Vengeance (The Captive #6)(69)
His happiness over what was happening filled her; his yearning and need for her slithered through her mind. She tried to stop crying, but there was no way to stifle the tears of joy spilling from her eyes. The searing hunger that had driven her to bite him began to ease.
His fangs released their grip on her shoulder; his hands smoothed her hair back as she continued to feed from him. “I’ll be back. Nothing will keep me from you,” he whispered in her ear.
I love you. She longed to say the words aloud, but she couldn’t bring herself to let him go in order to say them.
Finally, she broke free of him and buried her face in the hollow of his throat. He cradled her against him until her tears stopped flowing. Those three words lodged in her throat; no matter how she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to speak them. It was insane, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she said them she would never see him again.
He rocked her within his arms until the thud of the front door closing reverberated through the house. Moments later, Abbott opened the attic door to tell them it was safe to come out. Her deadened heart plummeted into her toes, but the real world wouldn’t be denied.
CHAPTER 23
“Does insanity run in your family?” Pallas inquired when he finished telling them the same plan he’d already outlined for Tempest.
“My brother-in-law would probably say yes,” he admitted.
“Who is your brother-in-law?” Pallas inquired and folded her arms over her chest.
Tempest had been staring at the street, she looked away when Pallas spoke. Her eyes, still red rimmed from her tears, shot toward him as she waited to hear his reply. He’d planned to keep his identity from them until they left this town, but it made no difference now. Everyone in this town would know who he was soon enough, and if they intended to turn them over, they would have done so by now.
“The king,” he replied. “The real queen is my sister.”
Pallas’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. Abbott gave a small snort. “Sure she is,” he scoffed.
“She is,” Tempest said.
“Shit,” Abbott hissed.
“Language,” Tempest scolded.
Abbott blushed and ducked his head as he gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
Tempest pulled back a sliver of curtain and looked outside again. He hated the rigid set of her shoulders and the anxiety emanating from her, but he would do whatever it took to make sure she escaped this town.
“I think your brother-in-law would be right about you,” Pallas said.
“This will work,” he insisted. Tempest didn’t look at him again when he spoke, but her hand shook on the curtain. “I need a hairpin or a small pick if anyone has something like that.”
“I do,” Pallas replied. “I’ll go get it.”
Pallas hurried from the room and returned a couple minutes later with a silver hairpin. It had a piece in the middle that would allow him to bend and work it into the shape he required. Bending down, he pulled off his right boot and slid the pin into the hole in his sole. It would be impossible for anyone to see the pin while he was walking. If they took his boots off, they wouldn’t notice it either, but he’d be screwed either way if they took his boots.
Rising again, he ignored Pallas and Abbott as he walked over to Tempest. He rested his hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him once more. “I have to go now, if this is going to work.”
She closed her eyes before releasing the curtain and stepping into his arms. Holding her close against him, he inhaled his scent upon her and savored in the warmth of her body. He could smell his blood flowing through her, marking her as his, and that was exactly what she was. His. They hadn’t discussed it yet, there would be plenty of time once they were free of this town, but he planned to keep her by his side for the rest of his life.
He hated the idea of leaving her unprotected here, but there were no other options. Not if any of this was going to work.
“If something goes wrong, and you don’t think you can complete your part of it, call it off and get yourself to safety,” he told her for the hundredth time.
“I will,” she murmured.
He pulled back to look down at her. “I mean it,” he said as he brushed back a strand of her hair. “You have to get free of here and alert the others. It will all be for nothing if they don’t learn of this.”
She closed her eyes, her hands twisted in the front of his shirt before she gave a brisk nod. “I will get word to them.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me, just worry about yourself.”
That would be impossible, but if he stayed here any longer, he could lose his chance. He kissed her cheek before forcing himself to release her and step away. He couldn’t look at her again; he might rethink what he was doing and stay. It will work, he told himself again. He’d get to see this so-called queen, have a chance to size her up, and if everything went well, he’d be free again by nightfall.
Slipping out the backdoor, he pulled the hood over his head and made his way toward the busy streets in search of Kane. Everything hinged on him being able to find the man he’d been plotting to kill for months now. He moved through the crowd easily; he watched for Kane amongst the vampires as he walked. He wouldn’t be able to do anything until the sun began to set, but he had to find the vamp as soon as possible.