Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(74)

Before she approached the security gate, she ducked behind a support beam and wished herself to not be seen. The same buzzing she’d experienced when she cloaked herself in New York hummed through her bones. This time, she was certain it had worked, but out of an abundance of caution, she stepped out from behind the column and cleared her throat as a man with a briefcase and wearing a suit walked by. He didn’t even look her way. Just to be sure, and because she was buzzed with adrenaline, she lifted her shirt like a spring breaker at Mardi Gras. As expected, the man kept on striding toward the security line. Not that he’d have gotten a real shock; she had on a sports bra, but there was no doubt in her mind now that she was invisible to humans.

“Very nice,” a familiar voice said from behind her. She lowered her shirt, forcing her fingers to unclench from the hem.

“Going somewhere, yes?”

Shit. “Hey, Stefan.” She pivoted to face him, every hair on end.

His gaze shot over her shoulder and then back to her face. She fought the urge to turn around. “Where is Aliana?”

“She is in Greece. She…” He took a shuddering breath, and his brow furrowed. “She is with the others of my kind.”

Nik had said there were two others on the planet. That they could not be parted from their mates. “Why?”

“To save us—me. It is complicated. But none of it will matter if you fail. I have come to be sure that doesn’t happen.” When she didn’t respond, his eyes narrowed. “Please remove the human Veil. I live in the human plane, and though I can see under the Veil, I can’t cloak myself. Right now, it looks as though I am speaking to the air.” She didn’t respond or comply. “Please. I am here to help you.”

She didn’t budge.

“You have lost trust in me.” He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “I have no intention of hurting you. I do not play games and am unable to lie effectively. Conserve your energy. Step behind the column again and lift the Veil.”

He was right about using up energy. She might need it to defend herself sooner than she thought. She stepped behind the column so no human could see her remove the Veil and did as he asked. “How did you find me?”

“You carry my phone, yes?”

“Yeah, but you said it was untraceable.”

“By others. Not by me.” His expression was smug and unnerving.

She backed up a couple of steps. If she screamed, one of the security guards would surely respond.

He put his hands up as if he were calming a frightened animal. “I have an interest in your success, Elena Arcos. My own existence depends on it.”

Aunt Uza’s shifters said the Time Folders were enemies. “I don’t trust you.”

“As well you should not. Trust no one but your own instinct. But know this: were I the enemy, you would have been dead the first time you appeared in my home.” He glanced over his shoulder, and this time Elena looked, too. The woman from his condo, Margarita, was there with a tall, well-dressed man with jet-black hair wearing sunglasses.

From the way people stared as they passed, she knew they were not under the Veil. Stefan gestured for them to approach, and as they got closer, her heart raced. If she were taken captive or died now, Nik didn’t stand a chance. She focused on concentrating electricity in her palms just in case.

Margarita smiled. “I’m happy to meet again, Elena Arcos. Good to see you converted to your true form.” She gestured to the man next to her. “This is my brother, Ricardo.”

This was the rebel leader—the one who had picked up her father’s cause after he died. The man slid off his sunglasses, and she met his piercing, blood-red gaze. “An honor,” he said. His voice was as smooth and slick as his appearance.

She stared at him in awkward silence, waiting to find out what their objective was in coming to intercept her. The charge in her palms tingled.

The man searched her face with his unnerving crimson eyes, then took her chin in his fingers. She stood stock still as he stared into her eyes. “Fascinating,” he said. “There hasn’t been a Dhampir born in at least a century.”

“There are others?” she asked, barely above a whisper as he continued to study her eyes.

“Not anymore. The Revolutionists slaughtered every last one.”

“The Revolutionists are the factions of immortals who want the war in order to take power over the human world. They are Fydor’s followers, though that is a bit simplistic,” Stefan supplied.

Ricardo released Elena’s chin and put his sunglasses back on, then turned to Stefan. “You say she is Arcos’s offspring, but have no proof, Darvaak. It’s clear she’s a Dhampir, but I need evidence she’s truly the Uniter before I rally my people.”

Stefan remained very still and calm. “I told you she bears the mark.”

“Look, guys. I hate to cut you short, but I need to catch a plane right away…like yesterday.” She took off toward the security lines. Ricardo grabbed her by the arm. She placed her hand on his shoulder and released the current stored in her palm. He recoiled but made no sound.

Elena expected him to charge her, but instead, he just rubbed his shoulder. “Conserve energy. I’m not your enemy,” he said.

“Don’t grab me again.”

He nodded.