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of a smile on his lips.
 Out with it, Alex demanded.
 I was thinking about the story you told me.
 What story? Alex asked gruffly.
 About the night of your turning. I got to thinking about what you said about Alice s
family blaming you for her death.
 What s that have to do with anything?
 I recognized the name. Bostitch isn t a very common name, but I d heard it before
so I did some research.
Alex sat up straighter.  So?
 The Bostitch clan has been around forever. They have their hands in a lot of
different endeavors, and here s the kicker& they re vampires.
 That s impossible, Alex rebutted.  Alice was mortal.
 At the time, yes, she was, but that s only because she was a born vampire.
 I m not following you, Alex admitted.
Newman shook his head.  Born vampires are mortal until a certain age. Once they
hit that age, they are then set in their immortality. She wouldn t have needed blood and
would ve been able to live as a normal human until that time. It would have been so easy
for her to fool you.
Alex frowned.  What does this have to do with Tina?
Newman cleared his throat.  I talked to several different people who were around
during that time. It seems the Bostitch s never stopped looking for Alice s killer and still
to this day believe you were the one who killed her. They think you were hiding the fact
that you were a vampire from them and Alice, just as she was hiding it from you.
Alex couldn t believe what he was hearing. There was no way he would have ever
hurt Alice. He might have not loved her like he did Tina, but he d loved her nonetheless.
 Do you think they re the ones who took Tina?
 All of the Bostitch s live in Europe, except one. Brian.
 Alice s older brother. Alex nodded, immediately recognizing the name.
 He has an estate in upstate New York. I had a strange feeling after you told me that
story. If that s the only grudge you could remember someone having against you, I
figured it was worth looking into. I sent some guys up there, and they said they saw a
small woman in a window of the main house about an hour ago. Her description fit
Tina s.
 What are we waiting for? Alex sprang to his feet.  Let s go.
Without argument, Newman followed his lead. Alex was under no illusions. He
knew if Tina was in that house and Brian was indeed her captor, he would need all the
help he could get. If Brian could teleport and fish around in people s minds, he was
indeed very old and very strong. There was no telling what else he could do. Alex and
Newman were sitting strong at right around five hundred years old, but they were nothing
compared to someone such as Brian.
Hurrying off the elevator, he and Newman sprinted across the garage and slid into
the car.
Hitting the gas, they sped out into the street and headed north.
 You really love her, don t you?
Alex chanced a quick look at the man beside him before returning them to the road.
 Yes, I do. You ll understand someday.
Newman nodded.  I hope so.
Silence descended for a long moment before Newman spoke again.
 As soon as my guys called and said they saw Tina, I called headquarters and the
place should be surrounded with I.D. s by the time we get there, so we re pretty well
covered. So far, they ve counted five guards in total. Not all vampires. Two are
werewolves, one is a shifter, and one of the remaining two are vampires.
Alex nodded. His mind was lost on a sea of worry, hope, and excitement at the
prospect of getting Tina back.
Speeding down the highway, Alex prayed silently. If he lost Tina, he knew for
certain he would die with her.
Chapter Seventeen
Two days had passed since she d gone missing, and Tina was at her wit s end.
Brian had ordered her moved from the tiny cell she d woken up in to the main house
the first night they met. The room was immaculate with thick plush carpeting, a huge
fluffy bed made up in pink and white satins, and a fireplace setting along one wall.
She hadn t seen one sign of help coming and was starting to lose hope that she would
be found. After her first encounter with Brian in the cell, she still hadn t found out his
intentions toward her. He d followed quietly as she was moved and placed in the room.
After that, she hadn t seen him for more than five minutes. Not that she wanted to see
him. She only wanted some straight answers.
Shoving her hand through her hair, she sighed.
Where the hell was Alex?
He was supposed to be some hotshot immortal detective, and yet, here she sat in this
room with an insane killer lurking around the house.
Walking to the window, which she d found to be sealed shut the moment she
entered, Tina gazed out over the dark lawn. The thick wooded area surrounding the house
cast foreboding shadows over the lush green grass. Stifling a shiver, she continued her
perusal of the grounds. She didn t know what she was looking for, but continued to look
for it.
A shadow shifted.
Her breath caught in her throat. It wasn t an animal. It was too large and moved
upright. It had to have been a person. Gazing harder at the woods, she struggled to see the
movement again. She could barely make out the shape of a person. He was covered in
black from head to toe.
Looking around the shadow quickly in search of more men, she spotted two more.
Who are they? She wondered. Perhaps they were there to rescue her? A spark of
hope flared within her but quickly flickered with doubt. It was more likely they worked
for the man keeping her captive guarding the house. She couldn t figure out what he
wanted with her. She knew from her talks with Alex that the Monthly Murderer had a
score to settle with him.
The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize she was just a pawn in
an attempt to punish Alex. What he could have done to spark this kind of insanity from
her captor, she couldn t imagine.
A tap sounded at the door.
Turning away from the window quickly, she watched quietly as the man who d
introduced himself as Brian entered the room.
 Here to kill me? She didn t know where she got the bravado to ask such a taunting
question as terrified as she was, but the words flew past her lips before she could contain
them.
He laughed. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]