Masters of the Hunt: Fated and Forbidden

by Sarra Cannon

  I grabbed what remained of the scorched pictures and climbed out after her.

  She flailed on the ground but her movements became weaker.

  I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction as I watched Mistress Elizabeth, Wicked Bitch of the West, burn.

  Shouts from inside the house startled me out of my dark pleasure. I ran across the garden, clutching the original pictures. Branches caught at my red t-shirt as I pushed between some thick bushes surrounding Lizzy’s property. At least my jeans protected me from scratches. The busy street was visible through the hedge. I needed to make things right for Rurik.

  My mind raced with excitement, I finally had the evidence to prove his innocence. Who should I go to first? Colby, to stop any further attacks, or Rurik, to try and win him back?

  Chapter 18

  I ran through the busy streets disoriented as to where I was. Cars passed me and one honked when I stumbled too close to the road. The Buda Castle stood on the hill to my left, which meant the river would be east of me. I continued running, afraid one of Lizzy’s minions would follow. Smells of spiced food drifted from the many restaurants between the storefronts. The late evening traffic clogged the boulevards as I got further from her estates.

  My breath came in painful heaves with each step. I didn’t know how many blocks I ran but it felt like I’d done a marathon. A bench invited me over to take a rest. I needed to stop and gather my thoughts.

  No one caught me yet so I assumed Lizzy’s people too busy with the fire to wonder about me. They would need to regroup after the loss of their leader. I smiled in satisfaction at the memory. Happy her plans to murder me and destroy Rurik’s clan had backfired.

  The smell of smoke clung to the pictures still clutched in my hand, their edges singed in the initial blaze. I laid them on my lap and tried to flatten out the crinkles. They clearly showed someone else instead of Rurik. He looked similar but couldn’t compare to Rurik’s beauty.

  Colby needed to see them. I hoped to convince him to decline the contract on Rurik’s existence and switch it to double-crossing-rat-bastard Tane, if not Dragos himself. Colby wasn’t a greedy man, justice would compensate for the monetary loss. There were no human laws that governed the paranormal world, so he elected himself to do it. Once he knew Rurik is innocent of the crime, he won’t kill him. I knew how Colby worked.

  Rurik needed to see the pictures too. Not so much for the images but that I got them for him. I wanted him to forgive me and trust me. He had to believe in me again. How would he react when I told him where I got the pictures and why Lizzy had them? I grimaced. And that I killed her?

  He never expressed any affection for her.

  A bus pulled in front of me. The door opened and the driver stared at me. I shook my head, even if I knew where to go I didn’t have a cent on me. My wallet sat on Rurik’s bedroom floor. This situation would have been my biggest nightmare a few days ago but after tonight, it was a cake walk.

  Initially, I wanted to go to Rurik but my insides still felt tender and sore from our last conversation. If I knew for sure this could make things right between us I wouldn’t hesitate to go to him first but I didn’t know. It made more sense to find Colby and call off any further attacks. The least I could do was make sure Rurik stayed alive regardless of what became of us.

  One of the wonderful things about Budapest was the abundance of pay phones. I scanned the area while I rested on the bench. Across the street and down half a block I spotted a pink phone stand.

  It’d been years since I’d had to panhandle but the technique was simple. Locate a john and ask. Begging put food on my plate when things got rough after my grandma died and the landlord kicked me out of our rent-controlled apartment. I could always find some guy who wanted to play my hero. It was a gift. I had a good sense of character—I think this helped me be good bait. A big percentage of men would try to take advantage of the situation but it didn’t take long for me to spot the right kind of gentlemen.

  With my sweetest smile pasted on my face, I approached him. “Excuse me, sir. Do you speak English?”

  He looked a little over fifty with some gray at his temples. It didn’t touch the rest of his short black hair. The warm weather made it cozy enough for him to wear a short sleeve button down shirt with his black slacks. He raised one thick eyebrow and shook his head.

  Of course not. Only I, Colby’s gang, and the vampires seemed to speak English. I pulled out my empty pockets and pretended to talk on the phone then rubbed my fingers together in the universal sign for moolah.

  He reached for his back pocket while laughing and offered me some change. The coins filled my hands, he gave me enough to make a few calls.

  I placed them in my pockets and shook his hand. “Kosomo.”

  He nodded and as he passed behind me grabbed my ass.

  I don’t know what got me angrier, the squeak I made or my lack of judgment.

  He winked and continued on his way. At least I had some cash. What’s a little ass pinch in exchange for a life saving telephone call?

  The phone was a short jog away. I dialed Colby’s number. It rang, and rang, and rang. Finally a computerized voice answered to inform me to leave a message. Dang. “It’s Connie. Don’t kill Rurik, I have something to show you.” The phone clicked as I hung up.

  He always answered his phone. A shiver ran through me from head to toe. My grandma told me shivers like that meant someone just walked over my grave.

  What could he be doing? Visions of Colby attacking Rurik’s peaceful people wreaked havoc on my shot nerves.

  I couldn’t contact Rurik, I never had his number. Even the location of his home was vague. My heart raced again. I didn’t know what to do. So much miscommunication and deceit would destroy the bud of change which bloomed in my soul. I didn’t want to lose my hope. It brought me happiness, something I’d forgotten existed.

  Only one other person in Budapest carried a cell phone whose number I knew. The thought of how angry he would be made me cringe. He would help, I could depend on him. Once he finished yelling.

  I dialed his number and he answered after the first ring.

  “What?”

  “Red?”

  Chapter 19

  “Connie,” Red growled over the phone. “You didn’t board the plane. I told Colby we should have checked you out of that hotel ourselves.”

  Pieces of loose cement piled at the foot the phone stand. I toed one around. “I couldn’t leave.” Red wouldn’t understand my falling for a vampire. Not just any vampire at that, but the one we set out to hunt and execute. My first hurdle would be to convince him of Rurik’s innocence.

  “Yeah, apparently Colby knows you too well.”

  “What do you mean?” I forgot my cement toy and stared hard at the phone as if I could see Red’s pockmarked face through it.

  “When you gonna learn? Colby’s always a step ahead. He planted a tracker on you in case you did somethin ‘ like this. So we can watch over you and keep you safe.”

  “When? How?” I gasped. “That cold bastard didn’t come to my hotel room to check on me. He came to plant that damn tracker.” Keep me safe, my ass. He wanted to follow me to Rurik’s lair. Use me like bait without me knowing and I led him straight to Marie’s house. Pressure built inside my head from the molten anger bubbling.

  “Nothin ‘ would have made us happier if you just got on that plane and gone home like you were supposed to.”

  “Red.” The fury in my voice could have melted the phone. “You have a blind spot when it comes to Colby.” Pedestrians passing by gave me more space as my voice grew louder. “He doesn’t want to keep me safe, you granny-humping butt sucker! He wants Rurik. Why would you let him trick me like that?”

  “‘Cause I care. You’re runnin ‘ around with a killer, baby. He’s done somethin ‘ to your mind.”

  “I sure needed your help a few minutes ago when the queen of the crazies wanted to suck me dry.” I leaned my head against the phone suddenly tire
d. A few hours sleep and one meal wasn’t enough if I kept this pace. “Please, tell me you haven’t mobilized on Rurik’s home.” They used me. Rurik trusted me and took me home to protect me then I repay him by having Colby knock at his front door.

  “Queen of the what? You tellin ‘ me you’re not in the house?”

  “No, damn it, aren’t you tracking me? I’ve got important information for Colby and can’t reach him.”

  “Tracker’s planted on your suitcase, not you. He’s not answerin ‘ his phone?” I could picture Red scratching his chin.

  “Red, tell me what’s going on.”

  “We’re only watchin ‘ Rurik’s place.”

  I closed my eyes in relief.

  “Colby got a lead on one of the Nosferatu. He’s checkin ‘ it out.”

  I groaned, my relief short lived. Which one? He shouldn’t go anywhere near them. “I need help, Red. Can you come get me?”

  He sighed. “You’re about to complicate things, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, pick me up something to eat on the way. I’m starving.”

  “Where are you?”

  Excellent question, I still didn’t know.

  “You’ve got no clue, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Pass the phone to someone around you.”

  I scanned the area. “They’re all Hungarian.”

  “How surprisin ‘ considerin ‘ what country your standin ‘ in.”

  “You speak Hungarian?”

  “I exercise the muscle between my ears as well. You should try it out sometime. Now get a person who’s not drunk on the damn phone.”

  I got a middle-aged woman to speak to Red. It gave me time to examine the thing poking me from the back of my mind. Why didn’t Colby answer his phone? I hoped he stayed out of trouble.

  — —

  Red flipped through the pictures. He sat in the driver’s seat of his parked non-nondescript white van and used the steering wheel as a desk. I ate langos, a focaccia-like bread, with tuna topping and plum dumplings as fast as I could without choking. I averaged one meal per day since my encounter with Rurik at the club. A few pounds lost wouldn’t hurt but I could think of better ways to diet than running for my life and starving.

  Red’s brows furrowed as he bought one close to his face and used a pen light to see better since the street lights barely reached inside the cab. “Are you sure this ain’t him?”

  “Of course, give me that.” I grabbed the photo from his hand to take another look. “This isn’t him. His chin is too round and shoulders too narrow. Look past the hair and suit, that’s not his face.” I tossed it on the sun-faded dash.

  “I’ve never seen him up close. Not like you have.” He grinned at me, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

  “I sure hope not, I don’t like to share.” A horrid image of Red with Rurik in bed turned my stomach full of langos and plums. If this made me puke in his van then Red deserved it.

  “I’m sure you don’t.”

  An urge to punch the smug grin off his face almost overwhelmed me. I hated that he made me blush. Not like my wimpy strike would hurt his solid rock head. “I want to show these to Colby and stop any further action against Rurik.”

  “Baby, listen to me.” He touched my shoulder and leaned in to face me, concern evident in his eyes. “Did it occur to you these pictures could be the fakes?”

  “No.” I searched my soul for any doubt but found none. “I believe he’s innocent. What more evidence do you need?”

  He sighed and scratched his chin.

  “Red, why would Lizzy have them if they were fake?”

  “My thoughts exactly, why did she give them to you if she wanted to frame Rurik for your murder? I’m just askin ‘ you to look at this in an objective manner.”

  “She didn’t give them to me. I took them from her. She used them gloat at my ignorance. Rurik had the opportunity to kill me a few times. Instead he’s helped me. I trust him.”

  He stared at me a moment longer. “Okay then.”

  I hugged him as relief made me limp. The anxiety and stress of the last few days seemed more bearable now that Red would help me.

  “Yeah but you gotta convince the boss. Once I can reach him.” He handed me the thin stack of pictures. “Why do you smell like smoke?”

  “I barbecued my first vampire.” There should have been fireworks and confetti but all I got was his glare.

  “Tell me the rest.”

  “At Dragos ‘ party I met a vampire named Elizabeth. She had a thing for Rurik so she snatched me from his place and tried to kill me. Her plan was to frame Rurik for my death so you guys would storm his home and kill his people. She’d save Rurik and keep him for herself.”

  “We guys? As in the troops? She knew about us?”

  I nodded.

  He hit the steering wheel. “Shit, how?”

  It seemed like everyone knew about us but Rurik. So much for being a covert operations team, our time in Budapest was up. Tane knew about us, hell he hired us, and Dragos ordered him to do it. Once they found out about Lizzy, we were dead.

  A chill ran through me. Dragos, Lizzy, and Tane were a storm of headaches. “We’re in trouble,” I whispered. “They’re going to come after us.”

  Red dialed a number on his cell phone then hit the steering wheel again. “Still no answer. Colby was checkin ‘ out somethin ‘ on the Nosferatu. He said you told him not to trust his contact so he started a deeper investigation on him. It led to the one named Tane.”

  A small weight lifted from my shoulders. Finally, he found out who really hired us. My relief was short lived as I realized that I might have inadvertently sent Colby to his death. The weight fell back onto me and it felt heavier.

  “You don’t seem surprised.” Red twisted in his seat to face me.

  “I’m not. What do we do now?” In the grand scheme of things the pictures were a small victory. Colby was missing and we would have Nosferatu hunting us soon. “We should warn the others to get out of town.” I proved Rurik’s innocence, my obligations to him were finished.

  My heart ached with loss. If we could have had some time, without chaos and schemes, our relationship would have been nice. I still wanted that.

  “You knew his contact to be a Nosferatu and didn’t tell us?”

  “Red.” I poured a plea for mercy in his name. Tane’s blackmail tied my hands behind my back. Or not. It sounded like the vampires would come after us anyway, especially with Colby missing. Tane just lost his leverage with me. Red and I stared at each other. “I couldn’t at the time. Tane’s been blackmailing me with the team’s lives. He’s the one who hired us and he wanted me to inform him of our actions.”

  “That’s the secret you’ve been keepin’?”

  I nodded and glanced out of the van’s windshield.

  “Hired by a bloodsucker. I’ll call and warn the team but we don’t leave people behind. We wait and search for Colby first.” He started the van. “We also need to speak to Rurik.” The van revved as he stuck it in drive and pressed the gas. We were out of the parking lot before what he said registered.

  “Why?”

  “He’s more than just a hunk, Connie. He’s Overlord of Budapest and has a lot of resources. Ever hear the sayin’, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’? Sounds like we have a common enemy. Those Nosferatu know about us and I don’t think they plan on being our friends. Maybe you can convince him to back us up.”

  “Uh, Red. That may not be the best idea.” I held on to the van’s dashboard as he took a corner then snatched at the seatbelt and buckled myself in. “He’s upset with me, Evel Knievel.”

  He glanced at me. “Whatcha do?”

  “He found the pictures Colby gave me in my suitcase. Then put two and two together to figure out I’d been used as bait. That we were hired to kill him.” The words tumbled out as I spoke. It came out so fast I wondered if he understood.

  I could see he rolled his eyes by the reflection in the windshi
eld. He understood. “How much does he know about our operations?” His voice rumbled with irritation. Red used to be a drill Sergeant in the army and had great control over his vocal cords.

  “I never really got the chance to explain anything.”

  “What about the rest?” He stopped for a traffic light, almost kissing fenders with the car ahead of us.

  “There’s more?”

  “That you love him.”

  “I barely know him.”

  He chuckled. “You’re a piece of work, ya know. You’ve lied for him, proved his innocence, then killed his mistress.”

  “She wasn’t his mistress!”

  “You’re in love.” He sped up with the green light.

  The last thing I wanted to talk about with Red was my feelings.

  Traffic thinned and buildings got further apart, we’d left the city. Rurik’s neighborhood drew closer and my anxiety level rocketed. “This is a terrible idea.” Red didn’t hear my whisper over the roar of the van’s engine.

  “Sounds like you two need counselin’.”

  “You offering?” I cracked a small smile his way.

  He barked a laugh. “If I had a death wish I’d go shark hunting in a chum bathing suit.”

  I laughed and it felt good. My redheaded grizzly bear had a wonderful knack for that. Colby may be the brains of the outfit but Red was the glue that kept it together.

  We pulled into the long driveway and parked behind the rust bucket. My laughter died.

  Chapter 20

  Marie wrapped herself around me when she opened the door. She mumbled incoherent Hungarian things then drew us into one of the sitting rooms, all the while calling out for Rurik.

  “What happened to you? We were so worried. Who was that man who carried you off? Rurik has sent everyone out to find you and it’s left us defense—”

  “Enough, Marie.” Rurik’s quiet voice silenced her. He drank me in with his eyes from across the room as he stood in the doorway. The light reflected off his black untidy hair. Even after the fight at the party he’d maintained an impeccable appearance. In a few strides he’d crossed the room, almost too quick to see, and lifted me to his lips. He consumed me with his kiss.