That makes me nervous.
And I want to at least see my dad, even if I can’t talk to him.
I wrestle with myself until I’m convinced that I’m going in there more for Mirko than to see my dad. “Mirko can use the backup. I won’t get caught.”
I flex to where Kaitlynn said my father is because I don’t know where Mirko is any more than where he’s supposed to be heading.
I cover my mouth to stifle my gasp when I land in an exquisite room. My dad sits on a grand sofa in the corner across from where I arrive.
I stay frozen in the corner as the door opens and Mirko walks in.
Good. They’ve at least kept their word and didn’t take him to a prison of his own. Though, I don’t know if this place can really be called a prison with how luxurious it is, even if it is windowless. A tapestry woven with rich reds and bright yellows hangs from the wall behind the grand sofa. The fireplace next to the oversized four-poster bed is framed in floor-to-ceiling travertine with a rich mahogany mantel matching the bed and heavy end tables.
My dad looks up, but he doesn’t stand. “Mirko?”
The door shuts behind Mirko. He strolls over to my dad with the same confident swagger he always manages. “You’re not my favorite person right now.”
“If she were your daughter, would you have done anything different?”
Mirko glances around the room and stops for a brief second before continuing his perusal.
I hold my breath again.
Crap! Does he know I’m here?
I look over to the wall where Mirko’s eyes stay the longest and spot a camera.
I slowly exhale in relief.
Mirko rolls a chair out from a large desk and sets it in front of my dad, sitting with his back to the camera, effectively blocking their conversation from prying eyes. “She’s not my daughter.” He shrugs. “And I still hate you.”
My dad nods once.
I want to hate my dad.
“How’d you find me?”
“Someone I know has Locirati. And they tell me you might have it as well.”
No one told him this—certainly not Kaitlynn—but Mirko must be baiting my dad to see if he’ll admit it.
My dad cracks a grin. “And if I do?”
“It’ll explain a lot of things: how you knew we were on the roof when Emerik attacked Brooke, how you knew to find us in the gym yesterday. A lot of things.”
“I guess it does then.”
Mirko smiles and shakes his head.
There’s so much about my dad we don’t know.
“What brings you here?”
“Brooke. She wanted to see you, but they wouldn’t let her.”
My dad quirks a brow and glances to the corner, as if he can see me.
My heart stops. I’m still using Nestati, but I have never felt more exposed.
My dad half-smiles as if it’s at me. Will he be mad at me for being here? Wouldn’t he have told me if he could see through my Nestati?
I want to laugh at myself. Of course he knows I’m here. He just freakin’ admitted to having Locirati.
He can feel me here. But … that also means he could feel where my mom was. The whole time after she ran away from him, he knew where she was. I’m hurt by this. I have to ask him why he didn’t come for her when he knew where she was.
My dad regards Mirko again. “But they let you?”
Mirko grins and his dark eyes light up. “They did.” He clears his throat and leans forward. “What changed, Zladislov? Why did they arrest you?”
Mirko already knows. Is he baiting my dad again?
“Oh, Mirko. There is plenty you don’t know.” My dad actually looks regretful. Is he really going to tell Mirko?
I want him to. It’ll feel like an act of good faith on his part if he does.
“I’m sure there is,” Mirko says, “but I only have time for the most important stuff.”
My dad sighs. “Secrets I am not yet ready to unveil.
Mirko leans in even farther. “I already know Emerik is a melez.”
My dad’s eyes bulge. “What on earth would make you think that?”
“Lijepa knew and told someone before she died.”
My dad grins. His teeth are so white, they’re a stark contrast to the dark couch. “You may be more resourceful than I gave you credit for.”
Mirko nods in agreement, not correcting him that the information fell in our lap. I don’t mind, though, because my dad really doesn’t give Mirko enough credit. “So you’ll ask to testify again, say that Emerik is a melez and then the Commission can forget this whole thing?”
“I wish that were the case.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Mirko’s more than annoyed.
“I’m at a stalemate with Orell. He knows something about me, and I know something about him.”
“Somehow this doesn’t surprise me.” Mirko’s eyes narrow at my dad. “So give us the proof we need, and you won’t have to say anything.”
“I don’t have any,” my dad says and holds his hands out.
“The person we got the information about Emerik from mentioned there was a journal and a painting we could use as evidence, but those things are with Kresimira in Croatia. Is there anything else you’re aware of that we could get?”
My dad considers that. “No, there isn’t. You’ll have to go to Croatia.”
“And how am I supposed to find her?”
“You told me you have a friend with Locirati. Use them.”
No. Not Kaitlynn.
“How will they find Kresimira if they’ve never met her?”
“If they know Emerik, they’ll be able to find her. Their signature is similar. As is their power.”
Mirko frowns. “She can nullify as well?”
All of a sudden, I’m not as anxious to go find her. Now I’m scared because I realize I might be the only one who can get close enough to Kresimira without being detected.
“Yes, and I cannot feel her right now. Let’s hope she has no reason to use it regularly. And that your friend can detect her. She should be in Zagreb or Zadar.”
Mirko studies my dad. “And what if this person is of value to you—would you risk them going to Croatia to get the evidence?”
Is Mirko trying to throw my dad off, or is he considering I might have to go as well?
My dad is quiet as if pondering it. “Yes, the evidence is now crucial for us to get out of this. It’s as important for Brooke as it is for me.”
Mirko sits back in the chair and runs his hands along his buzzed head. He takes a few deep breaths and drops his arms.
He rolls the chair closer to my dad, his whisper growing angry. “Brooke testifying shouldn’t even still be on the table. Her life is at stake. Your position is at stake. The freedom of my Zao Duh brothers and sisters is at stake.” Mirko looks back at the camera and then sits up as if to compose himself.
My father’s lips curve jovially. “Out of everyone in my line, there isn’t anyone I could’ve been happier with than you to be the one to look after my daughter while I am away. However—”
“Too bad it’s not enough to date her,” Mirko snarls.
My father continues, unfazed. “You must not forget who you are speaking to.”
Mirko’s face tightens. “Everything about this situation is unprecedented. Since when can they actually arrest you for procreating with a human? Anyone else, and they would be disposed of. But with you, there should’ve been a meeting—involving you. When did it become okay to arrest the Head of the Commission?”
Good question.
“Since I have this secret of theirs that they don’t want me telling anyone about. If you’re smart, you’ll go to Croatia and get that evidence.”
Mirko meets my dad’s cold, blue eyes in challenge. “So much for your plan B. You’d better hope we find Kresimira and bring back the evidence.”
The door opens. “Time’s up.”
Mirko stands and pushes the chair toward t
he desk. It stops short, but Mirko doesn’t put it back. “I’m done anyway,” he says and goes toward the door. He pauses and turns to my dad. “Oh, yeah, and Brooke said to tell you she doesn’t hate you.”
My dad’s lip twitches in the corners. He glances over at me and nods.
“But I still do,” Mirko says as a final jab before the door closes behind him.
I count to two and then flex to the other side of the door and follow Mirko out. The rest of the house is as opulent as the room where they’re keeping my dad.
Once Mirko makes it out to the porch, I flex back into the Land Rover. “Don’t tell Mirko I went in there.”
“You know I’m going to tell him,” Ace says.
“Why? He’ll only be mad at you for not stopping me, and you know it.”
Ace sneers at me in the rearview mirror. “You owe me.” He hops out of the car when Mirko reaches the door.
I sit up and make room for Ace to sit next to me in the back.
Mirko puts the car in gear and takes us out to the main road. “Well, it looks like we’re going to Croatia,” he says to Kaitlynn.
I can tell he’s pissed, so I won’t mention how he’ll need me and my flexing skills, or “jumping space” as he calls it. I’ll let him cool off first before I announce I’m going with them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Mirko
We’re three hours outside of Lexington when Garwin calls with the information about using the Društvos’ plane. “Pavao is at JFK Airport and should be able to pick you up at a small landing strip in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, in little more than hour. He’s going to file a false flight plan with the FAA because you’ll be leaving the country without the proper passport information.”
I’ll have to turn around and drive a half hour in the opposite direction, but we should get there in enough time. It sucks Brooke is coming. I don’t want her anywhere near Croatia like this. “I hate to have him do that, but we don’t have enough time to drive back for Brooke’s documents, and Kaitlynn doesn’t even have a passport.”
We’ll land on private property when we get to Croatia to avoid customs there as well. That’s if I can get hold of the property owner and make sure it’s okay. I’ll have to remember his number, though, since I don’t store numbers in these mobile phones.
Memorize the number, or lose it.
I look at Kaitlynn and shake my head. Who doesn’t have a passport nowadays? And it’s not like I can leave her with Hawk as he drives the car back to Garwin’s. She’s our locater.
“Will you send Rorik over to Kaitlynn’s to use Sanjam on her parents?” I ask Garwin. “They need to think she’ll be staying with Brooke for a couple of days. Have him tell them not to call her. She’ll call them.”
“I’ll speak with him as soon as I get off the phone with you. You guys be careful. Watch over Brooke and Kaitlynn, please. I know you will, but I’m worried so I have to ask.”
“I won’t let anything happen to them.”
“And no funny business with Brooke.”
My lip turns down in a half-frown. “That won’t be an issue.”
A part of me wishes it were. There are some beautiful places in Zagreb I’d love to take Brooke for some “funny business.”
I need to quit thinking about her in that way. I have to accept the fact that I’ll never experience that with Brooke. In Croatia, or elsewhere.
But fuck me, I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I do her. I’ve always been able to separate the heart from the physical before, but no matter how much my body still wants her, my betrayed heart can’t bear it.
The private landing strip in Oak Ridge is a small farm with a cleared, grass runway. It’s pretty narrow. Pavao is going to have to pay close attention to miss the trees on both sides of the strip. We’re lucky it hasn’t snowed much yet.
I park the Land Rover on the small service road next to the grass strip and get out to talk to the controls manager.
After verifying that Pavao has asked for clearance, I walk back outside and call the property owner in Croatia. I get the wrong number on the first attempt, but that’s because I haven’t spoken to him in probably ten years. His property is perfect because it’s not too far from a single-strip airport, so people won’t see a small plane that close to the ground as something out of the ordinary. This is all easier than risk using Sanjam out in the open on the customs officers.
By the time the landing is arranged, I see our small plane making its descent.
Ace, Brooke, and Kaitlynn get out of the car and stroll over to me while I hand the keys to Hawk. He claps my hand. “All right, man. You be careful. If those gangsta Zao Duhs realize you’re there, give ’em hell, man. Give ’em hell.”
“You know I will.” I pat him on the back and then follow Ace to the landing strip. Pavao opens the fold-down door with the steps and we climb aboard.
Brooke and Kaitlynn take the seats they did when we flew out to The Base, while Ace stands and takes stock of the space. “About damn time,” he says with a childlike smile.
I plop down on the couch and grab the iPod. “You better enjoy it because we’ll be on this thing for the next ten hours.” I search the menu for the on-board movies.
There is a lot I need to discuss with them, but I don’t feel like talking yet.
I use up nine hours of the flight watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We’re about forty minutes outside of Zagreb and our landing zone when I turn off the TV.
Kaitlynn and Brooke adjust in their seats when the silence fills the cabin.
“There’s a lot we need to go over before we land. The plan is to not get spotted by any Zao Duhs or Pijawikas. But if we do, Ace, Kaitlynn, and I are Brooke’s hired traveling entourage. We’ll spend enough money that the story could be true, but not so much to get noticed. If we do get spotted, Brooke will tell whoever spots us that she’s Pijawikan.
“We’ll split up tomorrow to search for Kresimira. Most Croats speak English, but Ace and I speak Croatian, so let us do most of the talking. We’ll be able to move under the radar much easier this way.”
“And what happens if a Zao Duh or a Pijawika realizes we’re not normal humans?” Brooke asks.
“Hopefully, it’s not the wrong Zao Duh or Pijawika. If it’s not, we’ll stick to the story, and you’re only passing through.”
“But what if it is?” Kaitlynn asks.
“Then we’re in trouble. Zao Duhs here organize themselves much like gangs do in the States. And they use weapons. They’re not like us Zao Duhs who adhere to mostly old traditions about honor. We’re all very territorial to begin with, but Croatia has seen a lot of unrest. Lots of people and countries trying to come in and take over, so the Zao Duhs here are especially fierce in protecting their territories.
“If we weren’t coming here illegally and looking for someone we don’t want to know we’re looking for, I would’ve made some calls in advance for clearance to travel in certain areas. So because we won’t have this clearance in the first place, they’ll kill us first and ask questions later.”
“How do you know where to start looking for her?” Kaitlynn asks.
“She moves around all over Croatia, but her main areas are Zagreb and Zadar. She most likely frequents Zadar in the warmer months, so we’ll start in Zagreb. You still don’t feel anything?”
“No. I know what Emerik feels like because I’ve felt him, but I’m not sure I know what to feel with her.”
“Focus on it like feeling out for Emerik, and hopefully she isn’t using her Ukinuti power.” If what Kaitlynn says is true, about finally being able to feel Emerik after Zladislov was arrested, then maybe Kresimira won’t have any reason to keep her guard up, either.
“But if she is,” Ace says, “we’ll have to do some asking around. And that’s where you let Mirko and I do all the talking.”
I’d rather not have to do that, though. I hate to admit it, but Brooke should be able to get in and out with the evidence we need without
being seen. We only have to find Kresimira first. Without being spotted. Neither of which will be easy.
Brooke glances between Ace and me. Her gaze rests on me a second longer before she looks back to Ace. “So who’s going with whom if we have to split up?”
“Kaitlynn will go with Ace.” I don’t tell Brooke she’ll be going with me, even though that’s what will happen. A part of me doesn’t want to spend all day alone with Brooke, but at the same time, I won’t have her go with anyone else. No matter how much I trust the person.
She bites her lip nervously and nods. She hoped she’d be with me, but not like this.
Yeah, well, I hoped for things too.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Brooke
We’re staying at Hotel Dubrovnik in the center of Zagreb because it’s easy access to the tram and anywhere we need to go to look for Kresimira.
Mirko is set on not using any Sanjam unless there is no possibility of bystanders witnessing it, so he books two rooms.
I attempted to talk him into letting Kaitlynn and I have our own room.
“I don’t care how nice the hotel is, we’re staying together through the night,” Mirko says. He’s grumpy and things are weird between us. And unless he lets me explain things and try to fix it, nothing is going to change. He’s virtually unapproachable about it. I’d rather not have to sleep in the same room with him. Especially since he won’t be holding me as I sleep.
Kaitlynn and I move to share the bed closest to the window and Mirko takes the other one. “You can have that side,” Mirko says to Ace and points to the spot near the wall, “but you better not try to cuddle.”
“How about you and Brooke share that bed, and I’ll share this one with Kaitlynn, then?” Ace grins.
Kaitlynn glares at Ace. “Not gonna happen.”
Ace has always had a soft spot for Kaitlynn, but his razzing quit for the week after David died. I guess he figures that was long enough. I don’t think it is. Neither does Kaitlynn, apparently.
Mirko locks eyes with me. “What Kaitlynn said.”
I drop my gaze, turning away from him and step toward the window. He doesn’t have to be a jerk. It’s one thing for him to avoid me and only speak to me when it’s business, but he doesn’t have to keep rubbing it in how mad he is at me.
Enemy Within (Vampire Born Trilogy, #2) Page 24