Warrior (Relentless #4)(160)

“He didn’t touch me.”

My body relaxed. “You didn’t call last night. I didn’t know what to think.”

“I’m sorry,” she said thickly.

I sank down on the couch again. “I’m just glad you’re okay and that you’re talking to me.”

“Me too.”

I closed my eyes as her words flowed over me like a healing balm, soothing away my aches and pains. Hearing her voice did more for me than any medicine could.

“I know you’re angry with me, but this isn’t solving anything. Tell me where you are, and we’ll talk this through.”

“I’m not angry about that anymore.”

“Then tell me where you are,” I pressed gently.

There was a brief silence. “If I do, will you try to stop me from looking for Madeline?”

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. My gut and my heart told me to take her as far away from this place as possible, but that thinking had driven her away in the first place.

“This is important to me, Nikolas. I’ve gotten closer than anyone else to finding her, and I can’t stop now.”

“We’ll look for her together,” I said. It went against my every instinct, but at least she’d be with me. I’d surround her with a hundred warriors if that was what it took to keep her safe while we tracked down her mother.

“Does that mean you won’t have any problem with me going to see warlocks and demons, and anyone else who might lead us to Madeline?”

I thought about Draegan and his incubus friend, and knew I’d never be okay with her going near demons like them. Not without me.

“We’ll work something out.”

I got up and walked into the control room where Chris sat at one of the computers. He pointed at a monitor and shook his head to let me know they were trying to run a trace and not having much luck.

“You can’t trace me. I made sure of it,” Sara said softly.

“So I see.” I waved a hand at Chris, who was typing on the keyboard. “You picked up a few tricks.”

“Yes, and some new friends.”

I suspected her new friends were the ones blocking our trace. One day soon, I hoped she’d tell me how she’d come to know someone who could outmaneuver Dax on a computer.

“Listen, I have to go,” she said suddenly.

I didn’t want her to hang up because I didn’t know when I’d hear from her again. “Call me tomorrow,” I said as I walked back to the living room.

“I will,” she promised, and I thought I could hear a smile in her voice. “Good night.”

“Good night. And, Sara, happy birthday.”

She didn’t respond, and I hoped she’d heard me before she hung up. But it was enough to know she was okay and no longer angry with me.

Chris came into the living room. “I take it you two made up. At least, you’re looking better than you did an hour ago.”

I stood by the window staring at the dark street. “She still won’t tell me where she is.”

He let out a short laugh. “And that surprises you? This is Sara we’re talking about. She’s going to make you work for it. At least she’s talking to you again.”

“I know.”

“She’ll come around soon. Give her a few days.”

If I had a few days to persuade her, I wouldn’t mind, but Los Angeles was becoming more dangerous by the day. And if those New Mexico vampires showed up here, it was going to get a lot worse. We were running out of time, and so was Sara.





*


I opened the bathroom door and walked down the hall to my room with dripping hair, a towel wrapped around my waist, and my phone in my hand. Shutting the door behind me, I threw the phone on the bed, pulled off the towel, and began to dry my hair.

Tonight, we’d gotten word of a possible nest in Long Beach, and we’d ended up killing six vampires and recovering two human bodies. It was the third nest discovered here in the last two weeks. Los Angeles would soon be overrun at this rate.

The alarm clock beside the bed said 2:00 a.m., making dread coil in my stomach. Sara should have called by now. Last night when she’d called, she’d sounded off. She kept reassuring me she was fine and just a little tired, but my gut told me something was wrong.

Not knowing where she was or if she was okay was killing me. I hadn’t slept much since I left Westhorne, but the last two nights, I’d barely closed my eyes.

My phone rang, and I practically dove for it. I didn’t know the number, but Sara used a different one each time she called.

“Sara?”

There was a short pause. “No, it’s Jordan.”

“Jordan?” Alarm raced through me. “What’s wrong? Where’s Sara?”

“She’s here.” Jordan’s voice caught. “She’s really sick. I-I don’t know what to do.”

Sick? Sara was half Fae and half Mohiri. She shouldn’t get sick…unless she’d been poisoned by some kind of demon venom again. “Where are you?”

Jordan didn’t answer.

I forced myself to stay calm. The last thing I needed was to scare her away. “She didn’t want you to call, so you’re afraid she’ll be mad at you?”