Chapter
17
For Kaitlyn, the next few days were
among the happiest of her life. Zack arrived at her house with the
setting of the sun and stayed until dawn’s first light brightened
the horizon.
They took long walks in the moonlight.
They swam in the lake. They went dancing until dawn at the Skylight
Room. He taught her how to play poker and craps and
roulette.
One evening, he took her to dinner at
the restaurant in the casino, insisting she describe the taste of
the lobster, the rice pilaf, the seven-layer chocolate cake she had
for dessert. As far as Kaitlyn was concerned, it was impossible.
How could you describe the taste of food to someone who had existed
on a liquid diet for six hundred years?
Every night, when the urge to be alone
together grew irresistible, they went back to her place, curled up
on the sofa, and made out like randy teenagers. Though Zack had
agreed they should take it slow, each night it became more and more
difficult for Kaitlyn to send him home, especially on those nights
when they shared blood.
Until she’d met Zack, Kaitlyn had
consumed blood because it was necessary for her survival. Given a
choice, she would have shunned it. Now, having tasted Zack, she
quickly found herself craving the taste of him more and more
often.
Tonight was such a night. Needing to
distract herself from her hunger for his blood and her desire for
his body, she put her hand on his chest and gave him a little
push.
He let her go without argument or
comment. He might not be able to read her mind, but he recognized
the hunger in her eyes.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
He spread his arms out along the back
of the sofa, then stretched his legs out in front of him. “No
problem.” Every night about this time, he remembered why he didn’t
date virgins, and why he left Kaitlyn’s house feeling exhilarated
and frustrated at the same time.
Rising, Kaitlyn went into the kitchen.
She filled a glass with ice water, then returned to her place on
the sofa. She sipped the water, then put the glass aside. “How did
you become a vampire?”
“I took the wrong woman to
bed.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’d been hanging out at a local pub.
One night I met a woman there. She was pretty, exotic, years older
than I was.” He laughed softly. “Hundreds of years older, as it
turned out, but I didn’t know that at the time. All I saw was a
fascinating creature who was as different from the women I was used
to as a queen from a scullery maid. I know now that what I saw,
what I felt, wasn’t real. Anyway, one night some stranger started
flirting with her. When she turned him down, he got
abusive.”
He paused a moment, seeing it all in
his mind. “At the time, I didn’t realize she was more than capable
of taking care of herself. Anyway, I tossed the guy out of the pub
and the lady repaid my chivalry by taking me to bed. After we made
love, she said she was thirsty.” He shook his head ruefully. “I had
no idea I was her drink of choice.”
“Was it terrifying?”
“Oh, yeah. I went to bed an ignorant
farmer and woke up a ravening monster.”
“That’s horrible.”
“I thought so. It took me a while to
figure out what she’d done to me. I quickly learned that the sun
burned my flesh, that mortal food sickened me, that the only thing
I could safely consume was blood, and that it didn’t matter if it
was animal or human, or if the host was dead or
alive.”
“Dead?” Kaitlyn grimaced.
“Yeah, well . . .” He
shrugged.
“Did you ever see her again? The
vampire who turned you?”
“No. I spent a year or two looking for
her. I’m not sure why, or what I would have done if I’d found her.
Anyway, time passed, and I learned how to be a vampire, how to hunt
more efficiently, how to ease my hunger without killing my prey.”
He slid a glance in her direction and grinned. “How to take
advantage of all the preternatural perks that were now
mine.”
Leaning forward, she kissed him on the
cheek. “You’re quite remarkable, you know?”
“Yeah, why? Because I learned to
survive?”
She nodded. “I’m not sure I would have
done as well in your shoes. I grew up knowing what I was. My father
was there every step of the way to teach me what to do, and I had a
whole flock of aunts and uncles to guide me. Not to mention my
mother.” Kaitlyn smiled. “She’s incredible. You’d like
her.”
“I like you,” Zack said, his voice
suddenly soft and sexy. “I like the color of your eyes, and the way
they light up when you see me. I like your cute little nose,” he
said, kissing the tip, “and the way it twitches when you smell
blood. I like your mouth, the way you taste . . .” He paused, his
tongue tracing the outline of her lips.
“More,” she murmured.
“I like your ears and your lovely neck.
. . .” More kisses followed this declaration.
“Zack . . .”
“I know, I know.” He drew back,
breathing hard. “I think I’d better go before this gets out of
hand.”
Kaitlyn followed him to the door, rose
on her tiptoes to kiss him good night. They couldn’t go on like
this, she thought, watching him disappear into the darkness. He had
to be as frustrated as she was.
Sighing, she closed the door. Right or
wrong, tomorrow night she was going to seduce Zack
Ravenscroft.
Drake stared at the man standing across
from him. “Are you sure of this information?”
Gregor nodded. “I overheard the end of
the conversation myself.”
“You are sure Lucien was speaking with
Nadiya?”
“Positive.”
Drake regarded Gregor for a moment.
Gregor was the third son of his father’s seventh wife. “What were
you doing at the Italian Fortress?”
“I have been courting Lucien’s oldest
daughter.”
Drake raised one brow. “Indeed? How
long has this been going on?”
“A few months,” Gregor said with a
shrug.
“Do none of our women appeal to
you?”
“Have you seen Rosalia?” Gregor asked
with a wry grin.
“Point taken.” Rosalia was one of the
most beautiful women Drake had ever seen, with her long red hair
and flashing black eyes. “If you hear anything else, let me know
immediately.”
“Yes, my lord.” Gregor inclined his
head, then left the chamber.
Drake ran a hand through his hair.
Gregor hadn’t heard anything specific, certainly nothing useful,
but the fact that Nadiya had been in contact with Lucien spoke
volumes. Drake had long known that Lucien coveted the Carpathian
Fortress. Not that he was alone. Nearly every Master Vampire was
jealous of whoever held the Fortress in Romania. It was the
birthplace of their race, the largest stronghold in the world. It
had been ruled by a member of the Sherrad family for as long as
their kind had existed. Many had tried to claim it—some by force,
some by cunning, some by treacher y—but none had
succeeded.
There were those who feared the Sherrad
rule would come to an end if Drake were defeated in battle. He had
no son to avenge him, no son to reclaim the Fortress if it was
taken. But there was Andrei. And Stefan . . .
Drake moved to the window and stared
out over the valley, the current problem temporarily forgotten as
he wondered yet again about Stefan’s whereabouts. Stefan, his
favorite brother, gone these past twenty years.
Drake braced one hand against the edge
of the window. “Where are you?” he murmured. “Why have you not come
home?”
Stefan Sherrad stood in the shadows
outside Ravenscroft’s Casino, his thoughts momentarily turning
inward. More than twenty years had passed since he’d left the
Carpathian Fortress, and he had missed it every single day. And yet
the pain of seeing the happiness his brothers had found had driven
him away, and kept him away. He did not begrudge Andrei or Drake
the love they had found, wished them only continued happiness, but
he could not be there to watch when his own heart remained broken.
And so, like a coward, he had run away.
Rumors had sent him here. Trouble was
brewing in Romania, and it involved Drake’s daughter. Secrets did
not long remain secrets in his world. The vampire population was
not large. Gossip quickly spread from one Fortress to another.
While visiting the Fortress in New England, Stefan had heard rumors
of unrest in his homeland. A little discreet eavesdropping here, a
little snooping there, and he had learned that Daryn Korzha had
been killed in Nevada by an unknown assailant. The information had
naturally piqued Stefan’s interest, since he and Korzha were
related. But it had been mention of Drake’s daughter in the same
breath that had sent Stefan to Lake Tahoe, located between Northern
California and Nevada.
A little discreet snooping had turned
up Kaitlyn’s address, along with the fact that she was often seen
in the company of Zack Ravenscroft, owner of Ravenscroft’s
Casino.
Moving toward the entrance, Stefan
wondered what manner of man Ravenscroft was, and what his
intentions were toward his niece. But it didn’t
matter.
He had come to take Kaitlyn home. But
first, he wanted to meet Zack Ravenscroft.
Zack frowned as a tall, dark-haired man
dressed in jeans and a black denim jacket over a white shirt
approached him. Though the similarities were subtle, there was no
mistaking the resemblance between the stranger and Kaitlyn. Could
this be her father? And if so, what was he doing here?
Silly question, Zack thought. If he had
a daughter, he would certainly want to meet the man she was dating.
He wondered if Katy had spoken to her father recently and let it
slip that he was one of the so-called Others. No doubt he would
find out soon enough.
“Are you Zack Ravenscroft?” the
stranger asked.
Zack nodded. “And you’d
be?”
“Stefan Sherrad.”
Not the father, Zack thought, but the
missing brother. “What can I do for you?”
“I am Kaitlyn’s . . .”
“Uncle,” Zack said, finishing Sherrad’s
introduction for him.
Surprise flickered in Sherrad’s eyes.
“You know of me?”
“Kaitlyn’s mentioned you once or twice.
Does she know you’re here?”
“Not yet.”
Zack crossed his arms over his chest.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I am sure you can guess.”
“Did her father send you?”
“No. I have not spoken to my brother in
quite some time.”
Zack gestured at the bar behind him.
“Can I get you something to drink?” He already knew the answer, but
for the moment, he thought it better to pretend he didn’t know
Sherrad was a vampire.
“No, thank you.” Stefan glanced at the
patrons crowding along the bar. “Perhaps we could speak in
private.”
“Sure.” Zack moved away from the bar
and walked swiftly toward the elevator. He didn’t look back to see
if Sherrad followed.
They were silent until they reached
Zack’s office.
Stefan glanced around. The room was
large, sparsely furnished with a desk, a computer, a file cabinet,
and a couple of chairs.
Zack took a seat behind the desk,
gesturing for Stefan to take the other chair. “What do you
want?”
“I would like to know what your
intentions are toward my niece.”
“I’m in love with her,” Zack said. “Not
that it’s any of your business. She’s a big girl, after
all.”
“She is her father’s
heir.”
“So?”
“Do you know who he is?”
“She said he was a businessman in
Romania. I assume he’s rich,” Zack said with a shrug. “But so am
I.”
“Is that all she told
you?”
“What else is there?”
Stefan studied the other man, wondering
just how much Ravenscroft really knew. It seemed unlikely that
Kaitlyn would have revealed her true nature to a mortal. To do so
was strictly forbidden. Yet Ravenscroft claimed to be in love with
Kaitlyn, and if she was in love with him . . .
Stefan sighed, remembering Cosmina. She
had been mortal, and he had broken the laws of their people when he
confided in her. But what man of honor could make love to a woman
and not tell her the truth? He was sorely afraid that Kaitlyn would
feel the same.
“I wanted to meet you,” Stefan said,
“to let you know I am taking Kaitlyn home.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“She hasn’t mentioned it to
me.”
“I have not yet spoken with
her.”
“What if she doesn’t want to
go?”
“I am afraid the choice is not hers.
Her life is in danger here, as you well know.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am talking about Daryn Korzha. I
believe you killed him.”
“You know about that?”
Stefan nodded once, curtly. “She is not
safe here.”
Rising, Zack leaned forward, hands
braced against the top of the desk. “I think I’ve proven I can take
care of her.”
“Perhaps,” Stefan said, also rising.
“But there are things going on you are not yet aware
of.”
“Is that right?”
“For your own safety, I advise you not
to pry into affairs that do not concern you. Good
evening.”
Zack frowned thoughtfully as Stefan
Sherrad left his office. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he muttered.
“Anything that concerns Kaitlyn is my affair.”
Kaitlyn was dressing for her date with
Zack when the doorbell rang. He was early, she thought, glancing at
her watch. A last look in the mirror, and she hurried down the
hallway to open the front door.
And came face-to-face with a short,
stocky man holding a gun. She knew, by the blank expression in his
eyes, that he was under some sort of mind control.
Had Nadiya sent him? If so, had she
told him to kill her?
“You. Will come. With me,” he said,
gesturing with the gun for her to follow him. “Now!” he added, when
she didn’t move.
Kaitlyn stared at him, her mind racing.
She took a step forward, intending to wrest the gun from his hand,
when a dark shape rose up out of the shadows to her left and
slammed into the man, knocking him off balance so that he tumbled
down the porch stairs.
Without waiting to see who her champion
was, Kaitlyn slammed the door and locked it, then stood there, one
hand pressed to her heart. She was debating what to do next when
she heard a knock at the door.
Was it the gunman? Or the man who had
apparently come to her rescue? She hadn’t heard any gunshots. Did
that mean the intruder had been incapacitated?
She tapped her foot a moment, then
peered out the front window. And into a face that looked remarkably
like her father’s. Could it be . . . ?
“Kaitlyn, open the door.”
His words carried the sound of home and
she opened the door, then stood there, too stunned to
speak.
“Kaitlyn.”
She stared at him a moment: Was it
possible?
“I am your unc . . .”
“Stefan.” It could be no one else. He
looked enough like her father to be his twin. “What are you doing
here? How did you know where I was?” She glanced to the left, then
the right. “Who was that man? Where is he?”
“Perhaps we could discuss it inside?”
her uncle suggested.
“Yes, of course, come in.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder as
he followed her into the living room. It was amazing, how much he
looked like her father. She gestured at the sofa. “Please, sit
down.”
“Thank you.”
She sat beside him, unable to stop
staring.
“I know,” he said, smiling. “Your
father and I look much alike.”
“You could be twins. What are you doing
here?”
“I was traveling when I heard that one
of the Korzhas had been killed in Lake Tahoe. I was naturally
curious, since we are related.” He shrugged. “A little snooping
here, a few questions there, and I overheard your name. I came here
to see if it was indeed you.”
“Who was that man?” she asked
again.
“I do not know. But he will not bother
you anymore.”
That could mean only one thing, but it
was hard to feel sympathy for a man who had pointed a gun at her.
“What do you think he wanted?”
“You do not know?”
She shook her head. “Know
what?”
Before he could explain, the doorbell
rang again. Startled, she glanced at Stefan.
“I will get it,” he said.
Kaitlyn nodded. She told herself there
was nothing to worry about. But she clenched her hands in her lap
when Stefan opened the door.
A moment passed. Another. He stood
there, unmoving, not speaking.
And then she heard her father’s voice,
thick with emotion. “Stefan!”
Hardly aware of what she was doing,
Kaitlyn stood as her father threw his arms around his brother and
crushed him close in a hug that would likely have crushed a
mortal’s ribs. “Stefan! Where have you been? What are you doing
here?”
“Trying to breathe,” Stefan answered
with a grin.
Drake released him immediately.
“Forgive me, but I am so glad to see you.”
Stefan nodded. “And I you,
brother.”
Drake’s gaze ran over Stefan. “You look
well. Liliana has missed you. You should have kept in touch with
her.” The unspoken words, and with
me, hung in the air between them. “How could you stay
away so long?”
“I needed time.”
“Promise me you will never again stay
away so long.”
“I missed you, too,” Stefan
said.
“I will have your promise,” Drake
insisted.
“You have it.”
Kaitlyn saw tears in her uncle’s eyes,
felt the sting of tears in her own eyes as the two men embraced
again.
When they parted, Stefan cleared his
throat. “Since you are here, I assume you know Kaitlyn is in
danger.”
“Yes, it is the reason I am here,”
Drake said as the two men moved into the living room.
“Just in time,” Stefan said, and
quickly told her father about the gunman who had been there
earlier.
“You don’t have to talk about me like
I’m not here,” Kaitlyn said, coming up behind the two men. “What’s
this all about, anyway?”
“I have come to take you
home.”
“But I don’t want to go home!” she
exclaimed.
“That decision is no longer yours. I am
certain Nadiya is behind these attacks on you,” Drake said. “I am
not sure what she intends, only that you are involved. My guess is
she is planning to use you to get to me.”
“Why?” Kaitlyn asked, frowning. “You
didn’t have anything to do with Daryn’s death.”
“I believe she means to avenge herself
on me for Florin’s death, and also for Daryn’s. She knows the best
way to hurt me is to harm you. You are not safe here.”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of
myself.”
Stefan lifted one brow, as if to remind
her of the man on the porch.
She glared at him. “I could have
handled him by myself.”
“This is not a matter open to
discussion,” Drake said. “My decision has been made. We are leaving
here tonight.”
“I’m not . . .” Kaitlyn began, only to
be interrupted by a knock on the door, and Zack’s voice, calling,
“Hey, Katy, I know I’m late, but . . .”
Zack paused inside the door. Katy stood
between Stefan and another man who could only be her father. “Looks
like I picked a bad time to come calling.”
Kaitlyn blew out an exasperated sigh.
“You have no idea.”
“Introduce us, Kaitlyn,” the taller of
the two men said.
“Dad, this is Zack, the man who saved
my life. Zack, this is my father, Drake Sherrad. And this is my
uncle Stefan. . . .”
“We’ve met,” Zack said.
“Oh? I didn’t know.” She had a feeling
there were a lot of things she didn’t know.
“So,” Zack said, glancing from her
father to her uncle, “what’s going on?”
“I have come to take my daughter home,”
Drake said in a voice that left no room for argument. “If you will
excuse us, we are preparing to leave.”
“Dad . . .”
“Tell him good-bye, Kaitlyn. We are
going. Now.”
“You don’t have to go with him, Katy,”
Zack said. “You’re over twenty-one.”
Drake glared at him. “How dare you
suggest my daughter defy me! Get out of here, now!”
“Not without Kaitlyn.”
Zack reached for her, but the other
vampire moved quicker.
Drake’s arm snaked around Kaitlyn’s
waist. There was a rush of preternatural power, and Drake and his
daughter were gone.
Stefan’s gaze locked with Zack’s for a
brief moment, almost as if there was something he wanted to say,
and then, he, too was gone.
Zack swore a vile oath. “This doesn’t
end here,” he muttered angrily. “Not by a long shot!”