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Zoe grinned. “Right.” She took a seat across from me at the desk and slid an envelope over to me.

Ripping it open, I spilled a set of matching ring and earrings onto the glass. They were all spherical like pearls but blood red in color. I looked up at my sister in question.

“Charms,” she said, crossing her legs. “The earring with the silver post is a time speeder. The one with the gold’s a time slower. The ring is a silver bomb, so be careful. If you’re cornered by a bunch of them, you step on it to activate, and spikes of silver will explode outward.”

I shuddered, picturing the carnage, and gingerly plucked it off the desk and slipped it into a drawer.

“What are you doing?” Zoe asked.

“I can’t use that. It would risk hurting Julian too.” I looked her in the eyes, daring her to challenge me, but all I saw was pity and sadness. It made me bristle.

“I don’t want him to get hurt either,” she said and paused. “But if things are that bad, he won’t be much better off. Take it, but only use it if necessary. Please.”

My heartbeat escalated as her words sunk in. I couldn’t let him get hurt. Or Lydia. But if things got out of hand, there could be a situation where I’d use it. Especially if we were separated somehow.

“All right.” I opened the drawer and slipped it on my finger. After affixing the studs as well, I stood, and the elevator appeared again.

“I like your hair in a twist, by the way,” she said, appraising my look.

“Thanks, a friend did it for me.” I recalled Daphne fussing over me after my shower in the basement. She had a knack. Not only would it keep my hair from being a potential hinderance, Zoe was right, it looked damn good.

“I don’t know what the next step is for you guys, but please be careful, whatever you do.” Zoe threw her arms around my neck, nearly bowling me over.

I squeezed her back, inhaling her comforting scent of vanilla and honey. That was my sister—too sweet. “I will,” I promised, then watched her disappear with the lift.

Wiping a couple of stray tears from my eyes, I returned to my research. We may be outmatched when we went in, but Julian wouldn’t be the only one with an advantage.

Chapter Sixteen

Tongue Tied

When another attempt to talk me out of going failed, Julian turned to what he was best at, stiffening up like a board and brooding. He was damn lucky it made him sexier, or I might’ve lost my cool, considering I was also wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box waiting to spring.

“They’re going to smell you right away,” Julian said for the fourth time as we sped alongside Puget Sound headed toward one of the wealthiest parts of Seattle. Naturally, the moment we stepped through the portal with Vlad in tow, the vamp mobile had been waiting without so much as a scratch on it.

“Yes, you mentioned that,” I groused, watching the sun dip beyond the horizon. “But it won’t matter because we decided Vlad is bringing me in as a hostage, and you’re the one who will have the element of surprise.”

“I don’t recall approving of that particular plan,” Julian said, hugging a curve as he flattened the accelerator.

“You were outvoted,” I reminded him.

“Vlad hardly counts as a vote. He’s under your control.”

“Julian, it’s the most likely scenario we’ve come up with that could work.” I rested a hand on his arm and waited until he looked at me. “I know what I’m signing up for.”

“I just found you, Charlotte. I don’t want to lose you again.”

It was a lot to lay on a girl, that kind of sentiment. I hadn’t even wrapped my head around the idea that I’d known him in another life—hell, I didn’t even know if I believed in reincarnation, though if I accepted vampires and werewolves, I suppose it wasn’t that much of a stretch. But the idea I had to live up to some former version of myself? We’d have a lot to discuss if we made out of Mordock’s place alive. Or undead, in some cases.

“I’m not planning on going anywhere,” I said. “Daphne’s threatened to kill me if I die. And no one wants that.”

Julian’s lip twitched, and I supposed that was enough of an acquiescence for me.

Vlad had given us the location of the estate, which was bigger than the vamp mansion on the island. There’d be security, both magic and mortal, on the five acres surrounding the building, so we had to park outside the area and hike in. Julian vanished into the brush, but I knew he was watching from somewhere. I just hoped he’d be able to wait until the right moment to swoop in and do his thing.

As for our captor, my arm hurt where he dug his massive fingers into my flesh as he hauled me through the trees and grass. I’d been thorough with my mind-bending, or so I’d thought, but he was able to express himself in his roughness as long as he didn’t cause me lasting harm. It certainly wasn’t his acting ability, but at least he’d come across believable to Mordock and company.

The massive house rose into view, a Tudor-style mansion with heavy, dark brown trim and shaded windows. Everything expected from a vampire lair. The hair on my arms stood on end, and I struggled against Vlad’s iron grip—not just for show.