Warrior (Relentless #4)(21)

“Ten. That’s an unusually large number. Did you find out why they were in Portland?”

“Not yet, but we will,” Chris answered.

There was a short silence on the other end of the line. “Why do I get the feeling there is more to this than you’re telling me?” Tristan said.

“There is.” I took a breath. “We found an orphan. We saved her from the vampire we’re hunting now.”

“Is she okay?” Concern flooded Tristan’s voice. “Have you called Paulette? What about the girl’s mother? Did she survive the attack?”

I waited for the barrage of questions to end. “She is unhurt, and her parent was not involved in the attack. We ran into the girl at a bar on Friday night.”

“A bar?” Tristan echoed incredulously. “What on Earth was a child doing at a bar?”

“That’s the thing.” Chris leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees. “She’s not a child, at least not a young one. She’s seventeen.”

Tristan inhaled sharply. “How is that possible? You’re sure she is Mohiri?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life,” I replied, drawing Chris’s scrutiny again. “I’ve been around her several times, and I was able to sense her Mori each time. I went to visit her yesterday, and I learned some things about her that, frankly, shocked the hell out of me. I had Dax look into her background to confirm what I suspected before I told you.”

I took a deep breath. “Her name is Sara Grey, and her father was human. Her mother is Mohiri.”

Tristan and Chris inhaled sharply at the same time.

I continued before either of them could speak. “Her father was killed by vampires ten years ago. Her mother left them when Sara was very young, and Sara had no idea what she was until I told her.”

Chris frowned. “How do you and Dax know her mother is Mohiri if Sara didn’t even know?”

“I knew when I heard her mother’s name.” I stared at the phone. “Tristan…Sara is Madeline’s daughter.”

“Madeline?” Tristan said in disbelief. “How…how do you know this?”

“Sara told me her mother’s name was Madeline, and Dax found a picture of your Madeline with Daniel Grey.” I looked at Chris, who still stared at me with his mouth hanging open. “And Sara bears a resemblance to Josephine.”

Chris found his voice again. “That’s it! I knew she looked familiar. Madeline’s daughter? Damn.”

“Nikolas, you’re positive about this?” Tristan’s voice shook, and I could only imagine what he was feeling. I was there when he’d found the note Madeline had left him before she took off. I’d helped him search for her for over a year, and I’d seen his fear and worry for his only child. Madeline was a trained warrior when she left, but she’d never been out in the world alone. I’d watched as the years passed and the hope of her coming home slowly faded from his eyes.

After several decades went by without a word from her, he had accepted that she could be dead, and he’d resigned himself to being the last of his line. Now to discover his daughter was still alive – or had been seventeen years ago – and she had married and given birth to a child…

“Without a doubt, she is Madeline’s daughter, your granddaughter,” I said.

“Oh dear God,” Tristan whispered hoarsely. “Madeline.”

Chris and I said nothing for several minutes while Tristan recovered from learning Madeline was alive – or she had been eighteen years ago – and that he had a granddaughter.

Tristan cleared his throat. “Is Sara with you? May I speak to her?”

“She’s not here. She refused to leave her home.”

I could hear Tristan’s footsteps as he paced around his office.

“We can’t leave her unprotected. Did you explain how dangerous it is for her?”

“Yes, but she is determined to stay. She has no warm feelings for her mother, and I think she blames Madeline in part for her father’s death. She wants nothing to do with us.”

Tristan stopped pacing. “I’ll come there and talk to her. Maybe if she knew she had family here, she would be less frightened of us.”

A laugh escaped me. “She’s not afraid of us. Trust me. I’d say it’s closer to contempt.”

There was a brief silence before Tristan spoke again. “You said she’s seventeen and she had no idea she was Mohiri. How has she survived this long without training?”

“I don’t know, but her control over her Mori is unlike anything I’ve seen. If I hadn’t sensed it, I would have thought she was human.”

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think that was admiration I hear in your voice,” Tristan said.

I didn’t try to deny it. “It’s hard not to admire someone with that kind of strength. She is surprisingly composed, considering all she’s been through. In some ways, she reminds me of you.”

“My granddaughter,” he said in wonder. “I’m going to call for the jet. I’ll be there this afternoon.”

My eyes met Chris’s as I shook my head. “I don’t think that is a wise idea. Sara’s strong, but she was overwhelmed when I talked to her, not that I blame her after the last few days. She holds a lot of resentment for her mother, and I think meeting Madeline’s family would be too much for her right now. It might drive her further away.”