Her father returned his attention to her.
“Please, Dad. This is a straight-up win-or-lose situation. Help them out and keep their secret, and they’ll find this vampire army, destroy it, and prevent it from killing again. Refuse to help them or betray them and they’ll erase your memory, likely causing brain damage.”
He swore, as did several of his men.
“Without your help, they’ll have a harder time finding these vampires and taking them out, so—for all we know—the vampires could attack another military base. Or even a well-populated civilian target.” She took a step forward, eyes pleading. “I saw the base, Dad. I saw the bloodstains. I saw the marks left behind by the soldiers who tried to claw their way out of the vampires’ grasps. The vampires who attacked that base enjoyed what they did. They aren’t going to just sit back and call it a day. They’re going to do it again. And again. And again.”
A long moment passed.
General Lane looked to Seth. “What do you want me to do?”
The relief that rushed through her was so great it brought tears to Heather’s eyes. Racing forward, she threw her arms around her father’s neck.
He clamped his arms around her and hugged her back, squeezing the stuffing out of her. “Are you really okay, baby?” he asked in a broken whisper.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“Your eyes are red. You’ve been crying.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Mom always said you were stubborn as a mule. I was afraid you wouldn’t cooperate, that you wouldn’t join them.”
“Us”, Ethan corrected. “You were afraid he wouldn’t join us. You’re one of us, too, now, Heather.”
Her father jerked back. His eyes lowered and squinted as he looked at her teeth.
Heather laughed. “I’m not a vampire, Dad. A lot of humans work with the immortals and know about them. The immortals consider them family.”
He nodded, but seemed unwilling to release her. So Heather stayed by his side, his arm around her shoulders.
“I will need your men’s vow of silence as well,” Seth said. “Should they have no wish to help us, we can simply erase their memories of this. Because they lack your stronger mental barriers and have known about it for a shorter amount of time, the damage would be minimal and would not adversely affect their lives as it would yours.”
The soldiers exchanged looks that seemed to carry as much meaning as words. These men knew each other well. Had served together for a long time.
“We’re with you,” Burke said.
The rest nodded.
Thank goodness.
Her father seemed as relieved and pleased as Heather was. “How can we help?”
Seth considered the question. “We need a country of origin for the vampires. Anything that may tell us where we should begin our search. We don’t believe they are amassing on U.S. soil. Recent events have led us to keep a closer eye on things here. So the army must be forming elsewhere. Unfortunately, our network of contacts has found nothing so far, and the base yielded no clues.”
“What should we look for?” her father asked.
“Teleporting that many vampires would’ve required the use of enough power for me to sense it,” Seth said. “So the vampires had to have reached the island through other means.”
Heather nodded. “You’re probably combing through every bit of intel and chatter and every satellite feed you can get your hands on. We just need you to tell us what you come up with.”
Ethan crossed to stand in front of them. “As well as what conclusions the military is drawing. We can’t rule out that, as Seth suggested, this was meant to spark an international incident. Seth didn’t find any evidence that would implicate another country, but you hit the scene before he did, so you might have.”
The arm around Heather’s shoulders tightened at Ethan’s nearness.
It might take a while, she thought, for her father to adjust to her budding relationship with the immortal. Her father clearly wanted nothing more than to shove her into the Humvee and get her as far away from Ethan and the others as he could.
Oddly, she didn’t think it would take her time to adjust to it. She didn’t think she had ever felt so comfortable around a man before. So in tune with him.
She smiled up at Ethan as Seth continued to speak with her father.
Ethan caught her look and smiled back, his expression full of affection. He winked.
She grinned.
How the hell had he remained single for so long? He was such an easy man to love.
“Heather will be going home with me.”
Her father’s words jerked Heather out of her mushy thoughts. “Dad . . . what?”
Ethan shook his head. “She wouldn’t be safe.”
Ooh. Wrong thing to say.
Her father stiffened. “You think I don’t know how to protect my own daughter?”
“I have no doubt, sir,” Ethan said, “that you know very well how to protect Heather from any and every threat posed by humans. But with all due respect, I don’t think you know how to protect her from vampires. She’s been tossed into vampire battles twice so far by the one leading this army. A vampire can move faster than your eyes can follow, making it difficult to aim your weapon in time to stop him. A vampire is strong enough to pick up that Humvee behind you and throw it fifty yards with little effort. Walls, windows, even roofs cannot keep vampires at bay. You would be no match for them if they were to come for her, even if these soldiers were to remain with you and help you guard her. I and the other immortals, however, would.”
Heather could almost feel the irritation that pummeled her father.
Ethan took a step closer, his eyes fixed on her father’s. “Make no mistake, General, I will guard her with my life. Should I fall while doing so, Seth and the others will take up my sword. There is no place on Earth your daughter will be safer than she will be with us.”
Heather stared up at him, knowing he meant every word. He really would give his life to protect her. What woman wouldn’t melt at such a declaration?
Or fear for him?
She patted her father’s chest and stepped away. “It’s okay, Dad. I want to go with him. Ethan and I are . . .” She bit her lip and caught Ethan’s gaze. “I don’t know. What are we, Ethan?” She was going to say dating, but they hadn’t actually been on a real date yet.
He seemed to understand what she was asking and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Seeing each other?” he suggested.
At the same time, Zach said, “Lovers?”
General Lane sucked in a breath.
Heather’s eyes widened. She gaped past Ethan at Zach. “You did not just say that!”
His brows drew down in a perplexed frown. “Why? I thought you were looking for a nice way of telling him that you’re sleeping together.”
David clapped a hand to his forehead.
“Smooth,” Seth murmured.
“Zach!” Heather protested. “He’s my dad ! He does not want to hear about me . . . about us . . . I was going to say dating, that we’re dating, but we haven’t actually had a chance to . . . I mean, the whole vampire thing hasn’t . . .” Growling, she spun back to her father, but avoided meeting his gaze. “We’re seeing each other, Dad. Okay? Ethan and I are seeing each other and I really like him.”
Utter silence.
Miserable and embarrassed, she looked up at Ethan. “How red is my face?”
“About as red as Burke’s blood.”
Some of the soldiers laughed.
Seth cleared his throat. “I realize this is all a lot to take in, General,” he told her father, his voice kind, “but I do assure you that we will—as Ethan vowed—do everything in our power to keep your daughter safe. She is not our prisoner. Nor is she suffering from Stockholm syndrome. She is with us by choice and, though this could have been broken to you a little more delicately,” he added with a cutting glare at Zach, “she and Ethan do have feelings for each other.”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s what I want.”
“I’ll be able to contact you whenever I want to?”
She looked to Ethan and Seth.
Seth nodded. “I’m afraid we destroyed her cell phone after the last time you spoke with her so you wouldn’t be able to locate her. I’ll have another phone delivered to her within the hour and she will call you herself with the new number.”
“I assume it will be untraceable?” her father said.
“Yes. We must earn one another’s trust, General. Until then, I must take measures to protect all of those around her who would be at risk should you unwisely choose to betray us.”
Heather would not remember later what words were spoken next. She didn’t hear them, too busy thinking how hard it must be for her father to let her go. To stand there, once they wrapped up the conversation, and watch Ethan rest a hand on her lower back and guide her away. How much it must be killing her dad to climb into the Humvee with the other soldiers and watch her walk away with the immortals, fading into the darkness beyond the headlights.
Her father had always been her protector. Long after she had grown up and begun to protect herself, she had remained—in his mind—the little girl he wished to safeguard.
The Humvee’s engine rumbled to life as she and the others strode into the night.
“Sir?” a voice called after them. “Excuse me, sir?”
Heather glanced back and saw one of the soldiers jogging toward them.
Tim.
Stopping, they waited for him to reach them.
He halted a few feet away, his eyes glued to Seth’s face. Tim held a black cap in his hands and began to twist it again and again. He looked as if he had enough to say to fill the pages of a novel, but couldn’t find the first sentence that would allow the rest to flow freely.
The quiet stretched, filled only with the sounds of crickets and other nocturnal creatures.
Seth offered Tim a gentle smile and patted his shoulder. “I’ll do it tonight.”
The man sagged, his face lighting with a smile as tears filled his eyes and spilled down his blackened cheeks. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “Thank you so much. Thank you. If there is ever anything, anything I can do for you . . .”
Seth motioned to the Humvee with a lift of his chin. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Yes, sir.” Nodding, Tim swung around and jogged back to the vehicle.
“What did he want?” Ethan asked.
“His little girl has cancer. She has already undergone two rounds of chemotherapy, and her prognosis is not good. After witnessing my abilities, he hoped I might heal her.”
David clapped him on the back. “Chris and the network will have to alter her medical records so her miraculous recovery won’t make the news.”
Seth nodded. “And I’ll have to bury a lot of memories.”
“Bury?” Heather asked. “Not erase?”
He nodded. “Burying them should suffice for something like this.”
The Humvee pulled a U-turn, its headlights illuminating the hills to the west, and carried General Lane and his men away.
“You’re a good man, Seth,” Ethan said softly.
Heather thought it sad that Seth looked as though he disagreed.
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan and Heather only stayed at David’s place long enough for Darnell to give them the new phone Seth had promised. Then Zach teleported them—and Lisette—to the couple’s home.
Ethan wasn’t sure whether he should consider the meeting with Heather’s father a win or a loss. General Lane had agreed to work with them, but it sure as hell could’ve gone better.
Anger rose as he catalogued the night’s events.
As Zach and Lisette headed into the kitchen to get something to eat, Ethan remained with Heather in the living room and felt his fury burn brighter with every second that passed.
Heather watched the couple go, then swiveled to face him. “So, what did you think of . . . ?” The half smile on her lips vanished as she looked up at him. “Wow. You look pissed.”
“Pick me up?” he growled, taking a menacing step toward her.
Eyes widening, she took a step backward.
“Use me as a shield?”
She raised her hands, palms out. “Okay. You need to calm down. Your eyes are really bright.”
“Heather! What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded.
“I wasn’t thinking. Or I was. I just—I was thinking that my dad’s men wouldn’t risk shooting you if I was in the way.”
“Clearly, you were wrong! Burke shot me anyway and damned near shot you in the process!” Recalling it only made him want to shoot the man again.
“I know. I totally didn’t expect that.” She continued to ease backward as he advanced toward her, matching him step for step. “Look. You’re upset. I understand that. You didn’t want me to get hurt. But I didn’t want you to get hurt either.”
Her continued disregard for her own safety floored him. “I’m immortal!” he roared. “How many times do I have to tell you that to get you to stop trying to put yourself between me and danger? I’m immortal, Heather! A bullet won’t kill me! Am I going to have to shoot myself in the head right in front of you to prove it?”
Her face paled. “Please don’t do that.”
“Yes,” Lisette said in the kitchen. “Please, don’t. If you do, Tracy will bitch and moan for weeks over having to scrub the bloodstains out of the furniture.”
Heather’s mouth fell open at the bland pronouncement.
“It’s true,” Tracy confirmed, entering from the hallway. “Bloodstains are hell to get out of fabrics.”
Ethan shot her a glare.
Tracy stopped short. Swallowing hard, she said, “Yeah, I’m just going to . . . join them in the kitchen. Sorry I interrupted.” She hurried into the kitchen.
Heather turned back to face Ethan, who continued to crowd her, too angry to stand still. “Okay. I get it. You’re angry and . . .” She scowled. “Stop stalking me, damn it! I can’t think straight while you’re looking at me as if you want to strangle me.”
He halted. “Now you think I want to hurt you?” he asked incredulously.
Rolling her eyes, she emitted a growl of her own. “No! Oh my gosh, you have a bug up your butt tonight!”
Lisette, Zach, and Tracy all burst into laughter in the kitchen.
Against his will, Ethan felt his own lips twitch as some of the fury drained from him.
“No,” Heather said in more even tones, “I do not think you want to hurt me. You would never do anything to hurt me. I know that.” She sighed. “You’re angry. And I understand why. I just . . . I like you. Okay? I mean I really, really like you, Ethan. I wasn’t lying when I told you I’ve never in my life felt this strong a connection to someone. I’ve never felt this comfortable with someone, even family, as if I could say or do anything . . . like complain about you having a bug up your butt when you look positively murderous.”
He did smile then.
“You make me laugh,” she said. “You’re smart. You’re fun to talk to. You make my heart race and are the best lover I’ve ever had.” Her voice softened. “It would be so easy to fall in love with you.”
His heart began to pound in his chest.
“So I panic inside whenever I think someone is going to hurt you. And I do crazy things, like try to put myself between you and the threat. I don’t think, Eh, he’s immortal. He can take it. I think, I can’t lose him. I just found him. And”—she shrugged—“then I stop thinking altogether and . . . act.”
Now he couldn’t think. He had assumed, on some level, that most of her attraction to him stemmed from her inability to read his mind. But she hadn’t even mentioned that. “You care about me,” he murmured with some amazement.
“Yes. Very much.�
� A spark of vulnerability entered her soft brown eyes.
“I feel the same for you,” he told her. Resting his hands on her hips, he drew her toward him until their bodies touched. “Which is why it terrifies me and infuriates me whenever you try to sacrifice yourself for me. You can’t do that, Heather.”
“I told you—”
“If something happens to me,” he interrupted, “you won’t lose me. I can recover from anything short of having my head removed. Even excessive blood loss won’t kill me, not the way it will a vampire. But you are mortal. If something happens to you, and Seth or Zach or one of the other healers isn’t around or can’t get to you fast enough, I’ll lose you. And for the rest of eternity, I will have to live with the knowledge that you died needlessly, thinking you were protecting me, and will wonder what could have been.”
Biting her lip, she leaned into him. “I’m sorry. This whole immortality thing is still new to me. It hasn’t made it to my subconscious yet. Once it does, I’ll react better in a crisis.”
How he wished he could promise her there would be no more crises.
Ethan sighed. “I just want us to have a chance to see where this can lead, to see what we can have together.”
She offered him a tentative smile. “So do I.” Then she winked. “You’re irresistible. I want to see if that’s going to wear off in time.”
“It will,” Zach promised from the kitchen.
Heather laughed.
Ethan felt the tension drain from him. “How I wish I could court you properly.”
Richart had managed to carry on a normal courtship with a mortal woman. For a time. How lucky he had been. None of the rest of them could seem to manage it.
He groaned. “And how I wish I could’ve made a better impression on your father. If he believes I would use you as a shield to protect myself . . .”
She laughed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. You bitched at me for trying to shield you, then nearly strangled Burke to death for endangering me, then when Seth wouldn’t let you do that, you shot Burke in the chest to teach him a lesson and warned him not to endanger my life again. Once my dad gets over the shock of the whole vampire and immortal thing, he’s going to love you.”
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