Page 15 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

I stood back and crossed my arms. I was about to tell her that I would believe it when I saw it when she straightened and placed her hands on a stone. The wall shimmered, and then, as if a curtain had lifted, there was a door. Camila placed a hand on the knob, and it opened.

“I told you I had skills,” she said haughtily.

I bit back a retort as I followed her inside.

The inside was as welcoming as the outside, which was to say not much. We found ourselves in a corridor lined with torches. A worn carpet ran the length of it, barely plush enough to dampen our footsteps.

“Okay, since you’re the expert, where do we start?”

“That depends on what he wants with her.” Her mouth pressed into a line that told me it was as ominous as it sounded.

“Split up or stay together?” I asked, and for a second, I could have sworn she blushed.

“Together. It’s safer that way.”

I wanted to ask for which one of us, but I didn’t. We started down the hallway, walking on tiptoes. “Why did you really come?” I asked.

“Why is it so hard to believe that I want to find my brother’s mate?” she asked.

“Because you resent her.”

“I don’t resent her.” Her words were hot, laced with an edge of fire that told me she might be lying to herself. “I resent that everyone wants to help her.”

“If you want help, you should ask for it.”

“No one will help me. That’s clear enough.”

She was angry because she felt alone? “What? What is it? What do you want?” I demanded.

Her eyes skimmed my face for what felt like an eternity, and I knew she was making a decision.

“If you don’t trust me, fine.” I threw my hands up and started down the hall.

But she caught up with me and grabbed my hand. I opened my mouth to tell her to back the hell off, but something in the way she looked at me stopped me. “I feel the same way,” she whispered. “Like I wish I could hate you. Like it would be easier.”

I was not doing this now, not while we stood in her psycho-husband’s home. Not while Thea was still missing. “We can argue later.”

“Jacqueline.” She sighed. “I know I can trust you. I think you’re the only person I trust, but it’s hard for me after…after everything.”

“I would have been there for you,” I said a bit too harshly.

“I was tethered,” she protested.

My heart broke even more. “After the tether was broken, you could have come to me.”

“I know.” And to her credit, there was infinite sadness in those two words. “I wish I could have come to you, but there was something else I had to do.”

“Join an insane vampire rebellion? Get revenge?” I asked coldly.

“No. Those were means to an end.” Her eyes met mine, and I nearly stumbled when I saw how they burned. “I think…no, I know that I was lied to about the night I died. Jacqueline, I think my children are still alive, and I think my family is hiding them.”

“From who?” Dread sluiced like cold canal water through me. “Why?”

“I don’t know why.” She shook her head. “But they’re hiding them from…me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

LYSANDER

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