Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2) (18 page)

“Everything and everyone needs supervision,
mi guerrera
. Especially the supernatural world.”

“Who appointed you?”

“A secret society, but your friend knows of them.”

“Why are you interested in Lea?”

“I’m curious about her motives. I’m certain she killed her benefactor, which makes her unpredictable.”

Did he really know Victor was dead or was he fishing? “I know what she’s up to.”

“She’s told you she wants to destroy Stravinsky and bring light to what he’s doing. To protect humankind.”

“Among other things.” I sure as hell wasn’t going to spill her secrets. “So you’re just here to watch Lea?”

He shifted underneath me, showing me he hadn’t forgotten our original plan. “I’ve enjoyed watching other things as well.”

I dug the knife a little deeper, until a trickle of blood trailed down his neck. “I warned you about bullshitting me.”

“If we only had me hooked up to a lie detector, you would see that wasn’t a lie,
mi bella
. Although I am fairly sure this is a lie detector of its own.”

“Okay, other than watching my ass, what are doing with us?”

“Protecting you.”

His answer surprised me. I thought he might be lying, but something in his eyes told me it was at least partially truth.

A ghost of a smile skated across his lips. “Why are
you
doing this? You yourself declared this a suicide mission. I suspect you are right. So why go through with it?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

His eyes twinkled. “No. There’s more.”

“And what do you think that is?”

“Unlike you, I love a good mystery,
mi tesora
. I will enjoy uncovering your secrets, layer by layer.” His fingers skimmed up my side a few inches.

I started to jab him with my blade, but he grabbed my wrist and pushed my hand from his neck, trying to turn me on his lap.

I let him think he had the upper hand, then pushed my knee into his crotch, putting as much weight into it as I could.

He released his hold on me, gasping for breath as I got to my feet.

“Don’t underestimate me again, Antonio. It could be the last thing you ever do.” I squatted to pick up my shirt and grab my phone off the seat, then turned off the music. He watched me with darkened eyes, still recovering as I squatted and tucked my blade into my boot. Then I flung the curtain open, my shirt still in my hand. Lea’s angry eyes instantly landed on me.

“I hope that was as good for you as it was for me,” I called over my shoulder.

Ivan was watching me, barely containing his amusement. His gaze landed on my chest.

“They’re called breasts, Ivan,” I said. “Although I haven’t seen them for myself, I suspect Lea’s are quite lovely. Once Antonio recovers from our workout, maybe you’d like to take Lea back there and check them out for yourself.”

Ivan burst into laughter as I plopped down in a different seat, looking at the clouds outside the window, mulling over everything I’d just learned.

Antonio was a pawn. A foot soldier for some group that wanted something from me. Were they trying to find out what I knew about the facility? My connection to Lea? Or something else entirely? It had to have something to do with Lea since he’d worked for Victor in some capacity. What exactly did he expect Lea to do? Was I was missing something?

I nearly gasped as a new thought hit me. What if I was wrong about him being a pawn? What if he was the other Cazador? But surely Lea would have known. Surely she would have told me.

One thing was certain—once we were on the ground, Antonio had to go.

LEA

I dropped into the seat beside Rachel as she tugged her shirt over her head.

“What, no lecture about sleeping with the enemy?” she asked as her head popped through the opening.

“Is he an enemy? I thought he was just a limo driver.” I kept my words even. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. “Buckle up, we’re going to land.”

She grunted and did as I’d suggested, but her movements were jerky and full of irritation. “I think he’s a pawn.”

My lips twitched. “You threw yourself at him to get information?”

Across the way, Ivan chuckled. “I wish you’d try to get information from me that way.”

I leaned forward to glare at him, but my words were for Rachel. “What did you learn?”

“Nothing.”

Lie number one. I’d heard Victor’s name tossed around between the thumping beats of the techno music on her phone.

The jet shuddered as the landing gear lowered and I gripped the edge of the seat. We were silent as the plane dipped to land on the runway.

“Lea, tell me you aren’t afraid to fly.” Rachel’s words were a perfect echo of Ivan’s.

I gritted my teeth and took shallow, quick breaths. “No, I’m breathing like this because I’m so turned on by Ivan’s dog smell.”

Rachel laughed. “Now that I’d believe.” She turned to look out the window, lost in her thoughts.

I was buried with my own. The plane refueled and we walked around the cabin until the pilot told us we were ready to take off again.

Rachel seemed less anxious, and she’d had time to sift through her thoughts. It was definitely time to try again.

I sat in the seat next to her and slowly turned to look at her, needing to focus on something other than my fear. “You going to tell me the truth about the pawn now?”

Her face shut down. “I told you, I didn’t get anything—”

So she was going to play it that way. I ignored the disappointment and let the anger course through me.

Whipping a hand out across her chest, I pinned her to the seat. “I heard Victor’s name.”

The silver stake she’d been given was pressed against my throat in instant. She’d been quick enough that I could have been in trouble. Was it a lingering effect of the vampire blood?

Or were her instincts becoming so honed she’d known what was coming?

“Take your hand off me.” Her blue eyes were locked on mine, hard as ice.

“Tell me the truth.” I leaned into the stake, the silver burning my bare skin, the pain keeping me focused.

Ivan cleared his throat. “Ladies, perhaps we should save this discussion for when we’re back in the air?”

From behind us, I caught a shimmer of movement as Antonio stood. “Tony. Stay the fuck in your seat. This has nothing to do with you.”

“You’re in an altercation with my lady friend. I believe this is my business,” he said, sidling up the aisle.

I lifted an eyebrow at Rachel. “Lady friend?”

I let her go, knowing what would happen. She spun away from me, unbuckled from her seat, and stood in a single fluid movement. I grinned across the aisle at Ivan. He shook his head. “You two always fight like this?’

I shrugged. “Two strong personalities, both of us driven to do the right thing in her own way, haunted by our respective pasts. What do you think?”

Maybe that had been too much, because Ivan’s eyes softened and filled with pity.

“Don’t fucking pity us, dog,” Rachel snapped. “Lea’s right. What makes us a good team is that neither of us will back down. No matter what happens.” She let out a slow breath. “Antonio worked for Victor, same as you.”

Antonio let out a soft groan. “Do not trust her,
mi amour
.”

I stood, unbending myself slowly, knowing we walked a fine line. I was sure Antonio was a trained Cazador. Which meant that he was as fanatical about taking out vampires as I was. Yours truly included. But I knew when to compromise.

“Rachel, this is your call. You want him off the plane? If he can keep his weapons away from me, I think he could be useful.”

She went still, and the engines started up again, the captain’s voice coming over the speaker. “Please take your seats, we’ll be taking off momentarily.”

The four of us stood in a perfect standoff as the jet began to taxi. Rachel swayed and grabbed the edge of one seat. “Too late to kick him off.”

“Actually,” Ivan said, “it’s the perfect time. Open the door, push him out, leave him behind before he can call the authorities.”

Antonio glared at him. “Bad doggy.”

The jet picked up speed, racing across the tarmac. Rachel was thrown to her knees by the explosion of speed. Antonio reached for her, and she jerked away. I grabbed her arm as it flicked back and yanked her onto the seat.

Her eyes popped wide as she landed. “Hey!”

“Better in the seat than in his lap,” I pointed out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She paused. “I can’t totally trust you. You understand?”

I shrugged, trying not to feel the sting. “I’ve saved your life more than once. And you’ve saved mine. I’d hoped we’d moved beyond the trust issue. If I wanted to kill you, Rachel, I could have done so many times over.”

“Bragging?”

“Pointing out that you are safe with me.” The distrust in her eyes told me it was time to do what I’d been avoiding. She needed to know about the bond. Fuck, this was not going to go down easy.

“What? You’ve got a look on your face like you’ve been sucking on rotten eggs.”

I cleared my throat. “When you made the oath to hunt vampires with me. We clasped hands.”

“Yeah...” Her eyes narrowed.

“The oath was more than hunting vampires.”

Those blue eyes narrowed to mere slits. “What are you saying?”

I licked my lips.

“Spit it the fuck out, Lea.”

“You replaced Calvin.”

She frowned. “That’s it? I know I replaced him, that’s why he got his panties in a fucking twist.”

“So you’re okay with that?” I couldn’t believe she was taking this so well. To be bonded to a vampire was no small thing. Her whole life would be tied to mine until the day she died.

She shrugged. “You obviously need the help, my friend.”

Friend. Relief flowed through me. I realized how badly I had wanted to believe she was indeed my friend. That she wouldn’t hate me for binding her to me. I really was going soft.

She reached below her feet and pulled out her laptop. Or, should I say, Derrick’s laptop. “I’m going to see what else I can find. See if there are pieces that fit together now that we know more.”

Just like that, the conversation was done. Ivan tipped his head at me, gesturing for me to come to him. I slipped past Rachel, who was already buried in the computer. Ivan scooted over to the window seat.

“She doesn’t understand what you mean about her replacing this Calvin dude.” He dropped his voice low enough that there was no way Rachel or Antonio could hear him.

“She’s not stupid. She knows.”

“From what little I know of her, she wouldn’t be so nonchalant if she understood she was bound to you for eternity. It would be akin to me binding you to me. You two are peas in a pod, wild as they come and not eager to be tied to anything or anyone.”

“You couldn’t bind me to you.” Of course that was the first thing I denied. Of course. He grinned.