made, Salvatore turned to follow the cur’s exit path up the stairs, closing and locking the door above with an audible snap.
“Arrogant dog,” Santiago growled.
“I believe there is a saying about a pot calling a kettle black,” Nefri said in smooth tones, stepping away from his grasp with a determined motion.
She was going to try and escape without him.
Unacceptable.
But why?
Disliking the tiny voice that whispered he didn’t want to dig too deeply into his reasons, Santiago told himself that it was his distrust of those who vanished from this world that made him uneasy at allowing her to escape.
What if the vampire responsible for taking Cassandra was hiding behind the Veil? They would never find him. And they could hardly trust this woman to rat him out.
Everyone knew the Immortal Ones were a closed society that protected each other with fanatical dedication.
Yeah.
Only a fool would allow her to disappear.
“I’m not a dog and we haven’t finished our conversation,” he warned, barely resisting the urge to reach out and yank her into his arms.
“I was not aware we were having a conversation,” she countered, her low voice holding an edge of censure. “As I recall you were venting your disdain for those of us who chose to leave this world and I was ignoring you. A conversation is an exchange of ideas and information between individuals who respect one another.”
Santiago frowned. No one had dared lecture him since he’d been a foundling.
“You can’t just leave.”
“Actually I can.”
“We must share what we’ve discovered with Styx.” He latched on to the convenient excuse. “He has to be warned that there’s at least one vampire who has turned traitor.”
“You can do that without my presence.”
“He’ll have questions for you.”
Her brows lifted at his persistence. “I have no more answers than you do. If I do learn any new information then I will send word.”
“ No.”
Her brows lifted at his persistence. “I beg your pardon?”
Santiago shrugged. “My king commanded that I find Cassandra and right now you’re my best hope. I won’t fail him.”
She paused, studying him with a searching gaze. “He means so much to you?”
He did.
After Santiago had been abandoned by his maker, he had become a slave to those vampires more powerful than himself. There had been days when he truly thought he was living out his personal hell until Styx had found him and trained him to become one of Viper’s guards.
That had changed everything.
Suddenly he was no longer fair game for sex or sport or any other brutal pleasure that might amuse his latest master. He was treated with a dignity that had transformed him into a warrior who was never again at the mercy of another.
Santiago would never forget.
Never.
“Loyalty means that much to me,” he said, unwilling to share his deep connection to his Anasso. He liked his reputation as an unfeeling bastard. It had taken him years to earn. “It’s not something I offer only when it’s convenient.”
“Very noble.” There was a knowing glimmer in her dark eyes, as if she saw far more than he wanted. “I admire your devotion, but I must return to my brethren and ensure that we have not been betrayed.”
“Then I go with you.”
She looked as startled as he felt.
“Beyond the Veil?”
His resolve briefly faltered.
Of all the gin joints in all the world ...
Then his gaze skimmed over her pale, impossibly lovely face and he squared his shoulders.
Once she disappeared there would be no means to trace her.
“You can take me, can’t you?”
The dark eyes narrowed with undisguised suspicion. “I could.”
He forced a smile. “Then let’s do this thing.”
“Why should I?”
He shrugged. “Why shouldn’t you?”
“You have not bothered to hide your contempt for my people.” A hint of ice coated her words. “I will not allow you to disturb their peace.”
“Despite being a barbarian I was taught a few manners.”
“Were you?” She blinked in blatant disbelief. “Astonishing.”
“Do you want me to swear in blood I’ll behave myself ?”
Her gaze never wavered, studying him as if he was a strange specimen that she might or might not keep for further study.
Then a slow smile curved her lips.
“Actually that will not be necessary.”
Santiago felt his instincts stir. There was something about that beautiful smile.
Something dangerous.
“It won’t?”
“No.” The smile widened. “I am perfectly capable of making sure you behave.”
“Are you certain ...”
His words were ripped from his lips as she grasped his arm at the same moment that she squeezed the medallion. This time, however, the world didn’t dissolve with the creepy impression of simply