Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tucker
“ Y ou want to what? Damn, you’re crazier than you look, shifter.”
I take Huntley’s comment as a compliment, confident this will work. “Vampires only ever smell the human in me. That makes me perfect bait.”
Huntley doesn’t look convinced, but it’s my neck on the line, so it’s my call.
“I’ll draw him down and over toward the shadows there. I can incapacitate him, and you can move in and confirm that he’s made and not born.”
“Scottie’s going to kick my ass for letting you do this…but it’s a decent plan.”
I wave away his concern. “She’ll be fine. She’s a strategic woman and knows I can handle myself.”
With nothing more to be discussed, I ease around the corner of the building, keeping my movements casual but deliberate. The lone outdoor smoker lounges against the loading dock railing, his posture relaxed but alert.
“Hey man, is there a party here tonight?” I call out. “Or did I get punked?”
The vampire’s nostrils flare, scenting the air. His head snaps toward me, his eyes narrowing. The predatory shift in his stance tells me I’ve got him on the hook. His lips curl into a cruel smile. “Oh, yeah. The party’s inside. Must be your lucky night.”
I stop before I step into the line of the loading dock cameras and take another look around. “Where are all the cars and people?”
“The parking lot is on the other side of the building.”
I take a few steps backward, drawing him my way. “Shit, maybe I’ve got the wrong address.”
As I retreat further, he jumps down from the loading dock, the predatory look in his eyes enough to make someone’s skin crawl. I turn back toward where Huntley is waiting, stumbling in my pretend panic as I play the part of the frightened human. “Look, man, I don’t want any trouble.”
“And I want to lick you like a chocolate dip cone. Who do you think will get what they want?” The vampire stalks closer, focused entirely on me.
Just a few more steps…
He lunges, fangs bared. I drop and roll as Huntley materializes from the shadows behind him. My stalker spins, but he’s too slow. Huntley’s massive arms lock around his head and with one brutal twist, there’s a sickening crack.
The guy’s body crumples to the ground. “Well? Is this one of Daeva’s turned army?”
Huntley examines the body. He opens the vampire’s mouth and tests his incisor with the pad of his finger. When he straightens, he brushes his palms together. “He’s a fledgling turn, not more than a few months old. It’s a good sign, but it’s not exactly a lock. We need more.”
With that, Huntley scoops the downed vampire off the ground and starts jogging for the shadows.
I follow, double-checking that no one is around to notice us. “What are we doing with the body?”
“We’ll find a place to stash it. Do you want the honor of relieving him of his head, or would you rather I did it?”
I grunt. “He said he wanted to lick me like a chocolate dip cone.”
“Fair enough. He’s all yours.”
Scottie
I’m torn as Zane claims me for the stakeout. I invited Tucker along, and now he’s stuck with Huntley. Not that he’ll do anything against my guy. Huntley and I are over the worst of our issues, but still…
“Come on, Scots. I have an idea where we can hide ourselves.” Zane takes my hand and tugs me in the opposite direction of Huntley and Tucker. His grip is warm, firm, and if I’m not imagining things, a little possessive.
Zane gets what Zane wants—it’s part of being a Fondatori royal.
We jog off, the shadows of the old trees lining the perimeter offering us the cover we need to remain unseen. I glance backward, but Huntley and Tucker have been swallowed up by the darkness.
A knot of worry twists in my stomach, but I shove it down. Those two are both capable of taking care of themselves. Together they are a lethal force.
When we get around to the front, we skirt the long laneway leading out to the dead-end street. Zane leads me to a pair of massive old trees standing off to the side of the main entrance. “What do you think of this for our makeshift watchtower for the night?”
I glance around, considering our view and the potential escape points. “Yeah, this will do nicely.”
Zane leans forward and links the fingers of both his hands. “Leg up?”
I place my foot in the cradle he’s offering and press my hands against the wide trunk. The bark is rough beneath my fingertips, and I feel around until I get a good hold and can pull myself up. “It’s been a long time since we climbed trees together.”
Zane chuckles behind me. “Remember how much fun we used to have on Centre Island?”
How could I not? Jack used to take us when Da and Francesco were out of town. We’d wait until the last ferry left the island, then we’d hit the amusement park at Centreville for a night of crazy fun. There would be rides and junk food, and then we’d spend the rest of the evening running in the open park, climbing trees.
“Do you think our fathers ever knew about our unauthorized trips?”
Zane chuckles close behind me, scaling the tree with ease. “Oh, they knew. It’s how they manipulated us into not getting annoyed that they were leaving us.”
“Sneaky smart.”
“That they were.”
When I climb into the wide V of the trunk, it takes a bit to get turned around and settled, but when I do, Zane settles in right beside me. We squish together a bit and then he scoops me up and drapes my legs over his lap to give my hips more space. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” If he weren’t a vampire and I didn’t know better, I’d worry that I’m too heavy to be sitting on him with just the hard bark and wood of the tree under his butt to cushion my weight. But he is a vampire, and I know very well that won’t bother him in the slightest.
Perched where we are, we’re hidden within the canopy of the tree, but have an unobstructed view of the main entrance of the building. We’ve also got an unobstructed view of the sprawling grounds below us. “I bet this place used to be nice.”
Zane nods. “It’s one thing I always wished we had growing up.”
I twist in his lap and read the nostalgia in his gaze. “What is?”
“A big yard. The compound is great, and I love living downtown, but when we have kids, I want them to run free in the moonlight.”
I meet his gaze—something unspoken swirling in his eyes. “Don’t talk like that, Z. I love where we’re headed, but you can’t start planning our lives together and naming our kids so soon.”
“It’s all I think about, Scots. Even when you refused to see me, all my dreams were filled with us together, building the life we always dreamed about.”
I close my eyes and try not to let the emotions he’s prodding overwhelm me. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m your squire. We’re piecing our love back together. I need you to take it slower with the promises.”
He leans closer, curling a strand of hair behind my ear. “I can go slower. I have eternal longevity and am not planning to have my head removed. Slow works.”
He brushes a gentle finger under my chin and pauses with our lips about to touch. He’s giving me the chance to pull back, but I don’t. “Does slower mean you don’t want to kiss me?”
“It does not.”
“So, I’ve got your permission?”
“You do.”
The kiss starts soft but quickly deepens—a rush of warmth and familiarity flooding over me as our lips move in sync. My heart races as memories flood my mind: long summer nights spent hiding from the world, the two of us edging closer to a sexual relationship, the soul-deep knowledge that we were written in the stars…
I’m getting lost in him again, but I’m not even sure I care. He’s always been my home and I’ve been adrift for seven long years.
With his arms around me, his scent in my head and his fangs descended and skimming over my lips, I’m his.
I’ve always been his.
A sound in the distance startles me and I break away, breathless, scanning the entrance to the building below us. “There she is.”
Daeva Blackthorne exits the abandoned hospital, but before closing the door, she turns to shout inside. “Tell Alec to get his ass out here or I’ll find a new pet to play with.”
She slams the door, standing on the wide concrete steps like she owns the night itself.
My heart pounds in my chest and I tap my communicator. “We’ve got her. The burgundy-haired bitch just stepped out onto the front steps.”
Huntley responds in the next instant. “Call Link for backup. Tucker and I will be right there.”
Zane pulls his phone out and is calling for backup as a tall, dark, and deadly vampire joins Daeva on the front steps. They stand there for a moment, speaking in hushed tones, then they head off to the right toward the parking lot.
“If they get in a car, they’re going to get away.”
Zane frowns. “But if we take them on now, the entire army could rush out of that building and we’ll be fucked.”
“So, we’re just going to let her get away?”
The idea makes me sick. My stomach literally churns as bile burns up the back of my throat. I don’t even realize I’m leaning forward until Zane tightens his grip around me. “Kaza’s army is the biggest immediate threat. We play it smart, wipe them off the playing field, and then we move on to Daeva and Lazarus.”
It takes everything in me not to pull away from Zane and go after the bitch myself, but I know he’s right. If Da were here, he’d say, ‘Pick yer battles, lass. How do ye eat an elephant?’
“One bite at a time.”
I hate that he’s right, but as the brake lights of Daeva’s car pull off into the distance, I let it go. “Fine. We take out the nest and take their numbers down. Then we go after Daeva and her maker.”
Zane gives me a hug and kisses my cheek. “We won’t stop until they’re all dead, Scots. I swear to you, we’ll avenge them.”
I swipe the traitorous tears that escaped onto my cheek and draw a deep breath. “You bet your perfect dimpled ass we will.”