eyes. “There was a house that Damian and I found once, it was only an hour from here, it appeared to be abandoned but something about it didn’t seem right. We never went back to find out what was going on because he went missing, and I forgot all about it until now."
“Then we start there,” she said decisively.
Ally felt hope surge through her again. Hopefully, they would find Kathryn and reunite Damian and Adele. “I still think we should leave at first light, we can’t risk the vampires at full strength.”
“I agree, we can tell Chase and Adele of our findings in the morning.” He walked over to Ally and took hold of her hand. He pulled her up and into his warm embrace. “Thank you little one. You are amazing.”
She warmed all over. What girl didn’t want to be called amazing?
“Now let’s get you back into the warm bed,” he said with a wicked smile.
She smiled back at him with an expectant glance towards the bed. She wasn’t quite ready to be with him yet, but she knew it would be soon. She wouldn’t be able to fight the temptation much longer.
They crawled back into bed, and Ally fell into a deep sleep.
James sat up on his elbow and watched her sleep for a while. “I love you, Alessandra,” he whispered into her ear. Then rolled over and stared at the ceiling for the next few hours.
Chapter Twenty Three
Ally woke up to find herself curled up in James’ arms. Breathing a sigh of contentment, she was amazed by how right it felt to be lying in this man’s arms. He stirred next to her. She rolled over to find herself staring into those beautiful eyes that she would know anywhere.
“Morning,” he said still shaking off the sleep.
“Morning,” she smiled dreamily.
He kissed her on the forehead, and she smiled again.
“Did you have any more dreams?”
She frowned looking a little disappointed. “No. I was hoping I would, but nothing about Kat or Damian.”
He nodded. “The abandoned house it is then.”
She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I’ve decided that we aren’t telling Gran yet.”
“You know we have to,” he said solemnly.
“No, I don’t want to cause her any unnecessary pain. I saw the guilt and heartbreak in your eyes when I told you. What if I’m wrong? She’d be better off not knowing anything until we know for sure.”
“Is that really what you want?”
“It is,” she said firmly. “We will tell Chase once we leave.”
“We have to leave soon, the sun is starting to rise,” he observed.
She looked out the window and saw that the sun was coming up above the mountains. The mist from the night was trying desperately to coil its wispy arms around the ground. She pulled back the covers and grabbed a gown that was hanging on the back of the door. The gown belonged to James, but she was cold and knew he would have another. Ally was startled when a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” James said.
Sophie opened the door and came through with a breakfast tray and steaming hot coffee.
Ally could’ve hugged the woman; she was in desperate need of a coffee this morning.
“I thought you both might be in here,” she said with a sly grin.
Ally turned a shade of crimson with embarrassment.
“Coffee Ally?” she asked as she was handing her a cup. “I thought you could use one.”
Ally smiled gratefully. “Thanks! You thought right.”
Sophie set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the fire that had reduced to embers during the night. She lay more wood in the fire and set it alight, then walked back to them saying, “There…that should be toasty soon.”
“Thank you Sophie for everything,” said James.
“Don’t go talking like that,” she scolded. “I expect to see all three of you back here tonight safe and well.”
James and Ally both smiled at her. “We will try our very best Sophie,” he said.
They all knew what a risk they were taking. There were no guarantees that everyone would return safely.
“Ally your grandmother wants to see you before you leave,” Sophie said, then turned around and left the room.
Ally took her coffee out onto the balcony. She wanted to watch the sun make its upward journey over the peaks and terrain of this wild country. She tried to prepare herself for the day ahead, not knowing what it would bring. If they managed to find Kat and Damian, there would