he?”
“I don’t know. But he loves you. If Yuri can find you, he will.”
Cat did her damnedest to cling to the hope Marcus’s words offered her. But days passed. Then weeks. And Yuri didn’t come to her.
Had he crossed over?
Was he lost to her?
Cat linger
ed in his room. Touched his things to gain images of him from the past. Lay down on his bed. Drew in the scent of him left behind on his pillow. And wept until she couldn’t anymore.
Dmitry came to Yuri’s bedroom, packed his belongings up in boxes, and removed them.
The human male appeared as lost and desolate as Cat.
Nothing of Yuri remained in David’s home now. Nothing she could touch and use her psychometric ability to see his handsome face and charming grin again. Nothing lingered save the memories Cat clung to as her despair grew.
Curling on her side on the big bed, she buried her face in his pillow for the hundredth time. All still considered this room Yuri’s, though his personal possessions had been removed. Since none were eager to commandeer it, the bedding and towels had not yet been replaced.
Yuri.
“What the hell?” a deep voice spoke behind her. “I’m only gone a day and they ditch all of my stuff?”
Cat jackknifed up in bed and swung around.
Yuri stood just inside the door, clad in a black T-shirt, black cargo pants, and black boots. A scowl creasing his forehead, he looked around the room that was now devoid of his belongings.
His eye fell upon Cat. His scowl fell away. “Hello, sweetheart.”
Leaping from the bed, Cat raced toward him.
Yuri grinned and opened his arms.
She hit him hard, his body as tangible to her now as it had been in his dreams. Sobs erupted from her chest as she hugged him tight.
Yuri wrapped his arms around Cat and squeezed her lithe form against him. “Shhh,” he crooned when she burst into tears. “It’s okay, Cat. Don’t cry.”
Her breath coming in harsh gasps, she wept into his chest. Her hands fisted in the back of his shirt as she attempted to burrow even closer.
“Come now,” he pleaded when she continued to sob. Easing back, he cupped her face in his hands and forced her to look up at him. “Why the tears?” He drew his thumbs over her wet cheeks, wiping away the moisture. “I didn’t suffer, if that’s why you’re crying. And . . .” Dipping his head, he brushed a gentle kiss over her lips. “We can be together now. We won’t ever have to settle for dreams again.”
She curled her small hands around his wrists. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He frowned. “Surely you knew I would come to you.”
“I hoped you would, but it’s been so long.”
“What do you mean? I just died yesterday.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What?”
“I just died yesterday. In the battle at the mercenary compound. I wanted to come to you as soon as it happened, but . . .” He swallowed hard. Moisture burned the backs of his eyes. “I heard them say the explosion took Stanislav and tried to find him. Or rather his spirit. I wanted to say good-bye.”
“Did you?”
He shook his head. “There were so many other spirits released during the battle. I see why you never stayed after I slew the vampires when you joined me on my hunts.”
She nodded.
“When I didn’t find Stanislav on the battlefield, I thought I might find him at some of his favorite haunts.” He grimaced. “Bad choice of words, I suppose. But it took me a while to get the hang of thinking where I wanted to go and ending up in the right place. When hours passed and I couldn’t find him, I assumed he had crossed over or whatever it is spirits do when they don’t linger here. I knew you would be anxious to see me—”
“Yuri,” she interrupted. “It hasn’t been hours. Or a day. The battle at the mercenary compound took place weeks ago.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“You died weeks ago.” New tears rose in her eyes. “I thought . . .” She shook her head. “When you didn’t come to me, I thought I’d lost you. I thought that, like Stanislav, you’d crossed over.”
“No,” he murmured, stunned that so much time had passed. Drawing her to him, he rested his cheek on her hair. “No. I would never leave you, Cat. I love you. I’m sorry.” He hugged her tighter. “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have looked for Stanislav beyond the battlefield without coming here first had I known . . .” He shook his head. “For me, it feels like only hours have passed.”
She nodded. “It was the same for me when I disappeared after Zach did whatever he did with that blast of power.”
Yuri glanced around the room. “No wonder my things are gone.”
“Dmitry came and collected them.”
Sorrow filled him at the thought of his Second. “How is he?”
“Grieving. They all are.”
Yuri felt the same sorrow, knowing he would never be able to speak to his friends again.
Well, except for Marcus, if he could convince his friend to abandon his no-communication-with-spirits rule.
“Did Marcus tell you what happened?” he asked.
“Only that you had been killed in battle and didn’t suffer. He didn’t go into any details.”
Good. Yuri didn’t want her to know he had been decapitated after he’d been rendered unconscious.
She raised her head. “Did you suffer, Yuri?”
He shook his head. “No, sweetheart. I didn’t feel a thing,” he was able to tell her with complete honesty. “One moment I was fighting mercenaries, and the next I found myself standing amidst the smoldering rubble of the armory.” He grimaced. “I didn’t realize I was dead until one of the network soldiers walked right through me. I can’t tell you how furious I was that I had let one of those mercenary bastards get the drop on me.”
At last she smiled. “I’m sure you were.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “And then,” he told her softly, “I was filled with such joy, Cat. Such excitement. Because I knew we could finally be together. No restrictions. No limitations.” He pressed a gentle kiss upon her lips. She felt so real to him now. As real as she had in the dreams. “I couldn’t wait to get back to you. Had I not heard Alexei say Stanislav was dead, I would have been here sooner.” He frowned. “At least, I think I would have. I still can’t believe weeks have passed instead of hours. Did it really take me that long to figure out how to go from place to place?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”
He smiled. “And I’ll never leave you again.”
Rising onto her toes, she slid her arms around his neck and took his mouth in a scorching kiss.
When his heart began to slam against his ribs, Yuri broke the passionate contact in surprise. “I can feel my heart beating.”
She grinned. “I know. I can feel mine, too. I can’t explain it.”
He kissed her again, loving the feel of her, the taste of her, so happy to be with her. Lifting her, he encouraged her to wrap her legs around his waist and prepared to topple her onto the bed.
“Wait,” she whispered.
He groaned. “It’s been weeks.”
“For me. But only a day for you.”
“I know. Far too long.” His body already burned for her.
She laughed. “Put me down. I want to show you something.”
Grumbling a bit, Yuri lowered her feet to the floor.
Cat took his hand and backed away. “Come with me.”
Arching a brow, he smiled. “Where are we going?”
She tugged him through the door and out into the hallway. Eyes sparkling, she led him upstairs, through David’s empty study, and pulled him through the wall.
Squinting, Yuri threw up a hand and winced as bright sunlight struck him.
Cat stopped and stood, smiling up at him.
Cautiously, Yuri lowered his arm. The sun’s rays washed over him, bringing a startlingly tangible warmth.
No pain. No burning. No blistering.
“It can’t harm me now,” he marveled, holding out his arms and basking in the brightness he hadn’t been able to enjoy for more than a moment or two in centuries.
“No,” she confirmed, her brown eyes alight with love. “It will never hurt you again.”
&
nbsp; Yuri grinned, then leered as inspiration struck. “Have you ever made love outside with sunlight stroking your bare, beautiful body?”
Shaking her head, she backed away. One step. Two. “No.” He began to stalk her. “Do you want to make love with sunlight stroking your bare, beautiful body?”
She nodded, a playful smile toying with her lips.
His body hardened with anticipation.
Her hands gripped her skirts. “But you’ll have to catch me first.” Yanking the material up to her knees, she spun around and took off running.
Laughing in delight, Yuri raced after her.
Stake Out
Hannah Jayne
Chapter One
My design—an ultra-black slip dress with an asymmetrical hem and beaded bodice—hung on the model’s thin frame like a sad sack, the elegant fabric catching on her angled hip bones and concave belly. I wished she would eat a sandwich, not just to do my design justice but because my stomach was growling and if I was going to have a nibble, I’d like to do it on someone with whom I couldn’t floss my fangs. But I suppose all in all it was a good thing that this little pale wisp of a girl didn’t whet my appetite in the least. I may have been six thousand miles from my home and my job at the Underworld Detection Agency, but I was still under Class-V contract, meaning if I even punctured a breather’s vein—even just for the tiniest sip—I’d be tossed out of UDA on my ear and without dental coverage: A real bitch when you’re a vampire.
The Underworld Detection Agency was my home, and what protection the agency offered—medical, dental, afterlife insurance for when one comes back to life, just to name a few—was indispensable and one of those things that made this country great for both one’s life and afterlife.
And as long as we’re being perfectly honest, it would be a whole hell of a lot harder to remain undead and unnoticed if I happened to occasionally nip the vein of those under my employ. I hadn’t maintained my breather façade for a century plus by playing fast and loose. I sipped from blood bags rather than bodies and welcomed the beet smoothie craze—so much easier to hide a Big Gulp full of B Neg amongst all the other red-tinged cups. And, thankfully, my flawless, porcelain-pale skin was considered wear-sunscreen-chic rather than get-a-pulse passé out here in the fashion mecca that is Manhattan.
On the Hunt Page 32
