Memory of an Immortal Heart (Immortal Hearts) (9 page)

Brand
had his doubts about that. Still, he struggled with himself, staring at the
trees. “We’ll wait,” he finally forced out, “until Seth gets back to us. Maybe
he’ll find something on the footage.” Brand wondered if he was making the right
decision. If Eva had been kidnapped again, every second counted.

When he
got his hands on her, he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight again.

Joshua
swore. “Brand, ask him for help. He’s the best. If she is your amati, then you
would think…”

“I
don’t think
anything
,” Brand snapped. “Except that she’s been tortured
and she’s in trouble. And that she’s out there, cold and terrified and alone
– with Sakai.
Fuck
,” Brand snarled, his temper surging. He glared
at Joshua. “Leave Khael out of this.”

Joshua’s
phone began to ring. But Joshua didn’t answer it immediately, holding it in his
gloved hand as he stared at Brand. “A long time ago,” he finally said, “Someone
once warned me that tigers in Kade Gens grow unreasonable when they first find
their mates. Dangerous, even – to themselves and others. I believe that
person was you, Brand. We were both drunk and three sheets to the wind, but I
believed you then, and I
definitely
believe you now.”

Brand
tensed, his arm bunched. Joshua’s eyes turned cold and gray as a knife blade.

“Cousin,
if you hit me again,” Joshua’s deep voice was stripped of all warmth, going
deadly and soft, “I won’t be able to answer this call. Because I will be
sliding a knife through your ribs. Then
you
will be the one to explain
to Seth why you’re avoiding his calls. And
why
, of all things, you won’t
ask Khael for help.”

“I’d
ask him,” Brand said, his jaw tight as he glanced out at the parking lot,
sweeping for threats, “but not for this.”

But
what he really meant was
Not for her
. Of all people he would ask to help
find Eva, he hoped never to ask Khael.

It
wasn’t because Brand felt guilty.

No,
Brand didn’t want to ask for Khael’s help because, deep down, he knew that if
Khael found Eva for him, it would hurt his brother far worse than anything
else. Khael would hide it, but damn it…if you carried a man’s memories of his
amati for a half-millennium, then you got to know that man pretty damn well.
And Brand knew that finding Eva would hurt Khael as badly as if he had taken
those memories all over again.

If
Joshua couldn’t put those facts together, Brand wasn’t going to point them out.

Asking
Khael was a…well, he would only do it if he
had
to.

“Fuck,”
Brand swore, turning away as he raked his fingers through his hair. He resisted
the urge to pace the parking lot one more time. Because Eva was out there
somewhere.

“A word
of advice,” Joshua flipped open the phone, connecting the call. “Get your head
on straight, Brand. And
soon
.”

Then
Seth’s voice said, from the other side of the line,
“Turn on your radio.
Police just reported a tiger sighting in Evans Park
.
If there are any
Sakai in the area, they are sure to be there too.
”

Joshua
cursed and Brand snarled.

Fuck.
Human police – that was the
last
thing they needed. Well, that and
Sakai.

She had
lost the Sakai, but she had also lost herself.

Actually,
Eva thought, replaying what had happened in her mind, she had probably only
imagined the Sakai – she hadn’t seen them. Not once. Just shadows, and
shadows didn’t count for anything. She hadn’t even
sensed
Sakai chasing
after her. It was likely all in her head, some sort of PTSD thing, and she had
panicked like a silly cub and left behind the only people she could trust to
help her.

Worse,
if she dropped her blood tiger form and turned human again, she was going to
freeze to death.
Lake-front snow?
Eva twitched her tail in abject
disgust. Was that what the woman had called it? “
Postcard picture from hell
freezing over
” would be a more accurate description. Eva had never imagined
it could get so cold in Ohio. Her breath came in great clouds from her
nostrils, her chest burned slightly, and she was more than glad for her thick
coat of fur.

Brand
and Joshua would be long-gone, glad to have washed their hands of her and her
problems.
Face it,
Eva told herself as she slipped through the thick
winter brush beside a park trail,
You’re lucky they helped you as far as
they did. They’re Kade Gens. Kades don’t bother with lesser Gens.
Eva
rumbled a growl and tried to swallow the angry disappointed sensation that rose
with that knowledge – Brand had promised everything would be okay, that
he would take her home. But instead he had taken her to Ohio, forced her to buy
an oversized coat, and now she was completely lost.

Get a
grip.
She was being weak again. Dependent.

And
this situation wasn’t so bad.
Anything
was better than being Rohe’s test
subject.

So
. She
flexed her paws against the snow, glad for the cover of nightfall, and slunk
toward the central structure of the abandoned park.
Just how does a tiger
with no money and no sense of direction get her paws on a map?

Eva had
just slunk over the top stair to the small park amphitheater, debating that
issue, when a heavy weight slammed her to the ground.

Sakai
.

Terror
rose inside Eva, so that her pulse turned thready as a dozen half-healed
injures flared to life across her body. She snarled, whipping her claws around
to eviscerate the threat and instead found herself in the grip of a
much-too-strong hand as it latched around the ruff of her neck and shook her
like a kitten. A quasi-familiar voice snarled, “Change
back
, Eva! Before
the police get here!”

She
scented the dark masculine scent of citrus, of warm sunlit leaves in shade
– aka the scent of desire and her inconveniently over-active hormones.
Brand
.

Oh
thank god. Eva didn’t think, she turned and wrapped a foreleg over his shoulder
as he rose from his crouch and licked his face. Brand tasted as good as he
smelled – and he gave a soft snort of amusement, the harsh biting scent
of his concern fading as he buried strong fingers into her fur and gave
another, lighter shake. “Change back now, Evita. Someone sighted you in the
park and called the police. Sakai are going to be all over the place in a
matter of moments.”

“As if
we don’t have enough problems,” Joshua muttered before looking at her. His
brows arched and he smirked, “Bad kitty,” even as Eva flashed her teeth in
annoyance. Joshua rolled his eyes, almost entirely cloaked in the shadows of a
pillar as he thrust a bag forward. “Give her the clothes Brand, so she can
Change and we can at least stop worrying about animal control.”

Brand
pulled his fingers from Eva’s fur, leaving her strangely bereft as he set the
plastic-smelling Walmart bag on the ground before her. When he looked like he was
going to stand there and watch her Change, Eva gave a short growl. Brand may
have seen her naked, but
this
– this was personal. Only family
members were allowed to watch her change. Joshua laughed softly from the
shadows as Brand turned away.

Perhaps
it was because Eva had such a fine view of Brand’s backside, but the Change
came easier than usual for her. But then, the Change had always felt like
foreplay, and with Brand standing so close…

Eva
snarled softly as she resumed human form. The cold night air bit at her skin.
Her nipples, already hard from the Change, tightened painfully. But the cold
was in no way as palpable as the hot feel of Brand’s eyes tracing her naked
body.

He had
turned back to watch her.

Was
there an air of possessiveness in his gaze?

Eva
shivered, cupping her fingers over her breasts, and very carefully did not look
at him. She bent her head, looking for her shoes…or something. Anything to
avoid those electric sapphire eyes. Desire had sparked inside her earlier, when
she first saw Brand – it had jumped, leaping for him – and now Eva
was afraid what she would see reflected in his gaze as he looked at her
injured, too-thin body.

No, she
wasn’t even remotely attractive at the moment. She knew that.

I never
should have allowed myself to be taken by Rohe.

She had
been weak – stupidly weak.

“You
weren’t supposed to watch,” she said quietly.

Brand
shrugged, cleared his throat, and didn’t say anything.

Eva
turned her back and quickly sorted through the plastic bag for a pair of jeans
and a sweater; she’d worry about underclothes later. Eva was shivering by the
time she pulled the clothes on turned back around. Brand frowned at her bare
feet. “You need shoes again.”

“These
will work until we reach my Gens.”

“Yes.
About that. We need to talk, Eva.” Brand grabbed her hand, pulling her back
into the thick shadows that surrounded Joshua.

“You
mean, talk about why we’re in
Ohio
of all places?” she said, trying to
find the edge of her earlier temper – and failing. They both ignored her.

“The
Sakai are nearing the treeline. We need to split up to break the trail,
otherwise they’ll find us all.” Joshua’s voice was low.

Eva
felt as if cold water had just been thrown over her. “So there
are
Sakai
here? I thought maybe I was imagining…” her words dwindled under Joshua’s
disbelieving look.

“What,
you
chose
to run away from the Walmart parking lot? You just
thought
you’d go for an excursion through the park at night, naked? Is this something
you do
often
, kitten?”

“Joshua.
Suggestions rather than criticism?” Brand interrupted in a clipped tone.

Joshua
turned back to him. “I need some of her hair.”

Eva
flinched back even as she heard Brand growl. “
No
.” Anger rose inside
her.

“If she
had older clothing, something with a scent-mark, I’d use her shirt,” Joshua said
patiently, ignoring her. “But since she doesn’t, I need either her blood, or
her hair. Then I’ll go out through the trees and mark a trail. The Sakai will
think she doubled back. They’ll follow, then the two of you can start for the
car.”

“What
about the police?” Eva asked.

Joshua
gave Eva a long look. “Now that you aren’t furry, I don’t give a damn about the
human police. We don’t have much time. Hair or blood, Eva. Make your choice.”

Eva
stretched slightly, feeling the scab pull at her back. “Blood might be easier.”

“Then
give me something I can work with.”

“How…”
Eva flushed, not sure how to go about doing that.

Joshua
snarled softly, focusing on the trees. “God, female. Do you
want
to be
tortured by Sakai again? Because I certainly don’t.”

And Eva
snapped into focus. “Don’t look,” she said fiercely, and turned her back on
them as she scooped a pair of socks from the sack and gritted her teeth,
preparing for the pain that would come when she ripped the scabs on her back so
she could bleed…

…and
jumped, crying out as a large hand gripped her shoulder and took the socks,
stopping her.

“Hold
still,” Brand murmured, his low voice vibrating against her ear, “You want me
to do that. If you have a fresh wound, it won’t matter how hard Joshua tries to
confuse the trail. The Sakai will find us regardless. They can track blood like
sharks. I’ll have to heal it for you.”

Brand
was close, Eva could feel his breath on her neck. He was big, tall. Warm. Eva
forced herself to relax, then nodded.

And
then his large hand pushed up under the back of her sweater, smoothing along
her spine as he searched out the furrow of the bullet wound from the other
abrasions. He growled softly when he found it, and traced the edge of the
injury with his fingers. Eva tensed, preparing herself for the pain when he
would rip the thick scab open, then instead felt the sharp prick of a
razor-sharp claw as it lanced down through the skin just beneath the edge of
the scab, neatly slicing it open.

Eva
froze, shaking. The claw withdrew, swiftly replaced by the rough cotton texture
of the socks. 

It was
almost…painless.

Brand
was running his other hand over her shoulder blades, back and forth, as if
trying to soothe her. It was working.

Well,
soothing and other things.

“I’m
sorry, Evita,” he said softly, and she shook her head. It hadn’t hurt. Not like
the original wound.

“Not
many can do that,” she finally said, striving for control, but her voice was
uneven. She couldn’t see Brand’s face as the material withdrew. She felt his
fingers come to rest against the fresh wound. “Shift just their claws, I mean.”

Brand
hesitated. The hand that had been stroking her shoulders dropped down, almost
seeming to trace her waist. Perhaps she was imagining it. “All of my family
can.” Brand’s voice was rough as that amazing healing ability of his seemed to
lap away the fresh pain in her back.