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Nick stood, his expression troubled. “Dammit, Luke. You’ve compromised the Alliance. Hell, you’ve compromised the secrecy of the kyne.”
“I haven’t,” Luke said, the denial automatic and without conviction. “This mission was outside the Alliance’s authority, and the kyne are not involved.”
“I’m involved,” Nick said.
“You are,” he agreed. “And you are no longer active as kyne. Still, that bond remains strong. The bond of friendship, however, is stronger. Or so I would hope.”
“God, you’re a pain in the ass,” Nick growled.
“It is one of my most persistent failings,” Luke agreed.
“What about Tasha?” Nick asked, sighing. “Where is she? Do you need me to check in on her? Did you even consider what this would do to her, you being tossed in a cell? She won’t understand.”
“I considered it,” Luke said. “And I weighed everything before acting. About that much, at least, I would think you would give me credit.”
“Luke—I didn’t mean. I know you wouldn’t do anything to put her at risk. I just—It’s just that she relies on you.”
“A fact of which I am well aware.” Frustrated, he moved to the glass and looked out the barrier at the hall beyond. It was because of Tasha that he was in this cell in the first place. Because of her, and because of his own hubris so many years before.
He should have known better, he thought as the memories welled inside him. He should never have brought her over.
He’d found her, alone and injured, fear clinging to her like a blanket, and she’d looked up at him, life fading from eyes so like his own sweet daughter’s that he’d been unable to think clearly.
Take, the serpent had whispered, and so help him he’d listened. He took, he drank, and when the change came upon her, he became father, teacher, protector. Most of all, he’d helped her through the Holding, urging her on as she fought her ownAzag Mahru. It had been a hard battle, but they’d won. They’d brought back the girl within.
A confused, lost innocent who by all rights should have been in heaven with the angels by now instead of walking among demons. Instead of suffering at the hands of bastards like Marcus Braddock, men who took what they wanted and cared little for the consequences.
Whatever particular arrogance Braddock had suffered under, it was stilled now, as was the man himself. And for that, at least, Luke was grateful.
“Tasha’s taken care of,” he said softly. “I sent her to San Francisco.” He turned back to face Nick. “She’s with Serge.”
“With Serge?”
Something in Nick’s voice caught Luke’s attention. “What?”
“I called Serge,” Nick said. “Not less than an hour ago. I wasn’t able to reach him.”
Something cold and unfamiliar settled in Luke’s stomach.Fear. Serge’s journey to sanity had been even more dappled than Luke’s. Many vampires—most even—were able to control the serpent, to push it back down, and keep it bound.
But if theAzag Mahruwon the battle—if the vampire could not regain control—the vampire became hunted. A rogue. A threat to society.
And if the vampire was able to keep control despite the serpent’s taunt, then that vampire lived on the knife-edge. A difficult existence, as Luke well knew.
So yes, Luke knew the extent to which Serge forced himself to hold on, sometimes by only the thinnest of threads. If that thread unraveled…
“You tried all his numbers? You sent an e-mail?”
“I did.” Nick stood and started to pace. “I’ll send Ryback over to Serge’s condo. He’s in Silicon Valley on an assignment. As soon as he wraps, I’ll have him go by. I can’t imagine Serge would leave Tasha alone, but if he did, Ryback can bring her home.”
Luke nodded, unsatisfied. He should be the one going to her, the one bringing her safely back to LA. Since that was impossible at the moment, he reluctantly agreed, and tried damn hard to push the worry out of his head. No easy task.
Nick stopped pacing and looked at Luke, his expression pensive. “You sent her away, which is something I’ve never been witness to in all these centuries. She could have stayed with me. Even Ryback or Slater would have taken her in, and she’d have been here. Close by you. But you sent her hundreds of miles away. I’m not an idiot, Lucius. You’re protecting her. But from what?”
From what indeed.
Slow fury bubbled within Luke as he recalled Tasha’s words, her tearful entreaties. The terror on her face when she’d described what Braddock had done to her. And as he thought, the serpent uncoiled.
“He raped her,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. He felt his fangs extend, now thick against his lips. “Braddock hurt her. He put his hands on her and he took what he had no right to take.”
