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“I’m following the valet’s scent. It’s stronger in this direction, which means he’s been this way recently. Likely hiding in the woods as far from the estate as he can get. Possibly even searching for an access point off the island, but they’ve been closed off by the base, pending his capture.”

“You think he went to the portals,” I said, understanding. There were rows of them set up in archways between the tarmac and the beach, each one ready to transport to different destinations around the globe.

“Likely he’s already discovered he isn’t getting out so easily.” Julian pressed down on the accelerator, and I took a moment to enjoy the balmy night air, sweet with the scent of forest and salty with the smell of the sea. It was a lovely combination.

“You should drive with the windows down more often,” I said, letting a hand ride the currents outside.

“Hands inside the vehicle, please,” Julian said as he rounded a particularly curvy bend.

“Spoilsport.” I pouted but crossed my arms over my body.

Before he could respond, the large figure of a man stepped into the road before us. Julian jammed on the breaks, spinning the steering wheel to the left to avoid the collision. Tires screeched, and the smell of burned rubber replaced the pleasant one I’d been enjoying as dirt and pebbles sprayed into the car, peppering my skin.

“Undo your seatbelt,” Julian yelled as I screamed.

It took a moment to register the command and another to consider how odd it was when I expected something more along the lines of, hold on. So I still hadn’t done it when he undid his own and threw himself over me as the car reeled and spun. We were heading down the steep embankment into the forest, and I was convinced this was it. At least my last view would be of Julian’s indigo eyes.

We plummeted over the edge, and my stomach flew into my chest. But Julian tucked my head down beneath his and curled around my body like a chrysalis just as the car began to roll. I whimpered as my sense of direction eroded and each tumble jarred. When we rocked to a stop, Julian released me. I stayed in place, eyes closed, as the night was pierced by the sound of shrieking metal. Seconds later, strong arms gathered me up, took me for another ride through the air, and set me down gently on the ground.

“Speak to me, Charlotte. Tell me you’re okay.” Julian’s voice penetrated the shock, and I blinked up into his face, creased with concern, which said something considering his skin was generally so smooth.

“I’m alive.”

Gingerly, I moved my limbs, and other than a few cuts and bruises, I seemed miraculously unharmed. Julian lifted me to my feet. He frowned at a stinging spot on my forehead and leaned forward, setting his lips gently over it. The tip of his tongue ran over the cut. I shivered as a tingle of desire wormed its way down my body. But he pulled back immediately, brushing back my mess of tangled hair.

“Thank you for healing it,” I said. “And for the shield of protection.”

“Next time, undo your seatbelt and I’ll have time to get you out completely without injuring you,” he admonished. “If you are all right, I will attempt to catch up to our attacker.”

“He didn’t attack, he just stepped into the road.”

“It was our poisoner, I smelled him. And he did that knowing full well he’d send us over the edge. He may not have intended murder as much as distraction, but I doubt he’d be anything but pleased if he’d succeeded in killing you.”

I drew a deep breath, steadying myself. “I’m going too.”

Julian scowled, but I couldn’t find him intimidating after all he’d done to protect me so many times. Finally, he spoke. “Two conditions. I cannot wait for you, so you ride in my arms.”

“And?” I prompted. I could get used to that.

“And you do what I say when I say it. If he is a pledge to Mordock, as I suspect, he will have been taking small amounts of vampire blood, which means he will be faster and stronger than a human.”

“Fine.”

Julian nodded then scooped me up like he was about to carry me over the threshold. After the wild car ride, this was a Sunday stroll. I relaxed against his chest and tried to gather my thoughts as Julian raced us after the man responsible. We had to stop him before he carelessly hurt everyone on the island or worse. Because as hard as it was to face, this was ultimately my own fault.

If I’d never tried to create a cure, there would have been no GDK to steal, lab to destroy, or friend to turn.

We stopped suddenly, and Julian set me down, crouching beside me with a finger to his lips as he listened carefully, eyes darting around the darkness of the forest surrounding us. If it hadn’t been for the dim light of the half-moon, I wouldn’t have been able to make him out at all right in front of my face.

I sucked in the inside of my cheek and stayed as still as possible, scared I’d rustle some leaves or send a pebble skittering across the soft ground. Then Julian’s gaze locked on something behind me, and the scarlet of his eyes glowed brightly in the dark, glinting off his fangs and making him appear monstrous.

Somehow, this time, it made my insides warm with attraction. Maybe I needed therapy…

He lunged at super speed, blowing directly over my head, and I spun to find him tackling a hulking form mere feet behind me. How had he crept so close? The two figures tumbled to the ground with the force of a meteor and rolled, banging so hard into a tree that half its roots were dislodged, tilting it precariously from the ground.

I scrambled to my feet, hands spread at the ready but without a clue what to do. Though in moments, Julian had him shoved on the ground, foot on his neck as the man grappled at Julian’s leg until finally letting go to draw in several strangled breaths. I rushed to his side, skidding to a halt to look down at the face of the man who’d reminded me of Lurch. But Lurch was a good guy, and this was the worst kind of human.

Fumbling in my pocket, I managed to pull out my cell and shine the flashlight down on him. He turned away from it, and the pinpricks on his neck confirmed Julian’s theory about him being a pledge. It still made me ill when I thought of the bruising Michelle had so proudly showed me. I guessed I knew what she and Carmichael were into.