Shon (The Seeker Series Book 2) (15 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

Shon fought with everything inside him to open his eyes. The sun had risen, and with it, the comalike sleep every vampire experienced with its dreaded ascent.

Laura was leaving. She’d told him she loved him before taking the keys and walking out the door.

Desperation settled inside him, gnawing away at his insides like a cancer.

Lauraaaa! he mentally screamed, clawing his way through the heavy darkness that surrounded him, only to find himself deeper in the abyss.

I love you too, he silently cried, knowing she couldn’t hear him, yet praying she knew. But she didn’t know.

He realized then what she’d been trying to tell him. It wasn’t resentment she’d felt over being bound to him. No, she’d wanted him to bind himself to her as well. Not out of some obligation, but out of love.

Shon could kick himself for not seeing the truth sooner. He’d been so caught up in everything going on around them, that he’d neglected the most important thing in his life.
Laura
.

There was nothing he could do but wait until the sun went down and go after her.
Wherever she may be
.

* * * *

Shon flew from the bed the second the sun disappeared over the horizon.

He dressed in record time, bypassing the elevator to blur his way down the stairs to the front desk. “Where is the closest place to get a rental car around here?”

The tall brunette behind the counter gazed back at him in appreciation. “Leaving us so soon?”

“I need a rental car,” Shon reiterated, barely holding his fangs in check.

“Yes, of course.” She nodded toward the front doors. “If you leave through there, take the street on your left. The airport is two blocks over. They have a twenty-four-hour rental place.”

“Thank you,” Shon murmured, spinning toward the doors.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Angel.

“What’s wrong?” Angel rushed out, answering on the first ring.

“Laura gave me the slip.”

“Damn it. How long ago?”

Shon stepped outside and took a left toward the street the clerk had indicated. “She left this morning as soon as the sun came up. She took Ember’s car.”

“I installed a GPS tracker on Ember’s car after everything that happened last year. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll tell you exactly where she is.”

Relief was instant. “Thanks, Angel. I’ll be waiting.”

Shon ended the call and ran with vampiric speed toward the airport, arriving seconds later. He hurried inside and approached the desk. “I need the fastest car you have.”

A gray-haired man, looked up from the form he’d been filling out, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “License and insurance? And will you be using a debit or credit card?”

Shon retrieved the correct cards from his wallet and handed them to the man. “I’ll be using a credit card. And I’m in kind of a hurry.”

The man dipped his head and stared at Shon over the top of his glasses. “I have a couple of reservations to finish up with before I can get to you. If you’d have a seat, I’ll be with you momentarily.”

Shon snagged a couple of one hundred dollar bills from his wallet and held them out.

“I’ll have you ready in a jiffy,” the man assured him, tucking the money into his pocket. “I have a nice sports car available, if that works for you?”

Shon nodded, pacing along the front of the counter. “It does.”

After answering several questions and signing the designated lines, Shon accepted the set of keys the man offered him. “Thank you.”

“Here’s your license, insurance card, and credit card,” the clerk murmured, laying them on the counter top. “Have a nice trip, Mr. Wells.”

“Much obliged,” Shon responded, striding toward the door, pulling his buzzing cell from his pocket.

“What you got, Angel?”

“The car is sitting at the airport in Tampa. I don’t know if she’s still there, or if she’s boarded a plane.”

“If she’s in the air…” Shon growled, climbing into the rental car. “I’ll never find her.”

“I’m already on my way there now. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.”

Shon sped out of the parking lot and turned the car back toward Lakeland. He had a four-hour drive ahead of him if he kept to the speed limit. “I’ll be there in two hours.”

“Vlad stayed to protect Ember and Lucius. I’ll see you back at the condo, with or without Laura.”

“Find her, Angel.” Shon ended the call and pressed the gas pedal to the floor. If Laura got on a plane, the chances of him finding her again were slim to none. But he’d never stop looking. No matter how long it took.

* * * *

Ember laid a sleeping Lucius in his crib and returned to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. “Would you like one?”

Vlad shook his hooded head. “No, thank you.”

“Would you mind removing the hood? It makes me nervous.”

The elder lifted his hands and pushed the hood back to reveal the beginnings of a beard. “Is this better?”

“Much,” Ember agreed, taking a drink of her wine. “I’ve never seen you with hair on your face.”

“I don’t usually wear a beard,” he muttered, rubbing at his chin with his fingertips. “I’ve just been too busy these last few days to shave.”

Ember sent him a soft smile. “It looks good on you. I’d keep it.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Then perhaps I shall.”

“What if Angel doesn’t get there in time?”

Vlad shrugged. “Miss Donovan is a grown woman. I’m certain that she can take care of herself.”

“How can she just run off without telling anyone? Especially me. I’m her best friend. I’ve never known her to be so uncaring and selfish.”

Vlad penetrated Ember with a glittering stare. “Actually, what she has done is one of the most unselfish acts I’ve seen in centuries.”

Ember gaped at him. “How can you say that?”

“She left to protect you all. As long as she is human, she poses a danger to everyone she cares about.”

Understanding dawned. “Had I known things would turn out this way, I would have walked away from her before she found out about us.”

“To protect her,” Vlad offered.

“Yes.”

“That is exactly what she thinks she is doing now.”

Ember rested her elbows on the kitchen counter. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“You can always turn her.”

The softly spoken suggestion caught Ember off guard. “What? No. That’s the worst thing I could do to her.”

“And yet it’s the safest.”

“For whom?”

Vlad reached across the bar and rested his hand on top of Ember’s. “Everyone.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Laura jumped to her feet as the overhead speaker announced the boarding of her plane.

Grabbing her bag, she strode toward the designated line forming in front of her.

A gasp escaped as a hand gripped her arm, stopping her in midstride. “Laura.”

Laura spun to face her best friend’s mate. “Angel? How did you find me?”

“GPS on Ember’s car. We need to talk.”

“Please just let me go,” she pleaded, glancing at the now moving line.

Pity settled in Angel’s eyes. “I can’t. It would break Ember’s heart if I let you get on that plane. And I’d do anything to prevent that from happening.”

“If you love her that much, then let me walk through that gate. You can tell her you were too late.”

“I’m sorry, Laura. I can’t.”

Attempting to pull free of his hold, Laura pleaded with him. “Don’t you see that I’m a danger to her? To you all? The longer I remain here, the more at risk you all are. From the elders as well as the Seekers. I see no other choice here, Angel.”

“There’s always a choice,” he responded, a determined look in his eyes. “Can we talk?”

Laura glanced behind her. “My plane is being boarded.”

“If you still want to leave after hearing me out, I’ll buy your ticket myself.”

Laura stared at him for long moments before nodding. “Fine. I’ll listen. But nothing you can say will change my mind.”

Angel picked up her bag, took hold of her hand, and led her through the droves of people toward a set of automatic doors.

Once outside, he nodded toward the parking garage. “My car is right over there.”

Laura followed him to his vehicle, taking a seat in the passenger side as he circled around and slid behind the wheel.

“I’m listening.”

Angel turned to face her. “The way I see it, you have two choices here. You can run, leave your family and friends behind, including Shon. Or…”

“Or what?” Laura had a feeling she knew where he was going with his proposition.

“Or you can become one of us.”

Laura’s stomach flipped, hearing it said aloud. “A vampire?”

Angel nodded. “I know it’s a scary thing to imagine, but it’s not as bad as you think.”

“You can’t walk in the sunlight,” Laura pointed out.

“But the moon can be just as beautiful.”

Laura shifted in her seat. “You drink blood to survive.”

“You eat dead animals.”

He had a point, Laura thought, studying the sincerity in is moss-green eyes.

“How about we concentrate on the positive aspects of my kind.”

Laura raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“We can live for centuries. We age slowly. We’re strong and impossibly fast. And we heal at a rapid rate as long as we replenish our blood.”

“But how would I live? I couldn’t work. No one would hire me once I had an aversion to daylight.”

“You’re an editor. Edit from home. Become a writer. There are dozens of ways to make a living while avoiding the daylight.”

Laura couldn’t argue with his logic. “Is it painful?”

“I won’t lie to you. It’s near to unbearable, but the pain doesn’t last forever.”

Turning to stare out the window, Laura couldn’t believe she was even considering Angel’s offer. “Who would do it?”

“Shon could do—”

“Besides him.”

Angel touched her on the arm, bringing her attention back to him. “Did something happen between you and Shon?”

Laura shook her head. “It’s not his fault. I fell in love and he didn’t.”

“Did he say that?” Angel asked incredulously.

“Not in so many words. But he’s never once admitted to having feelings for me.”

“And have you?”

“Have I what?”

Angel sighed. “Admitted your feelings to him.”

“Well. I… No, I haven’t.”

Angel groaned and inserted the key into the ignition. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Okay.”

“Come back with me. Shon is on his way to my place as we speak. Talk to him. Tell him how you feel. If he doesn’t feel the same, Ember can turn you, and you’ll never have to see Shon again. If he admits he has feelings for you, then let him be the one to do it. He’ll want to be the one.”

Laura blew out a breath and fastened her seatbelt. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

The ride back to Ember’s was spent in silence. Laura took that time to reflect on her life choices.

She’d give anything to travel back in time, go to prom with Shon, and gift him with her virginity. Because of her mother, Laura missed out on so many years that could have been spent in Shon’s arms.

“You can’t change the past,” Angel softly murmured as if reading her mind. “But you can change the future.”

But what if Shon didn’t want her? she wondered, turning to watch the passing cars on the Parkway. She would live for centuries, longing for a man she could never fully have.

“If I do this, is there a way to break the bond I have with Shon?”

“There is no bond, Laura. Your love is what binds you to him. His blood is merely a beacon in the fog.”

“But Nita said—”

“I was told what the shifter said to you,” he interrupted. “She has no way of knowing the full extent of a blood bond.”

Laura turned to face him. “Explain it to me.”

“In our world, if two vampires have love in their hearts for each other, they exchange blood during a mating. It creates a bond that cannot be broken. Not even by death.”

“A mating?”

Angel grinned. “Humans refer to it as making love.”

“Oh!” Laura exclaimed, embarrassed that she hadn’t caught on to his meaning right away.

Memories of the night she’d spent in Shon’s arms flooded her mind in torturous detail. “Shon’s not the mating type, Angel. He’s more of a fling you experience once in a lifetime.”

“I’m sorry, Laura. I really am.”

“Me too,” Laura muttered, shifting her gaze to the window once again. “Me too.”