Annie Nicholas - Catch

“A crossbow? I tripped over it and picked it up.” His brow furrowed.

“Then why run?”

“We weren’t supposed to stay on the property after examining the body, I remained behind. We needed more intel. The killer is on the estate. I can smell it. When Tane came chasing after me, instinct kicked in and I ran.” He stared at me. “You have got to believe me. I’d never kill one of my own.”

“You’ve made it very clear I’m not part of the team anymore.” I wanted to believe him but—but what stopped me? Colby didn’t even kill vampires without proof they were murdering people. Yet, he did have a good reason to hate Tane on a personal level.

“I never betrayed the contract I have with the vampire nation. Each one I slayed was proven guilty prior to execution. Why would I kill the one vampire Lord who is upholding the laws?”

“Budapest.”

He flinched when I said the city’s name. “I’ve survived worse. Tane and I will never be friends, but I can tolerate him.” His admission drew a soft whine from Gwen.

I glanced at her and gave her a ‘ what the hell is wrong with you?’ look.

She couldn’t meet my gaze. Too many secrets, she needed to tell me what was going on between the two of them.

When I turned to Colby, he too stared at Gwen. “Do I know you?”

She snorted. “Nice to know I’m that remarkable.”

“Before last night. You seem…familiar.”

“No, we never met.” She spun and waited by the door.

“Colby, have you ever heard of a blood bond?”

“It’s what you and Rurik have. It’s how he saved you from Dragos and enslaved you.”

Touche . “Yeah, well, apparently it’s not with Rurik but with Tane. If you kill him I’ll die too.” I placed my hands on my hips and listened to my gut, not my brain.

Colby hung his head.

The whole time I’d been alone with Rurik I never felt like a traitor to my race.

Imprisoning Colby changed that. Guilt grew. What would Laurent think of my new life?

Far from the picket-fenced house with the two point five kids he wanted to give me.

It was the only future I couldn’t have. Fate had different plans for me.

I couldn’t chance setting Colby free until sunset and I knew Tane was safe. Like it or not, this bond meant more than a marriage since death do us part was taken literally.

Tane might be an asshole, but he was my asshole. It killed me to admit this, yet he was growing on me. Where Rurik was suave and sexy, Tane was cunning and deadly. I admired all these traits.

“Let me clear the waters for you, Colby. When the sun sets, the sharks will begin to circle. If I let you go and they catch you again, they’ll bite first and ask questions later.

Maybe too much later.”

A clicking of claws announced Kam’s return. “There are no sharks around here.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and left the room. “My brother, the genius.”

I followed her at a quick trot to not lose her in the dark.

“I didn’t try to kill him.” Colby’s shout followed us before Kam slammed the heavy metal door shut.

Outside the cave, Gwen stopped to answer her buzzing cell phone. “What?”

I leaned against a tree and stared at the fading light in the jungle. How the hell was I going to convince Tane to let Colby go? If he was innocent then the assassin was still at large. Maybe Luckard did have balls the size of watermelons and snuck onto the mansion’s grounds to make the attempt. Rurik thought someone else was behind the crazed Nosferatu’s plots. I couldn’t wait until sunset to consult with him. He’d know what to say and what to do.

“How’s that possible?” Gwen’s shout cut through my worries. She paced as she listened to the answer.

I straightened, drawn by her distress.

“Was anyone killed?”

Dread tightened my gut. I paced along side of her, waiting for more information crumbs.

“Shit, scour the hotel, question the staff and inform the brothers. I’m on my way.”

She closed the connection and looked at me. “Tane’s gone.”

“What?” I was stunned. “Are you sure?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I take my job seriously.”

“I mean, can he be, say, with someone in another hotel room?” The thought of Tane getting it on with another person turned my stomach. In the past few days, I’d begun thinking of him as mine…and possibly Rurik’s.

“Some of his guards are dead.”

“Oh.” Not anyone could take on a Nosferatu vampire, even in the day they were powerful. Whoever wanted Tane dead was very determined. What was I thinking?

Luckard must have managed this.

From Gwen’s stormy expression, I knew she came to the same conclusion. “The human Tane fed from was poisoned with the drug. It’s very rare and I don’t know how they keep getting their hands on it. They used it the last time they captured him.”

“I’m very familiar with it. Don’t you watch the humans?”

“We’re spread thin. Our humans are loyal, we don't guard against them. I can’t think of one who would betray him.” She scratched her head. “They’re happy here.”

“What do you know about the person Tane fed from? It may give us a lead.” As soon as I said the word us, it dawned on me how much I worried about Tane. Not because of our entwined lives, but as someone I cared about.

“Personally, not much.” She lifted her phone and dialed then spoke in a soft voice.

I wrapped my arms around myself. What were they doing to Tane? The image of those thick metal bars piercing his body turned my stomach. I wanted to rush to his aide, yet didn’t know where. Could I use our bond to find him like at the hotel? Opening my mental shields, I reached out. “ Tane?”

His presence appeared in my head, except he didn’t respond. I groped in the fog, but the connection ran through my fingers like sand. A sigh passed through my lips. The drug dampened a vampire’s psychic powers and strength. They must have given him the whole damn bottle. We wouldn’t find him using the bond. My worry deepened and I glanced at the setting sun. It would be at least two hours before Rurik and the other vampires woke.

Gwen touched my shoulder. “Anything?”

I shook my head. “What about the other Nosferatu?”

“They’re scattered across the city and trapped in their hiding places until nightfall.”

She snorted. “I couldn’t have planned a better scenario to get at Tane if I tried.”

“They used Colby as a scapegoat to scatter our resources.”

“How could they have made Colby pick up the crossbow?” She crossed her arms and grimaced.

“They didn’t have to, but when the opportunity presented itself, they took it.”

Luckard didn’t strike me as a schemer. Who could have known all these details?

I tried to recall the events over the past two days. Rurik had been in Tane’s apartment when I woke, I’d been so concerned about hurting his feelings. I signed some paperwork and gave it to Archios. “Damn.”

The cell phone rang again and she answered it. Her frown deepened as she listened then glanced at me. “The human is dead. He belonged to—”

“Archios.”

She raised an eyebrow and shut off the call. “Spill it.”

“He suggested the hunt for Colby and assisted in planning the trap.”

“Some of the surviving guards have a scent to follow, but Luckard is very good at setting false trails.”

“How the hell is he moving in the daylight?”

She blinked. “Sewers.” Once more she got on the phone to relay the information then closed the connection. With a quick twist, Gwen disappeared into the cave and shouted over her shoulder. “Colby has to be innocent.” She sounded relieved.