Warrior (Relentless #4)(50)

He shrugged. “Sixty years, give or take a few. And in all that time, I’ve never seen you get involved in orphan business. Normally, you can’t wait to call in a team and get back to business.”

“This isn’t any orphan,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “She’s Tristan’s granddaughter.”

Erik snorted and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve seen pictures of the girl. She doesn’t look like our typical orphans, and you’re in a mood every time you come back from seeing her. If I didn’t know better…” He let out a loud breath. “I’m guessing Tristan has no idea; otherwise, he’d be here already.”

I should have known I couldn’t hide everything from Erik. He was one of the shrewdest and most observant people I knew, which was why I was glad he was heading up the search in Portland.

He held up a hand when I didn’t respond immediately. “I understand why you’re keeping it under wraps, and your secret’s safe with me.” An amused gleam entered his dark eyes. “But I don’t envy you having to tell Tristan you’re involved with his only granddaughter.”

I almost laughed at that because “involved” didn’t come close to describing my relationship with Sara. I expected Tristan to be shocked about the bond and protective over his granddaughter, but he would not come between us. The only person who could break this bond was Sara.

“Neither do I.” I headed to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He turned back to his computer. “Later.”





*


I pulled into the driveway at the address Chris had sent me and shut off the engine. Music drifted to me from behind the large house, and I smiled as I pulled off my helmet. Sara and I hadn’t spoken since she had declared a truce between us, and I was looking forward to seeing her again. That was, if she didn’t try to shove me in the lake when she found out why I was here.

Chris met me before I’d gotten halfway around the house, and the self-recrimination in his eyes made my stomach twist with dread.

“I’m sorry, Nikolas. She did it again,” he said before I could speak.

“How?” I demanded. “You weren’t supposed to let her out of your sight.”

He shook his head as he plunged into the woods beyond the driveway. “I didn’t take my eyes off her. She and Peter were riding jet skis, and they suddenly took off across the lake. There was no way to stop her.”

“Goddamn her!” I ran after him. “Which way did they go?”

“Straight across, less than fifteen miles if we follow the shore.”

I swore again as I sped past him. Using our Mori speed, we could cover that distance in about five minutes, but Sara could also have a vehicle waiting for her on the other side.

What was she thinking, taking off like this again? For once, I hoped it was normal teenage rebellion and not something to do with her father. I understood her need for closure. I’d hunted and killed every vampire in Virginia after Elena was killed. But I was a trained warrior and I hadn’t gone out alone. Sara probably thought the werewolf could protect her, but neither of them had any idea what they were up against if Eli or one of his hired demons found them.

My jaw clenched tightly because I was as angry at myself as I was at Sara. If she had been anyone else, I would have gotten to the bottom of this by now. But it was getting harder to think objectively when it came to her. For the first time in my life, my judgment as a warrior had been impaired, and it was not a good feeling.

“There,” Chris called when we finally made it to the opposite side of the lake. “I think that’s where they went.”

I slowed to normal speed and looked at the two jet skis secured to the small wharf. Chris moved past me, leaping onto the wharf and reaching down to touch one of them.

“Still warm.” He straightened and scoured the area. “They can’t have gone far.”

“Unless they had a ride.” I joined him on the wharf. “Let’s split up.”

It took less than ten minutes to figure out that Sara and Peter were gone. I wanted to roar my frustration. They could be headed anywhere.

I called Chris to tell him to head back to the house across the lake where our bikes were. I was going to scour every inch of this town until I found her. I just prayed I got to her before someone else did. And then she was going to tell me the truth about what she was hiding. If she was going to insist on staying here, she had to be honest with me so I could keep her safe. She might fight me on it, but I’d rather risk her animosity than lose her.

Chris caught up to me as I reached the lake house, and he stopped when I moved toward my bike. “Her friend Roland is still here. I bet my wheels he knows where they went.”

I headed for the back of the house and searched the partiers for the werewolf. He was standing on the wharf with a cell phone in his hand, and he looked up as I stormed across the lawn toward him. His expression told me he had been expecting me.

“Where is she?” I fought to keep my voice at a normal volume, but every minute Sara was out there was another minute she could be in danger.

Roland shook his head slowly. “I can’t tell you. But Pete’s with her, so she’ll be okay.”

“Like she was okay in Portland?” I asked harshly. “And when the crocotta attacked?”