Sophia (38 page)

“Garry McWaters. We served together.” His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed with something more than anger. She tasted his emotions and recognized it. Betrayal. And that was something Sophia understood very well.

“So we kill him,” she said bluntly.

Colin met her gaze directly. “We kill him,” he agreed. “And I think I know where to start looking. Get dressed and I’ll fill you in on the way. We have to talk to Raphael before he starts killing the wrong people.”

* * * *

Colin slid the truck to a halt, jamming it into park and shoving the door open without even bothering to take the key out of the ignition. There had been even more vampires on the gate tonight, and they’d all been jumpy with adrenaline, or whatever it was that made vampires jumpy. They weren’t scared and they weren’t nervous, they were . . . excited, like something big was about to happen and they could hardly wait. But that hadn’t stopped them from searching him and his truck thoroughly, as if they’d never seen him before. As if Sophia wasn’t sitting right next to him.

And they’d completely ignored his questions about Leighton. Either they didn’t know anything or they weren’t telling.

The main building was lit up like a damn party palace, lights shining through the big glass doors. He saw people standing inside—vampires. Lots and lots of vampires, all dressed for war. It was like being back on an op—everyone wearing head to toe black, combat pants and boots, with long-sleeved T-shirts—except that some of these soldiers had fangs showing.

Sophie came up behind him and gripped his hand hard, forcing him to stop and turn to face her.

“Sophie,” he protested. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Listen to me,” she insisted. “Leighton must have survived the night or the guards wouldn’t be so relaxed.”

“That was relaxed?”

“Believe me, Colin. If she’d died, you wouldn’t have made it through the gate, at least not in one piece.”

“Okay, great, let’s get in there, and—”

“Listen to me,” she repeated urgently. “You had a taste of what Raphael can do. Just a taste, Colin. If he lashes out at you—”

“I’m a big boy, Sophie. I can take care of myself.”

She jerked his arm angrily. “Not from this. But I can. Do you understand what I’m saying? You have to let me protect us if it comes to that. Don’t interfere and don’t try to help.”

Colin stared down at her. He wasn’t an insecure man and he didn’t feel the need to constantly prove himself. Twelve years with the teams had taught him the value of standing back and letting someone else take the lead when they could get the job done better. But there was a huge difference, a cosmic difference, between his buddies and Sophia. She wanted him to hide behind her while she fought Raphael? The guy who could cause small earthquakes when he got pissed?

“Colin,” she said. “Please. I know what I’m asking, but it’s the only way.”

He looked away. “Fuck,” he snarled. “All right, fine. But so help me, Sophie, if anything happens to you, I’ll take you over my knee and—”

She placed her lips on his, silencing him. “Promises, promises,” she whispered. She froze for a moment and then her head whipped around toward the building. “Raphael,” she said.

Colin looked over her head and saw Robbie on his knees. “Let’s go,” he said.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Raphael opened his eyes and immediately reached for Cyn. He’d been aware of her lying next to him throughout the day, had listened to her heart growing stronger with every beat. She would live. He knew that now. And she would heal. But it would be a long, slow process, and most likely many months before she was back to full strength. As powerful as he was, there was only so much he could do. His blood could start the process, could keep her alive and accelerate the healing. But with these injuries, her body would have to do some of it at its own pace.

He wrapped her gently in his arms and leaned over to kiss her forehead. She stirred, but didn’t wake. She knew he was there, though, and that was enough for him. He would rather she save her energy for healing than waste it on unnecessary words.

Lifting his arm, he used his fangs to slice a vein open and lowered the wrist to Cyn’s mouth. She latched on eagerly, another sign of her increasing strength. One of her hands came up to hold his wrist as she suckled and Raphael noticed how fragile it looked, how she seemed to have lost weight just over the last few hours. Her body was using itself up. He was reminded of Dr. Saephan’s words yesterday. His Cyn was still human. She needed human blood to replace what she’d lost, and she needed nutrition beyond what Raphael could give her.

Her grip on his wrist loosened as her suckling ceased and she seemed to be falling more deeply asleep. Raphael put his mouth to hers, kissing her, murmuring words of love against her lips. He lifted his head, stroking her hair back from her face.

“I need to leave you for a short time,
lubimaya”
he said quietly. “Doctor Saephan will be here with you and Elke will be up above. I need to know how this happened, why Robbie was—”

Her eyes flashed opened and she grabbed his wrist again. “Don’t hurt them,” she said in a strained voice that seemed to take all of her strength.

Raphael shushed her, twisting his wrist carefully to take her hand in his. He kissed the back of it. “Who is it you think I’ll hurt,
lubimaya
? Softly now, I’ll hear you.”

“Robbie,” she breathed. “Murphy. It wasn’t their fault.”

Raphael’s mouth tightened and he kissed her eyelids, forcing her eyes to close so she wouldn’t see the anger on his face. He wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. Not to Cyn. “Sleep,” he urged her and nudged her mind gently under, ensuring she would rest until he returned.

He waited until she was breathing evenly, then pulled the blanket over her and crossed to the desk, picking up his cell phone.

“My lord,” Duncan answered immediately. “How is she?”

“She will live,” Raphael said grimly. “Tell Doctor Saephan to gather whatever supplies he requires. I’ll send the elevator up. No one but the doctor is to come down here, Duncan.”

“Of course, my lord. Everything is already prepared, Saephan needs only to retrieve the blood from the storage unit.”

“Once he is here with Cyn, I’ll come upstairs. Where’s Robbie?”

“He is here, my lord, and ready to accept your judgment.”

“Is he? We’ll see.” Raphael disconnected, tossing the phone back on the desk. He went first to the vault door, keying it open and sending the elevator up for Dr. Saephan. While he waited, he pulled on a robe, then sat on the bed next to Cyn, holding her hand, knowing she would sense his presence and take comfort in it.

He heard voices down the elevator shaft, heard Saephan directing others as they loaded up the doctor’s medical supplies. And then the door closed and he heard the motor’s hum as the elevator descended. The doors opened and Peter Saephan stepped out, dropping immediately to his knees.

“My lord.”

The doctor was a very smart man. He’d been around powerful vampires enough to know Raphael would be walking the very edge of temper with his mate lying so gravely injured beside him. Raphael stared at Saephan’s bowed head, fighting the instinct to leap across the room and destroy this intruding male presence.

“Doctor,” he ground out at last. “You said she needed blood. Did you bring it?”

“Yes, my lord.” Saephan looked up quickly, his gaze torn between Raphael and Cyn, his expression that of a physician who saw nothing but a patient in desperate need of his care.

 
And that easily, Raphael relaxed. Saephan wasn’t here to harm Cyn or to steal her away. He was here to help her. He stood and, knowing the doctor would be reluctant to approach with him standing so close, walked to the bathroom door, then turned back to say, “I need a shower. I will leave her to your care for now.”

Saephan met his eyes for the first time. “I
will
take care of her, my lord. On my honor.”

Raphael nodded, his gaze shifting away to rest on Cyn and then back to Saephan. “Thank you, Peter.” He stepped backwards into the bathroom and closed the door.

Raphael stripped off the robe and showered quickly. Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered since he intended to bathe in his enemy’s blood before the night was over. But he was covered in Cyn’s blood and she was his. Her
blood
was his, no one else’s. So he let the soap and water sluice over his body, and he swore privately that the blood of those who had harmed his Cyn would run like water tonight.

He didn’t bother drying off, just wrapped a towel around his hips and yanked the door open, suddenly needing to see for himself that she was well.

Saephan barely noticed the intrusion. He glanced up absently, but most of his attention remained on his patient. He’d already hung a unit of blood and was checking Cyn’s IV, his dark head bent over her too-thin arm.

“You saved her life, my lord,” Saephan said quietly. “If anyone else—” He drew a deep breath. “She is your mate, my lord, but she is also my friend and I feared for her.”

Raphael stood there dripping wet, watching another male touch his mate, and realized he trusted this human more than any other. “My Cyn inspires loyalty in others,” he observed.

Saephan glanced over at him. “As do you, my lord. Never doubt it.” He turned back to Cyn and when he spoke next it was with the flat, dry delivery of a physician reporting on his patient’s condition. “Her greatest need at this point is human blood. She lost—” His professional demeanor slipped for a moment and he swallowed hard. “She lost a great deal,” he continued, his voice slightly rough. “But, I can replace that. We have plenty on hand, of course, and her type is common. Cross matching is not necessary, because she has your blood to offset any incompatibility. She’s also dehydrated, so I’ll run a second IV and provide some critical nutrition at the same time. Given the severity and type of her injury, I’m going to add some antibiotics to the mix. Again, with your blood working inside her, this is mostly a precaution. At best, it will be unnecessary, at worst, it will speed her recovery. But, my lord,” Saephan turned and addressed Raphael directly for the first time. “Even with your blood, her injuries . . .” He drew a breath. “She will take a very long time to heal completely.”

Raphael nodded. “I understand.” He walked over to the closet, rubbing the towel briefly over his body before donning clothing for the night. Jeans, sweater, boots. Black for moving through the shadows; black for hunting his enemies.

Saephan had bent over Cyn once again. He spoke over his shoulder without turning. “With your permission, my lord, I will bathe her more completely while you’re gone. She’ll rest more easily once she’s cleaned up.”

Raphael froze in the act of pulling on his boots, once again fighting the instinct to protect his mate. He brushed it off with an effort, swallowing his snarl of frustration to avoid alarming the doctor. “Do whatever you feel is necessary,” he managed, stomping the boot onto his foot and standing to his full height. “But,” he added, “no one except you is to see her like this, Doctor.”

“Of course, my lord. I would have it no other way.”

 
“Elke will stand guard above. You will remain here until I return.”

“Understood, my lord.”

“Very well. I leave you to it, then.”

Raphael crossed to the bed, stroking a hand down Cyn’s cheek. He leaned close enough to kiss her mouth again, whispering against her lips, “They will pay,
lubimaya
. Those responsible will die tonight.”

* * * *

Elke looked up quickly when Raphael emerged from the elevator.

“My lord?”

“She will live, Elke. Others will not be so fortunate. Doctor Saephan will stay with her until I return. You will guard this entrance. No one is to come or go from my room, do you understand?”