“If you’d hit up his business agent right away, like we discussed, it wouldn’t matter. We’d have the ransom, and this whole thing would be over already.”
“There’s more to this than money, for God’s sake.”
“Not for me there’s not! Especially now that Lucas is involved. I’m not risking my life so you can get your rocks off with your boyfriend in there.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s an artist.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a rich artist, and I’m sending the ransom demand before it’s too late.”
“No!” the man said immediately. “I mean, not yet. I need to make a phone call later tonight. Then we’ll work something out.”
Daniel grinned. So Kathryn was looking for him. He’d known she wouldn’t give up easily. A door slammed outside the room. It was a little distant, like down a long hallway, and the noise usually meant his captor was leaving for a while. In this case, he thought it was probably the woman leaving, but had the man gone with her? But no, a key turned in the door lock, so someone was still here. He steadied his breathing, feigning sleep. It was a skill he’d perfected over his weeks of captivity, and he was quite good at it. For some reason, the man was always reluctant to wake him. Maybe he thought an artist needed his sleep or some crap. Daniel didn’t know and didn’t care. If it kept his admirer away from him, it was a good thing.
The door opened slowly. Daniel could feel him standing there, staring at him, but he was used to it and didn’t move. A moment later, the door closed, but he remained still. His captor tested him sometimes, popping the door open quickly, trying to catch him. It had worked the first time he’d tried it, but not since then, because Daniel wasn’t a fucking idiot. Although he was beginning to think his kidnapper might not be playing with a full deck.
The lock clicked solidly into place, and footsteps moved away. The distant door slammed, and Daniel was alone once again.
Lucas felt the bed shift as Kathryn left. He cracked his eyes open and saw her gathering her clothes, sneaking looks over her shoulder. Did she really know so little about vampires? He didn’t sleep, not the way humans did. Not at night, anyway. And his daytime sleep was more like unconsciousness, at least physically. His mind could be active, but his body would refuse to cooperate.
Kathryn tiptoed out of the bedroom while Lucas fumed. This was getting to be a habit, and one he didn’t appreciate in a lover. He followed silently, stepping into the living room as she pulled the black dress over her head.
“Kathryn.”
She jumped at the sound of his voice, spinning around and almost falling as she struggled to get the dress pulled down far enough that she could see him. She would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her.
She slapped away his hands, giving him an angry look. “That wasn’t funny.”
“None of this is funny,” he snapped back at her. “I thought we were past the sneaking-out phase of our relationship.”
“Relationship? Is that you call this?”
“Well, what the hell do you call it?”
She took a step forward and got up in his face. “We’re having sex. And, frankly, I shouldn’t even be doing that. I’m supposed to be looking for my brother, not rolling around in bed with you.”
“You are looking for your brother, but even you can’t do it twenty-four hours a damn day.”
“I need to find Alex Carmichael, and I’m beginning to think no one wants me to talk to him, including you.”
“Is that right?” Lucas snarled. “News flash, Agent Hunter. I’ve had my people looking for him ever since you told me he left with your brother. I want him found just as much as you do.”
Kathryn matched his angry stare at first, then seemed to deflate as she stepped back and sank onto the couch. “I need to find Alex, Lucas.”
Lucas crouched in front of her and took her hands. “I know, a cuisle. And we will. He can’t hide forever.”
“What if he’s left town? You said he had a different master. Will he go to him?”
“Possibly. Although Alex set himself up in Minneapolis for a reason. I think he prefers living here.”
“I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand how all of you can live in this country and not be in the system. There are no prints on file for him anywhere. He owns a business, but there are no permits, no ownership documents. The building where his gallery’s located is owned by a corporation that’s nested so deeply, it would take months for me to track it back to the real owner. If this was an official investigation, I could put some techs on it, but it’s just me, and I can’t find him.”
She looked up, her eyes filled with tears. “I need to find him, Lucas.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she froze, immediately turning her head and hiding behind her hair. No emotion, no feelings. Not for his Kathryn.
Lucas sighed. “I’ve put feelers out everywhere I can think of. And Alex knows me. He’ll call as soon as he gets word that I’m looking for him.”
“I thought you all could just—” She sighed impatiently and waved a hand in the air. “You know, telepathy, talk mind to mind.”
Lucas fought back a smile, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate it. Not in her current state. “If Alex was my child . . . a vampire I had turned myself,” he added when she gave him a puzzled look. “If he was one of mine, I could contact him without needing a telephone, so to speak, but he’s not.”
Kathryn stood abruptly, shoving her hair back. She looked around the room until she spotted her purse, then went over and started pulling things out. Her gun. He hadn’t known she’d brought one along, although if he’d given it a thought, he’d have smelled the damn thing. Next came her FBI badge in its small, black portfolio, and finally, a black scrunchy, which was apparently what she was looking for. She finger-combed her hair into a high ponytail and secured it with the scrunchy. Lucas had a few of those himself. He’d been known to go months between haircuts, until his hair irritated him enough that he broke down and got it cut again.
Kathryn turned to face him from across the room, her cheeks scrubbed free of tears. “It must be getting late for you,” she said, not looking at him.
Lucas studied her, wondering what event in her life had caused her to withdraw so completely into herself. Wondering if he’d ever find out.
“The sun will rise in . . . forty-five minutes, give or take a minute,” he confirmed.
She looked at him then, her eyes wide with surprise. “You can tell that precisely?”
“When your life depends on it, you learn.”
He could see she was intrigued. Perhaps that was the way to Kathryn’s heart. Give her a mystery to solve. Assuming he wanted to find her heart at all. Maybe he’d be better off taking a page from her playbook. A few nights of wild sex, then good-bye, nice fucking you.
“What will you do today?” he asked her.
She bit her full lower lip, considering. Lucas watched avidly, thinking how much he’d like to be the one doing the biting. He almost missed what she was saying when she finally spoke.
“I don’t know that there’s anything I can do during the day. The only lead I have right now is Alex Carmichael.”
Lucas thought about what might happen if Kathryn went looking for a vampire who didn’t want to be found. Even one as relatively harmless as Alex.
“Promise you won’t go looking for him without me, Kathryn. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
She drew a breath, and he could tell she was going to brush him off just like she’d done every other time. But then something changed her mind.
“Okay,” she said unexpectedly. “Call me when you’re ready to go tonight.”
She turned away, but Lucas used his vampire speed to cross the few feet between them, snaking an arm around her waist before she even saw him move. Her eyes widened in shock, but her pupils flared with desire as he tightened his hold.
“I’m ready now, a cuisle.”
Kathryn’s face heated as Lucas flattened his hand over her perfect ass, pressing her against his erection.
“What about—” she began, but her words were cut off as Lucas’s house phone rang. He frowned. He wasn’t expecting any calls, and certainly not this close to sunrise.
“Saved by the bell,” he murmured, then gave her a quick, hard kiss and strode over to the bar to pick up the phone, checking the caller ID as he did so. His eyebrows shot up, and he stilled, listening to Kathryn’s footsteps as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
He hit the Talk button. “Alex?”
“My lord,” Alex Carmichael said breathlessly. “I don’t have long. I need to meet with you.”
“What’s wrong? Do you need help?”
“Not now, my lord,” he said, still breathing hard. “There’s no time. Can you meet me tomorrow night?”
“Of course. At the gallery?”
“No,” Alex said instantly. “Too many ears. I have a property in Saint Louis Park, an old warehouse. It’s empty, abandoned. I bought it on spec, but— Forgive me, my lord. You don’t care about that. The point is, it’s empty. No one will look for us there. I can send you the address.”
“Text it,” Lucas told him, and gave him Nick’s business cell number. “How far is it?”
“Just a few miles, my lord. Fifteen minutes’ drive from Minneapolis.”
“Two hours after sunset, then. I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Alex said fervently. “Thank you.” And then he was gone.
Lucas disconnected with a frown, then immediately called Nick.
“Sire?” Nick answered, sounding just as surprised as Lucas had been when Alex called.
“Alex Carmichael just called.”
“That’s not possible— Which line?”