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When Tess's little terrier started barking as Dante led her away, Savannah bent down to pick up the dog. Come on, you darling beast. I'll find something for you too. She glanced over at Elise. I'm just going to go see what Gideon's up to in the lab. I'll be right back, okay?
Elise nodded. And when she turned her head away from Dante and Tess's retreat, it was to find Sterling staring at her from across the corridor. His eyes scathed her, taking in her appearance-- from the top of her shorn hair to her bloodstained shirt, pants, and damp winter boots. There was disapproval in his eyes, even worse than Tegan's initial reaction to her. She saw Sterling's gaze drift down to her hands, to her fingers, which were twisting anxiously at the hem of her shirt. He stared at her wedding band, a muscle ticking in his beard- shadowed jaw.
Aren't you going to even say hello to me? she asked him in the unbearable silence. We have to talk to each other sometime, don't we?
But Sterling didn't say a word.
With a vague shake of his head, he simply turned and strode away, leaving her alone in the long corridor. Tegan tensed up as the lights flicked on over the estate's indoor pool. He'd gone there after making his call to the Berlin Darkhaven, looking for solitude and means of working off some excess steam. He was pissed but not surprised that Gideon hadn't been able to get a legitimate origin for Marek's FedEx shipment. The vampire's network of Minions had to be extensive. That journal had probably been handed off like a relay baton at half a dozen stops before arriving in Boston, just to muddy its trail.
As for the book itself, not even Savannah's impressive psychic ability to read the emotional history of an object had proved helpful there. All Gideon's Breedmate could cull from the journal was the deep madness--the mind-eating Bloodlust--of the one who had written on its pages.
Frustrated by it all, Tegan had swum a few laps, and now sat in the corner of the vaulted space, bare legs straddling a teakwood chaise, his hair and the brief black trunks clinging to his groin still damp from the water. He'd been enjoying the alone time and the darkness--or had been, until the rows of domed lights above the pool blinked on like interrogation room high beams.
He stood up, expecting to see Rio limp in with Tess for a round of therapy. But it wasn't either of them who came out of the shower room into the pool area.
It was Elise.
She didn't see him as she padded in barefoot, wearing a snow-white swimsuit that was sliced up the sides and held together by delicate bronze rings. The front of it plunged low, another ring centered between the perfect swell of her breasts. The daring suit was almost as big of a surprise as seeing her here; Tegan would never have guessed the reserved Darkhaven widow to look so right in such immodest clothing.
And goddamn, did she ever look right.
A deep, primal awareness stirred in him as he watched her draw away the spa towel she had slung around her neck. She let it fall to the tiles at the water's edge, then stepped down onto the first submerged step at the shallow end of the pool.
Soundlessly, Tegan inched his way back into the corner, hardly breathing in the thin shadows that concealed him. Even though it was clear that her body was leaner than it should be from want of fortifying Breed blood, Elise was lovely. She was beautifully formed, from the grace of her long legs and the gentle flare of her hips, to the slender curves of her waist, breasts, and delicate shoulders.
He had seen hints of her figure when she'd come out of the shower in her apartment last night, and when she'd lain unconscious on the futon, but the thick robe had hidden more than it revealed. The scrap of elastic white material she wore now only accentuated her assets. In a big way.
She strode down into the water, then began a slow swim toward the center of the pool. Abruptly, she dove under, disappearing from his view until she reemerged at the far end to come up for air. As her face broke the surface of the water, she opened her eyes and spotted him. Her little gasp echoed in the cavernous room.
Tegan. She brought her arm up to hold on to the edge of the pool, but kept her body submerged as if the water could shield her from his intrusive gaze. I thought I was alone in here.
So did I. He walked out under the lights, and didn't miss the flush of color in her cheeks as she quickly averted her eyes from his near nakedness. He drew closer to the edge and smirked a bit as she moved away, going toward the center of the pool. Your arm looks better.
Tess took care of my wound, she said. Gabrielle and Savannah fed me and gave me some fresh clothes. Savannah said it would be all right if I came up here for a swim...
Tegan shrugged, watching her tread water, lithe arms and legs moving sinuously beneath the surface. Do what you want. You don't need to explain anything to me.
She held his gaze across the pool. Then why do you make me feel like I do?
Do I?
Instead of answering, she pivoted and started swimming at an easy pace, putting more distance between them. Were you able to find out anything about the journal?
Looking to change the subject, are you? He watched her retreat toward the deep end, and for some absurd reason, it took every ounce of impulse control for him to not pe in and follow her. We might have a lead on something in Berlin. I'm heading there tomorrow night.
Berlin? She reached for the lip of the pool and turned a frown on him. What's in Berlin?
Someone we might be able to persuade into giving us information. Unfortunately, our best lead right now is a Rogue. He's been cooling his jets in a holding tank for the past few years.
A rehabilitation facility? Elise asked. At Tegan's nod, she said, Those places are controlled by the Enforcement Agency.
So?
So, what makes you think they'll permit you inside? I'm sure you are aware that the Order doesn't have a lot of admirers in the Darkhavens. They have never approved of your methods when it comes to dealing with the problem of Breed vampires going Rogue.
He had to give the female credit: she was up on her politics, and she was right about the Enforcement Agency intending to block the Order's access to the captive Rogue. Tegan's call to his old ally in Berlin, Andreas Reichen, had only confirmed what he and Lucan expected. The only way they were getting near Petrov Odolf was through a lot of red tape and bureaucratic bullshit.
Assuming Reichen could get Tegan an audience at all.
