Page 65 of Bound By Blood

When the world righted itself, they were in her room in the Fortress.

Zack set her on her feet, his hands folding over her shoulders to steady her. “Are you all right?”

She stared at him, her face pale, her body trembling. “You could have been killed.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t. Are you all right?”

“No, but I will be.”

“Did you recognize that guy?”

“He was one of us, wasn’t he? I mean, like me. A Romanian vampire.”

Zack nodded. It seemed odd that he could sense her kind when she couldn’t. Of course, he hadn’t been able to detect them, either, until he identified their particular scent, which made him wonder why Kaitlyn couldn’t detect it. The only thing he could think of was that her human blood somehow blocked it.

Kaitlyn blinked, her mind clearing as the initial horror faded. “We need to tell my father about this right away.”

She didn’t wait for Zack’s reply, just took his hand and hurried out the door.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he muttered as they went to find her father.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Drake stood in front of the hearth in the library, his arms folded across his chest, his face implacable, as Zack related what had happened.

“You took my daughter out of the Fortress,” Drake said, biting off each word. “You knew her life was in danger, and yet you took her hunting.” He shook his head. “I think it best if you leave here now.”

“No!” Kaitlyn had been sitting on the sofa beside her mother while Zack spoke to her father. Now, she jumped to her feet. Moving to Zack’s side, she linked her arm with his. “If he leaves, I’m going with him.”

“You will not.”

“I think we all need to calm down.” Elena crossed the floor and placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Zack didn’t have to come here and tell us what happened, but he did. Kaitlyn, did you recognize the man who attacked you?”

Kaitlyn frowned. “I don’t think so.” She smiled apologetically. She didn’t know any of Rodin’s sons and daughters very well; it didn’t help that they all looked very much alike.

“I can take you to the body if that’ll help,” Zack said.

Drake nodded curtly. “Kaitlyn, stay with your mother.”

“Be careful,” Elena said. “There could be others out there, just waiting.”

Drake kissed his wife on the cheek. “We will not be long.”

Drake scrutinized the scene of the confrontation, his senses expanding, drawing in the fresh smell of blood and death. And the unmistakable scent of Marius Korzha, another of his half-brothers. Did Nadiya intend to send her sons out one by one to avenge the deaths of Daryn and Florin? And when she ran out of sons, would she send her daughters and her grandchildren, as well?

He felt no sorrow for his half brother’s death. Marius had made himself Drake’s enemy the minute he lifted a hand against Kaitlyn. If Ravenscroft had not killed Marius, Drake would have done so without a qualm.

Drake had brought a blanket with him. Spreading it on the ground, he placed Marius’s body and severed head in the middle, then wrapped the blanket tightly around the grisly remains.

“Gonna bury him?” Zack asked.

“No. I am going to send him back to his mother.”

“Do you know where she is?”

Drake shook his head. “I am going to send the body to her house in Bucharest. If Nadiya is not there, one of her other children will advise her of his death.” Drake looked at Ravenscroft. “You are in this now.”

“I figured I was in it when I killed the first one,” Zack said with a shrug. “But, hey, bring her on. The sooner we kill her, the sooner Kaitlyn and I can get out of here.”

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