“We’ll be fine,” she told him. “You worry about yourself and Marc. I don’t trust any of Anthony’s people.”
“Neither do I. But if this is Hubert’s grand move, he needs to be stopped. And I need to be there when it happens.”
She nodded again, then wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself into the already familiar comfort of his muscled body. Fighting tears she was determined not to show, she kissed his cheek, then the corner of his mouth. His arms were bands of iron around her.
“Come back to me,” she whispered.
“Always.”
He was trying to be patient, trying to give her what she needed. But she could feel the same tension in his body that she’d noticed in Marc’s. She stepped back with a forced smile.
“You, too, Marc,” she called over to him. “I want you both back here in one piece.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Marc said, but he tossed a set of keys up into the air, catching them impatiently.
Natalie surprised herself by laughing. “Okay, the girlfriend drama is over. You’re free to go.”
Christian speared his fingers through her hair, tugging her head back, before settling his mouth over hers in a luxurious, lazy kiss that held everything sensuous and loving, and nothing of his need to leave.
“You be good while I’m gone,” he murmured against her mouth, then kissed her one last time, and turned away to stride down the hallway. Marc was already in the garage, the door swinging shut as Christian caught it with one hand. He turned and gave her a final wink good-bye, and then he was gone.
Chapter Eleven
Patrizia, Mexico
VINCENT LEANED out the open door of the helicopter, studying the small coastal town. It was suspiciously quiet. The streets were dark and empty, despite the warm weather and relatively early hour. He considered the fact that this was a fishing village, and that fishermen tended to go out early in the morning, and, hence, would go to bed early, as well. But his vampire senses were telling him something different. There were humans down there, but not as many as there should have been. And they were all huddled behind closed doors and windows.
His chopper was a big Sikorsky, outfitted for military transport, not comfort, so he was able to fit eighteen of his best warriors on-board, in addition to the two pilots and Lana. If it was up to him, Lana’s fine ass wouldn’t leave her seat, but he knew that wasn’t likely. The best he could hope for was to keep her far back from the front line, which was where she could do the most good anyway. She couldn’t go hand-to-hand with a vampire, not even one of Hubert’s zombies, but she was very handy with a gun, and had excellent tactical sense.
He sat down and flicked the switch on his headset to open the command channel, which would connect him with only Lana and his lieutenant, Michael. “Something’s wrong down there,” he said.
“I think that’s a given,” Lana said dryly. “Why else would we be here?”
Vincent gave her a dirty look. “There are humans in the town, but not many, and no vamps,” he clarified. “Mikey, have the pilot circle wider. Hubert’s army has to be here somewhere.” He watched Michael switch over to the pilots’ channel, then turned to Lana. “Whatever goes down tonight, you hang back, and use your gun. Try to find a spot where you can assess the battle for me.”
“Uh huh,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “You’re not fooling me, babe. But I’ll go along with it, because this time, you’re right.”
“This time?” He couldn’t hear her snort in response, but he could see it.
“Here we go.” Michael’s voice came back on the channel as the helicopter banked, taking them wide over the foothills, which formed a narrow crescent-moon around the small village. There was a strip of flatland, a little over a hundred yards deep between the last houses and the first hills.
As they flew, Vincent closed his eyes. He didn’t need to see where they were going. Not with his eyes anyway. He opened himself to the extraordinary senses of his vampire nature, and the world narrowed and opened up at the same time. He was exquisitely aware of every one of his vampires around him, of the powerful link he had with Michael as his first child. But stronger and brighter than any other was his mate bond with Lana. She was in every beat of his heart, the very fire in his blood. How could anyone have ever doubted his feelings for her?
But he put that aside for now, stretching his awareness beyond the helicopter, searching for his enemy. He’d never met any of the European vampires, but Hubert had a reputation, and both Raphael and Christian had confirmed that rep. That he was powerful went without saying—he was centuries old and a vampire lord. But his notoriety went beyond that. He was ruthless and cruel, caring for nothing but his own lust for power. The very fact that he used up humans in order to create vampires who were barely deserving of the title, and who had no purpose but to be torn apart in the grinder of his ambition . . . that said it all.
They’d nearly finished the first pass of the foothills, when Vincent’s senses twinged in awareness. Without opening his eyes, he spun his raised finger in a circle, and heard Michael giving the pilots directions. The chopper banked again, sharply, and Vincent stood, drawn closer to the open door. The sign he was looking for suddenly blazed across his vampire senses. It wasn’t a gradual thing. It was more like a door that had been shut was suddenly opened.
Flicking the command channel open, he said, “That’s it, almost directly below us. Get us close enough to deploy.”
He opened his eyes then, physically searching the crumpled land of the foothills. There were a hundred places for even a large group to hide down there, but only from human eyes.
“My lord?” Michael stood next to him in the doorway, matching Vincent’s searching posture.
“More than thirty so far,” Vincent said absently, still counting. “They’re clustered together, and their presence is weak. It’s difficult to get a good count. Hubert’s zombies, I’m thinking.”
“But no Hubert?”
“There’s a stronger presence, but just one. And it’s muted, as if he’s trying to hide.” Vincent swore softly. “I wish I’d met him before, or at least touched his power.”