Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Zeke was gone? That couldn’t be true. They had to be lying. Zeke had explained it to us. Vampires had long lives and were harder to kill than humans, but once a Vampire was mated both the Vampire and the mate became immortal.
I took another step backward, a lump in my throat. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get away, but I had to. I needed to get back to Charlie. I wasn’t sure what these men had done to Zeke, but we needed to find him. Maybe his real brothers would help. From what Zeke had told us, they were the best of the best. If they hadn’t realized yet that their brother was in trouble, I had my doubts, but Zeke had told us a hundred times that if we were ever in trouble to find the Bouchers.
“She’s panicking,” the one with the bat—fake Chance—mumbled.
“Our brother Zeke has the night sky tattooed across his chest,” the handsome one said quickly. “He’s missing the end of his third toe on his right foot. He lost it by dropping an axe on his foot when we were children. He maintains to this day—” His voice grew rough, and he cleared his throat. “He maintains that Chance startled him, and that’s why he dropped it. Not because it was too heavy. His favorite food is marshmallows. Can’t get enough of them. When he smiles, the left side of his mouth rises a little bit higher than the right. He’s not a drinker. He takes his coffee with cream but no sugar.”
“Stop,” I snapped, the weight on my chest growing heavier and heavier.
“He was closer to our mother than our father because he was the baby,” Ambrose finished quietly. “And she coddled him.”
Chance and Danny were silent.
Shit. I believed them.
“Who did we meet in Europe?” I asked, watching Ambrose’s face closely for any kind of tell.
“Matthias,” Ambrose replied easily. “Zeke probably called him our cousin, even though there’s no blood relation. You also met his mate.”
“What did Zeke want to be when he grew up?”
“A cattle rancher. He even designed his own brand.”
My shoulders slumped.
“We are Zeke’s brothers,” Chance said, helping Danny up from the floor.
“Is he dead?” I asked, glancing between them.
My eyes moved back to Ambrose almost instinctively.
He gave a tight nod.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered.
“How much did Zeke explain to you?” Danny asked gently.
“Everything,” I hedged. I believed these males were his brothers. I could see the resemblance now that I no longer felt like the panic was going to suffocate me, but that didn’t mean that I was going to blindly trust them.
Zeke may have promised that we could trust his family if anything went wrong, but he’d also promised that he and Charlie would live forever, and look how that turned out.
Chance moved behind Ambrose and used the baseball bat to slowly pull back the curtain. “Sun’s coming up, Ulf.”
“We need to leave,” Ambrose told me. He hadn’t looked away from my face since the moment we met, and it was beginning to make me a little self-conscious. Did I have dried spit on my cheek or something?
“Feel free,” I said, waving at the door. “Don’t let the door hit you.”
“We can’t leave you here.”
“You absolutely can,” I argued.
“Do you have any idea the kind of danger you’re in?” Danny asked dubiously.
“Oh, I think I have a better idea than you do,” I shot back. “Where have you been the past few months?”
The audacity of these Vampires.
“Ambrose,” Chance called, his voice low.
“Problems?” Ambrose asked, his eyes still on me.
“Don’t touch that,” I ordered as Danny reached for my bag.
“Same human male has crossed the parking lot twice,” Chance told Ambrose.
“That happens at a hotel,” I snapped, stomping over to tear my bag out of the Vampire’s hands.
“You can’t stay here,” Ambrose told me, stepping into my path. “If we can find you, so can anyone else.”
“No one is looking for me.”
“If they think they can use you to get to Charles, they are.”
“They’re not looking for Charles either,” I lied. We actually weren’t sure if they were looking for Charles or not, but we’d erred on the side of caution. Zeke had been adamant that we needed to be vigilant if he didn’t come back.
“Then why did you stash him somewhere?” Chance asked drily.
“Who says I stashed him?” I shot back.
“Can we stop talking in circles?” Danny asked tiredly. “You know, and we know, that you’re on the run. We need to get the hell out of here. Are you carrying the bag, or am I?”
“You carry it,” Ambrose ordered his brother. He looked at me. “Is there anything else to pack?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“I’ll take that as a no,” Ambrose replied. He glanced over at Chance. “All set.”
“Now’s the time,” Chance agreed.
“Then we’re moving.”