The_Vampire_With_the_Dragon_Tattoo (Love at Stake #14) Page 0,90

out of his shock. Leah was gone. Taken by Darafer. And he'd failed to protect her.

His prosthetic hand clenched. There was hope left. "Her tracking device." He turned to Howard. "Did ye track her?"

Howard winced. "It's not working. We've been trying for three hours."

A cold chill swept down Dougal's spine. How would he ever find her? He'd failed her.

"I contacted everyone as soon as night fell wherever they live," Howard continued. "Mikhail in Moscow. Zoltan in Budapest. Jack in Venice, and Connor in Scotland. They all started teleporting west. Emma picked up a few of the older werewolf boys. Ian, Carlos, Robby, Jean-Luc, Phineas, Nate, and Finn all volunteered, so we now have a total of fifteen in Hawaii, waiting for our call."

"Call them," Angus ordered. "And call the three guys in Australia. We need all the manpower we can get."

"Here." Rajiv pulled a bottle of blood from his sack and passed it to Angus. "You guys need to stay strong."

Dougal strode from the room, ignoring the bottle that Rajiv tried to give him. How could he have failed her? From the moment he'd met Leah, he'd sworn he would protect her.

The hallway was lined with Vamps, drinking their breakfast bottles and giving him sympathetic looks.

Dammit. Save yer sympathy for someone who deserves it. He rushed out the front door and down the steps. He was halfway to the beach when he realized his socks were wet from walking on snowy ground. He stumbled to a stop, gazing out at the black water while freezing pain seared his feet.

He deserved it. The cold wind whipped at his shirt and kilt, freezing his bones. He deserved that, too. All the pain in the world could not compare to the ache in his heart. He'd failed her.

Where was she? Was she still alive? Hopefully, Darafer would keep her alive, but only if he could use her. Was he torturing her? Whipping her into submission so she would be his slave?

Another pain shot through him, wrenching his gut and doubling him over. Guilt and hunger. But the guilt was the worst. He deserved the pain of hunger.

"There ye are," Connor said behind him. The pebbly shore crunched beneath his shoes as he approached. "Here." He offered Dougal a bottle of blood.

Dougal ignored him.

Connor sighed. "I know ye're suffering - "

"Leave me be."

"Nay."

Another hunger pain shuddered through Dougal's body.

"Take it." Connor jabbed the bottle at his chest.

Dougal stepped back.

"Bugger." Connor ripped the top off the bottle. "Yer suffering willna help Leah."

Dougal turned to gaze at the black waves crashing on the shore. "I failed her." Tears burned his eyes. "Again."

Connor paused, then said, "Ye can only fail her if ye give up."

Dougal didn't respond. If Leah was being harmed in any way, then he had failed her.

Connor sighed. "All right. Ye're allowed three more seconds of self-pity, and then I'll be bashing yer head in."

"Self-pity?" Dougal whirled to face him. "Ye think I'm thinking of myself? Leah could be facing torture right now!"

"Aye." Connor glowered at him. "So what are ye going to do about it?"

Dougal's prosthetic hand clenched. "I have to rescue her."

"Good." Connor motioned to the school. "Luckily for you, ye have a lot of friends, and they're all here to help."

Dougal blinked away tears and grabbed the bottle to guzzle down the blood.

"That's more like it." Connor shoved him toward the school. "Let's get back inside before ye freeze yer bloody feet off. Did ye want prosthetic feet, too?"

Five hours later in Tiger Town, Dougal was ready to rip something apart. Everyone kept telling him they were making progress. Keep your hopes up, they said with forced smiles. Bollocks.

They hadn't found her.

Ten units had been formed out of the twenty-six available Vamps and shifters. Laszlo, Gregori, Emma, and Gu Mina had remained on the Japanese island to protect Abby. Dougal and J.L. had teleported to all thirty of Master Han's campsites, calling back on their sat phones so the others could use their voices as a beacon. Within an hour, all the Vamps knew where the camps were located, and the ten most likely sites had been chosen. A unit was assigned to each site, and a Vamp from each unit teleported into his assigned camp to look for signs that Leah was there.

Now they had all returned to Tiger Town for a quick meeting. Everyone had managed to remain undetected by the enemy, and they congratulated themselves on their excellent work.

Bollocks. Dougal scowled at them. No one had any news