Catch

Chapter Twenty-One

After my near death experience with poor Bel, I sent her back to her apartment and returned to my room. Rurik waited there for me. If his looks could kill, I would have spontaneously combusted the moment I stepped in the room.

“Sometimes I wish you’d keep your mouth shut.” He pulled a pink business suit from the closet and tossed it on the bed.

His comment froze me to spot, he’d never complained before.

My off-white silk blouse joined the suit then he yanked out a suitcase. “Tane is sending you to the hotel tonight. Why did you have to volunteer?” He dropped the luggage and confronted me.

Water dripped from my hair and pooled on the carpet at my feet. “I—I, he…” I pointed out the door.

“Now you lose the ability to speak.”

I pursed my lips as my blood boiled. “It sounded like they wanted to kill Colby.”

“They do!” He waved his hands in the air. “Now you’re in the middle of it and I’ve been ordered to remain here.”

“Why are you angry now? You didn’t say anything when we left and—Wait a second, you went back to Tane, didn’t you? You went back to his room to talk him out of the plan, not to give Archios your passport.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Absolutely.”

“I have a hard time believing Colby would be so stupid to run around with a crossbow in his hands after shooting it. He has a whole arsenal of better weapons to use.

You don’t know him like I do.” I slammed the door. “Are those clothes for me?” I pointed to bed.

He nodded.

“Then I best get ready.” As I walked to the bathroom to finish drying, I paused next to him. “I can take care of myself. Don’t worry so much.” Then I kissed him on the cheek.

The night doorman who helped me out of the taxi held an umbrella to shield me from the pouring rain. A bellhop took care of the luggage as I walked into the Fasano Hotel—the same place Rurik and I stayed New Years Eve.

Tane thought my return here would be a reasonable conclusion for Colby to make.

Rumors of my leaving the vampires flooded the city before I left the mansion.

I obtained my keycard from the desk, crossed the foyer and hit the elevator button.

Colby would have to be deaf not hear the news. He needed information on vampire movements since the minor clans hunted the streets tonight and the werewolves would take over before morning. Worse, Tane sent his two Nosferatu brothers still visiting Rio to monitor human thoughts for signs of Colby. They wouldn’t fight for Tane, it would make him look weak, but this assistance apparently was acceptable. So they coordinated everything. Airports, train and bus stations were watched.

A shiver ran down my spine. The power Tane held scared me and this was only the tip of the iceberg. I hoped to never be the focus of such a hunt.

Like a pawn caught between two chess masters, I waited for Colby to respond and make his move. I could only hope he didn’t checkmate me.

The decadent empty lobby’s reflection in the mirrored wall paled in comparison to Tane’s home. My heel clicked on the cold marble floor as I tapped my foot. I crossed my arms while examining my image. The pink business suit Rurik chose enhanced the color in my cheeks. Lace peeked from under the trim jacket so I tucked it back under. I remembered the night he took me shopping and talked me into buying the suit. He wanted me to have something professional, yet feminine, in my wardrobe.

I glared at the lit floor numbers as it slowly crept to the lobby. Crap, I hated waiting.

After being vampire bait for two years, I should be used to it by now.

A ping announced the elevator’s arrival and the door slid open. I entered and hit the button to my floor.

Waiting made me nuts, but fear tamed my crazy urges, such as using my cell phone to call Red, or circumventing the lobby and taking the back door. The elevator stopped on my floor and I shook the temptations from my mind. Too much rode on this for me to flake out.

The deserted hall echoed with my footsteps. I had to admit Tane was smart to send me out in the middle of the night. Who the hell checked into a hotel at this time?

Someone pissed off who just allegedly stormed out of her lover’s life.

Slipping the keycard into the slot, it signaled the door unlocked, and I entered the room to exhale the breath I’d been holding. Had Colby been watching? Did I look upset enough or just terrified?

I leaned against the door and scanned the room. “Hello?” Did the guards arrive before like planned?

“Keep up the act, Connie.” Gwen’s disembodied voice startled a small squeak out of me. I didn’t expect a response.

The room wasn’t a suite like we’d booked before. It contained a sitting area with a couch and a chair by the entrance, then a bed by the far wall next to the bathroom.

A knock announced the arrival of my luggage and the tension in the air rocketed. I could almost hear the guards' muscles straining to pounce.

I straightened my skirt and pulled at the hem then wiped my sweaty palms on the material before opening the door.

The bellhop carried my empty suitcases and placed them by the closet then left after I gave him a tip.

Maybe I should have filled them? Would the vampire nation notice if I boarded a plane and left the country? Once I arrived at my destination and escaped the clutches of the vampire nation, I could send a note to Rurik and we could agree to meet somewhere.

Then in a few months my hunger would rear its ugly head and I’d be forced to find Tane.

No doubt he’d make me pay for running away. I shuddered, all fantasies dissipating into thin air replaced with dread.

A chill ran down my arms and goose flesh developed on them. Rurik didn’t appear ready to leave Rio anyway. He probably missed his own kind. Intrigue and politics seemed to be his bread and butter. Power his aphrodisiac. All these things orbited around Tane. How long before my lover gravitated to him? What if Rurik never wanted to leave?

My soul shriveled at the thought. I’d be alone again. Plopping onto the couch, I wanted to sob, a drowning-in-your-own-boogers kind of cry, but not in front of an audience. Instead, I stared at a blank television for a few minutes then turned it on.

Nothing caught my interest, my Portuguese sucked so I couldn’t understand most of the channels, except the ones running porn. Heat rose to my cheeks knowing others watched the room.

I kicked off my heels then stomped across the room and threw open the curtains.

Through the rain, a dark outline of Sugarloaf Mountain stood across the bay. Rising above the harbor, the name refers to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It took two cable car rides to reach its peak. I pressed my forehead against the window. Rurik promised to take me there. Only three nights ago, he chased me through the Jardim Botanic for fun, it felt like an eon.

Nothing guaranteed Colby hearing the rumors tonight, he might not show. A small part of me hoped he didn’t come. He may have almost killed me and we needed to have words about that, yet I understood his desire to murder Tane. Without the bond, I would have staked him myself by now.

God only knew what Colby endured on Tane's yacht in Budapest. When I rescued him, he’d been chained to a wall wearing only his briefs. Tane confessed to studying Colby’s slayer activities for years. If anyone could catch Colby it was him.

Stupid of my ex-boss to attempt killing Tane on his own property. Maybe the urge overcame him when he came with his team to investigate a body Gwen and I found. The crossbow was ingenious though, but why didn’t he use a UV light grenade like he usually did with the powerful vampires?

A well-placed shot would have toasted Tane and any other vampire in the vicinity.

The burst of artificial sunlight wouldn’t have hurt any humans. I might have gotten a tan.

Outside the hotel window, traffic trickled on the streets. People had normal lives in the city. This was the first contact I’d experienced with my own kind in days. The night’s activities and adrenaline rush faded, leaving me exhausted. I undid the buttons of my jacket without looking.

For the first time since meeting Rurik, I missed living like a human. I touched the window, the cold barrier between our worlds. It wouldn’t take much to shatter it.

A traitorous tear slid along my nose until it dripped off my chin onto the window ledge.

Caught.

Hook, line and sinker, the anglers had their catch. Rurik had me by the heart and Tane with his blood.

If there was a heaven, my dead husband, Laurent, probably fumed at my predicament and stupidity.

I didn’t do helpless well, though. A release from these bonds would come one day, but I didn’t know if I had the balls to take it.

Stepping away from the window, I slipped my pink jacket off and laid it over the back of the chair. I sat on the sofa to watch the colors of the television and took comfort from the white noise of people talking.

Exhausted, my eyelids sank closed. Hell, the guards watched the room, no point in my staying awake. Too tired to move, I curled onto the sofa. My last thoughts were of soft, black hair and a set of amused pale, blue eyes.

Yellow warmth greeted me in the morning. When was the last time I awoke to sunlight pouring into the room? It streamed like golden honey through the window and a clear blue sky accompanied it.

I stretched then cringed at the knot in my neck. Sitting, I rubbed and kneaded the area.

Colby hadn’t shown. He beat the mighty Nosferatu and escaped the city. I smiled while straightening my wrinkled off-white blouse.

My back itched from sleeping in a bra, I tried to reach it and scratch. The clock read a little past noon so I scooted over the sofa and did something I loved to do.

Order room service.

Fortified with a good meal and some coffee, I’d be ready to face my life.

“Do you want something to eat, Gwen?”

“No.” Her tired voice came from under the bed.

My smile widened. She hid under there all night for nothing. “Anybody else?” I waited for a minute.

Then a muted ‘ no’ came from the closet.

It didn’t take long for the service to arrive. They knocked on the door twenty minutes after I ordered.

I opened the door.

A dark haired man with a moustache pushed the trolley into the room then closed the door behind him with his foot.

“I’ll eat by the window. It’s such a beautiful day.” I led him to a chair I’d placed there. The smell of bacon and coffee filled the room and my stomach rumbled. “Excuse me.” I grinned as I twisted around to assist with the cart. Sunlight glinted off the steel green eyes of the service attendant.

My heart hit my gut like a skydiver without a parachute. Hunger turned to nausea.

“Colby.” His name a bare whisper from my lips.

He smiled under the dark fake moustache and lifted the cover off my plate. “Ta—

da.”

I stared at his chiseled features under the black dyed hair and was speechless.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Have any idea why every damn vampire in the city is after my ass, Connie?”

“Yes. Don’t you—” Before I could finish my sentence a blur crawled out from under the bed and another flew from the closet.

They knocked me against the wall, where the back of my head hit the windowsill, and they converged on Colby.

Stars flashed in my vision, but when it cleared, I witnessed my ex-employer kick-ass.

He dodged their grasps and leaped over the couch. A male, who must have been in the closet, followed only to get karate chopped in the throat.

A high-pitched wheeze came from Gwen’s partner as he clasped his neck and tried to breathe. He stumbled to the bed and collapsed to the floor out of view.

Gwen stood between Colby and the door. I didn’t want her to get hurt. “Stop.” The shout made Colby glance over. Fury burned in his eyes.

Not wasting an opportunity Gwen pounced.

Mid-air Colby grabbed her around the waist and slammed her to the ground. They rolled across the floor toward me.

Gwen’s legs squeezed his torso as they stopped with him on top.

Pinning her hands to the floor, Colby stared at her as if he’d been slapped with a stun stick. Both panted as if out of breath. Something unspoken passed amid them, because she released her grip and he stood.

His glare stabbed me. “Traitor.”

“You tried to kill me!” I stepped closer to him while rubbing the bump on my head, but Gwen snatched my arm.

He blinked. “How?”

“You need to go.” Gwen pointed at him.

Without another word, Colby sprinted across the hotel room and opened it.

Tane stood in the doorway. The crack of his fist meeting Colby’s chin made me flinch. He crumpled to the ground.

It should have been a triumphant moment, however sunlight poured over Tane, and fire flashed on his exposed skin. He let out a blood-curdling screech before disappearing.

Smoke and a sweet stench corrupted the air.

Gwen and I stood in stunned silence.

“You never told us Colby was a werewolf.” She stayed very still next to me.

I blinked as what she said sunk through the chaos of my mind. “He is?” What I saw hadn’t sunk in yet. The smoke filtered into the room and made me sneeze. “I guess Tane’s not dead since I’m still breathing.” I glanced at her.

“It takes more sunlight than that to kill a Nosferatu. He got singed.” Gwen crossed the room, checked Colby’s pulse and sighed as if relieved. “He’s still alive.”

“What makes you think he’s not human?”

“You think a human can take on two werewolves in hand to hand combat and win?

And he smells…different.” She stared up at me.

I shrugged. “Never really gave it a thought.”

Gwen brushed the dark hair from his face with a tender touch then sighed. Pulling out plastic ties from her pocket, she secured his wrists and ankles.

“You were going to let him escape a moment ago.”

She shook her head. “A hormonal mistake. I’m sure you’ve made bad choices too.”

Boy, did I, and I was about to make another one. “I’d better check on Tane.” I stepped over Colby’s prone body and hesitated. “Did you get the impression Colby was surprised by my accusation?”

She rolled him onto his side and lifted his eyelids while ignoring my question. “He should recover from this blow.”

“What will you do with him?”

“Question him. Get the truth.”

That’s not what I meant. “How?”

She glared at me with a drawn brow. “How do you think?”

I’d been on the receiving end of such questioning recently. It made me sick that I helped capture him, but he’d tried to kill me. Right?

“Go check on our master, Connie.”

I nodded and turned my back on her. The smell of burnt flesh seemed stronger to my left so I followed the odor down the windowless hall.

Bet it surprised the hell out of Colby to find Tane awake during the day. Where would he go? Probably in one of the other rooms. Did I start knocking on every door and draw attention?

I glanced over my shoulder as Gwen closed my room door and left me alone in the corridor. No help from her.

Standing in my bare feet and wrinkled suit, I scratched my fuzzed out curly head. If I called out would he answer? I groaned inside, maybe if I used something other than my voice.

It took me months to learn how to build a shield around my mind to keep out vampires. Learning to let it go proved difficult. With focused concentration, the walls melting away like Rurik had instructed, they faded enough for me to shout his name mentally.

Not a second later, I discerned his presence. “Rabbit?”

“Where are you?”

“Room five-seventeen. You might not want to enter. The burns are gruesome.”

Through his light mental touch, I could sense he shielded me from the amount of pain he experienced. I cringed as our minds brushed against each other, I didn’t need to take any trips down the Nosferatu memory lane. He could keep those nightmares; I had my own.

His presence disappeared like a popped bubble.

I walked two doors farther and turned the unlocked handle. Inside, Tane sat on the bed with his back against the wall. His right forearm and the right side of his face were red with blisters. A strip of untouched skin ran across his eyes where he’d block the sunlight with his arm.

He grinned. “Don’t look so shocked. You make me feel worse.”

Screwing my expression into something more pleasant, I went into the bathroom and soaked a face cloth with cold water.

“It’s been a long time since the sun has caught me. I forgot how much it fucking hurts.”

“Shouldn’t you be healing?” I approached him and pressed the cool moisture with a gentle hand to his face.

With a quiet hiss, he grimaced and closed his eyes. “I am. Most vampires would have expired with such an exposure.” He peeked at me with one eye. “It would go faster if I fed. Fresh blood heals best.”

The blisters oozed clear fluid and looked painful. Did I admit to him I was the one who left curtains open? Guilt chased away any appetite I’d had for breakfast. I lifted my wrist to his mouth without complaint.

His hand dwarfed mine as he brought it to his mouth. As he rested his sharp fangs to the pulse point, I allowed him inside my mental shield to cloud the pain.

I almost wish I could do the same for him. He slipped through my defenses like silk, like Rurik. Offering my wrist gave me the advantage to watch.

With eyes closed, Tane gulped my blood as if quenching a dying thirst. The burns healed before my eyes. Blisters melted into his skin as the inflammation faded and became pale and smooth once more.

“Amazing.” I spoke my thought out loud.

Tane gazed at me under heavy lids, a lazy smile curled his lips before he kissed the wound on my wrist. “Thank you.”