Endless Chase (23 page)

Jealousy surged to life within her and a low growl escape her throat. She wanted to be the one to feed him, to be by his side as he discovered the world anew. She wanted to walk outside with him and protect him until he knew the extent of his new powers. But it would all happen without her. All feelings of jealousy slowly drained from her, replaced by an overwhelming sadness.

The villain had been slain, Chase had made it through the conversion and none of the Dalakis family had died. It was exactly what she’d wanted, what she’d prayed for.

Why, then, did she feel so hollow and empty inside?

Chase had his life now and she had hers. Her brother Sasha was still a boy and needed her with him. Katya wished she could see Chase’s eyes one more time. Those pale blue eyes never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

It was foolish to linger. Although all the vampires were deep in their day sleep, she sensed Cassidy moving around in another part of the castle. Blythe and the boys were still sleeping. It had been a hard night for everyone.

Chase mumbled when she shifted away from him. Katya stilled. It seemed Chase was going to be more like her, not so deeply affected by the sun.

When she was certain he was settled back into a deep sleep, she slid off the bed.

Ignoring the exhaustion pulling at her, she crept across the room. She stopped in front of a large oak armoire and helped herself to one of Chase’s shirts, tucking it under her arm as she continued on to the door.

She didn’t want to look back, but she couldn’t help herself. Chase lay sleeping, the covers bunched at his waist. His head was nestled against the pillows, a lock of his light 119

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brown hair covering his cheek. He mumbled again, his lips parting on a sigh. She’d kissed those lips many times. They were soft and warm against her mouth and other parts of her body.

Heat suffused her skin. Her breasts swelled and low in her belly a pulsing ache grew. Katya ignored the signs of her obvious arousal as she took one final look at Chase. His broad chest was scarred, but that would fade in time. He was everything to her. It hurt her heart to look at him.

Leaving him was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was necessary. Katya had to be content with knowing he was alive and well. That was all that mattered.

She tuned the door handle and eased out of the room, closing it gently behind her.

Squaring her shoulders she walked to the staircase, her boots making no sound on the carpet. The Dalakis family was safe, their part in this over, but hers wasn’t. There was still one more thing she had to do.

Keeping an ear out for Cassidy, she let herself out the front door. The sky was painted a pale pink, tinged with peach as the sun rose over the mountains. Purpose in every stride, Katya crossed the courtyard. Her crossbow was gone. She gave a moment’s regret that she had to leave it behind, but obviously someone in the Dalakis family had taken it inside last night. The bodies were gone, presumably burned or buried. They all knew what had to be done to protect the family and she had no doubts they had done it.

The woods seemed to welcome her, absorbing her into the cool shade of the trees.

She moved swiftly, her goal set. Tomas Sullivan had been among the men last night.

He’d been the one to shoot Chase.

She berated herself for not suspecting them sooner. Vasili had obviously had men watching her every move, as she’d suspected. She’d been nothing more than a pawn in his game since the very beginning. Her stomach churned, but she ignored it. That was done. Past. Her parents’ murderer had been brought to justice and it was time to return to her life.

Almost time.

There was one more loose end to tie up. Niles Becker. She had to find out what his role in all this was and take care of him. There was no way she could let him walk away from here. Alive, he was a threat to her family and to the Dalakis family. More important, he was a threat to Chase.

The path was a familiar one and, in no time at all, she saw the village through the trees. She tugged on the shirt she’d taken. It was way too big for her, practically a short dress, but she rolled up the sleeves and tied the tails around her waist. It smelled like Chase. She leaned her face against her shoulder, breathing deeply. The scent of his sandalwood and spicy soap mingled with the compelling aroma of the man himself. It comforted her and intensified the ache in her body at the same time.

Katya felt half naked without her weapon, it had become such a part of her this past year. She flexed her hands, rolled her shoulders and let it go. She still had a single knife 120

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tucked into her left boot. Beyond that, she herself was a formidable weapon, honed and ready for action.

The village was stirring as she skirted the back of the houses, careful to stay out of sight. The inn was at the end of the street and backed onto a heavy copse of trees. Katya was grateful it was fairly isolated. Crouching low, she watched and waited. When she was satisfied there was no one watching she made a dash for the back of the building, flattening her back against the outside wall.

Using her preternatural hearing, she listened. When she detected no movement, she eased the door open and slipped inside. There was a set of stairs just inside the door, and Katya kept to the side, her back to the wall, as she eased her way up to the second floor.

She paused near the top, letting her senses flare outward. Olga was in the kitchen and Eugeniu was out in the front garden. Most of the guests were still sleeping. All but one.

Katya eased the knife from her boot, tightening her hand around the handle as she tucked it down by her side. Niles’ room was the last one to the right. She took a deep breath, and in one motion, opened the door and rolled inward, keeping her body low.

The door slammed shut as she came to her feet. She jumped to the side, but felt the prick of a dart in her shoulder. A feral smile lit her face as she stared at Niles Becker.

“I’ve got you now, bitch.” Rumpled from head to toe, he exuded a combination of trepidation and exhaustion. The fear grew as he realized she wasn’t falling to the ground unconscious.

Katya once again gave thanks to the vaccine that her father’s friend had formulated.

It had saved her life more than once.

Niles quickly leveled the dart gun at her, ready to fire a second shot. This time she was faster, jumping at him and knocking the gun from his hand. He feinted to the left, but she was with him. With one hand, she grabbed him by the throat and pinned his back against the wall, bringing the blade to his neck.

He struggled, but she held firm. His eyes widened, horror dawning in them, when he finally understood just how much stronger she was. “Are there any more of you here?” She had to be sure.

He made a choking sound and she eased her hold slightly. He coughed. “I’m not telling you anything, bitch.”

She tightened her hold for another minute and then finally loosened it. Niles wheezed, desperately trying to suck in air. “You want to try that again?” She dragged the flat of the blade down the side of his face, not cutting him, but taunting him with the possibility.

“He’ll kill you. He’ll kill all of them.”

“If you mean Vasili, I’m afraid he met with an unfortunate accident. A sword separated his head from his body.”

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Niles’ gaze flickered and, for the first time, showed real terror. She could smell his fear, see the beads of sweat that dotted his forehead. “That’s right, Niles. They’re all dead, including Tomas. What happened last night? Did you run or were you just not invited?”

He pursed his lips, refusing to speak.

“Niles, Niles, Niles.” Shaking her head, she made a tsking sound. “I don’t need your permission to find out what you know.” Focusing her energy, she blasted into his mind. He had strong mental blocks, but she was stronger than she’d been before.

Maybe it was the remnants of all the energy she’d drawn from the Dalakis family the night before. Maybe she just had more at stake than he did.

Whatever the reason, she shoved through his barriers, ferreting out names and details. By the time she finished, his eyes were wide and unfocused. Katya felt sick to her stomach. Niles had a penchant for teenage girls. He liked to torture them before killing them. She was a bit old for him, but he’d planned to make an exception for her.

Without a scrap of remorse, she tightened her hold, gripping his neck until he took his last breath. He struggled, clawing at her hands and forearms, kicking at her shins.

His body shook from head to toe as he desperately tried to stay alive. But she was too strong and too determined.

When his heart was finally silent, she tossed him onto the bed, tucked her knife away and began to gather his belongings. There could be nothing left behind for anyone to find that might link him and Tomas to her or the Dalakis family.

Ignoring the dead body lying on the bed, she methodically cleared the dresser drawers, dumping everything in the two suitcases she found in the tiny closet.

Thankfully, the men had shared a room. That made things much easier.

When she was certain nothing of theirs remained in the room, she grabbed the two suitcases and sneaked back down the stairs, stashing them in the woods. Then she went back for Niles. Hoisting him over her shoulder, she was halfway down the stairs when she sensed Olga coming.

Concentrating, she sent out a mental message to the older woman, telling her she’d heard a knock and there was someone was at the front door. She wished she could just make the front doorbell ring. That would be much easier, but she wasn’t certain she could do it. And quite frankly she didn’t have the energy to try something new.

Katya sensed Olga’s brief hesitation before the other woman and headed for the front door, muttering under her breath. Heaving a sigh of relief, Katya hurried out of the inn through the back door and into the woods.

With Niles still over her shoulder, she picked up both bags and began to walk.

Thankfully, the woods were thick and not much sunlight could get through. It was an arduous trek up the side of the mountain with her heavy burden.

She hadn’t wanted to come back here, but there was no other choice. Dalakis Castle loomed large in the distance, getting closer with each step she took. Bypassing the front 122

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door, she went around to the back. Laying down the suitcases, she banged on the heavy oak panel.

She sensed Cassidy peering out the window before he pulled the door open, gun drawn and ready.

“You need to dispose of him.”

Cassidy holstered his weapon and swore. “Who the hell is he?”

“Niles Becker. I recognized one of the men last night. He was staying at the same inn as me, along with his partner.” She toed the suitcases. “This is all their stuff. There’s nothing to link either of them to me or the Dalakis family.”

Cassidy raked his hand through his hair and she sensed his hesitation.

“If it makes it any easier for you, he’s personally tortured and mutilated a dozen teenage girls, some even younger. He’d already decided to make an exception for me.

He might have decided to do the same for your wife.” She dumped the body to the ground. Cassidy could do whatever he liked with it.

“Where are you going?”

She didn’t answer, heard him swear as she raced to the woods, nothing more than a blur to his eyes. Katya stopped at the tree where she’d positioned herself last night and grabbed her pack, which was still hidden high in the branches.

She stumbled as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. The sun was getting higher, and in spite of her abilities as a hybrid, it was wearing her down, eating away at her already depleted energy.

Katya knew she wouldn’t make it very far so she went to the one place she knew she’d be welcome. The back door opened before she even knocked and Father Patrescu filled the doorway.

“I need a place to stay.” Her knees buckled and the elderly priest caught her, pulling her inside.

“Can you make it upstairs?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t sure she could, but there really wasn’t any choice.

They took the stairs one at a time, a hybrid vampire and a priest. It was like a bad joke, except there was no punch line and neither one of them was laughing.

“Just a few more steps,” he coaxed. Katya pushed hard, her entire world reduced to putting one foot in front of the other.

She followed the priest blindly as he tugged her down a hallway and into a bedroom. He eased her down onto a bed and pulled a cover over her. The mattress was hard, but it felt like heaven to her tired body.

A small voice reminded her that she could have stayed with Chase.

He pulled the drapes and returned to the bed. “You’ll be fine here. No one will bother you.” She felt Father Patrescu pat her on the shoulder.

“Thank you.” Closing her eyes, she sought oblivion.

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It was over.

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Chase came awake in the blink of an eye. One moment he was asleep, the next, wide-awake. Before he even opened his eyes, he knew that Katya was gone. There was a void, an emptiness both in the room and in his heart.

Swearing, he sat up slowly, letting the covers fall away. The room was shrouded in darkness, but he could see as well as if every light were blazing. His hearing was more acute too. He could hear the others all moving around. It might have overwhelmed him if he hadn’t been expecting it, but he’d been around vampires for more than a decade and knew what he had to do.

He already had a protective barrier in his mind, built over the years to protect his family from snooping in his brain. Not that they did it intentionally, but he didn’t want to broadcast his thoughts so anyone could hear. He used that skill now, concentrating on blocking out the noise. It receded into the background until all was silent again.

Hunger gnawed at his belly. He was a little surprised that he could even consider eating. Damn, but he’d been sick last night. He never wanted to go through anything like that again. And Katya had witnessed it all, had held his head while he’d puked his guts up.