Endless Chase (14 page)

“How did they manage to kill your parents if they were both vampires?” Suspicion was heavy in Cristofor’s voice.

Katya dug in her pack again, ignoring the way the men tensed and began to growl, and drew out a box. Opening it, she drew out a small dart. “I found this in my papa’s chest and had it analyzed. It’s a strong sedative, a designer drug that probably incapacitated him long enough for the murderer to act.” She pulled out a vial. “I also had a vaccine created to counteract it. It takes thirty seconds to act after you’ve been shot with the sedative, but it is effective.”

“How did you come up with such a thing?” Sophia looked curious, the former investigative reporter in her coming to the fore instinctually.

Katya smiled, replacing the vial back in the case alongside a dozen others just like it. “Unlike the Dalakis family who keep themselves secluded, my papa traveled the world and made friends wherever he went. There is a renowned chemist in Germany who helped me. He was my papa’s friend and was devastated by his death.”

71

N.J. Walters

Chase ignored the dig at his family, mostly because it was true. For safety’s sake, the family did remain fairly isolated, although that was changing somewhat since the women had married into the family.

“So, you’re a vampire?” Chase was still having a hard time with that one even though he’d seen her fangs and watched her eyes tinge red. And then there was the speed with which she’d evaded Stefan.

“I am not human, nor totally vampire. I’m a hybrid.” Katya shook her head. “I can go out in the early morning or late afternoon, although I am sensitive to sunlight and will burn horribly if I’m out in midday. I’m not certain if prolonged exposure to sunlight will kill me, but I’m not willing to put it to the test. I can eat food, in fact need it, but I still must have blood to survive. I have no idea how long I will live, but I suspect it will be a long, long time. The day wears heavy on me, but I can manage to be active in the daytime if necessary. I don’t get sick and I heal when I’m hurt. It takes longer for me to heal than a normal vampire, but it does happen.”

She held up her hands. “The skin was burned from my hands during the fire that was set to hide my parents’ murders. Now there are no scars. The burns began healing immediately, although it was nearly a month later when the last scar finally faded. I fit neither totally in the vampire realm or the human one.”

Chase felt her utter aloneness and understood what she meant. He’d always felt alone, outside his vampire family, but because of his intimate knowledge of, and connection with, the vampire species, he’d never quite fit among humans either.

“That still doesn’t tell us why you’re here.” Cristofor’s harsh words snapped Chase out of his thoughts and back to the situation at hand.

“That’s easy.” Katya tossed the wooden case back into her pack, closing it before hooking it over her shoulder. “The head of the group is named Vasili. I don’t have a last name for him. He is very interested in your family and has been searching for all of you for quite some time. I found you. The plan was to use you as bait to lure him out so I can kill him. But, as much as I want my parents’ killer, I don’t want it at the cost of your lives. I was searching tonight to make certain he had not already arrived. Now that you know he is coming, you can protect yourselves.”

“Not again,” Zane roared as he jumped at Katya. “You’ve brought those murderers to our door.”

Chase yelled and lunged forward, but as a human, he didn’t have the strength or preternatural speed of a vampire. Katya was already in motion, diving headfirst through one of the large windows. Glass shattered, knifelike shards flying everywhere.

Chase screamed her name, but she was already gone. The sky was just beginning to lighten on the edge of the horizon and Zane fell back, staggering as Chase raced to the window and searched in the distance. Blood rolled down several of the jagged spears of glass.

Katya was hurt!

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Zane groaned again and Chase yanked the drapes closed. Everyone looked pale and he knew that the coming of the dawn was draining their energy. Katya had timed her confession perfectly.

“You all need to get to your rooms.” Chase looked to his sister and found her already locked tight in Lucian’s arms. Her face was pale, her eyes shut.

Cristofor nodded, scooping Johanna into his arms. “Do not leave the castle. We will make plans when the sun sets.” Anger and retribution seethed from every line of his body. Chase didn’t bother to nod as they all filed from the room, but simply hung his head.

He knew none of them blamed him, but his gut tightened all the same. He should have been more careful, not been drawn in by the immediate sexual connection that had sprung up between him and Katya.

Mixed with the guilt was worry about Katya. She was out there by herself, bleeding, hunting the monster that killed her parents. Alone in the room, he went back to the window and pushed aside the curtain, his eyes never leaving the droplets of blood that now stained the windowpane.

His chest hurt as he finally pulled his gaze from her blood and stared out over the vast countryside. Pink roses climbed the rock wall, their scent perfuming the wind as it blew amongst the petals. Trees danced in the breeze, their leaves making a soft swishing sound. A bird chirped a happy song. In the distance all he could see was thick forest and the mountains beyond—rugged and beautiful beyond description.

“Where are you?” he whispered. With her speed, and her ability to be out in sunlight, she could be anywhere on the mountain.

The urge to follow her, to find her, hit him like a sledgehammer. He staggered slightly, feeling lightheaded, like someone had sucker punched him. He caught himself against a bookcase. Something dark and dangerous stirred deep within him.

It didn’t matter where she was, he’d find her.

Footsteps pounded on the stairs. Cassidy stormed into the room, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, a deadly handgun clasped in his hand. His icy blue eyes were flat and searching as he looked over the room. “Lucian just woke me. What the hell happened?”

Heaving a ragged sigh, Chase answered.

73

N.J. Walters

Katya was panting hard as she all but flew through the woods, ignoring the blood seeping from the cuts on her hands and arms. They stung, but experience had taught her that they would heal quickly.

She’d paused long enough to grab her weapons, but hadn’t stopped since escaping the castle. She knew no one was chasing her. These vampires couldn’t go out in the sunlight as she could, and Chase wasn’t fast enough to catch her. Then again, he did know where she was staying.

It was time to check out of the inn.

She desperately tried not to think about the look of anger and betrayal on Chase’s face. Instead, she pulled her cloak of fury around her. She’d warned them all, hadn’t she? In doing so, she’d jeopardized her own life and her mission. The head of the society was coming for them, if not now, then later. At least now the Dalakis clan knew they were under attack.

Vengeance was still her goal, but not at the expense of someone else’s life. She was tired—of the lies, the constant moving, the fighting and the never-ending mistrust—but she wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop, until her parents’ murderer paid for what he’d done.

Her vision blurred and she swiped at the tears on her face. Useless. That’s what tears were. Utterly useless. She slowed her pace as she hit the edge of town, rubbing her eyes. She was tired. That was all. Some sleep and she’d be fine.

Katya used the acute hearing gifted to her by her vampire heritage to listen and make sure the coast was clear before sneaking in the back door and up the stairs to her room. No use in raising Olga’s suspicions. The last thing she wanted to do was to raise questions about why she was bleeding all over the place.

When she closed the door behind her, she finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief.

Katya stared at the bed longingly but knew she couldn’t risk lying down for even a moment. She was so tired. Sleep had been practically nonexistent these past weeks.

Unlike with pure vampires, the day sleep didn’t take her into oblivion. She had dreams.

Nightmares, really.

Over and over again she witnessed the death of her parents. Sometimes her own face or that of her brother had taken the place of her parents, reminding her just how fragile life really was, even if you were an immortal.

She had to get out of here as fast as possible, but first she needed a quick shower.

She had time as long as she didn’t tarry. The cool water would wake her up and cleanse the blood from her cuts. Plus, her skin was sticky after last night. Katya sagged against 74

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the wall as her body responded to thoughts of Chase. Her nipples tightened and her core began to pulse.

“Cold shower.” She pushed herself away from the wall and staggered into the small bathroom. Dumping her pack and her crossbow on the counter, she turned on the taps, ignoring the squeals of the water pipes as she peeled off her clothing.

The flow wasn’t strong, but she didn’t care. Katya stepped beneath the cool spray, shivering when it hit her skin. Gritting her teeth, she picked up the bar of soap and quickly scrubbed herself from top to bottom. The water was tinged pink as it flowed down the drain, reminding her of her wounds. She brought her hands and forearms to her lips, one at a time, licking each cut. They began to close almost immediately. Like a full-blooded vampire, she was blessed with the chemicals in her saliva that clotted blood and closed wounds. When she was done, she allowed herself to stand for a few seconds beneath the spray and let the water sluice over her skin.

The combination of no sleep again last night and the confrontation with the Dalakis family had taken whatever small reserves of energy she’d had left.

A shiver raced down her spine and she jerked. Her eyes popped open and she swore as she turned off the taps and grabbed the towel from its hook. She’d nodded off for a second. She needed sleep. Badly.

But first, she needed to get out of here.

Katya didn’t look at herself in the tiny mirror as she dried off. She didn’t want to see what she’d become. When had it become easy to trade someone else’s life for what she wanted? “I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry, Papa,” she whispered.

Tossing the towel aside, she grabbed her dirty clothing and rolled it into a ball.

Naked, she strode back into her room and dug clean underwear from her larger duffel bag. She pulled on her leather pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. It might be much too warm for the day, but they would protect her better if she had to hide in the woods.

She lowered herself to the edge of the bed and let her head fall forward. She was so damn tired. Tired of running, tired of lying, tired of life. Sighing, she raised her head and grabbed her socks, tugging them on before lacing up her boots once again.

Feeling sorry for herself would have to wait until later. The game was in motion and nothing she could say or do would stop it. The killer was coming for the Dalakis family. All she could do was be ready for him.

Resolve filled her. It was much easier to cling to her anger and thoughts of revenge than it was to dwell on the look of betrayal on Chase’s face. The way he’d look at her, as if he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her, had shaken her to her soul.

When this was over, she needed to go home. Home would help heal her. At least she hoped so. Some days she wasn’t sure she’d ever find herself in the person she’d become.

Katya stood and shoved her dirty clothing into her bag, zipping it closed. Although she knew she never left anything out, she did a quick scan of the room. There was nothing there to show she’d even been here.

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Satisfied, she zipped the bag closed and slung it over her shoulder. Grabbing her pack and her crossbow, she headed for the door. Less than ten minutes had passed since she’d arrived, not long enough for anyone to reach the inn, if they were indeed after her. But she didn’t think that was the case. They knew she wouldn’t leave. Not until her parents’ murderer was dead. There was no need for them to pursue her. Still, she couldn’t take the chance.

She closed the door behind her and paused in the hallway, staring at the phone.

Coming to a decision, she lifted the receiver and made one final call. She longed to call her brother, but didn’t dare. The last thing she wanted was someone checking the outgoing calls from this payphone and tracing it back to her family. She had a secure cell phone, but once again she cursed the lack of reception in the mountains.
Soon
, she promised herself.

The ringing ceased and a machine picked up, as she expected. She waited impatiently as the disembodied mechanical voice repeated the number she’d just dialed. When it was done, she left the message, knowing he’d receive it.

“I’ll be out of contact. The Dalakis family is leaving tomorrow night. If you don’t move tonight, you’ll lose them.” She hung up the phone, her hand gripping the receiver for a long second before she uncurled her fingers and let it go.

Turning, she all but banged into Niles Becker, who was just leaving his room. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. How much had he heard?

He gave her a smile and nodded. “Good morning. You’re up early.” He noticed her bags then, his eyes narrowing. “You’re leaving?”

Katya could hear the accusation in his voice and it made her angry. He was a total stranger who had no claim to her. “It’s time.” She hefted her bags and strode to the stairs.

“Let me help you with your bags.” He grabbed the strap of her duffel, but Katya yanked it away from him.

“I can manage.” She took the stairs quickly with Niles hot on her heels.

“I thought perhaps I could buy you breakfast before you left.”

Didn’t this guy ever give up? She shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m in a hurry.”

“Where are you going?” When she whirled to face him, he shrugged sheepishly.

“My colleague and I are traveling the countryside. I thought perhaps we might run into you again.”