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CORINTH WAS ALIVE, BUT he was about to be caught by the bad guys. A helicopter swooped out of the clouds like an invisible wraith—its sudden appearance making my heart rate skyrocket. I reached into the bag of goodies I’d taken from my dad’s cabin, pulled out a hand cannon, and took careful aim at the chopper’s rotor. Alastair’s grip tightened on the wheel as he accelerated at breakneck speed.
As soon as we were close enough, I fired a volley of rounds at the sleek, black chopper. Bullets pinged off the blades, striking home. Black smoke roiled from the engine, and the pilot banked off to the right. Amazingly, it was enough to make them back off—I didn’t think I had done enough damage to take it down, but something told me they didn’t want us dead because they weren’t firing at us. The bird circled around right as Alastair drove us right through the wall of thick black smoke it left behind.
We swerved to a halt, rubber still burning on asphalt, so Vinson and Corinth could jump inside.
“Go, go, go!” I shouted.
Alastair was already slamming on the gas as Corinth swiveled around, looking out the window to get eyes on the chopper, but it had already disappeared into a cloud of fumes and exhaust.
I turned to evaluate Corinth. Every inch of him was covered in soot, scratches, and bruises, and he had a knot the size of a goose egg on his forehead. Even though he appeared utterly sapped, he still slapped me on my back in greeting. After his reception, he promptly slumped over and was out cold in seconds.
I gave him a worried glance in the rearview mirror.
“He has smoke inhalation and concussion,” Vinson said in answer to my gaze.
I couldn’t help but feel bad that Corinth couldn’t heal like we could. “You should probably try and keep him awake.”
Vinson gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t think I could wake him if I tried.”
When I turned to Alastair, his face was a mask of concentration, brow furrowed and jaw clenched tight as he flew down the road, hitting curves at speeds dangerously close to tipping us over. I held on to the door handle and gritted my teeth.
***
After doubling back and retracing our route a few times over to ensure we hadn’t been followed, we managed to make it back to the cabin in under a couple of hours. All the while, Corinth slept soundlessly next to Vinson. I didn’t like how still and quiet he was.
The helicopter never returned for round two.
Vinson deposited the still-slumbering Corinth into my dad’s room. I knew he needed the rest more than anything else right now, but I was worried for him when he didn’t wake even with being carried inside like a ragdoll.
The cabin was a three-bedroom, two-bath split with a cozy living room and fire-place. Surprisingly, it wasn’t heavily fortified. Paul told me my dad had been in the middle of renovating it for that very purpose. Having had the chance to explore a little more, I found that my favorite spot in the whole place was the enclosed back patio. On a lazy Sunday, I could imagine myself enjoying a cool breeze coming from the oversized windows but, because we were on high alert, they remained locked and secured. My father had loved the outdoors. The cabin was built in the late eighteenth century, but Dad had worked hard on updating it, making it his own private sanctuary.
Eclectic, mismatched barstools and worn leather couches made up the living room, along with the pool table that had been used as my makeshift gurney. No point in getting blood all over the nice furniture.
I felt a sting of tears at the backs of my eyelids. There really hadn’t been any down-time to stop and take it all in. I guessed now that everyone was safe for the time being, things had started to hit me. I swiped at my eyes in irritation. The house was full, and I didn’t want anyone to see how much it affected me, being here. My father’s space made me miss him terribly.
Alastair and I hadn’t said a word to each other since we’d gotten back. The reasoning behind this was simple. He owed me an explanation, but because it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he could be compelled, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him just yet.
A small rap on the doorframe to the outside patio brought me out of my reverie. I glanced up to see Alastair’s gloriously brooding face studying me. It was a look that was undeniably him. It reminded me of the time when he was outside Gabriel’s manor, on the stone walkway. I had thought I was watching him without his knowledge—that is, until those unnaturally blue eyes had snapped up to meet mine, proving me wrong.
I nodded at him. He joined me at the tiny two-seater breakfast nook on the back patio. There was a marked difference in his appearance since yesterday. As he sat down across from me, I tried to discern what that difference was. There was an up-to-no-good smile on his face. The youthful spark was back in his eyes. It stole my breath away momentarily. My heart lurched agonizingly in my chest. I couldn’t believe I’d almost forgotten what an impact he had on me. He was absolutely striking.
I traced the outline of my mug’s handle, suddenly wondering what it would be like to run my hands into his hair, and push that shock of blond back from out of his eyes.
The warm steam rising out of the cup drew my eye. It reminded me of being back at Nan’s place—a time when we had truly gotten to know each other.
“Thank you… for showing up when you did,” I told him, hesitating.
His lively blue eyes matched the lightness of his mood as he said, “It would help if you guys didn’t get into trouble on the regular.”
I picked up my teaspoon and pointed it at him. “Don’t give me that all-knowing grin. I had it under control… and when I didn’t have it under control—I still had it under control.”
“Your idea of control is a lot different than mine,” he said wryly. His eyes flicked to the cup near my hand. “Got any more?”
I gestured toward the doorway that led into the kitchen on the other side. “Fortunately for you, Paul stocked up on tea and Toblerone—it’s in the cupboard above the fridge.”
Alastair disappeared and then returned with a steaming mug and the candy bar that had been stashed next to the tea. He tore open the package, broke off a piece, and pushed the rest toward me. As he took a bite, he said, “I’m surprised you’re not grilling me for answers.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re right; I could really use some answers on where you’ve been these past eight months, but it might not matter what you tell me if I can’t trust you.”
“Ah …” Understanding lit up his eyes. “You still think I’m being compelled.”
“Are you?”
“As I said before, no. But it’s good to be wary.” He let the silence stretch between us, taking a sip of his tea. After he savored it for a moment longer, he cocked his head to the side, studying me. “Vinson said you saved his life back there,” he said. “Do you know what that means?”
I shook my head, surprised that he actually sounded impressed. I found that his opinion of me, after all this time, still mattered greatly.
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “It means he’ll be loyal to you up until the end. It’s why he chose to help your father. Jack saved his life too.”
This bit of information surprised me. I didn’t know that much about Vinson and I found myself wanting to know more. “How did he save his life?”
Alastair took another bite of chocolate, weighing how much he should tell me, I guessed. When he finally spoke, he said, “That’s not my story to tell. I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Vinson.” He paused. “I miss your old man though. You know… you remind me of him, now more than ever. Did I ever tell you about the first time he and I met?”
I sat up straighter and shook my head, finding myself suddenly very interested in what he had to say.
Alastair glanced up, but he was looking past me, seemingly reliving the memory all over again. “It was at Nan’s place. Jack had decided to come traipsing onto her property, looking for me, but he didn’t know it was me he was looking for. Gabriel told Jack he knew someone in his network was giving away information to another clan. Jack was supposed to gain Gabriel’s loyalty when he came back with the traitor’s head in hand—my head. He didn’t have a face, only a location—Nan’s farm. At the time, I was still Gabriel’s driver.” He nodded at me. “You remember?”
I mirrored his nod, trying to imagine my father and Alastair meeting for the first time. It must have been entertaining, because he had a crooked smile playing across his face as he remembered the recollection. “Well, Jack remembered too. As soon as your father saw me, he knew I was the one giving information to Nan—Gabriel’s arch-nemesis. Jack and I had this standoff as soon as we saw each other… He had this conflicted look on his face, like he didn’t want to kill me, but he had no choice. Gabriel had threatened to turn you if he didn’t cooperate, to destroy his whole life for disobeying. If he didn’t come back with someone’s head on a stick—he would have turned you …” Alastair rubbed the back of his neck. “Lucky for both of us, Nan was there to put a stop to it.”
There were many days I tried to imagine my dad’s “other” life, away from us. How he was living, what he was doing, who he had met before I knew he was fighting to protect me. I also didn’t want to think about the fact that my father had to bring back someone’s head to Gabriel. The choices he’d had to make to keep me safe had to have been terrible. My dad had told me he did a lot of things he wasn’t proud of. I guessed this had been one of those instances.
I wiped a hand under my nose, glancing down at my now-lukewarm tea. “Let me guess, Dad tried to take your head off with his vambraces?”
Alastair barked out a laugh. “Understatement of the year…”
“That sounds like Dad all right,” I whispered. I couldn’t help but notice I’d used the present tense. I felt the raw emotion building up in the back of my throat. Suddenly I didn’t want to talk about him anymore.
“Thank you—for sharing that with me,” I said softly, and halted before adding, “Do you think that’s why Gabriel wants you dead? Because he knew your intention was to betray him?”
Alastair’s eyes flashed as brilliantly as any jewel I’d ever seen—eyes that could suck the blue right out of the ocean. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the timepiece I knew he carried with him everywhere. His eyes flickered to mine as a look I couldn’t decipher crossed his features, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by acceptance.
“In the century I’ve been around, I’ve never allowed anyone to—” Alastair cleared his throat, as if it was too hard to finish that line of thought, and then he changed direction. “So, how are you feeling?” He pursed his lips. “You really had me worried there.”
I unconsciously put a hand to my stomach, the phantom pain of being skewered all over again hitting me. The bandage was gone, and so was the giant incision the metal had left behind. I shuddered at the sensation and I wondered if I looked pale, because he reached a hand out to gently place it over mine. A jolt of electricity traveled all the way up my arm to the tips of my cheeks. His eyes were full of longing and hope. My heart contracted at seeing that look he was giving me.
“Your father made me promise to protect you,” he said quietly. “Before he was killed, he asked me to seek out a clan called Eleutheros. Their leader’s name is Sozo. It took me a long time to find them, and even longer to gain an audience with him. That’s why I’ve been gone so long. Your father died before he could give me any more information about them.” He swiped a hand through his hair. “I’ve always been a spy… a loner; it’s what I do. Your father knew this. It’s why he asked me to seek out this clan in the first place. You have to understand, Jack wanted to be on the same chessboard as Gabriel.” Alastair shook his head. “He was obsessed about getting one move ahead of Gabriel. He predicted we would need to be a part of a stronger clan in order to take Gabriel down. He needed to be sure we could trust them… All that time he spent away from you—he was trying to gain an audience with these people.”
I sat back, putting a hand to my mouth in thought. After a brief pause I took a sip of tea and, despite it being cool, I found I needed the mint to soothe my parched throat. “What did this Sozo have to say?”
“I would never have agreed to leave you and Corinth, but I believed your father. Gabriel has something planned… and not just for you… for him too. Like, end-of-the-world big.” He held up a hand as if he knew I was about to bombard him with questions. “All I know is that we need time to plan and your father thought the answer might rest with this clan. They can protect us. Whether you believe we need their help or not. I think there was another reason he wanted me to seek them out, but I never found out what that was.”
My blood ran cold at the thought that Gabriel might have something end-of-the-world planned for Corinth. I didn’t need protecting, but Corinth sure did. Nothing was going to happen to him on my watch.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t ask this before I knew he hadn’t been compelled, I said, “You stole Corinth’s blood, didn’t you?”
There was only a moment’s hesitation. “Yes.”
I tried unsuccessfully to keep the anger out of my voice. “Why?”
Alastair let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s complicated… Besides, you think I’m being compelled.” There was an edge as sharp as a razor in his tone. “How can you trust anything out of my mouth right now?”
My fierce desire to protect Corinth overrode the logical part of my brain that said I should wait to question him further. He was pushing me. I fell for the bait hook, line, and sinker anyway. I had to know the answers to the burning questions. “You had no right to make that decision on your own,” I snapped. “Tell me why they want his blood.”
Alastair tried to pull my hand into his; imploring me to understand, but I tugged it away from him. He rocked back slightly, as if I’d pushed him. I could hear the hurt in his voice when he spoke. “You have to believe me. This is our only option. I should have come to you but there was no time. Do you know what Corinth is capable of?” Alastair’s hands slapped the tabletop, and his eyes hardened like chips of sapphire ice. “Because I sure don’t—”
I sat back, stunned. I’d never seen him this angry before. “What if they use it to hurt him?” My words came out in a rush and a lot louder than I wanted them to.
“Sozo gave me his word that wouldn’t happen.” His voice was strained as he added, “This is our only option.”
I couldn’t hide my skepticism. “And you believe him? You were probably compelled to say that—”
Alastair leaned closer, his tone frosty. “When vampires as old as Sozo give their word, they mean it.” I was surprised at the harshness with which he had spoken to me. Alastair had always been calm and in control around me. Something was wrong. He was scared.
The anger melted out of me, leaving me feeling deflated and resigned. I’d never seen him this troubled, and it worried me. “Let me guess… these people have agreed to give us asylum and you said yes, without consulting us in the process or keeping us in the loop.”
Alastair nodded unapologetically. “The question is, are you coming with me?”