By the time the three of them reached his cabin, Rafael had climbed into his rental car, waving as he drove off.
Matthias turned. “What was it, Taz?”
She couldn’t tell him, not like this. Especially not in front of Moe. She swallowed hard. “I don’t know. There’s something really wrong with him. I can’t explain it because I don’t know what it is.”
With a look at Rafael’s disappearing taillights, Matthias strode back to their cabin, buttoning his shirt as he walked. Taz and Moe jogged to keep up with him. Matthias grabbed his cell and tried calling Rafe, but couldn’t get a signal.
“I can’t call him.” He grabbed her shoulders, and she almost lost her mental barrier. “What happened?”
She told him about how he acted aloof, and she knew it didn’t make sense. Not without telling Matthias about her activities the night before. And not without telling him the conversation they had at dinner.
Or how she felt about Rafe. And why she knew with dead certainty there was something really, really wrong with him.
By this time, Albert and Robertson were in their room, also concerned. They were trying to decide what to do when they heard a car approach.
Rafael.
Her gut twisted as they all piled onto the cabin stoop. Rafael emerged from the car, smiling. “Sorry I blew you off. I wanted to run over to the ranger station and see when the next Old Faithful eruption was.”
Matthias was obviously relieved, but Anastazia regarded Rafe with suspicion. There was something different. She tried probing and came upon a prickly, icy wall. He coldly smiled at her as he felt her probe.
He felt pissed at her. Obviously. Hopefully, that was all.
Maybe I’m overreacting.
They went to breakfast while Rafe left, going ahead to Canyon Village to prepare for the meeting.
In the Land Rover, Matthias reached over and took her hand. “Are we okay?” he asked, and she knew what he meant.
No, I’m not okay, it won’t be okay for a long time because I’m a rotten bitch. She kept her thoughts safe behind her mental barrier.
“Yes,” she said, forcing a smile. “We’re okay, big guy. I’m sorry about yesterday.”
He smiled back, but she felt him gently bumping against her mental barrier like a mosquito against a screen. He wasn’t trying to push or pry, but she sensed his confusion.
She brought his fingers up to her lips and kissed them. “I’m nervous,” she said. That, at least, was the truth. “I’m trying to practice.”
He looked relieved. “Okay.” He gently squeezed her hand. “That’s good.”
She felt his mental probe withdraw. When they pulled into the Canyon Village complex, her stomach tightened when she saw Rafe’s car.
She had time to do a little shopping before the meeting. Instead of keeping her there, Matthias let her go with two of the guards. He knew he couldn’t fight her, had to let her find her own path as much as possible, and it would help her relax. She found a backpack and a hat she liked then realized how thirsty she was. The high elevation and low humidity were playing hell with her body. She bought four bottles of cold water and tucked them into her new pack.
When she felt Matthias tap against her mind, she checked the time. The guards escorted her to the private meeting complex where Matthias greeted her with a smile and a kiss.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. She felt his concern, but he thought it was just her nerves. He still didn’t know.
He pulled her into a private room and took both her hands in his. “You don’t have to say anything. No one expects you to speak if you don’t want to. Or you can talk, if you wish.”
“Or tell them to go to hell?”
He smiled. “Or tell them to go to hell. A couple of them changed planes in Atlanta, so I imagine they feel like they’ve already been there and back.” She smiled and he continued. “The point is, if at any time you feel overwhelmed, reach out to me.”
She nodded, and he kissed her forehead. “It’s probably better to block them all strongly if you need to. But if anyone tries to probe you, see if you can figure out who it is so we know. No one here today is strong enough to mark you without your knowledge or consent. Especially if you have your super-duper barrier up. Rafael told me last night he explained it to you.”
Guilty, guilty, guilty…
“But,” he continued, “you do have to be careful. I’m more concerned for your safety than I am for those”—he hooked his thumb over his shoulder at the wall—“people in there. Got it?”
She nodded, and he squeezed her hand. “Good. You’ll do fine.”
He led her to the conference room, where she counted ten people besides them, Albert and Robertson, and Rafe. The guards stayed in the hallway.
There were six men and four women of varying ages. They could have been an assortment of volcanologists or academics instead of vampires. The youngest looked a little older than Taz, while the oldest appeared to be in his sixties. She already knew that was misleading and waited for the introductions.
She shook hands with the newcomers, keeping her barrier firmly in place. No one tried to probe her, and she didn’t try to probe any of them.
Matthias motioned everyone to sit. She realized Rafe had positioned himself at the far end of the conference table. He sat with his hands clasped and motionless in front of him, and she looked at his ring again. Something kept working at her intuition, but she couldn’t grasp it.
He wouldn’t meet her eyes. She couldn’t blame him. And there was still something, that…
No one was wearing cologne as far as she could tell. But someone smelled—
Wrong.
She sat through the first three hours of the meeting, trying to listen to Matthias outline what happened up until that point, things he’d found out from his trip overseas and other investigations. All the while, she tried to figure out what was wrong with Rafe. But he was blocking her. And she wasn’t about to force her way in.
At one point, Matthias looked at her and realized she wasn’t okay. He reached over and touched her hand, caught her eye, and she shook her head.
“Let’s take a break,” he announced.
Robertson and Matthias flanked her as they returned to the private room.
“I don’t feel good,” she said.
Boy, that was the truth.
Matthias looked concerned, and that made her feel worse. “Do you want to go back to the cabin?” He already had the Land Rover keys in his hand.
She shook her head, but took them from him anyway and slipped them in her pocket. “Not yet. I’ll be okay. Just let me stay here for a few minutes to catch my breath.”
He nodded. Moe stood guard outside while the others rejoined the meeting.
She felt better after lunch. She was standing at the window, looking down the hillside, when the door to the private room opened.
The guard left, and she immediately smelled something not right. Then the chill.
She turned. Rafe stood in the doorway.
“I told my cousin I would check on you,” he said.
Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, besides Rafe apparently being mad at her. He held his hands at his side, his fingers still.
“Don’t let it touch you, Taz!”
She didn’t know whose voice that was in her head, but she listened. Rafe slowly approached, and she backed away, around the room, trying to edge her way toward the door, keeping furniture between them. She didn’t dare drop her barrier.
Rafe smiled. “That was interesting, what happened last night,” he said, and her stomach rolled.
“I’m sorry, Rafe,” she said, rounding a large leather sofa.