Endless Chase (13 page)

Delight frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I left my bag somewhere on the tour and I was trying to find it.” The lie came easily to her lips even as she prayed that Delight didn’t look down. “I was trying to find it and got lost.” With her heel, she unobtrusively tried to push the bag away from her and deeper into the shadows.

“But why did you try to hide from me?” Katya could sense the other woman’s confusion and growing suspicion.

She shrugged and held out her hands by her sides. “I felt stupid. I mean I’m wandering around your home in the dead of night looking for my backpack. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to rob the place.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Delight stared at Katya as if trying to read the truth. Katya kept her face as blank as possible. Delight’s eyes narrowed as if sensing the turmoil beneath Katya’s placid exterior.

Damn. She had to think fast. “I’ll just head on back to Chase’s room. He can help me look for it later when he wakes up.” She glanced away as if in embarrassment.

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“Oops, I probably shouldn’t have said that, should I? You’re Chase’s sister, after all.”

Sex was always a distraction.

It was working too. Delight’s eyes flickered away and she let out a sigh. Katya breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe. Then Lucian suddenly appeared from out of nowhere.

“What’s going on?” He kept Katya in his sights as he went straight to his wife, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. His eyes snapped with green fire as he glared at her. Katya should have known he’d sense his wife’s unease. These Dalakis men were very in tune with their wives, the connection deep and powerful.

“Nothing,” Delight reassured him. “Katya just lost her backpack on the tour Chase gave her.”

“Really.” He drew the word out and she sensed he didn’t believe her.

“Yes. It was careless of me, but I got caught up in the history of the place. There’s so much to see.”

She sensed another presence alongside her before a deep voice seemed to whisper in her ear. “And so much to take.” Cristofor’s hand snaked out and grabbed the sword from behind her.

Katya jumped to the side, keeping the vampires in front of her. The two men glared at her, suspicion in their eyes. Delight’s eyes were wide as she stared at the sword.

Katya could practically feel the other woman’s hurt and disappointment.

Her heart beat against her chest and she shivered as a bead of sweat rolled down her back. Talk or run. Those were her only two choices. And from the looks of the two men in front of her, it was going to be the second choice.

“What’s going on?” Chase’s voice broke through the tension. He strode down the corridor, hastily tucking in his shirt to his jeans. All signs of the sleepy, sexy man she’d left were gone, replaced by confusion. He pinned her with his laser-blue gaze. “I woke up and you were gone.”

“Your little friend was roaming the castle searching for her backpack.” Cristofor held up the sword. “Somewhere along the way she picked this up instead.”

“I don’t understand.” Chase looked at the sword and back at her. “Your pack was in the room earlier.” His eyes narrowed and she knew he was remembering how he practically tore it from her body earlier tonight as he’d stripped her naked.

“We need to talk.” Wariness replaced the confusion in his eyes. She hated to see the closed look on his face, the suspicion in his eyes, especially knowing that she’d put it there. “There are things you all need to know.”

Anger now surged to the forefront as he grabbed her arm. “What kind of game are you playing?”

Katya tugged her arm away. “No game, but it’s time for the whole truth.”

“Katya?” She heard the question in his voice, the plea for her to explain, but she looked away. She’d tell him everything soon. She’d tell them all. “What truth?”

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“I’ll get her pack from your room.” Delight skirted the small group.

Sighing, Katya leaned down and grabbed her bag from the floor behind her, hooking it over her shoulder. “Don’t bother.” She sensed the anger emanating from all of them and did her best to ignore it. They caught her in several lies. She deserved their anger. “Where do you want to do this?” She was very aware of Chase standing beside her, watching her, but she addressed her question at Cristofor. This was, after all, his home.

“Downstairs.” He held his arm wide, motioning her toward the stairs with the sword. He held it easily and Katya had no doubts that he knew exactly how to wield it, and with great skill.

Although it went against everything she’d ever been taught about protecting herself, she walked down the stairs in front of them, half expecting Cristofor to take a mighty swing with the sword. Her neck itched, and she wanted to wrap her hands around it for protection. Not that it would do any good with his strength and that sharp blade. It took all her courage to keep her hands by her side and her pace steady. Chase walked one step behind her, so close she could feel the heat from his body.

She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in his heat, but it was too late for that.

Katya had made her choice and there was no going back. The somber group made their way down the stairs.

Turning, she headed for the study. Voices filtered out the open doorway. Taking a deep breath, Katya said a quick prayer as she stepped inside. She made note of all the windows in case she had to make a quick escape. Confronting a vampire in its den was never a smart or safe thing to do. Or in this case, an entire family of vampires.

The rest of the Dalakis family was there when she made her entrance with the other four behind her. Thankfully, Cassidy and his family had slept through the entire episode upstairs. It was probably safer for them to not be involved in this.

She felt Chase hovering beside her. For one second, she wished he’d reach out and touch her, but he brushed past her, going to stand beside his sister instead. Bitterness sprang to life inside her. Not that she blamed him. She’d have done the same thing as well. That didn’t make it any easier to bear.

All conversation ceased and every eye turned to her. She felt all the men probing at her thoughts. She blocked them easily and then sent back a mental blast of her own.

Stefan and Zane were both knocked back a step at the unexpected attack. Cristofor and Lucian stood their ground and began to growl.

The hairs on the back of her neck stirred as she felt Chase shift closer, hovering just beyond her, but she stood her ground. “Now we talk.”

Anger and confusion filled Chase as he watched the scene unfold before him. What the hell had happened? He’d spent the most erotic night of his life with a woman who captivated him. That same woman now felt like a stranger.

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What had Katya been doing wandering the halls of the castle with a sword in her hand? His blood ran cold and his mind refused to even imagine what might have happened. And why had she lied to Delight about her pack?

He’d sensed there was something stirring deep beneath the surface with her, but never had he imagined it was dangerous or somehow involved his family.

“What’s going on?” Cristofor took a step forward, blocking Johanna from Katya’s view, pure menace in every line of his body and the sword gripped tight in his hand.

“Who are you, really?”

Tension radiated from Katya, yet she sounded calm as she spoke. “I didn’t lie to you. My name is Katya Markova.” She paused and the air in the room grew heavier.

“And I know what you are.”

Zane gave a guttural growl, exposing his sharp fangs. Chase noticed that she didn’t flinch, didn’t seem surprised at all. He felt Delight’s hand on his arm, but shook it away.

He didn’t want his sister to comfort him. He’d brought Katya into their midst and he wouldn’t relax until he knew exactly what trouble came with her.

“Cut to the bottom line.” His voice was hard, tinged with a bitterness that practically choked him. “You said you wanted to talk. So talk.” Chase refused to look straight at her, fearing he’d go to her if he did. Instead he fixed his gaze just off to her right.

“One year ago, I was in Germany with my family. I came home to find the house ablaze with my parents inside. I raced into the building and found them. They were dead.”

Chase’s gaze flew to hers. She wasn’t lying. Not about this. He could all but feel her pain in each word she spoke. She didn’t pause, but continued with her story, her tone flat and devoid of life.

“It wasn’t the fire that killed them. They’d already been decapitated, but not before most of the blood had been drained from their bodies.”

Delight gasped and Laurel Rose moaned. The men all tensed.

“I managed to escape the blaze, but I vowed then to find my parents’ killer. I’ve spent the last year doing just that.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Cristofor demanded.

“Nothing,” Katya whispered. “And everything.”

Zane took a threatening step forward, but Chase stepped in front of Katya, reaching out a hand to restrain him. No matter that she’d deceived them all, he didn’t want her hurt.

“There are those who believe that there is power in the blood.” All the hairs on Chase’s body rippled. This sounded all too familiar.

Stefan roared and all but flew across the room, his boots seeming only to skim the floor, his body a blur of motion. “Who sent you?”

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But Katya wasn’t there. Chase blinked and found her on the far end of the room.

Lucian stepped in front of Delight, his eyes never leaving Katya. “Why are you here?”

“For the past year, I’ve infiltrated the vampire hunters. That’s what they call themselves now. They think it’s clever and ironic. Instead of hunting vampires, they hunt like vampires, or how they perceive vampires would hunt. They’ve had other names in the past.” She gave a low, angry laugh. “In truth, they’re lowlife perverts and murderers. They drink the blood of their victims, thinking it transfers the power and life force of their victims to them.”

“Good company you’re keeping,” Lucian taunted.

“I would have gone to the bowels of hell and faced Satan himself to find the one who killed my parents.” Katya straightened her shoulders, looking proud and aloof, and so alone it hurt Chase’s heart.

“My search took me halfway around the globe and back again. Each member of the group knows only a handful of others, that way protecting most of them. I’ve managed to compile a substantial list.”

She reached into her bag and Stefan growled, grabbing one of the heavy, ornate swords from over the fireplace. The blade winked in the light, assuring all of them that, although it was a relic, it was a very sharp and capable weapon. “Go very slowly,” he warned, moving steadily forward.

Chase strode to Katya’s side, not willing to risk that Stefan might skewer her with the massive blade. Not that Katya seemed all that concerned.

She pulled a computer thumb drive from her pack and tossed it to Sophia. Zane’s hand shot out, grabbing the small metallic object in midair. He examined it before handing it to his wife. “That’s everything I have on them. Names, locations and whether they’re still alive or dead.”

“Dead?” Lucian questioned.

Katya shrugged. “It was not always easy to gain their trust to find out what I needed to know.” Her eyes narrowed. “If I had to question them…” She let her sentence trail off, allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

Chase stared at her, not quite able to assimilate the fact that his lover was also an assassin. “Have you come to harm my family?” That was the one question he needed answered above all others.

Pain filled Katya’s eyes, but she didn’t flinch. “No.”

Cristofor snorted. “Excuse me if I doubt you. You say you are one of these vampire hunters and you know what we are.” He glanced at Chase. “And you’ve used a family member to gain access to our home.” He raised the sword. “Now I find you wandering around my home in the dead of night, armed with a sword. Forgive me,” he added mockingly, “if I find it hard to believe anything you say.”

Katya inclined her head, acknowledging the point. “I said that I infiltrated the vampire hunters, not that I am one.” She smiled then, and Chase stumbled back as the 70

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sharp edges of her teeth came into view. Red tinged her eyes, making them glow. “I am a vampire-hunter hunter. I search for those who murdered my parents.”

“I don’t understand.” Chase took a step toward her. Katya was a vampire. How was that even possible? As far as he knew, vampires bred only male babies, the women being converted by the male vampire. Did that mean she had a mate somewhere?

Jealousy swamped him. Vampire or not, she was his. But why had she lied to him, treating him like someone who was unworthy of her trust? He took another step in her direction, stopping when she whirled to face him.

“My papa was Afanas Markova and he was seven hundred years old, born in what is now Russia. He watched the rise and fall of many czars. He saw his country being destroyed, so he left his home and traveled the world, ending up in America twenty-five years ago. It was there he met my mama. Her name was Mary, but he called her Marya. From the moment he saw her, he knew she belonged to him.” Katya paused to glance at each of the men in turn. “You all understand what I mean.”

None of the men moved or acknowledged her words. Chase was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was a vampire. “But I’ve seen you out in the sunshine.” Granted, it had been early in the day, but the sun had definitely been shining.”

“My mother was pregnant with me when he changed her.”

“You’re a half-breed,” Sophia gasped. “Like Spencer was.”

Katya tilted her head to one side. “Spencer?”

“Long story, but that bastard was the head of a blood cult who tried to kill Sophia a few years back.” Fury was evident in Zane’s voice. It might have happened ten years ago, but it could have been yesterday as far as the family was concerned.

Katya nodded. “I have his name on the list as possibly dead. You can cross it off. It’s the same group and they’ve got their tentacles everywhere. Spencer, however, was not the head of the group.”