Lifting his head, Nathan watched in the mirror as she appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. He’d gone in search of her earlier, but she hadn’t been with the others in the house, and he hadn’t found her outside.
“Where were you?” he asked as he turned on the sink and cupped his hands under the warming water.
“Exploring. He’s older than you. Do hunters work like vampires with your power increasing with age?”
“Exploring where?” he asked to distract her from her question.
“The houses. I was curious to see how you hunters live.” The few cabins she’d gone through were small. They all displayed the same white walls, brown wood floors, white kitchen cabinets, black counters, and gray fireplaces. By the time she was halfway through the fourth house, she’d become bored and depressed. “You hunters do realize there are more colors in the world than brown, white, gray, and black, right?”
“Yes,” Nathan replied.
“Do you have a lot of depression in your strongholds?”
“Hunters don’t experience depression.”
Nathan turned the water off and turned to face her. She almost rolled her eyes when he removed a gray hand towel from the rack beside the sink to dry his face and hands.
“Order is a must with our people,” he said. He preferred having this conversation with her than the one about Jordan.
“It won’t throw your world into chaos if you buy an orange towel. It’s not like it’s the gateway color to all the other bad colors; you won’t all be losing it to get a yellow towel next.”
He hung the towel neatly back on the rack. “Perhaps, but it’s the way things have always been done.”
“And at one time, people believed the earth was flat and leaches cured all ills; time changes things. Why do you stay so stuck in these bleak ways?”
“You see them as bleak?” he asked.
“Don’t you?”
“I never considered my life bleak because it lacked color.”
“It’s not just the lack of color, and maybe bleak isn’t the right word. No one is allowed to be an individual, not even you, and it’s sad. Or at least, I find it sad, but they’re not my people, you’re not my leader, and it’s not my way of life. I would be depressed if I lived in such a harsh environment.”
He was beginning to wish he hadn’t pursued this conversation; all it did was emphasize the gulf between them. Gritting his teeth, he leaned against the sink and opened his arms to Vicky. “Come here,” he said.
Vicky didn’t hesitate. She didn’t care if every vampire she knew crowded into the bathroom to witness her going to him. She needed his touch. Sliding her arms around his waist, she rested her head on his chest as he enveloped her in his embrace.
“He’s older than you,” she said again.
Nathan kissed the top of her head. “Who told you what I plan for Jordan?”
“Kadence. Were you going to keep it from me?”
“No. I wanted to tell you myself, but you were exploring.”
“Are hunters like vampires? Do you get stronger with age?”
He should have known she would recall her earlier question. “Yes, but eventually age starts to affect us, as it does with humans. Many women live to be over one hundred fifty with ease, while many men perish in battle. Jordan is older than me, been hunting and training longer than me, but he doesn’t have my bloodline.”
“Nathan—”
“I’m stronger than him.”
“Strength doesn’t always win battles.”
“No, but I’m also more controlled than he is. I’ve been taught to lead, to remain calm and evaluate all situations before plunging into them. I haven’t had colors to distract me from those teachings,” he teased in the hopes of coaxing a smile from her.
Vicky wasn’t at all amused. “A battle between the two of you isn’t necessary. Kill him and be done with it.”
“He deserves a trial of some sort, and he’ll get one in the ring, against me. The survivor walks away.”
“The hunter moral code of ethics is also bleak.”
Nathan chuckled and kissed her temple before moving his lips lower. For her sanity and his, she should resist him, but she melted against him while he kissed her with a tenderness that left her breathless.
Her ears twitched when she heard a footstep in the hall. She started to pull away, but Nathan leaned out and kicked the door shut.
“Not yet,” he murmured as he clasped her face and kissed her again.
His tongue had just swept in to taste her when a knock sounded on the door. “It’s time to go, Nathan,” Asher said from the other side.
Lifting his head, Nathan gazed down at Vicky as he ran his thumb over her lips. “I’ll be right there,” he called back to Asher.
He listened to Asher retreating before kissing her again.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke.
“It was me he attacked; shouldn’t I be the one given an opportunity to face him?” she inquired.
“I will make him pay for attacking you,” Nathan bit out. “Besides, if you kill him, you’ll start to smell like a Savage, and you’ll be a step closer to becoming one.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” she reminded him.
“Jordan is one of my hunters. It’s my responsibility to handle this. I have more training than you, and I won’t have you risking yourself.”
“I’m not one of your hunters, Nathan. I belong to no one but myself, so you won’t be having me do anything, and don’t forget that.”
“Vicky—”
“It doesn’t matter; you’ll do what you want. No matter how foolish it is.”
Pulling out of his arms, she turned and left the bathroom without looking back. Asher didn’t seem at all surprised to see her when she stepped into the hall. Their eyes briefly met as Vicky walked by him.
CHAPTER 30
When Nathan returned from taking the vampire trainee to the prison, he discovered Vicky leaning against the side of Ronan’s SUV. She kept her head bowed and her shoulders up, as if bracing herself for something. He walked toward her as the first rays of the sun poked over the trees.
The early morning glow of the sun colored her hair with pinks and oranges, making him ache to touch it. She’d be amused to learn how much he enjoyed the colors playing over her, but he sensed she was already pulling away from him.
A vise-like pressure constricted his chest; he wasn’t ready to let her go yet.
Ronan stepped in front of him. “It’s time for us to leave. Are you sure you want to return to the stronghold?”
“I have to,” Nathan said. If he, Asher, and Jordan didn’t return today, red flags would go up all over the stronghold.
“You could walk away,” Kadence said. “You could protect yourself and make your own choices about your life.”
Kadence’s eyes, nearly an identical shade of blue as his, flicked toward Vicky while she said this last bit.
“You know I can’t,” he said.
“You’re not safe there, Nathan.”
“Jordan was a one-man mission. Many of the hunters don’t approve of the changes I’m making, but I don’t believe any of them will try to ambush me like Jordan planned to do. They’ll come at me head-on, or they’ll put me on trial as a traitor.”
“You’re not a traitor!” Kadence retorted.
He held her gaze as he replied, “Father might not agree with you.”
Her nose scrunched up in exasperation. “Then you’re saying he would consider me a traitor too, and I don’t think he would. Father didn’t know the truth about vampires; things probably would have been different if he had.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“I know they would have,” she insisted. “If something happens to you in there, Nathan—”
“Nothing will happen.”
“Damn it! Why are you so stubborn?”
He gripped her shoulders and smiled at her. “It runs in
the family as you, my dear sister, are one of the most infuriatingly, stubborn women I’ve ever met.”
Behind her, Ronan nodded his agreement, and Nathan chuckled. When Kadence’s head snapped toward him, Ronan gave her an innocent smile.
“Now, it’s time for all of us to go,” Nathan said.
He fell into step beside Kadence as they approached the vehicles. Nathan willed Vicky to look at him, but she kept her gaze steadfastly away.
“Can you give me a ride back to my hotel?” she asked Ronan.
“I’d prefer if you’d return to staying with us,” Ronan said.
Nathan opened his mouth to agree with Ronan before closing it. He didn’t want her out in the world alone, not anymore, but she’d break into song and dance before she listened to him. If he told her to go back, she would do the opposite. Nathan would have less of a chance to see her if she went back to residing in Ronan’s mansion, but he’d visit her there when he could.
“There are some things I have to take care of first, but I’ll return soon,” Vicky said to Ronan.
“And if you're caught or killed in the meantime?” Ronan asked.
“What I’m doing isn’t dangerous, and I have friends who are helping me with it. It may come to nothing, but there’s still a chance I could discover something to help us locate Joseph, or maybe give us an idea of what he’s up to.”
“I’d prefer it if you took one of my men with you when you went,” Ronan said.
Vicky bit her lip to keep from blurting a reply. She didn’t need a babysitter. However, fighting him wouldn’t do her any good. Reason was the only thing that would work. She may not accomplish anything by going through the sewers, but she was almost done, and she was determined to see it through to the end.
“Abby and Brian will be back tomorrow, and Aiden is probably returning with them; I’ll take one of them with me,” she said.
“And today?” he asked.
“I’ll wait for them to return before I resume what I’m doing,” she said.
She’d prefer to keep her family out of this part of her life, but she’d really prefer not to have a Defender tromping through the sewers with her. She liked Declan, and Saxon wasn’t bad, but with her luck, she’d be stuck with Killean or Lucien. She could already hear Lucien bitching about it and imagine Killean’s stony, disapproval radiating off him.
“Fine,” Ronan said. “But if I find out you went out alone again, I’ll make Brian help me for even longer.”
Vicky felt the blood drain from her face. Before Brian and Abby had gotten together, Ronan had called on, and paid, Brian for his unique locator ability. When Vicky was kidnapped, and Abby and Brian were searching for her, Brian had kept things from Ronan that he shouldn’t have. Because of that, Ronan no longer considered Brian a paid employee at will, but one who was pretty much at Ronan’s beck and call.
Ronan didn’t abuse the situation, and Brian still had freedom, but it upset Abby as she blamed herself for it, and Vicky blamed herself when it was really asshole Duke’s fault. However, if Vicky went against Ronan now, it would be her fault, and there was no telling how long Ronan would keep Brian leashed. No matter how much she chafed against restraints of any kind, Vicky would never do that to Abby.
“I won’t go anywhere without a member of my family,” she promised.
“Good,” Ronan said.
“She can go with me also,” Nathan interjected. “I’m off from hunting tonight.”
“And with you,” Ronan said.
Vicky didn’t know if that excited or terrified her. She yearned for time alone with Nathan again, but it would be better if she distanced herself. Already, Vicky cared for him more than she’d ever intended. For her own best interests, she should tell him no, but she wasn’t going to make a scene in front of everyone about it.
When he contacted her later to say he was on his way, she would tell him their too-brief fling was over. She stepped away from the SUV when Declan opened the back door for her and climbed inside.
A weight settled on her shoulders, and tears burned her eyes at the realization it was over already between them, but she steadfastly held them back. She vowed not to look at Nathan again, but she couldn’t stop herself as Killean got behind the wheel and everyone else settled inside the vehicle. Killean started the SUV and began to pull away.
Despite the heavily tinted windows, she felt Nathan’s eyes on her.
CHAPTER 31
By the time Nathan returned to the stronghold, thunderclouds had rolled in to obscure the sun. Those clouds matched his increasingly foul mood. His eyes were grainy from lack of sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t find any for a while. In the rearview mirror, he watched as Asher parked behind him in front of the main house.
Nathan recalled watching Vicky climb into the SUV as he bit his tongue against commanding her to return with Ronan. But there was nothing he could have done or said. She wasn’t a hunter; she wasn’t his family or girlfriend. He had no claim over her, something she made repeatedly clear, but he wanted one.
Even if he did have some claim on her, she wasn’t a hunter female; she would never be docile and obedient.
For the first time, that trait in her irritated him. He wouldn’t change anything about her, but he wouldn’t mind putting her somewhere safe and keeping her there.
Leaning back in his seat, his hands clenched on the steering wheel as he inhaled the lingering scent of her on his clothes. He’d almost lost her last night, and it made him realize one thing: Vicky was the only woman he’d ever truly wanted, and he could never have her.
He nearly tore the steering wheel from the truck before forcing himself to release it. Opening the door, he stepped into the misty drizzle starting to fall. The chill of the day did nothing to ease the anger building over his inability to steer the course of his life.
He didn’t have his door closed before Logan came around the corner of the main house and stalked toward him with his head bowed and a haggard air about his slumped shoulders. Nathan braced himself; whatever this was about, it couldn’t be good.
“We have a problem,” Logan stated when he stopped before him.
He’d already prepared himself for what he would do when someone reported Jordan hadn’t returned, but he’d hoped to have until the afternoon or tomorrow before it happened.
“What is it?” he asked as Asher approached them.
“I think you should see it for yourself,” Logan said. His eyes, usually the color of a pine needle had deepened in hue with his apprehension.
Nathan frowned over the odd statement and the way Logan shifted restlessly back and forth. Logan could be a bit of a hothead, but he was never antsy. And if this were about Jordan, Logan would have said that.
Nathan exchanged a questioning glance with Asher before following Logan to the side of the main house and around to the back. Logan opened the gate in the eight-foot-tall privacy fence surrounding the backyard, and they all entered.
A large, gray stone patio surrounded the Olympic-sized pool. At the far end of the patio, an outdoor kitchen with gleaming, stainless steel appliances was sheltered from the elements by the veranda overhanging it. The red bricks of the fire pit on the other side of the patio formed a tapered, ten-foot-tall chimney. A small tiki bar sat next to the fire pit, and ornamental trees filled the mulch bed lining the inside of the fence.
This area was more decadent than any of the hunters were used to, but Nathan planned to have a couple of cookouts here in the spring—another thing never done before.
Logan led them around the covered pool and into the pool house. The two-story structure, larger than the cabins at the old stronghold, had been converted into a temporary security building until they could construct something more state of the art. They passed where the patio furniture and pool supplies were stored as they made their way to the spiral staircase at the back of the first floor.
Nathan climbed the stairs and stepped into the loft. Closed against the increasing wind and rain, the Fr
ench doors across the way led out to a thirty-by-thirty sunbathing deck, another tiki bar, and the hot tub. The wall with the French doors was made up entirely of windows overlooking the pool, but black drapes covered all the glass to keep the various electrical equipment within shielded from the sun.
Roland, the head of security, sat at a bank of computers, frantically typing as he rolled his chair back and forth between the seven computers positioned on the desks surrounding him. A growing sense of dread formed in Nathan’s stomach as Roland muttered something, wiped the sweat from his brow, and pushed his chair over to another computer.
Roland’s salt-and-pepper hair stood up in spikes from his forehead when he ran his hand through it. His round face was flushed as he continued to mutter to himself. Usually, Roland was leaning back in his chair, coffee in hand, and smiling. He looked ready to blow a gasket.
Years of being behind a desk, instead of on the hunt, had turned his once lean body toward pudgy, but retiring from the field hadn’t been Roland’s choice. At the prime age of one hundred, a vampire broke Roland’s leg off at the knee. A hundred years ago, prosthetics weren’t what they were now, so Roland left the field to become a guard at the stronghold.
Over the years, Roland moved up through the security ranks. Now at two-hundred-two, Roland was a computer guru who knew the ins and outs of every inch of the stronghold. Still, Kadence had managed to slip out on his watch. Roland had been impressed by her ability to get out, but he remained a little bitter about the fact she’d found a weakness in his system.
“What’s going on?” Nathan demanded as he stalked toward Roland.
Roland’s brown eyes were filled with distress when he spoke. “The stronghold in San Francisco has gone dark.”
“What do you mean dark?” Nathan asked as Asher and Logan joined him.
Standing behind Roland, Nathan gazed at the computer screens. One of them showed a map with highlighted areas, one had every stronghold in the world pinpointed with a red dot on the map, and others revealed security footage of some of the strongholds.
As he watched, hunters from all over the world strolled by those cameras, uncaring about being monitored. They were all used to the cameras, and only a few pointed at the stronghold. Most cameras pointed outward, and there weren’t any in the homes or meeting places.
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