Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(52)

Must be nice, Elena thought. She had struggled for years just to make ends meet. Now she was hobnobbing with Mr. Buy-A-Plane. She pulled some hair that had blown across her face out of her eyes and sighed. It was an overwhelming concept to wrap her head around that this man had unlimited funds and would live literally forever if he wished it.

His phone rang again. “Yes?” he answered. His eyes met Elena’s. “I will bring her now. Thank you.”

He took her hand, and she braced for the low level current she always felt with his contact. Instead, she felt nothing but his smooth, warm hand. He gasped and immediately withdrew. Then, he smiled. “Well, well, well. You are full of all manner of surprises.”

“What?”

“You shocked me electrically when we touched. It’s supposed to be the other way around. It’s new, and honestly, a bit troubling.”

Aw, crap. She didn’t need any more troubling things in her life. “Why?”

He gestured toward the house. “I’ll tell you over dinner.”

“Tell me now. I’m not hungry.” Which was troubling, too, because it was probably her true vampire nature kicking in. A lifetime of a blood-only diet would suck. Literally.

“You are hungry. You’re simply depressed, which suppresses your appetite.”

“I’m not depressed.” Freaked out, yes.

“Of course you are. You have been separated from something you cannot live without.” He struck out through the powdery sand ahead of her. She remained rooted in place for a moment while she reconstructed his words in her head.

“Wait a minute!”

He didn’t even slow his pace.

“Hey, what can I not live without?”

Still striding on ahead, he didn’t respond. The jerk. Glaring at his retreating form, she imagined herself standing right in front of him and just like that, she was there.

He stopped short of walking right into her, a surprised look on his face. Yeah, she could get used to this superpower stuff. “Stop screwing around with me, Stefan. Say what you mean, or just shut up.”

His eyes narrowed. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, or you wouldn’t be so agitated. You’ve both had adequate time to come to terms with what is facing you. It’s time for you and the Slayer to put your petty differences aside and accept fate.”

“I don’t believe in fate.”

“What a splendid luxury.” He threw his arms up, exasperation in his tone. “What would I not give to be in your shoes? To have my perfect mate only a phone call away. To be able to hold her in my arms without it being a death sentence for us both!” His voice cracked on the last word.

Stunned, Elena watched him stride away. His phone rang as he climbed the porch stairs, but he didn’t answer it. It stopped ringing as he disappeared inside the house.

He was wrong. She could live without Nikolai. She missed him, yes. But she didn’t need him—anymore than he needed her. Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, moron. She took a deep breath and climbed the steps to the house.



“What are you doing here?” Aleksandra asked, lowering her sword.

Well, that answered Nikolai’s question about the identity of the other Slayer who had visited Stefan’s penthouse. He slid the sword back in its sheath, and she did the same. “I might ask you the same thing.”

“I’m there to see the Time Folder.”

“For what purpose?”

She strolled over to the wall of windows and stared out. Nikolai scanned her body, looking for signs of injury or abuse, but found none. Good. Fydor hadn’t hurt her—at least not recently…or not where it showed.

The bastard. He’d kill him if he hurt Aleksi.

She faced him. “Where is the human? She’s in extreme danger. So are you.”

Nikolai stopped next to a glass and chrome table. “She’s no longer human, and I have no idea where she is. I followed her here, and then the Time Folder took her to another location.”

“Well, tell him to bring her back.”

If only that would work. He was going mad without her. “It’s complicated.”

“Aw shit. Now you sound like a bad made-for-TV movie.”

Nikolai crossed the room and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Why are you here, Aleksi? You didn’t come looking for Elena or me because you had no way of knowing we’d been here. You seek the Time Folder. Why?”

She didn’t answer, so he gave her a shake—a hard one.

She gasped, and then her eyes narrowed. “Remove your hands from me, Niki, or I’ll slice your balls clean off.”

With a curse, he released her and retreated to the other side of the room. He’d never used physical force on her before. What was wrong with him? Desperation—that’s what. He’d searched for Elena everywhere he could think of, including her home and the hospital where she had worked. He was terrified for her safety and sickened that she had cut him off. But he had no right to take it out on Aleksi. “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

She slumped into a chair. “It’s okay. We’re both on edge.”

He moved to a chair opposite her, and they sat in uncomfortable silence for a while.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“What?”