Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle) - By Melissa F. Hart Page 0,28

way I was going to sit there, waiting for him. If Katrina was in danger, I would never forgive myself.

I melted into the walls and appeared in the living room. Dylan was standing there holding a note in his hands.

“What is it?” I demanded. “Where is Katrina?”

He took my hand and silently led me to the sofa. When we were both seated, he handed me the note. It was addressed to me and was straight and to the point.

If you want to see your grandmother alive, bring the stone to the address below.

I gazed at the address below in shock. It was where we'd lived several years ago, in London. My parents had run a nightclub right at that address and it was where I'd found them, brutally murdered along with my younger sister. I'd never been back since then and the mere thought of going back there made me so ill, I jumped up and ran to the nearest bathroom and was violently sick.

Katrina was all I had left. I had no other family, I'd lost them all. I lost my grandfather just last year, and I hadn't even known about him until it was too late. I didn't know what I would do if I lost her. I heaved again as the thought crossed my mind. What was I going to do?

I felt a wet towel over my forehead and firm, yet gentle hands holding my hair away from my face. I knew it was Dylan and I hated the thought of his seeing me like that.

When the heaving stopped, I stood straight and moved towards the sink. He turned on the faucet and filled a cup with water then handed it to me. I rinsed out my mouth with the cool water before taking a few sips. After washing my hands, I was ready to go out. He let me go and I followed behind him. I thought of going to the living room but I needed to lie down so I floated up past Katrina's floor to the attic floor where my room was. As soon as I was inside, I headed to my bed and curled up on it.

Dylan wasn't far behind me and he lay beside me and gathered me in his arms. I snuggled closer to him and tried to get rid of the fear permeating every part of my being.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“I'll alert the Protector headquarters and we'll wait for orders.” I could feel his voice rumbling in his chest.

“What do you mean we'll wait?” I tried to sit up but he held onto me and after a brief struggle, I gave in and snuggled against him once more.

“We don't know who's behind this or what's waiting for us out there. We need to wait for instructions from HQ.”

“You don't understand, Dylan. This is Katrina, she's all I have and she's out there somewhere. I have to get to her.” I could hear the desperation in my voice.

He was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. “I do understand, Lu. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. I know how much you love Katrina and we'll go through this together. We're not going to let anything happen to her.”

His words were oddly reassuring and I wondered briefly who he'd lost. Was that the reason he refused to trust anyone? Was he scared of going through this gut-wrenching uncertainty and fear? I couldn't blame him for that. I stifled a yawn as sleep suddenly came over me. I knew it was a defense mechanism but was powerless to stop it.

“I'm so tired,” I muttered.

He stroked my hair softly and leaned down to kiss me. My lips clung to him and I didn't want to let him go. He held on to me too like he didn't want to let me go and it felt so good. He reluctantly broke the kiss and gave me a light peck on the nose.

“You need to rest, Lu. It's going to be a long journey ahead.”

I nodded as my eyes drifted close.

When I opened my eyes, he was lying next to me, his head resting on his palms as he watched me sleep.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Hey. Were you watching me sleep the whole time?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah. You're so cute when you sleep. You let out these tiny snores, they're adorable.”

“I don't snore!”

“Do too.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Have you any