Memory of an Immortal Heart (Immortal Hearts) (14 page)

Eva
didn’t say anything. Brand glanced in the rearview. Her eyes were dark. As
Brand wished he could take those shadows away, a deeper, darker weight settled
on his chest.

“Eva.
Your memories of Rohe. Would you would give them up if you could? Go back to
your sister, your Gens? To everything as it was before?”

Eva
blinked at him, tired and haunted. And so damn beautiful he would have ripped
his heart from his chest, if it could have made a difference.

“In a
heartbeat,” she replied.

That’s
what he was afraid she would say.

They
found Joshua sitting on a graffitied bench at an abandoned bus stop in
Morrison, Pennsylvania, thumbing through a day-old copy of the local paper. He
glanced up when Brand pulled the car to the curb, then slowly finished perusing
his article before tucking the paper under his arm and climbing into the front
passenger seat.

Eva
watched those gray eyes flick from the crushed dash to the ruined headrest as
Brand pulled back onto the road. Then Joshua turned in his seat to offer her a
charming smile – it was the first time Joshua had smiled at her.
Wicked
,
Eva thought, and quelled a return smile. “Brand lost his temper, didn’t he?”
Joshua asked.

“I,
ah…”

“Never
mind,” Brand interrupted. “Joshua, how the hell did you end up
here
of
all places?” He stopped at the light, then turned to scowl on his cousin.

“Hitch-hiked,”
Joshua said succinctly, offering Eva the paper. She shook her head. “First with
an insurance salesman, then with a trucker. I burned the socks in case they had
a tracker like Khael. I haven’t seen any Sakai on my trail since Cincinnati.
Got a ride with a little old lady from there, then took a bus.”

“They
followed you to
Cincinnati?
” Eva was horrified.

“That
was the point,” Joshua said. “To lead them away from the two of you.”

“I
thought you meant to stay in Bockoven,” Brand said tightly, then turned away as
the light changed. “It would have been safer.”

Joshua
grinned. “Yeah. But my way was more fun.”

Brand
growled, taking an exit toward the interstate. Eva shifted in the back seat, so
that she sat behind Joshua, and studied Brand’s profile.
He’s tired
, she
thought, feeling guilty. She had slept last night, and Brand hadn’t. He had
stayed awake, on watch, and she hadn’t contributed anything.

Anything,
that was, but trouble.

“Have
you spoken with Seth?” Brand said abruptly. 

Joshua
frowned. “Just briefly.”

“So you
didn’t know who you were evading.”

“No.
But if it’s important, you had best tell me now.”

And
then they switched to French. Eva had had the basics of it in high school, but
that had been a long time ago. She meant to take a refresher course at the
college, hoping she could make it count toward a program, but those plans had
fallen through.

Eva
swallowed, then looked around – oddly enough – for her iPod. Before
her kidnapping, she had always had it with her. Jogging, running errands, even
when she worked her night clerk job at the hotel she had always had at least
one earbud in her ear. Rainey teased her about it. In fact, Eva had been
using
her iPod when she was kidnapped.

She
didn’t know why she expected to have it now.

But
even with Brand and Joshua speaking, the car felt so quiet. Lonely.

Eva ran
her fingers across the leather coat gathered over her lap. It was soft,
expensive. Certainly not something she ever could have afforded. And it smelled
like Brand. It smelled like strength, sunlight and freedom, all mixed in with
the perfect hint of laughter.

Eva
didn’t know why she kept imagining Brand laughing; she had barely gotten him to
smile at her.

I wish
Rainey were here
.
She’d have advice.

Because
Brand, Eva thought, studying the breadth of his shoulders, the curve of his
lips, was an absolutely gorgeous male. The way he had kissed her…Eva smiled.
Rainey’s favorite movie of all time was
Casablanca
. Eva would have to
tell her sister that
that
kiss,
Brand
’s kiss, was “better than
Casablanca
.”

“Better
than Casablanca” had been a code phrase between them since before their mother
died.

Eva
closed her eyes, imagining Rainey’s laugh. “
If that’s so, then is he any
good in bed?
” her sister would ask. “
Does he feel as good as he kisses?
”

No,
better
, Eva’s mind flashed, and her eyes flew open. Her nerves sizzled. Her
skin felt tight.

She had
never been with another Kaspian. Eva licked her lips, trying to keep from
staring at Brand.

There
were obvious reasons. The first was that Eva was related – on one level
or another – to all the males in her Gens…but her sex life had always
been nil.

There
had been a human boyfriend for a while who took the edge off her post-Initium
hormones. But after Eva’s body reached maturity, not much. Just a few men, here
and there. Eva had been afraid of getting pregnant. She had been so focused on
getting out of the Gens that, even with human birth control, she hadn’t been
willing to take that tiny risk.

The
Turner Gens was small, dwindling. Her mother’s rare bout of fertility had been
enough to ruin her dreams of leaving, and Eva and Rainey had vowed to never end
up like that.
Because if either of them had a child, leaving would
become impossible.

But
I’m
out
, Eva realized.
And Rainey is still there
.

Eva
fixed her eyes on Brand. “I need to call my sister,” she said, interrupting
him. “I need to tell her I’m okay. And let her know I’ll be delayed.”

Brand
glanced back, said something to Joshua in French. Joshua shrugged and passed
her a phone. “Use mine.”

Eva
dialed. It rang twice, then transferred over into an automatic recording. She
waited, listening to the entirety of the message, just listening to the sound
of her sister’s laughing voice, before lowering the phone.
Of course
.

“No
luck?” Brand asked. He was watching in the mirror.

“Rainey
never charges her phone,” Eva muttered.

She had
gone missing, and Rainey
still
didn’t charge her phone.

Joshua
snorted. “Wait till you meet Khael. I’m not sure he even knows how to
dial
a phone. Mostly he just swings it around and uses it for a weapon.”

Brand
caught Eva’s startled expression. “Joshua’s exaggerating.” He frowned. “Is
there anyone else you could call? Seth didn’t have a number for your Gens.”

Eva
stared at the touchpad. She had known her uncle’s, and her mother’s, but they
were both dead. “I’m not sure anyone else
has
a number,” she muttered.
Then inspiration struck. “Justin. My cousin Justin. He’s a soldier, works
directly with the Resh but…”

…but
they didn’t get along. Justin, if he even
suspected
Eva had agreed to go
to Stronghold before returning to the Turner Gens, would have a fit. He would
probably call the Resh, and the next thing Eva knew, Justin would come to
collect her. For her “own good.”

Neither
of them would care that – with what she could tell Seth – she might
be helping save other Kaspians.

No. She
wanted to go home. But not at the expense of others.

“I
think I’ll just…wait. I’ll email Rainey. It will give her a chance to charge
her phone.” That way Rainey wouldn’t worry and they could talk – and Eva
could, well…

She
glanced at Brand. Studied the line of his throat, his firm jaw. That soft,
touchable almost-mane. Brand’s arms flexed as he turned the wheel for the curve
of the road and shivered.

Does he
feel as good as he kisses?

A
not-so-small part of Eva wanted to find out.

Five
hours later, they stopped at an expensive high-rise hotel along the interstate.
Brand and Joshua had traded off driving, but by the time they arrived, Eva was
ready to drop. She had never sat still for so long in her entire life.

Not
even when she had been with Rohe.

Eva
watched as Brand passed the keys to a valet, then they went into the lobby.
Joshua had booked their rooms by phone from the road, saying something about
the place being the “most secure hotel this side of Chicago.”

Eva
thought it looked terrifyingly expensive, and that she was horribly out of
place. She was too tired to notice anything beyond that.

“If you
so much as sense something out of place, tell me,” Brand said as he unlocked
the doors to a luxurious suite with adjoining bedrooms. “We shouldn’t have
stopped, but everyone needs the sleep.”

Eva
didn’t even bother glancing around as she staggered into the closest bedroom.
Distantly she heard Brand claim first watch before he started speaking with
Joshua in French. She peeled off her clothes before lurching across the
thickest, most luxurious, carpet she had ever walked on – and fell onto
the overstuffed mattress as if were the last mattress on earth. She drifted off
to sleep.

It was
odd.

At the
Asylum she had dreamt of her mother, her sister. Simple things from her
childhood that had torn her heart apart when she woke. And in the cramped space
of the car, with Brand, Eva hadn’t dreamed at all. But here, now, by herself
and sprawled across the most comfortable bed she had ever been in, Eva had
nightmares.

Of
Rohe.

Rohe,
destroying everyone, everything Eva cared about.

And a
pair of careful blue eyes. A tiger’s eyes, full of old memories, hidden
secrets. And desire.

Eva
slept, but her night wasn’t restful at all.

Brand
woke late in the afternoon to the smell of fresh-cooked steak. His stomach
rumbled, and he groaned as he pried himself from the hotel bed. He had switched
off using it during the night with Joshua, taking turns on watch. The mattress
smelled
like his cousin, which grated at Brand’s nerves like sandpaper, but at least
Joshua was family. That made it tolerable.

Barely.

Besides,
Brand knew his own scent would have irritated Joshua just as much.

Tomorrow
night
, Brand promised himself, as he stripped his clothes and stepped into
the connected bathroom,
I take the couch
. One more night of smelling
Joshua, when what Brand really wanted was Eva’s sweet scent wrapped around him,
would drive him mad. It was a hell of a way to make do, but the suite only had
two bedrooms – and Eva needed sleep. They’d be on the road again soon
enough.

Brand
stepped into the shower and washed down with the hotel’s soaps. The sharp aroma
made him sneeze, but at least it removed Joshua’s scent.
Small favors
,
Brand thought grimly. Finished, he slung a towel around his hips, and went in
search clothes and food. Not necessarily in that order.

The
thick carpet of the large central room allowed Brand to walk silently. The
walls didn’t close in on him so much, as the walls of so many human houses did
– which was another reason his family always preferred to stay at the
Lentz Hotel. Lazy gold light poured through the huge windows to his left, and
Brand flicked a glance around the room, locating the luggage, and padded over.

Eva
laughed. The sound punched through Brand like an arrow.

Brand
unfroze, stepped around the corner, and glanced into the dining area.

Joshua
and Eva sat beside each other at the table, holding forks over half-eaten
dishes. The sunlight poured over them, the laughter still dancing in Eva’s eyes,
and the two suddenly seemed so comfortable, so
natural
with each other
that the dark, possessive deadly urge that rose up inside Brand took him
entirely by surprise. It whipped through him, unsettling everything.

Brand
wanted to kill Joshua.

For
feeding her, for sitting with her, but most of all, for making Eva laugh. Like
that
.
Brand would have given his right hand to make her laugh like that, to see those
beautiful silver eyes gleam with joy.

Fuck,
instincts.

Eva
froze, catching sight of him. Joshua glanced up and gestured to a third,
covered plate on the far end of the table. “Eva didn’t think you would wake up,
but I knew better. That doesn’t mean I won’t eat it if you don’t hurry.”

Brand
gaze met Joshua’s gaze, and saw his cousin’s amusement disappear as abruptly as
Eva’s had. Brand did his best to control his fury. Yes, Joshua had known Brand
would react…and had set out to bait him. But Joshua obviously hadn’t thought
he’d bring Brand to a point where he was seconds from committing murder. On a Kaspian
as close to him as his own brothers.