Unbound (54 page)

“No problem, Dad. Take all the time you need. You can have another nineteen years if you like. I’ll be gone anyway.” The hurt and agitation in her voice betrayed her efforts at nonchalance.  She slid in behind the wheel, which brought the guys running back with looks of dismay.

“Can I get an address or something? I’ll visit you. I’d love to see where you grew up. Being away from you is going to kill me.” Cayden was leaning in the window and placing kisses all over her face. He stopped suddenly. “Will you be close to that ex-boyfriend of yours? I’d love to pay him a visit, too.”

“I have to go, Cayden.” She’d had all she could take for one day.

“Please get out and let me wrap my arms around you before you leave. We’ve been through so much and you’re just walking away. This is killing me, Dani.” Unshed tears filled his hazel eyes. He backed out of the window and she got out for him. He held her so high on his chest they were face to face. He kissed her tenderly and unhurriedly at first before claiming her mouth more deeply.  It felt strangely like the goodbye he was trying so hard to avoid saying. When he sat her down, she looked at Chase and nodded a goodbye before driving away as quickly as possible.

* * *

She’d been home for almost a week with no trouble in sight except for a run-in with Lucas. His mom ran into her at the grocery store and before she could finish shopping and pay the ca
shier, he was on her. He wanted
to talk about mistakes and misunderstandings. That seemed to be the theme of her life nowadays. The contrast between the constant drama of being in vamp society and the constant calm of being at home was a shock to her system. Of course, there were still the daily phone calls from the vamp world. Koren was trying to convince her to stay with them. Cayden’s influence was obvious in those conversations. He called several times a day trying to get an address out of her so he could visit. The chance of him being followed was too great and she had no idea how she would explain her mother to him, anyway. She had decided to tell him everything if she went back. He deserved to know the truth now that Griff
in
was aware of her. She hadn’t heard a word from Chase or Griffin, but Mason called her mom every day. She knew he was mad at her. She was sure Chase wanted answers tha
t Mason swore to keep secret
. He didn’t agree with her reasoning, but he would keep his word. Tessa said it was hard for a parent to see their child hurting, especially if you could do something to
stop the pain. Darren
called too, but she wasn’t answering. She didn’t trust that he wouldn’t use his spy mojo to track her location.

The gala was coming up soon and she was supposed to go, but without security, it would be dangerous. She did have that lovely gown Debbie sent her after the dress shop incident. It would be rude not to go and make use of her gift, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to risk the lives of everyone around her.

“Hello, Earth to Danielle? Are you there, Danielle?” Tessa asked from the other side of the breakfast table.

“Huh? I
’m
sorry, I’m just... I don’t know what I am,” she confessed.

“Well, could you answer the door for me while you work it out?” She raised an eyebrow at her from over her newspaper. Dani shrugged and went to the front door but didn’t see anyone at first. She stepped outside to find her dear old godfather reclining on the porch swing. She grabbed a coat and went to sit by him, waiting for him to start in on her about Chase and Griffin.

“Are you ready to go yet?” he asked, putting an arm around her shoulder. “The Stafford’s are giving you a dinner party tonight. It would be rude of the guest of honor not to show up.”

“What? I don’t know anything about a party tonight. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go back. It
’s not safe for anyone involved,
” she sputtered.

“Let me worry about that, my sweet. Tonight you will stay with the Stafford’s and tomorrow we will talk some more. Now go get your things.” He smoothed a hand over her head.

“I don’t have anything to wear to one of your fancy parties, Mason,” she dithered.

“That’s not what your mother said when we spoke,” he coaxed. Tessa stepped out onto the porch with an impish grin.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Tessa asked.

“Why? So you can hide in a hotel room the whole time and sneak around in the shadows? Why are you two pushing me like this?” She felt cornered and wanted to lash out at them both.

“You have things to sort out and you can’t do it from here. Trust me. Running from a problem doesn’t make it go away. It will catch up with you sooner or later, even if it takes nineteen years. You’re better off dealing with it now.” Tessa looked out over the brightening morning sky and nodded as if she’d just convinced herself of the rightness of her words.

“Let
’s go gather your things,
” she held open the screen door, not accepting no for an answer.

* * *

It took four hours to get to the Stafford estate and another two hours for Dani to settle the butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t ready to face these people again. A knock at her guestroom door startled her. She opened the door to find
Donovan
smiling widely. He wa
s in much more casual attire tha
n when they
first met. His jeans and tight black t-shirt showed off his lean, muscular body. It should be considered a crime against women to look so good without the slightest effort.

“I almost didn’t recognize you without your bracelets,” he joked. It had to run around the room once before she realized he meant the handcuffs she’d been wearing when they met. “If it’s possible, you are even more breathtaking than last I saw you. Maybe it’s the blood that has brightened you so sweetly.”

She blushed. He was smooth and such a honey. Not in the immature, young guy way of Chase and Cayden. He was hot in a manly, worldlier way, like Mason, only yummier. That could be because Mason was like a parental unit to her.

“Can I help you,
Donovan
?” she said when she finally found her voice. He was staring and making her squirm.

“Please, call me Van. Mother asked me to tell you the guests are arriving and cocktails will be served soon. When you’re ready, I will escort you downstairs. I believe yo
ur date is already here but my m
om is old fashioned. There is no way he’s getting up the stairs to escort you himself.” As he spoke, he looked her up and down and suddenly she felt naked.

“Are you going dressed like that?” She pointed to his jeans, “If so, I won’t have to put my heels on.”

“No,” he chuckled. “My mother would die twice. I was just about to go change. Just dial extension eight when you’re ready. My room is around the corner so I will be directly over to retrieve you.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say besides, ‘You’re so hot I could bake cookies on your abs.’ Totally inappropriate and the last thing she needed was more man calories. Van sauntered down the hall like a cat on the prowl. Damn, he was pretty.

She slid on the slinky black backless dress her mother had given her and a pair of heels with straps that wrapped around her calves to tie on the side. They look
ed
kind of Grecian. She decided that putting her hair up was best with the backless dress. Looking at herself, she wondered if her mother had lost her mind. Did she want every man in vampire society sniffing around her skirt? She called Van, but before she reached the door, she thought of her starburst. It was perfect. Dani opened the door just as Van began to knock. He was gorgeous in an Armani suit with his wavy hair slicked back. She had to control her smile while they looked over each other with approval.

“I think you should ditch that dude downstairs and stay on my arm all night. On second thought, you should stay next to me forever, Ms. Scott.” He had a way of quickly undressing and burning a girl with his midnight eyes.

“I would hate to deprive all the ladies in your life of your presence. It would be a shame not to share such a stunningly masculine treat,” she purred, and pulled the door shut to step out into the hall.

He smiled a little disbelieving smile. He was obviously not used to being shot down. He’d probably flattered hundreds of girls with that line, and she knew it was a line. He put his arm out and led her to the top of the stairs. The sounds of conversation, soft music and clanking glasses rose from below. She paused to take a deep breath, hating being the center of attention.

“Are you alright? If you’re not feeling up to this I can take you back to my room and make it all better,” he teased her. His idea of better would be her ruination for sure.

* * *

Darren was pissed. They
cancelled Danielle’s protection detail and hung her out to dry. Couldn’t those fools see that they’d signed her death warrant? Did they want to see her dead? He was forbidden from following Danielle while he was on duty. All he could do was spend all of his time off with her and that wouldn’t leave him much time for resting or feeding. He would love it if Danielle was willing to let him feed from her. That would be delicious and the thought of being at her neck made him hard. He would leave the Wrath and protect her for the rest of his life if she would agree to be his mate. If they were bonded, the others wouldn’t
matter to her anymore. That was
his plan the night of the bonding they’d attended together. He
’d
hoped to convince her he was a better male than the rest of the population that was be
gging for her attention
. He went
from romantic warrior to jealous wanna-be-boyfriend that night in the space of a moment when he found her in that dark room with Chase. When Chase started texting her from the other side o
f the room, Darren
lost his mi
nd. It was a huge mistake. He
screwed it all up.

Now she was out there unprotected and he had no idea where she was and neither did anyone else. He didn’t even know if she was still alive because she wasn’t answering her phone. The
Council
had seen to it that most of the warriors didn’t care one way or the other. It made him sick and his mind went around and around with the possibility that some rogue bastard could have already taken her and he hadn’t been there to pro
tect her from the fate she was
s
entenced to, just because she’
d been born an incredibly powerful being.

He had to find her and do his best to make her his. It was the only way he could protect her all the time, the only way he could keep her to himself. After they were bonded, she wouldn’t think about the others anymore, she would only think of him, want only him, be with only him. He would do anything for her now. He couldn’t imagine how much more he would love her after she was his mate. He was going to do whatever it took to take her for his own.

His cell rang and he jumped. It was a friend he sparred with regularly. Darren was glad he called. Getting out some pent up aggression sounded like a damn good idea. “Hey, what’s up, Todd? You ready for a fight?”

“No, man. I got some info I thought you would be interested in. Several warriors, including Wrath, have been assigned to keep a perimeter around the Stafford estate tonight. They waited for the last minute to call extra security because they’re trying to keep things quiet. They are having a dinner party to thank Danielle Scott for saving their son. I know the two of you got close when she was your charge. I thought you might be interested. ”

The sound of her name made Darren’s heart leap. She was alive and well, and back in town.

“I owe you big man. I’ll let you beat my ass for a change the next time we meet in the ring.” He leapt off his bed and ran for the shower.

TWENTY-SEVEN~

Cayden was waiting anxiously at the bottom of the stairs for Dani to appear. He hadn’t seen her in what felt like a year and needed to see with own eyes that she was safe and whole. Chase was on the other side of the room watching from a safe distance and that was weird. Normally he would be jockeying for position at Danielle’s side. He even struck up a conversation with Cayden when he arrived. Maybe Dani’s request that they try to be friends again was affecting him. Chase hadn’t been the same since the day of the hearing, and it was n
ice to talk to the friend he
missed so much.

Dani was not going to like this. It was supposed to be small dinner party but the entire
Council
along with their families, as well as Cayden’s parents, Doc Stevens, Melinda Prince and her family, not to mention that overbearing jerk, Darren, along with a handful of single male vamps were all in attendance. Cayden was sure Veronica Stafford was trying to find a more upper-class mate for Dani.

He smelled her before he saw her. The delicious scent of floral vanilla hit him like a wrecking ball just before she stepped into view. A dream in black with her hair swept up beautifully in a purposefully messy up-do. Her white hair was giving her what she would call a bride of Frankenstein look. She was on the arm of
Donovan
Stafford. Cayden looked over to Chase and they shared an annoyed look. They couldn’t stand that arrogant prick. It figured he would be the first one Veronica would push at Dani. Veronica had been trying to reform his playboy ways forever and Dani was just the girl to make a man rethink his way o
f life. Hell, Cayden himself
joined the warriors just to be close
r to her. His playboy status
rivaled Van’s, but that
all changed the day Dani kissed him.