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You’re making me nervous.Olivia’s voice was faint. She was reaching the end of the mating bond’s communication distance.
Marek bit back the urge to snap back at her. Losing his temper didn’t help anyone.
I’m worried about you.
I know, but we’re prepared. It’ll be fine. I’m here.
Her voice was as quiet as a whisper of wind. Marek didn’t respond, not wishing to distract her. They’d looked up Dmitri’s appointed destination, a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Seconds later, faint images filtered to him from Olivia. An empty concrete lot. A squat building with red awning and a black sign. Black SUVs. Two large males dressed in suits.
Her adrenaline spiked. Surprise. Fear. Then nothing.
Olivia! Olivia!he screamed down their mating bond.
No response.
His vampire went wild.Mate in danger.Red covered his vision as the urge to save his mate overrode everything.
His savage snarl jolted the others from their activities. Nikolas moved in a blur, placing himself in front of Andrea.
“Move!” Andrea pushed the vampire away and asked, alarmed, “What’s happening?”
“Something’s wrong,” Marek snapped. “I can’t hear her.”
“What about her tracker?” Rowan asked.
“It’s leaving the gas station. Heading southeast,” Sascha said.
“Marek.” His attention whirled to Andrea. “She’s fine. They won’t hurt her. Calm down. She’s alive.”
Marek stalked to the waiting cargo plane while beating back his vampire’s feral instincts. Stupid, to lose control even for a second. He reached through their mating bond again and sensed Olivia at the end. No thoughts. No images, but she was alive. Like she was sleeping.
The Hunters must’ve knocked her out.
He couldn’t believe he’d almost lost it. Completing the mating bond should have made him feel less crazed, more in control, and it did, when Olivia was unharmed. At the first hint of danger, though, his vampire’s sway seemed even stronger, as though the mating bond amplified his protectiveness.
Marek waited until he had his breathing under control before returning to the others, who all eyed him warily.
“She’s unconscious but alive,” he gritted out. “Let’s hope the Hunters don’t find her tracker.”
Everyone returned to their distractions while they waited. Marek returned to his aggressive pacing, his body vibrating with suppressed energy. He hated this part. The waiting. The powerlessness. She was getting farther away. He should be with her. How did she convince him this ridiculous plan would work?
Who cared if they had to stay on the run for the rest of their lives? He was capable of killing anything Drakos sent. If he turned Olivia, she’d become a powerful vampire witch, capable of more magic than most witches dreamed of. Between the two of them, there would be nothing to fear.
But it would come at the cost of Betsy’s life. Olivia would never forgive herself, or him, if something happened to Betsy. He was well acquainted with the soul-sucking guilt and remorse of failing one’s family and wouldn’t subject Olivia to it for eternity.
Damn it. If only they’d had more time.
“Boss?”
He turned at Sascha’s summons. “What is it?”
“They’re at Kidwell Airport, and the plane we’d flagged just left for Houston.”
“Thank you. Prep the plane. We’ll leave as soon as their flight in Houston takes off.”
Fortunately, things were going as planned. After they’d guessed Brazil as the destination, Sascha had scanned every flight leaving the area, identifying one leaving Kidwell Airport as most likely belonging to the Organization. The Organization’s small plane had to refuel before reaching Brazil, which meant Marek, flying on the cargo plane that didn’t have to stop, would arrive in Brazil at about the same time.
Marek tuned down his hearing as the plane’s engines roared to life.
