The pain in her head intensified. Tears spilled over her lashes and down her cheeks as she fought to remain upright.
Bastien stared in furious disbelief at the bloody knife he had just yanked out of his right butt cheek.
Was the woman insane? Didn’t she understand who and what she was dealing with?
Tossing it the way of the Glock, he sent her a look that, in the past, had been known to make grown men wet their pants.
It didn’t seem to faze her in the least, though she was crying, he noticed uncomfortably.
Hell, he’d rather have her fight him than cry. He never had been able to abide a woman’s tears.
“How many damned weapons are you carrying?” he demanded, hardening his heart. She was a pawn, nothing more. A temporary thorn in his side he would use to bring his enemy down.
Peering around blearily, she abruptly slid down the wall, landing hard on her ass. Her arms settled limply at her sides.
He frowned. “Sarah?”
She didn’t respond, just sat there, blinking hard as if something was wrong with her eyes.
When a small stream of crimson liquid emerged from one ear, a cold chill shivered down his spine.
Oh shit.
Bastien swiftly closed the distance between them and knelt before her.
“Sarah? Can you hear me?”
Slipping a hand around to the back of her head, he found it wet with blood.
They had been traveling at a good velocity when she had stabbed him. He hadn’t meant to lose his hold on her, but he had had a four-inch blade stuck in his ass.
Had she hit the wall hard enough to fracture her skull?
Damn it! She wasn’t supposed to have gotten hurt. She was supposed to have come along docilely, too terrified to fight, and lured Roland into a trap. Then, once the asshole was dead, Bastien would’ve released her and she would’ve gone on her merry mortal way.
“Sarah,” he repeated softly, trying to get her to focus on him. “Sarah?”
“What?” she whispered.
She was totally out of it. Through his touch, he could feel her pain and confusion. She wanted Roland. Probably wanted him to heal her, since Bastien’s research indicated Roland could heal with his hands. Not that he would.
Performing a quick search of her pockets, Bastien relieved her of the rest of her arsenal of weapons. His mind raced as he pulled a mask from his front pocket and jerked it on. Though it wasn’t as fancy as those the immortals had been wearing when they had left, it would protect him from the worst of the sun’s damage. And what it didn’t block, the route through dense forest he had carefully plotted would.
Slipping one arm around Sarah’s back and the other beneath her knees, he gently scooped her up into his arms.
“Roland?” she murmured plaintively.
“Easy, princess,” he soothed, positioning them beneath the exit. “You’ll see him soon.”
* * *
Roland peered over Marcus’s shoulder as they watched for the satellite image to appear on the small screen.
They had left Chris’s van a couple of miles away and, approaching stealthily on foot, had arrived in the forest that overlooked Bastien’s farmhouse five minutes ago.
Though the satellite image was due any minute, the wait was excruciating.
Roland continued to feel uneasy about leaving Sarah with only mortals to protect her.
Lisette offered him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure she’s fine, Roland.”
Was she reading his thoughts?
Étienne nodded, eyeing him as if he were an exhibit in a damned science fair.
Seth continued to stare through the brush at the vampires’ lair.
“Okay, here it comes,” Marcus said, drawing their attention.
As Roland and the others gathered around him, an image similar to what Chris had shown them at the meeting appeared on the small screen. Vampires showed up as violet blobs, the humans showed up yellow.
The red blob was notably absent.
Roland scowled. “Where the hell is Bastien?”
Frowning, Marcus touched the screen. “I don’t know. Hang on.” The image doubled, then tripled in size.
As Roland watched, dread rising inside him, Marcus searched the image quadrant by quadrant and confirmed Bastien’s absence.
“He isn’t there.” Marcus glanced at the others. “Do you think he heard us coming and bolted?”
Seth shook his head. “I would’ve heard him.”
Something like panic struck Roland, tightening around his heart like a fist. “He’s gone after Sarah.”
“We don’t know that,” Étienne cautioned just as Seth’s head snapped around.
“What is it?” Lisette asked.
Then they all heard it.
A black-clad figure shot from the forest on the far side of the house and entered the back door with preternatural speed. Though the man’s face was covered by a mask, Roland knew it was Bastien.
“Anyone get a look at what he was carrying?” Marcus asked.
A scent came to Roland on the breeze.
Fangs burst from his gums and all rational thought fled as rage engulfed him. “It’s Sarah.”
And she was bleeding.
Moments later, he was tearing the front door off the farmhouse and sprinting inside. Two humans jumping up from the sofa went ignored as he darted past them and flew down the stairs to the basement.
The large main room was empty and offered up four hallways from which he could choose.
Roland didn’t hesitate, charging through the only one on the right and plunging into darkness his eyes had no trouble piercing. Almost immediately, the hallway branched off into a number of others, forming an intricate maze that would have slowed Roland substantially if Bastien hadn’t been carrying Sarah.
Her scent lit his way like a candle, guiding him unerringly through an endless series of twists and turns.
“Awaken, vampires!” Bastien bellowed ahead of him. “The immortals have found us!”
Roland’s heart slammed against his ribs as he continued forward at top speed. The sounds of battle soon broke out behind him. Gunshots sounded above.
How badly was Sarah hurt? Was she dying? Was she afraid? Did she know he was coming? Would she ever forgive him?
How could he have left her like that? Why had he risked it?
Bastien was nothing to him. Sarah was everything.
He would kill Bastien for hurting her. For touching her. For even looking at her fucking cross-eyed!
What had he done to her? How badly had he hurt her? Was she suffering?
She couldn’t die. Roland wouldn’t let her. Couldn’t lose her.
Light bloomed ahead.
There. Up and to the left.
Head down, fangs gleaming, Roland charged forward.
Lisette groaned as she watched Roland cover the distance to the farmhouse’s front door in a blink, rip it off its hinges, and vanish inside. “So much for stealth.”
All but Seth hastily donned their masks.
“Awaken, vampires!” a voice bellowed from within. “The immortals have found us!”
“How many did you count?” Seth asked grimly.
“Fifty-seven vamps below,” Marcus said. “Four humans above.”
“If you can prevent Roland from killing Sebastien, do so.”
Seth raced for the farmhouse first, followed by Marcus, then Lisette and Étienne.
The French immortals burst inside just as the first two vanished through the door that led to the basement. Two human minions stood gaping in front of a threadbare sofa.
Lisette nodded to her brother. “Go on. I’ll see to the humans.”
He vanished in a blur.
As she turned to face the minions, they drew handguns and fired. Lisette ducked to the side, slipped behind them, and snapped both their necks. She had been born with the ability to read others’ thoughts and theirs had been seriously sadistic.
“I hope Bastien was oblivious to your true natures,” she murmured, “because, if he wasn’t, he isn’t worth saving.”