doing in the cold?”
“I’m ashamed to admit it, but I need to warm up soon. I’m experiencing that slowdown you’d described.”
“A quick feed will help you bounce back. Taking a rest should help bring your core temp back up too. Swing by, and I’ll let the others know.”
No sooner do I end the call and clip it back to my waist, the phone starts vibrating again. This time it’s Sal. “The generators are still secure and there’s no sign of Ivan here. The good news is we’ve got him on the run. I saw the wolves racing through the woods minutes ago, hot on his trail.”
He pauses. Even in his weariness I can still sense the underlying thrill of the chase coming through in his speech.
“We were trying to flush him out into the open to take him down, but the woods hide many things in the dark.”
I think back to some of the traps I’ve set in the past. The ruthless rogue predators whom I caught and showed exactly what ruthless truly meant.
“Look up—don’t neglect the trees. The wolves can’t scan high as easily as you and it would be where I’d hide.”
A grunt greets me on the end of the line. “Good thought. When I was a general, we fought in the open. The forests and jungles were far, far away.”
He hangs up, assuring me he’ll check the trees. I start to pace again, wondering if this plan of Asa’s to have the hunters track Ivan down is the best course of action. My own futility cripples me. Rafe will always be my prime concern. Leaving his side to attend the hunt has never been a viable option though I hadn’t anticipated how I’d feel about my employees and the guests’ safety.
When did a piece of land in the middle of nowhere and a bunch of humans become so important to me? What would happen if Ivan did ruin it all and the police came to investigate?
Rafe and I would have to start again somewhere else. But the decades I have invested here, dammit, they do mean something to me after all. I don’t want to lose it.
This place has become a part of me. The fact hits me hard—the truth lodging in my throat like a hard pill to swallow.
The shock of revelation leaves me staring into space for a few minutes.
Francesca comes in from the hall, breaking the spell, where she was at her post watching the back entrance into the north wing of the building.
“Liam came in the back. He made his way to the pool to warm up.”
Pulling myself away from the realization that I have allowed myself to care for something beyond Rafe, I focus on what Francesca’s saying.
I wondered how long Liam could take being in mist form out in the cold. The fact that he’s going to an eighty-two degree pool to first warm up is telling. I hope I can convince him to go back out, armed and in human form. Another set of legs and eyes, with a weapon, will be much more valuable. Some men are stubborn. It shouldn’t take much to get the warrior in him to the forefront, to recognize the real need and act on it.
Nodding to Francesca, I let her know I heard her and she returns to her post. We have Theresa positioned in the lobby watching the front and the west wing. Matt, Jet’s mate, is on the second floor as our first line of defense in case Ivan enters through a window again. Rafe, the strongest of the four mates, is in the west wing, at the pool. That wing has the most glass and the least amount of defensible walls.
Honestly, I’m a little freaked at the idea of having anyone susceptible to vampire wiles watching an entrance. We’re limited with only the four humans powerful enough to resist Ivan long enough to call for help, but it was the only choice we had.
I resume my earlier movements, prior to the phone calls. My pacing must be nerve-wracking to the companions, servants, and employees left in the building, all of whom are gathered in seats watching me. I feel like a caged tiger pacing in front of bars at the zoo.
What the hell do they all want from me? I hold back the urge to start screaming obscenities. It might make me feel better, but I’m betting it would freak the shit out of all of them.
Let me think about the