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“I won’t slip.”
“Dammit, Luke, you have to come for her.”
Luke laughed. “And here I thought you were concerned for my well-being.”
“Fuck your well-being,” Serge said, but with a grin. “Right now we’re talking about me.”
Luke leaned back in the chair, amused. It had been far too long since he and Serge had been in the same city. “Are we?”
“No.” Serge’s voice took on a harsh edge, and a tendril of worry twisted in Luke’s gut. He loved Serge like a brother, and he was the only one Luke could trust to keep Tasha safe until Luke could get there. As an attorney, Nicholas wasn’t an option. He was loyal, yes. But he’d also taken oaths. And Luke wasn’t inclined to have his friend break them.
Serge had been his only option, and Luke hoped it had been a safe one. With Serge, these things often weren’t certain.
“I mean it,” Serge said. “Don’t underestimate Doyle.”
“I don’t.”
“If he puts you in a cage, you know he won’t stop until he’s found her. And you know what will happen then.”
“Then I am fortunate to have you at her side.”
Serge’s jaw tensed, but he nodded. “Yes,” he said. “She will be safe with me.”
For a moment, silence hung between them. Luke was about to ask him to call Tasha to the phone, but Serge spoke first. “What about Sara?”
Luke tensed. “What about her?”
“Do you expect me to believe you’re just going to walk away from her, too? I know you too well.”
“I should,” Luke admitted. “I had no right to touch her, no right to even want her. Not after what I’ve done.”
“We’ve all done things, my friend. We all battle it down. For some, the battle is harder.”
Luke nodded, knowing perfectly well the internal battle that Serge waged every second of every day.
“One night,” Luke confessed. “I craved her in a way I’ve craved no other, and I succumbed to the call of pleasure.”
“And now?”
“Now I regret that I can have her no more. Serge, there are no words for the way she touches my heart. It is more than the years I’ve watched her. There was something tangible between us. Even the feel of her skin beneath my fingers felt familiar, and I can only assume I am feeling Fate’s punishment. Because though we shared one perfect night, that is all we can claim from the universe. And certainly more than I deserve.”
Once again, the realization that he was leaving her forever swept over him, and he closed his eyes only to be lost in the memory of the night when he first saw her, so young and so innocent. So scared, and so very alone.
He deserved to suffer the pain of leaving. She did not. It would have been kinder to stay away. But he was weak where she was concerned, and he always had been. Even now, he wanted to dial her number, if only to hear her voice before he ended the call. But he couldn’t. Luke knew the extent of his own strength, and he also knew that even a whisper from her now would break his resolve.
“There is something I must tell you,” Serge said. “You made me swear not to—not ever. But now I think that is an oath I should break. I will leave you to judge that, and to take whatever payment you wish if my decision is wrong.”
Luke frowned, struck by the unfamiliar formality in his friend’s voice. “Go ahead.”
“Three years ago, you were intent on protecting Sara. She was going to meet a witness she believed would shed light on her father’s death, and we caught up with her. Your instincts were right. It was a vampire attack, and we were able to save her. We followed her back to her house. I stayed hidden in case there was trouble. But, Luke, you went inside. You took her to bed.”
Luke shook his head. “No. Serge, this never happened.”
“That morning you were attacked. Young vampires, still able to walk in the sun. I was there. I’d been hiding in the garage, but I entered the fight. I heard what they called her—Abomination.”
“Abomination?”
“To this day, I don’t know why. But the connection between you and Sara was palpable. If it was not love, I don’t know what is. It made my heart ache to think that the bonds of love could tighten so fast, and I confess I was jealous. I am well acquainted with lust. But love has never touched me.”
