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He needed to feel at least the semblance of combat, because if he sat still for more than a second, he was going to kill someone. Top on his list at the moment was Darkhaven Agent Sterling Chase. Ben Sullivan was a damn close runner-up. Hell, if he could take both of them out at once, so much the better. He'd been fuming ever since he returned to the compound and learned that the agent had been a no-show with their Crimson dealer. Lucan and the others were giving Chase the benefit of the doubt for now, but Dante had a feeling in his gut that Chase, for whatever his reasons, had willfully defied his order to take Ben Sullivan into custody at the compound.
Dante meant to find out what had happened, but phone calls, e-mails, and pages to the agent's Darkhaven residence had gone unanswered. Unfortunately, an in-person interrogation was going to have to wait until sundown.
Which is roughly ten frigging hours away, Dante thought, delivering another savage attack on the target dummy.
The wait was made even worse by the fact that he'd been unable to reach Tess either. He called her apartment first thing in the morning, but she had apparently already left for work. He hoped she was somewhere safe. Assuming Chase hadn't killed Ben Sullivan, the human could be loose on the streets, and that meant he could get to Tess. Dante didn't think she was in danger from her ex-boyfriend, but he really wasn't willing to take that risk.
He needed to bring her inside, explain to her everything that was happening, including who he truly was--what he truly was--and admit how he had brought her into the middle of this war between the Breed and its enemies.
He was going to do it tonight. He'd already set the stage with the note he'd left at her bedside, but now the sense of urgency was growing. He wanted it done and over with already, hated being so far removed from her while he waited for night to fall.
With a roar, he flew at his target again, hands moving so fast even he couldn't track them. He heard the glass doors to the training facility slide open some distance behind him, but he was too lost in his own angry frustration to give a damn if he had an audience. He kept slicing, jabbing, brutalizing his target until he was panting with the exertion, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his bare chest and brow. Finally he paused, astonished at the depth of his fury. The polymer dummy was cut to pieces, most of it in shredded chunks around his feet.
"Nice work," Lucan drawled from across the large facility. "You got something against plastic, or is this just a warm-up for tonight?"
With an exhaled curse, Dante flipped his blades between his fingers, letting the curved metal dance before he thrust both weapons into the sheaths belted at his hips. He pivoted to face the Order's leader, who was leaning back against a weapons cabinet, a grave look on his dark features.
"We've got some news," Lucan said, obviously expecting it wasn't going to go over well. "Gideon just hacked into the Darkhavens' Enforcement Agency personnel database. Turns out Agent Sterling Chase doesn't work for them anymore. They released him from service last month, after a spotless twenty-five-year career."
"He was fired?"
Lucan nodded. "For insubordination and flagrant refusal to follow Agency directives, according to the file."
Dante pushed out a humorless chuckle as he toweled off. "Agent Sterling's not so sterling after all, eh? Goddamn it, I knew there was something off about the guy. He's been fucking playing us this whole time. Why? What's he after?" Lucan shrugged idly. "Maybe he needed us to get him close to the Crimson dealer. What's to say he didn't take the guy out last night? Some kind of personal vendetta."
"Maybe. I don't know, but I mean to find out." Dante cleared his throat, feeling suddenly awkward in the presence of the elder vampire, who had long been a brother-in-arms--a friend, in fact. "Listen, Lucan. I haven't exactly been playing straight lately either. Something's happened--the night I almost got my ass handed to me down at the river by those Rogues. I, uh, I came to in the back room of an animal clinic. There was a woman there, working late. I needed blood in a bad way, and she was the only one around."
Lucan's dark brows came down in a scowl. "You kill her?"
"No. No, I was out of my head, but it didn't go that far. Far enough, though. I didn't realize what I had done to her until it was too late. When I saw the mark on her hand--"
"Ah, Jesus, Dante." The large male stared at him, those gray eyes lancing into him. "You drank from a Breedmate?"
"Yeah. Her name is Tess."
"Does she know? What have you told her?"
Dante shook his head. "She doesn't know anything yet. I scrubbed her memory that night, but I've been, uh... spending time with her. A lot of time. I have to cop to her about what I've done, Lucan. She deserves to have the truth. Even if she ends up hating me for it, which wouldn't surprise me."
Lucan's shrewd gaze narrowed. "You care for her."
"God. Yeah, I do." Dante's answering chuckle sounded sharp in his ears. "Sure as hell didn't see this coming, let me tell you. And to be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do about it. I'm not exactly premium mate material."
"You think I am?" Lucan asked wryly.
It was only a few months ago that Lucan was fighting a similar personal battle, having lost his heart to a female bearing the Breedmate mark. Dante didn't know the specifics of how Lucan won Gabrielle over, but part of him envied the long future the pair would share together. All Dante had to look forward to was a death he'd been dodging for a couple of centuries.
Thinking about Tess being anywhere near him on that day made his blood run cold with dread.
"I don't know how things are going to shake down, but I need to tell her everything. I'd like to bring her here tonight, maybe help it all make sense." He ran a hand through his damp hair. "Hell, maybe I'm just a pussy and I need to know I've got my"--he almost said family--"the Order behind me on this."
Lucan smiled, nodding slowly. "You always will," he said, reaching out to clap Dante on the shoulder. "Gotta tell you, I'm looking forward to meeting the woman who can scare the shit out of one of the fiercest warriors I've ever known."
Dante laughed. "She's fine, Lucan. Damn, she is just so incredibly fine."
"At sundown, you take Tegan with you when you head out to question Chase. Bring him back in one piece, we clear? Then you go make things right with your Breedmate." "Chase I can handle," Dante said. "It's the other part I'm not so sure about. You got any advice for me on that, Lucan?"
"Sure." The vampire grunted, his smile filled with dark amusement. "Dust off your knees, brother, because you may damn well end up walking on them before the night is through."
