Endless Chase (17 page)

“If I don’t return for it tomorrow, burn everything in there.” She narrowed her eyes, willing him to understand the importance of her request. “It is better for you if no evidence of my stay here remains.”

“I will do as you ask.” He reached under his shirt and drew out a small gold cross.

“You will take this with you for protection.”

Katya smiled and pulled out the heavy gold cross from beneath her own shirt. The priest’s eyes widened as he reached out to touch it.

“That is very, very old, child.” He ran his fingers reverently over the heavily carved piece.

“I know, Father. It was a gift to my mama from my papa.”

He wrapped both hands around it, bowed his head and said a quick prayer. “It has brought you this far and will keep you safe.”

Katya put more faith in her own skills than in an inanimate object. Still, she figured the extra prayer would never hurt. “Thank you.” She motioned to the table and the room. “For everything.”

Father Patrescu smiled at her. “You realize that I expect you to return and tell me all.”

Once again, he made her smile and feel accepted. It was a balm to her ravaged soul.

“If I am able, I will return.” On impulse, she leaned down and kissed his weathered cheek.

Katya shouldered her pack and her weapon and was almost to the door when he spoke. “You are forgetting something.”

She turned, her brows narrowed in question. The old man stood there with his shirt collar undone and his neck exposed.

“You need to be at your full strength tonight.”

She shook her head and backed away. “I cannot.”

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“I am old, but my blood is still good.” He sighed when she took another step away from him. “There is nothing wrong with taking what is freely offered. I trust you to stop before you take too much.”

Katya went to him and slowly redid the buttons of his shirt. “You have no idea what your offer means to me, Father.”

He sighed. “Will you risk going to the village? The sun is all but set.”

Glancing out the window, she realized he was right. They’d been talking longer than she’d thought. The sun was almost gone and the night was beginning to awaken.

Time had run out.

“Are you certain?” No one had ever offered her his blood freely. At home, the blood came from a blood bank. While she’d been on the road, she’d taken it from strangers, wiping their minds clean of the encounter so they would have no memory of her or what she’d done.

“Do it.” He glanced out the window. “Before it is too late.”

Thoughts of Chase filled her mind as she lowered her mouth to the priest’s neck.

Only to save Chase would she do this. The priest was old and couldn’t spare much.

Sinking her teeth into his throat, she groaned when the fresh, warm blood hit her tongue. His blood was surprisingly potent given his age.

Katya took only a small amount, enough to give her a boost this night. She knew that by the next sunrise either she or the murderer would be dead. Father Patrescu might want her to give up her quest for vengeance, but it was too late now no matter what she wanted. With the game in motion, only one of them would see the next sunrise.

Pulling away, she carefully closed the two small holes and stepped back. “Thank you.”

The priest swayed and sat down heavily in his chair. He raised his head. “Go.

Hurry, child. But be careful.”

Nodding, she hefted her gear over her shoulder and strode out the door into the night.

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Chase was pacing the confines of the study when the rest of the family arrived, alert and ready for anything. Delight came straight to his side, her blue eyes filled with worry. “Are you okay?”

He wasn’t okay, but he wouldn’t tell her that. “Yeah.”

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him gently. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”

He gave her a brief squeeze in return and released her. “I know.” But this was something he couldn’t talk about. Not to his sister. Not to any of them.

“Cassidy?” Cristofor’s voice was strong and clear as he stood in front of the fireplace, arms folded across his chest. He made quite an impressive picture dressed completely in black with his black hair flowing to his shoulders and his green eyes blazing.

“So far the identities of the guests in the local inn have been verified, but I haven’t had time to do a real heavy background dig.” Cassidy flipped through the pages of his notebook. “Katya has checked out and we don’t know where she is.”

Zane growled, pulling Sophia closer.

Cassidy continued, ignoring the interruption. “As my wife pointed out earlier, Katya didn’t have to warn us. We could have been taken totally unawares by this attack. We would have figured it tied into the problems with the blood cult in the past.”

He closed his notebook and tucked it in his back pocket. “We would never have known anything about Katya Markova if she hadn’t stepped forward.”

“She has put my family in danger.” Cristofor’s voice was low, but there was no mistaking the underlying fury.

“Technically, this unknown man has put the family in danger,” Chase pointed out.

Cristofor whirled around to face him and Chase felt the blast of anger like a physical force. It almost blew him backward but he held his ground. “If Katya hadn’t found us then another of his people would have. There would have been no warning.”

He had no idea what had prompted him to take up Katya’s defense with his family.

Hell, yeah, he did. He cared about her. A lot. So much so that he wanted his family to like her in spite of everything.

He was a mess—physically and emotionally. Chase scrubbed his hand over his face, the heavy stubble on his jaw a reminder of his sleepless night and the long day. He’d spent most of searching for Katya. His first stop had been the village, but it hadn’t taken him long to realize that was a dead end. She was gone and had left no trace of herself behind. The rest of the day he’d spent trekking around the surrounding woods, 89

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searching everywhere for Katya. He’d hoped to find her in
their
meadow, but it was empty and there was no sign that she’d ever been there. Finally, late in the afternoon, his feet dragging and his heart aching, he’d given up the search and returned home, praying she’d come to him tonight.

Exhausted, defeated and twice as worried as when he’d started, he’d showered and changed, but hadn’t bothered to take the time to shave. He’d thought about eating, but hadn’t been tempted by the sandwiches that Blythe had tried to press on him earlier.

Lucian lounged on the sofa, Delight tucked under his arm, his fingers absently toying with his wife’s hair. “As I see it, now that we are aware of the danger, we can take steps against it. Obviously we must find the leader of this band and eliminate the threat.”

His relaxed appearance was misleading. Chase knew his brother-in-law was a dangerous man. He’d killed to protect Delight before and would have no qualms about doing so again.

Cassidy reached for a printout on the table. “I thought you’d say that, so I took the liberty of going through the information on the external drive that Katya left us. There are quite a few names, many in the United States, but just as many across Europe.” He flipped through several pages. “It’s going to take time to investigate each one.

Thankfully, a good many names on the list are no longer a problem.” He handed the pages to Lucian. “Some are already dead. I crossed Spenser’s name off the list.”

“That bastard deserved to die.” Zane began to pace and Chase knew he was thinking how close he’d come to losing Sophia to that maniac years before.

“No argument from me,” Cassidy continued. “If this group is going to continue to be a threat, we need to deal with it now.”

“I agree.” Stefan stepped forward, pure menace radiating from every inch of his body. “Enough is enough.” Laurel Rose placed her hand on her husband’s arm, but it did no good. Tension rolled from Stefan in waves, his body coiled to strike out at their enemies.

Sophia sidled up to Lucian and peeked over his shoulder. “This list gives us a good starting point. A few days back home and I’ll be able to find most of these folks.” As a former investigative reporter, Sophia had skills and contacts. Chase knew if she said she could find them then she probably could, especially with her husband’s help. Zane was very motivated.

While the rest of them discussed strategy, Chase found his mind wandering, once again, to Katya. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he’d had her in his arms. Felt her soft skin against his as he’d thrust into her welcoming heat. Katya was strong physically and emotionally, yet yielding at the same time, able to let go and embrace the sensual connection between them.

His bed still smelled of her—honey and spice—mingled with the scent of sex. He hadn’t changed the sheets. When he’d showered earlier, he’d stood beside the bed wrapped only in a towel, staring down at the rumpled bedcovers. The urge to just lie 90

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there and bask in her scent was incredibly overwhelming. He’d almost given in to the temptation, but worry for his family, and for Katya, had made relaxing impossible.

Instead, he’d leaned forward and caught a whiff of her sweet scent, his body hardening immediately. Katya brought him alive in a way he’d never been before.

His cock flexed, a tangible reminder that brought him back to the here and now.

Chase swore under his breath and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He didn’t need an erection, not now. Stalking to the window, he peered out. Dusk had settled over the land covering it in darkness, but it still remained, rugged and unyielding, yet utterly beautiful.

Where was she?

His search had turned up nothing. Less than nothing. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air. Yet he knew she was out there somewhere.

Anger and need warred within him. Katya belonged with him, to him. Yet she had lied to him, used him. His body vibrated with the need for action, but all he could do was wait.

He snorted. Given she was a hybrid vampire, she was no doubt stronger than he was. She didn’t need him to protect her.

Chase stilled. That was part of what was making him crazy. She didn’t need him. In fact, she was able to survive quite well without him. He, on the other hand, knew he’d never be the same. Katya had changed him in a fundamental way. There was a hole inside him, growing larger each moment she was away from him. If he didn’t find her soon, he was afraid that darkness would swallow him whole.

Was it the same for her? Or had she already put him from her thoughts?

A savage fury welled up within him. He would not be forgotten. He would find her no matter where she went. She was his.

Chase shook his head, ignoring the dull throb at the base of his skull. What was wrong with him? It was as if the emotions swelling inside him weren’t even his. They were primitive and dangerous and very, very real.

Stefan’s voice rang out across the room. “She’s here.”

None of them needed to ask who “she” was. Chase started for the door, but Cristofor stepped into his path. He stared up at the man whom he respected more than anyone else in the world, besides his sister. “Get out of my way.”

Cristofor’s features turned cool and remote, his green eyes hardening, but he took a step back. A heavy pounding came on the main door just as he reached it. Stefan was close on his heels, but Chase ignored him. All his focus was on getting to Katya.

He yanked the door open and she surged inside, slamming it shut. “What are you doing answering the door? Aren’t there any vampires around here?”

Indignation and anger filled him at the insult. “I may be a puny human, but I manage.” She flinched slightly, but recovered quickly. If he hadn’t been watching her closely, he would have missed the telltale sign.

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“I was with him,” Stefan drawled.

Katya nodded. “I need to talk to all of you.”

“By all means.” Chase swept out his arm, barely able to control the cocktail of violent emotions surging through him. He wanted to shake him for all the worry she’d put him through. Then he wanted to fuck her, marking her once again as his. Instead, he motioned her forward. “Everyone is in the study. You know the way.”

Katya almost stumbled, but caught herself. Emotions bombarded her at every turn.

She pulled up her defenses, shutting everything out. She had to if she was going to survive.

She hadn’t meant to anger Chase, but she’d been appalled when he’d opened the door. As a human, he was the most vulnerable. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.

Every female cell in her body sprang to attention the second she’d laid eyes on Chase. Her core clutched and dampness seeped into her panties. Her breasts tightened, her nipples hardening as she took in every inch of his hard, male body. Oh, she’d missed him. It had only been a matter of hours since she’d seen him, lain in his arms, felt his lips on hers, but it seemed like forever.

She was no longer willing to lie to herself. She loved Chase Deveraux. But more than that, she knew he was her mate, her chosen one, her only love. Nature or fate, whatever you wanted to call it, was playing a cruel trick with them both.

A hybrid vampire and a human. Impossible.

All her life, she’d wondered if there was a mate for her somewhere out there in the world, if it would work the same way with her that it had with her parents. Her papa hadn’t known, had cautioned her that only time would tell.

Now she knew. The attraction between them was almost alive, like silken threads binding them tighter to one another each time they were together. There would never be anyone for her but Chase. When she left here, she would be alone for as long as she lived.

Because of her all-consuming need for vengeance, she’d thrown away her only chance at love.

Not that there had really been any choice. She’d been too far down the road of revenge before she’d ever laid eyes on Chase. Besides which, he was human. His life span was so much shorter than hers. A hybrid vampire had never converted a human.