One Immortal - Tia Louise Page 0,39
like an alcoholic coming off a bender.
In that moment a new, even more thrilling realization washes over me. I haven’t heard my maker’s voice in two days! Somehow I’ve managed to escape him. He’s not controlling me. His presence isn’t in my head ordering me, fighting with me.
I’m not free of him, clearly I’m not. My teeth still grow, and I still crave Derek’s blood—even with the healthy dose I took from him last night, I want more. Yet somehow his grip has slipped. I’ve somehow managed to evade his reach. For how long, I have no idea, but I intend to make the most of it and do everything I can to prolong it.
Dashing around the room, I search for my dress. It’s lying in a damp puddle in the tub. It’s cold and clammy as I slip it over my body, and looking down, I realize I need more than this before I can go out into the street.
Pulling open a small dresser drawer, I take out Derek’s black T-shirt. It’s too large on me, but it has the lovely advantage of smelling like him. I bury my nose in the neck and take a deep inhale, my insides shimmering with joy. He has something to do with these changes, I’m sure of it. Only, I don’t know how.
Before I leave, I scribble out a quick reply to his note. Lunch with Elaine and a friend, but I can’t wait to see you again. –M.
Stopping before I leave, I hastily add my cell number, even though I left my small clutch at Lafitte’s last night when I bolted. I hope Elaine rescued it for me. I can’t wait to meet with her and Mariska today. For the first time in almost a month, I have hope.
* * *
Derek
Patrick doesn’t join us this morning, but it’s for the best. Stuart used our fading shifter bond to wake me and demand I meet him. We’re not having breakfast. We’re walking on the levee, and as the sun rises over the brown swirling water, he hits me with everything I already know.
“You fucking kept me awake all night.” His voice is a low growl. “She’s dangerous. Hybrids are unpredictable and extremely volatile. She could kill you while you sleep.”
“She’s not going to kill me.” I don’t mention the bite.
“Is she running?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does her maker know where she is?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you are fucking her.” His sarcasm pisses me off.
“Watch it,” I say through clenched teeth. “You’re my partner, not my boss.”
He snaps back with equal force. “All our asses are on the line if one of us starts fucking around with a vampire.”
Rubbing my hand across my forehead, I control my rising anger. “It’s not like that. She doesn’t want to turn.”
“Sounds like she’s running,” he says with a nod. “Only the old ones have the ability to procreate. If she was forced, he’s even more treacherous than the one we killed last night.”
“She was forced.” My voice is deadly serious. “I promised I’d save her. I won’t let her down.”
“You’re planning to save her on your own?” He glares at me.
I shake my head. “No. I had hoped you’d be willing to help me.”
He makes a noise and we walk in the growing heat several paces without speaking. My mind returns to last night, making love to her, letting her taste me, her deep sense of shame.
I watch a small ferry crossing the water from Algiers. “We say we’re committed to justice, but if we let her go without a fight, how is that justice?”
“You’ve fallen for her,” he grumbles. “If it were any other hybrid, you’d walk away.”
For a moment, I can’t answer him. He’s right. I’ve fallen for her hard. Our temporary shifter bond allows him to sense it. At the same time…
“If I found another hybrid wanting to be free, I’d help it.” My fears for her play across my mind. “The problem is forced hybrids either don’t know they have a choice, or their makers kill them before they can escape.”
Stuart stops walking and faces me, crossing his arms. “Exactly. Her maker won’t let her go. He’ll be coming for her, if he’s not already here. He probably is already here. Did it occur to you he could be the one Patrick sensed?”
A touch of fear moves through me. I left her alone in my hotel room. I don’t even know how to find her if she leaves. “I’ll keep her close. We need to