Calming her breathing didn’t help her relax, but it did help her focus.
She needed wheels, she could run to Tumbricane but it’d take her a couple of hours. She didn’t have the truck, it was in the shop. Cayden was out and so his truck wasn’t at home. She had spied a small-looking jeep when she had arrived at the cabin last night. She just needed to find the keys.
“You’re right,” Katherine breathed out quietly, nodding at Rose.
“Look, let's be smart about this. Can you call him to let him know?” Rose asked.
“No. I don’t have his number,” Katherine half whimpered, being careful not to overdo her hysteria.
“That’s OK. Cayden has his number. We can get a message to him to give him the heads up.”
“But what if he hates me even more? What if he thinks I’ve done this to get back at him for rejecting me? I need to speak to him. I need to explain in person,” Katherine threw her hands in the air.
“There will be time to explain it all later, but right now we need to get a message to him. It’s going to be alright, hon,” Rose soothed.
Katherine paced back and forth a few times and ran her hands through her hair before sucking in a couple of shaking breaths.
“I need to calm down,” she nodded as if to herself before looking at Rose’s kind and worried expression, “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess. I could do with a shower to help clear my head, would you mind?”
Rose smiled sweetly, “Of course not, let me fetch you some fresh towels. A shower is a great idea. I can call Cayden too and let him know what’s happening. He’ll be able to help, I’m sure of it.”
“Thank you,” Katherine murmured and stood to follow Rose into the hallway. As her new friend disappeared into a room to fetch the clean towels, she scanned the hallway for any remaining set of car keys. She cursed when she couldn’t find any.
A low whistle caught her attention and she found Judy, poking her head out from behind her door. The old lady glanced to the side where a small china dish sat upon a dresser and then back to Katherine before nodding. Katherine swept forward and instantly snatched up the keys and shot the woman a look of gratitude. She nodded once and winked before closing the door silently.
Rose rounded the corner with a kind smile and arms laden with a set of faded, peach coloured towels. Katherine shoved the keys into the back pocket of her jeans with a sleight of hand as she took the towels from her.
“There you go hon, take your time. We can go over things again once you’ve cleared your head a little. I’ll ask Cayden to come home so we can come up with a plan together. You’ve got us now, OK? You don’t need to fix this on your own.”
Katherine smiled and graciously said her thank you’s. The deception was a living breathing thing inside of her, but a good poker face was one of her many skills and she knew how to keep her guilt from showing. She stepped into the bathroom, locked the door, and turned on the water.
In a matter of minutes she had climbed out the window and was on the road heading back towards Tumbricane in a small but mighty jeep. She wouldn’t beat her father there, but she might be able to get to Lucian before he did.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lucian
A disturbance flitted across Lucian’s mind as he rested. He had fought his consciousness for sleep since dawn broke and every time he won a moment of rest it was soon ripped from him by painful images of Katherine alone and sad, angry and disgusted by him, detached and unaffected by him.
This time, however, it was different. He lay in that strange place between sleep and awake, silently willing the disturbance to rouse him again. His body was purposefully stiff as stone, his breathing as infrequent and shallow as he could endure and he schooled his features into utter stillness. He was alone in his chambers, of that he was certain, he sensed no other presence. He strained his ears to listen for any telltale sign of what had woken him. After another long moment, he was about to resume his hunt for sleep when the sound of the main door being forced open shocked him awake.
Lucian shot up out of bed and landed in a crouched position by the side of the door. His manservant was the only person with whom he had constantly under his thrall. Lucian searched for the man’s mind through the link but found him in the garden, tending to the vegetables.
Lucian tuned out from his mind link, satisfied that the man was safe and away from whoever was trespassing.
Two sets of footfalls, one more heavy than the other, could be heard from the great hall. Lucian summoned his bedroom door to open silently, just a crack, the scent of two humans greeted his nose faintly. One female, with a soft floral perfume surrounding her, and the other was the scent of a man he knew. Kyle Daxton.
Lucian cursed.
Looks like the man had decided to bring his journalist friend to try to expose him as Mr. Pines had reported he might. Lucian checked his pocket for his phone and found it empty. He must’ve left it in Katherine’s room last night after his call with Cayden. Chances are when he retrieved it, he would find multiple messages from the bear shifter informing him of the impending arrival of the troublesome twosome.
Lucian stood to his full height and considered his next move. Chances are he could hide out in his chambers until nightfall and he wouldn’t be found. Only Katherine had succeeded in finding the entrance to his quarters, but if she had been able to find it, there was every possibility that her father possessed the same perceptive abilities. Lucian also wasn’t a man to cower in hiding.
Kyle Daxton might have come to hunt and trap a vampire, but he was a foolish man to think he could catch him unawares.
Silently, Lucian swept down the stairs to where the entranceway was hidden behind the heavy tapestry. He could hear them better from there. They were in the middle of the hall. Lucian could tell from the small glimmer of light coming in from under the heavy fabric that Mr Daxton had drawn some if not all of the drapes, letting daylight into the space.
No matter. Lucian thought to himself, and concentrated on the suppressing weight of the clouds that surrounded the mansion, ensuring they stay closely wrapped around the building like a suffocating blanket.
“It’s getting dark already, maybe we should just leave. The only reason I came out here with you is because you said it’d be just a day’s work. So far all I’ve seen is a creepy castle in the middle of the woods,” the bored voice of the woman rang out through the hall.
“Shut up,” Kyle bit back, “the bastard will hear you, and we need to catch him while he’s sleeping, that’s when he’s vulnerable.”
“Other than being able to move quickly and make you feel like he was inside your head, I don’t see what other evidence you have,” the journalist whispered harshly.
“My daughter. She’s here, somewhere. We just need to find her and then you’ll see. She’ll have the monster’s teeth marks all over her,” Kyle whispered back.
Had Katherine been in on this?
“Mr. Daxton, with all due respect you’ve had just about all of my time that you’re going to get,” Lucian heard the shuffle of a bag being hoisted onto her shoulder, “I’m ready to drive back now.”
The woman seemed to have a sensible head on her shoulders, despite having agreed to pursue this unusual avenue for a story.
“We’ll leave when I say we leave,” Kyle snarled.
“You don’t get to order me about, you are not my editor,” the journalist snapped back, “feel free to trespass for as long as you like Mr. Daxton. I’ll be by the car.”
“Your editor will drop you if you don’t turn in a front-page soon, what else you got up your sleeve?” Kyle laughed smugly, “I’ve got you pegged, Missy, you’ll stay. You need this story or you’re out on your ass.”
Lucian had heard enough. Kyle Daxton truly was a vile human being and he was tired of having to deal with the man. He would transfer his debt to another to oversee, Lucian was done.
With a flick of his mind, he summoned the heavy drapes in the great hall to pull shut, shrouding the room
in comfortable darkness.
That earned a gasp from the journalist.
“You see,” Kyle hushed excitedly, “he’s here. He can do things.”
“I would very much like to leave now, Mr. Daxton,” came her shaky voice.
“Indeed, Mr. Daxton,” Lucian spoke clearly through the room as he strode towards them, “I believe it is time you were off.”
The woman’s big brown eyes popped, showing the whites at the edges, she clutched at her bag and took a stumbling few steps back, her sneakers squeaking on the stone floor.
“You, you, must be Mr. Nightingale?” She stammered.
“Lord Nightingale,” he corrected and watched the woman wilt even further.
“Good of you to join us, your majesty,” Kyle Daxton sneered, “you’re just in time to accept an offer you won’t be able to refuse.”
Lucian chose to ignore the inaccuracy of his title and strolled leisurely to his chair, once seated he cocked his head to one side and cast an unimpressed glance over the man.
“Pray, do tell, what new and ridiculous proposal have you rustled up for me this time?”
“Oh, it’s not ridiculous. It’s simple. I’m not going to pay you back a cent and you, you are going to give me £5million bucks or this lovely journalist here is going to expose you for what you are.”
“Ah, I see. Blackmail. It’s a classic, I’ll give you that,” Lucian chuckled before crossing his legs and inspecting his fingernails, absently, “but tell me, what exactly am I to be exposed as?”
“A vampire. Don’t deny it. I’ve seen the way you move, I’ve felt you poking around in my head and you sure as Hell don’t like the daytime,” Kyle puffed out his chest proudly.
“A vampire? How exciting,” Lucian smirked and flicked his gaze to the petite and curly-haired journalist who was silently taking in proceedings, “and you felt this man’s word warranted a little investigation?”
“It seemed far-fetched but he promised me irrefutable evidence and witness statements in addition to his own,” the woman pouted, squaring her shoulders.
Apparently, she showed her teeth when on the defensive.
“And this additional evidence is what exactly? Am I about to be pelted with garlic? I can fetch some from the kitchen should you have forgotten to come adequately equipped?” Lucian went to stand as if he were about to run the suggested errand.
“No need,” Kyle stepped back and folded his arms over his chest, smugly.
“Kitty Kat, why don’t you come on down here and join us. I know you're here somewhere,” he called out to the great room.
Silence was his only reply.
Lucian cursed and his blood boiled with rage. He was planning on using Katherine in another of his hair-brained schemes.
“If you’re requesting Katherine join us, as she prefers to be addressed, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. She is no longer here,” Lucian replied after a beat, mindful to keep his tone disinterested.
“Bullshit. She’s here. We had a deal and my girl always comes through for her old man.”
“I assure you she left, I released her from our contract last night,” Lucian continued, “what deal did she supposedly strike with you exactly?”
“So the young woman you said had been bitten by this guy, was your daughter?!” The journalist cut in incredulously, “and you signed her up for a contract to stay here with him?”
“It was a foolish bargain, I grant you. Needless to say, keeping someone here against their will was not something I could abide by. As for being bitten by a vampire during her stay here?” Lucian shook his head and chuckled, “I can assure you that hasn’t happened. You’ll be pleased to know the woman in question is perfectly safe and unharmed.”
It was a slight bending of the truth. He had bitten her, but it hadn’t happened at Tumbricane. Thankfully he had found the willpower to stop himself when Katherine had said ‘no’ the night before, but it had taken a great effort on his part. That was partly why he had sent her away. He didn’t trust himself around her.
Lucian forced down the memory of her exquisite taste on his tongue. He cursed himself for not having drunk a couple of pouches of blood after they had arrived back at Tumbricane. He needed to keep his cravings at bay, especially so soon after having tasted her. Just the memory of it made his skin itch in an uncomfortable demand for more of the drugging nectar.
“Then where is she? Why didn’t she answer my calls?”
“Perhaps she has grown tired of your scams and manipulation?” Lucian shrugged.
“You’ve got her here, you bloodsucking bastard, probably locked up in a dungeon,” Kyle continued, becoming agitated.
“I promise you, I don’t have a dungeon on the estate,” Lucian sighed, “you’re welcome to search for her, should you wish, but she’s not here,” Lucian waved a tired hand in the air and with his mind, summoned all the doors along the balustrades to open in unison.
The journalist’s eyes went wide and she spun around to take in the sight. Kyle himself backed up a few paces and swallowed hard. Lucian smirked to himself. He was bored with entertaining his unwanted visitors, but he felt inclined to play with them a little before he cleared their memories and sent them on their way.
“You see,” Kyle hissed at the journalist, “he’s not human. He’s a vampire.”
Lucian took the opportunity while they were distracted looking upwards to appear behind them in a moment of blinding speed.
“Alright, you caught me,” he said, his voice laced with humour.
The duo jumped and spun to face him, the journalist’s dark skin becoming instantly pale.
“Now, how do you propose we proceed?” He flashed a little fang, for good measure.
“You won’t scare me that easily.”
Kyle flustered with his coat and drew out a pair of sunglasses, hurriedly putting them on, and a water gun. Lucian frowned at the absurd man. The water pistol posed no threat but the sunglasses would affectively block his ability to look into the man’s eyes.
“We’ve been recording you the whole time, haven’t we Brianna? We’ve got all your stunts on camera”
The journalist simply stammered and took further shaking steps backwards, away from Lucian. He cast a quick scrutinizing gaze over her and indeed saw the top of her phone poking out of her denim jacket pocket.
“So it’s time to pay up, or the whole world is going to know what you are and hunt you down,” Kyle continued, waving the water pistol about in front of him.
Lucian cocked an unimpressed brow and simply walked forward until the gun pressed into his chest.
“Holy water, I presume? Sorry to disappoint you but that won’t have any effect.”
Kyle pulled the trigger and frustration blossomed across his face when Lucian merely stood there with a soggy shirt.
“Fine,” he snarled angrily, “let’s see how you cope with the real deal,” he tossed the water pistol aside and drew out a loaded gun.
Lucian cursed to himself. While a bullet wouldn’t kill him, it would injure him severely.
“Kyle, I think you should put the gun down,” The journalist pitched in with a slow and careful voice, “this has already gone too far.”
“I’m not leaving until I get what I came for,” Kyle snapped, “pay up bloodsucker or I’ll shoot you and expose you and your kind to the world.”
Lucian opened his mouth to reply only to be cut off by the noisy sound of a car pulling up outside. Kyle looked nervously towards the door, while Lucian sucked in a breath. He knew those footsteps. His heart suddenly hammered in his chest.
Why had she come back?
Katherine burst through the doors and took in the scene. Her face turned from concern to a mask of pure fury. Her eyes met Lucian’s for a moment searching them for reassurance before she turned her gaze on her father and walked straight up to him.
“Put the gun down, Dad,” she ordered, her hands planted on her hips, “you’ve taken this too far.”
“No chance, Kitty Kat, move out of the way,” he grit out, “just because you lost your nerve, doesn’t mean I’m leaving here empty-handed.”
“Katherine, please step behind me,” Lucian said with deadly calm.
He hoped Kyle Daxton wouldn’t hold a gun pointed at his daughter but it appeared that he had no intention of lowering the weapon.
“Dad, you need to stop. You won’t win, you might think you’re being smart but there is no way you’ll be able to beat Lucian,” she ignored Lucian’s request and held her hands out and took slow steps forward, “please, just drop the gun and we’ll talk.”
“Lucian,” her father scoffed, “Oh yeah, I forgot you got nice and cosy with him. Shame I don’t see those bite marks you promised.”
“Katherine?” Lucian asked quietly, the threat of betrayal stabbing at his heart.
She turned and looked at him, her golden-brown eyes filled with regret and sorrow.
“I thought if I did, I’d be able to get back control over my life and I’d be free to focus on my future. I didn’t want to be in love with you, knowing that you’d only get bored of me eventually and then I’d have nothing,” Katherine explained, turning her body to face him, “but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do that to the man I love.”
Her honesty swept over him like a balm. She could’ve gone through with her father's plan last night, but instead, she had stopped him from sinking his teeth into her. He reached out his hand to her on instinct, wanting to pull her near and reassure her that he would never, could never get bored of her, that he wanted her for all eternity. Only she was snatched out of his reach.
“Love?!” Kyle spat with a humourless laugh, “I thought you’d just opened your legs for the guy, but love? That makes this even easier,” Kyle sneered and tugged his daughter back against his chest in a punishing grip, before pulling the gun back and placing it at her temple.
Katherine became utterly still and Lucian’s heart flooded with fear.
Her wide and frightened eyes tore at his soul and he swore he would kill her father for threatening her.
Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2) Page 20
