Page 56 of Bound By Blood

“I’m so sorry for all this. Zack, why did you come here?”

“I’d think that would be obvious,” he said quietly.

Kaitlyn sighed, touched by the warmth in his voice. “You must have known my father wouldn’t be happy to see you.”

He shrugged, then winced. “I had to try, Katy. I missed you.”

“My hero,” she murmured.

He snorted softly. “Some hero. So, why was your father so insistent that you come home? It wasn’t just to keep you from me.”

“No.” Grimacing, she sat cross-legged on the floor. “My father killed one of his half-brothers before I was born. And then you killed Daryn …”

“Another brother?”

“Yes. Daryn and the brother my father killed had the same mother. Nadiya. Apparently she’s decided to avenge herself on my father for the deaths of her sons.”

“And your father’s afraid she might use you to get to him.”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“It’s not hard to figure out.” Struggling to his feet, he moved closer to the bars, the shackles that bound his ankles rattling over the stone floor with every step. “He did the right thing, bringing you here.”

“How can you say that?”

“It’s what I would have done, in his place.” Zack reached through the bars, one hand caressing her cheek. “You’re his only daughter, after all, and he loves you.”

“I know,” she said with a sigh. What would she do if her father destroyed Zack? If that happened, she would lose the two most important men in her life, because she would never be able to forgive her father if he destroyed Zack. Never.

“How are your hands?” Zack asked, remembering how the silver had burned her skin earlier.

“Fine.” She held her hands up so he could see her palms. “Silver has never burned me before.”

“Like I said, I think your father infused the chains with some sort of vampire mojo to make sure I couldn’t escape. He probably didn’t expect you to be poking around up there.”

“I knew you were nearby,” she said, a note of wonder in her voice. “I could feel your presence. I heard your voice inside my mind. I could feel what you were feeling.”

“Must be lots of fun now,” he said, grimacing.

“It’s only fair, since you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”

“True enough.”

“Kiss me, Zack.”

“Here? Now?”

“What if we never get another chance?”

“Good point.”

It wasn’t easy, squirming around, leaning forward far enough to be able to press his lips to hers, but it was worth it. Her lips were cool and sweet and for that brief moment, he forgot he was bound with silver and locked in a putrid cell in a dungeon, forgot that every breath might be his last.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Drake sat in front of the hearth in his Fortress apartment, his fingers drumming on the arm of the chair. He had a decision to make, and for the first time in years, he wasn’t certain that doing the right thing was the right thing to do.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Elena asked, perching on the other arm. She had been watching him for the last ten minutes, waiting for him to confide in her. “Or are you going to make me guess?” Although guessing wouldn’t be necessary. She knew exactly what was bothering him.

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