“I’m here.” He yelled back.
Our rental car had been in front of the unit and had also been a casualty of the attack.
“Meet me back at the hidey hole by the restaurant. Bring Amy! Go!”
“What about David?” I heard a soft voice ask from behind me.
Bullets flew our way, cutting into the sheet metal of the building’s edge and hitting the dirt near our feet. Pulling her away from the shots and around the corner for a temporary reprieve, I turned to Amy. She stood, glassy-eyed, biting her lower lip and watching the remains of the storage unit burn down the backside.
I knew in my heart that David couldn’t have survived the explosion. The last time I’d laid eyes on him, he was sitting on a cardboard box, right where the missile had hit.
“Come on!” I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the opening between the rows of units where we’d come from. She wouldn’t budge, so I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. Running for the safety of the tree line, far enough away, I stopped.
When I set her down in the scrub brush, with the moon above, I looked at her face. Tears made muddy streaks down her cheeks, and her gaze was a million miles away.
“You have to snap out of it!” I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “There’s nothing we can do but save ourselves now! The sooner we get back to Chronos, the safer we’ll be.” When she said nothing, I sighed and squatted before her, whispering, “I’m sorry, Amy. I am really sorry, but we have to go unless you want to be next. They’re hunting us down right now.”
Her shiny eyes turned on me. “You! You said that you would protect us! You said…” Sobs overtook her small frame, and I pulled her to me, pressing her head to my chest and smoothing her hair back.
“I know.” Was all I could think to say. “I know.”
I let her grieve and shake with the heaviness of her sorrow, as I refused to give in to mine.
The strains, the research.
All the samples.
They were all gone.
My stomach sank and my own soot irritated eyes teared up as well.
“Fuck!” I spat out. I wanted to ask Amy if that unit had been everything, but I knew the answer.
That was the OVC storage unit.
Now, there was no cure, no research and everything I’d been looking for had been turned into a large pile of smoking rubble. I felt a little dizzy with the thought, and my lip trembled. I’d have to tell Aurev what happened.
Who were these people? Why were they trying to destroy everything? I knew that Chronos wasn’t the only Moroi clan out to cure the disease, but why didn’t these people want answers? Why were they just going for the kill? Did they want this disease to kill us all off as well?
“We’ve got to go, sweetie.” I wiped my face and pushed the girl away from me.
Even though my mind knew she was thousands of years old, my heart went out to this little thing, no bigger than a child. “I did promise that I’d keep you safe, and I have to keep it. We need to go. Karsten told me where to meet him.”
Amy was the only thing we had left of her research into the virus. Moroi had photographic memories; if need be, she could redo the documents from that storage shed.
She was our only hope now.
A plan quickly began to form in my mind.
We would take her to Colorado, to Owen’s lab.
She should be safe there.
I almost laughed. We were going to take an unhinged, grieving mass-murderer to my ex’s house.
Chapter Eighteen
After walking all night, we got to the BBQ restaurant and found Karsten sitting at a picnic table. He’d already picked up a new rental, a dark blue SUV.
He drove through the streets, in and out of several small towns in the area before being sure that we weren’t being followed.
He’d been too quiet, and I wondered what was going on in his mind.
Who else knew we were here? Were those Moroi or humans who attacked us? Were they with the hit-men that had attacked David earlier today?
The only people I’d spoken to about Texas were Aurev and Forest.
When he stopped the car in an older neighborhood in Austin near the University of Texas, none of us spoke. We followed him around the block and up to a small one-story home with a large pecan tree out front.
Karsten unlocked the door, and I led Amy through and to the first bathroom. I started the shower for her, found a towel and washcloth from the linen cupboard and a clean t-shirt and shorts from the hall closet. Chronos safe houses were always stocked with the basics.
I’d given her the smallest sizes I could find, but they’d still be too large on her tiny child’s body.
Amy sat fully clothed on top of the plush toilet cover, still not speaking.
“Come on honey,” I said, “Take a shower. It’ll make you feel better.”
She looked at me with those large pale eyes and dead expression, making my heart squeeze.
“I… I’m sorry about what happened.” I’m sorry about David. I sucked in a deep breath and pulled at her cowboy boot. She didn’t help me, but she didn’t resist as I took her shoes off, then pulled her socks off. “Can you undress yourself?”
She nodded, and when she began to unbutton her jeans, I left the room.
I needed a shower myself, and as I looked over at my Viking, I knew he needed one too. He stood at the microwave waiting as it defrosted some bags of blood from the freezer.
When it dinged, he handed me one and began to drink his own.
“You do know this is terrible stuff. Are we allowed to go out and drink at all? Didn’t you want me to try drinking live?”
He shook his head, “No, we stay inside while we’re here.”
I swallowed and walked to the other side of the house, finding another bathroom with a shower. It had been an addition, a master bedroom with a small adjoining bathroom. Without thinking I started the water, leaving it as cold as possible, but it was Texas, and even in the spring the “cold” tap was still warm.
The hot showers I used to adore as a human were gone. As a Moroi, I didn’t like the heat.
Karsten came into the room and neared me. Our gazes locked on one another.
Standing on my tippy toes, I took his face between my hands.
“I was so afraid when I thought you could’ve been in there.” His stubble beneath my fingers was rough, but I felt so thankful that he was uninjured.
I was falling in love with my Viking, and I think it might’ve broken me if something had happened to him.
Reaching upward, and pulling his face down to me, I kissed him gently.
His strong arms reached around and lifted me up. My legs circled his waist, and we deepened the kiss.
He walked us to the bathroom and let me down to the ground where my toes sank into the salmon-colored bath mat.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you.” My voice cracked with emotion as I said it.
“I don’t break so easily.”
I watched as he pulled off his clothes before stepping into the shower, his body like that of a Greek statue; his defined muscles hard as marble.
Looking at the short shower head, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Are you joining me?”
A small smile tugged at my lips.
If before I’d been indecisive, I was now sure.
I pulled my t-shirt over my head, and when I set it on the sink, I gazed back at Karsten. He watched me as the water hit his shoulder and ran down his body.
He could watch me as I undressed. His gaze seared my skin as I bent to remove my pants.
My movements affected him, bringing a small smile to my lips and I unhooked my sports bra, dangling it in front of me before setting it on the vanity.
His glowing mismatched eyes roamed my body like a caress, over my chest, down my navel and to my simple black panties that I slid out of.
He held a bar of soap absent-mindedly and held his other hand o
ut to me.
My belly clenched with want, with need. I knew that we needed each other, maybe just at that moment, maybe for longer.
Gently taking the soap, I ran it over his chest. He bent to run his head under the low shower spout, and I took a step back.
His wet hair stood on end, as he allowed me to run the soap over his arms and down his back.
I hadn’t taken a shower with anyone before, and I enjoyed watching him rinse the bubbles off as I lathered my own body.
Pulling me to him, our skin was slick and smooth with the suds. Together we fell under the stream of water as he plundered my mouth and gently grabbed my thighs to pull my legs around him.
I began sliding down, when he bounced me up, his hands under my ass.
It made me laugh, and when our eyes met, my belly clenched with desire.
How could just one expression make me feel so much?
I felt him nudge my entrance and I moaned.
With his gaze on mine, I knew that as much as we’d like to take our time and take things slow, that this intimacy was vital in that moment. His fingers began to stroke me, and my breath hitched.
Karsten’s mouth was on mine, drinking me in, playing with me so that I began to feel lost in my own pleasure.
“I want you,” I moaned.
When his shaft pressed against my core, I cried out in pleasure. The cold tile on my back and his hot body contrasted and I felt like putty in his arms.
His kisses led down my neck as he dove into me. My leg muscles tensed to hold my position, and I began to slip again, but my Viking held me steady.
Our silky skin and his plunging strokes were going to quickly bring me over the edge.
Then he whispered to me, “Kom, min heks.” I was nearly undone by his sexy whisper on my skin alone. He shuttered and bit my neck making me lose all my senses and go limp in his arms.
When my head lulled back, and our gaze met, his slow smile warmed me.
Escaping to the bed, Karsten pulled off the quilt and set my naked body down on the sheets before pressing a towel around me. When I made a move to get up, he was back with me, dried off and holding me to him before pulling the quilt back over our bodies.
The smell of him and his soothing, just-right, warmth took away all the awful events that we’d endured over the past few days.
Comforted in the crook of his arm, our feet entangled, I slept.
Chapter Nineteen
It was early morning when I woke to the sounds of my Viking getting dressed. The birds were singing, and the sun had just risen from the horizon.
I sat up and saw Sten smile at me. He strode to the bed and dropped a pile of clothes. I grinned back sheepishly.
“Thank you,” I told him, wondering at the simple thoughtfulness that he’d gathered clean items for me to wear.
Sitting down on the bed, he gave me a hot cup of coffee. “I thought you might like some also.”
I took the mug after pulling on a t-shirt. “Thanks.” I hissed, blowing on the warm liquid. “Did you get me underwear?”
He raised an eyebrow. “They only get in the way.”
I laughed and wrapped a towel around my waist before heading to the clothing pantry to grab some panties.
“You only think!” I yelled back, clutching my towel and drinking sips of my coffee at the same time.
After I was dressed, I walked across the house to Amy’s bedroom and knocked. For a moment I felt a stab of fear that she’d done something stupid and left, but when I turned the knob, there she was, clean and alive in her bed.
She stirred and when I made to close the door, she sat and gave me a mournful expression.
“Are you okay?” I asked, hovering at the foot of her bed.
“No,” she whispered, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “This world is filled with bugs, I’m going to destroy those bastards that…” She shook her head.
Killed David, I finished in my mind.
Instead, I said, “We’ll get them.”
“What happened last night when we left? Did your soldier go after them or what?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but they had a truck and four people with guns. But he saw them, and he thinks he’ll be able to ID them.”
“Really? Who were they?”
I sighed. “We don’t know yet.”
“Lame.” She flopped back down onto her bed, punching the pillow beneath her head. “You’d think that they could’ve come up with a better plan than to try to off us with a bomb. At least Aurev knows a thing or two.” She plucked at the blanket underneath her. “Chronos, I’ve always liked the name. The God of time and life and death.” She said.
“Oh,” I twisted my mouth. “I never knew what it meant.”
Sitting back up, Amy stood and stretched, reaching upward. “Yeah, it’s Greek.”
“Are you really from ancient Egypt?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re silly, but yeah, I was born in Egypt.” She looked off into space, maybe into her past and all the memories her mind held. “I’ve lived many places, I loved many people… but I never loved anyone like David. I think he’s my soul mate.”
“I don’t believe in soul mates, I’m a scientist. I believe in what I can test to be true.” I told her.
“Pity, you don’t have to believe in something for it to be true.”
I shook my head and breathed out a laugh. In some ways, she was a wise old woman, but in others, she was still just a child, with a child’s imagination.
“I’ve watched you with Sten.” Her eyes met mine, and she smirked. After a moment, her smile faded, and she flopped back to the messy bed. “I don’t think David is dead.”
I shook my head. “Oh, honey.” I walked over and sat down by her, grasping one of her small hands. Her bright blue nail polish was chipped, and she wore several strings of friendship bracelets. I thought back to the explosion and couldn’t imagine how a human could’ve survived. “Maybe if he’d been Moroi he might have… but I don’t think he…survived.”
She straightened her shoulders, pulled away from me and stood, pacing the bedroom, her back to me.
When she turned, her eyes were flashing with fury and resolve. “He is alive.” She covered her heart with her hands. “I feel it here! I don’t know how or why, but I know he’s alive. You should apologize for even saying that.”
I wanted to placate her, so I nodded and smiled–awkwardly. “Of course. I’m sorry, I believe you.”
Her mood changed abruptly, and she smiled broadly while biting her lip. “He’s not going to believe this adventure. When are we going back to look for him?”
Karsten was in the doorframe and spoke, “We’re not. We’re going to a safe place.”
“What!” She screeched. “No, David’s old and weak! We have to find him! He needs to be taken to a hospital!”
“Honey, if he is alive, he’s already at a hospital,” I told her.
Sten towered over the girl. “I looked last night, Amy. There’s no sign of him.” We exchanged a grim look.
Boarding the jet, we took our seats and waited for takeoff.
I needed to get the location of the rest of the storage units so that we could salvage them before this could happen again. When I mentioned this to Karsten, he told me to be patient and wait until we got to Colorado.
I hadn’t wanted to go back to my lab or to Aurev empty-handed. I’d take my chances in Colorado trying to make more inroads on the disease, but doubts about my decision were starting to plague me.
If I talked to Owen, he was going to tell me not to come. I also hadn’t asked Aurev; I’d just left a message with Ms. Smith telling her our plans. There had been no word from my boss…yet.
The plane ride was only a few hours long and felt short compared to our recent triple flight to South Africa.
When we touched down in the small mountain town of Durango, I watched Amy as she peered out the window.
“Have you been here before?” I asked.
S
he shook her head. “I’ve never been to Colorado. Other mountains, yes. These, no.”
She rested her hand below her collarbone over her heart and smiled. “We’re far away from David. I feel him still though. I think he must feel me also.”
A lot of the older Moroi remained very superstitious. They had all kinds of crazy notions about us being magic and mystical.
I’d heard that Moroi could feel humans they regularly fed from, but I’d never found any proof. Sure, there were stories and rumors, but they were all anecdotal; They reminded me of those “psychic twin connection” stories, where one twin feels the other’s pain. I’ve read studies done on it, and they all proved one thing–there is no connection.
Had David been Amy’s blood slave all this time either by compulsion or by an addiction to her bite? What was their connection? Did they have a mutual relationship?
Could someone human or Moroi become addicted to the high of Moroi saliva going directly into their system? I wished I’d asked more questions; there was so much I didn’t know about basic Moroi physiology.
Owen had worked more with Moroi blood and saliva–would he know the answers to these questions?
Also, if Amy really, I mean really loved David, then why hadn’t she changed him? He could’ve been this strapping young Moroi who could’ve been a better companion. It just didn’t make any sense. If she kept him for a blood slave, then why didn’t she trade him in for a younger human?
I watched as the jet shook in the usual turbulence as we landed. I wasn’t worried; I could probably fall from 30,000 feet and recover from my injuries.
The teenager was quiet and pouty until we landed, and then I began to wonder if we had duct tape to cover her mouth.
“Oh, puh-lease! This blood tastes like crap! I want to stop off in town and pick up a live one!” She ordered Sten.
“Are you serious?” I raised my voice for the umpteenth time. “Just stop.” I turned in my seat to spear the girl with my glare. “We’re going somewhere safe. You can’t just walk around town! You have to stay inside.”
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