Hunting Tess Read online

  “Then what?”

  “Tess attacked him. It was either that or watch Sam die on stage. Dmitri was actually killing Sam, baiting Tess. Then chaos erupted when they started fighting, nearly too quickly to track.”

  “And then the fire,” Marilyn, Ben’s mom, chimes in to Ben’s narrative. “You have to understand that Hillbrook is a highly prestigious school, their graduates fought over by Ivy League universities. The auditorium was overflowing with talent scouts. The school would spare no expense in their productions, and that included using real fire. Someone—”

  “Viktor,” Eliza utters.

  “Someone, let the flames get out of hand, catching the curtains on fire, spreading from there.”

  “She knew they wouldn’t stop until she was dead,” Ben says. “So, she gave them what they wanted. She faked her death.”

  Silence follows the reveal and I wonder what Parker’s face looks like.

  “Sam was on stage,” Eliza murmurs softly. “He helped her get away, staging it to look like she had died in the fire.”

  “So that’s how they found her now? Three years later?”

  Another silence follows and I wish I was down there to defend Sam’s name. It wasn’t his fault, not really anyway.

  “What happened? What happened to Sam?” Parker asks in a tight voice.

  “His body was found in a river.”

  Done with eavesdropping, I stomp slighter harder than I need to down the steps. Rounding the corner into the brightly colored kitchen reveals Marilyn, Ben, Eliza, Parker, and Leo looking like conspirators at a round table. Conspirators with breakfast. Marilyn jumps up when she sees me, immediately fixing me a plate of food. My eyes stray to the newcomers, wondering what they’re doing here.

  “You need to eat something,” Marilyn orders, placing thick French toast at her empty chair before ushering me into it. Eliza pours a glass of orange juice, nearly forcing it into my hand as Marilyn kisses me on the head. “I have to run to work. Unless you want me to stay?”

  The earnestness in her eyes making sure I’m okay puts a lump in my throat. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” she says, stroking my hair once before picking up her purse from the counter. “I’ll be back a little after five.”

  I stare at the plate as the garage door closes. My stomach is empty, but food is the last thing on my mind.

  “Eat.” Eliza commands, holding out a fork which I don’t move to take. “Do you want enough energy to go and kill some more vampires? Because the last time I checked energy comes from food. So eat, I can hear your stomach growling.”

  Though she can hear no such thing because it didn’t, I take the outstretched fork. “Are you all planning on watching me eat or are you going to eat your own food?”

  As if receiving the okay to continue their meal, some tension leaves like a large exhale.

  “I don’t mean to rush things,” Parker apologizes, completely ignoring his food, “but what is your plan moving forward?”

  The glare Eliza shoots him could freeze water. “Parker!”

  “It’s fine,” I utter, knowing I would need to broach the topic sometime. I still need to finish school. I have one semester left and I’m going to finish. “Today I don’t want to do anything. I’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

  Ben, Eliza, and Leo look content with the answer, but Parker’s expression stays the same. His gray eyes are hard and his mouth is turned down. I fold my arms, leaning back in the chair. There would be no reason for Ben or Eliza to call Leo and his brothers, meaning they came on their own. But I have no idea how they found out who I actually am.

  “Leo and I are going to take a look around town. Those vampires have to be staying somewhere. And then tonight we’ll go hunting.”

  His gaze doesn’t leave mine but before I can ask him about his visit there is a knock at the door. Ben’s chair scrapes the floor when he stands up, having a reason to escape the somewhat stilted conversation.

  “I’m Head Detective Davenport and this is Detective Rossi; we’re with the Logan Police Department. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about an incident which occurred last night?”

  I feel my eyes go wide in apprehension since I’m supposed to be dead.

  “Of course, please come in.”

  If Ben keeps them in the sitting room then it doesn’t matter. Hopefully they’ll be satisfied staying there.

  The shuffling and rustle of fabric has everyone getting comfortable in the front room where Marilyn likes to hold her weekly book club.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Ben asks after introducing himself.

  “No, thank you. Do you live here with your family?”

  “I’m a student at USU and live off campus.”

  “Feel like taking a trip home?” Detective Rossi questions, her voice sounding like she hasn’t been out of the academy all that long.

  “It’s not that far and it makes my mom happy,” Ben explains, probably sensing the accusation in Rossi’s voice.

  “Is your mother here?”

  “She left for work a little while ago.”

  “Did you see or hear anything abnormal last night?” Detective Davenport asks. “A car you haven’t seen before, loud noises you thought odd?”

  “No,” Ben replies slowly. “Did something happen?”

  A tear slides down my face and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep more from falling.

  “Unfortunately, yes, but we are not able to disclose any information at this time.” The words sound so rehearsed, so detached that I wonder how many times he has had to say them. “If you think of anything, please let us know.”

  Shifting fabric and the thud of heavy footsteps suggest the short interview is over. Leo and Parker leave abruptly after to do who knows what, but I’m fine doing nothing. For today, anyway.

  “Why are Leo and Parker here?” I ask Eliza that night as we’re getting ready for bed, not wanting to ask during our movie marathon and ruin the artistic storytelling. “And how did they find out where Ben lives?”

  She squeezes a glob of toothpaste on a toothbrush we got from Marilyn. After learning she would have a few more guests than she reckoned, she picked up a couple necessary items from the store.

  Eliza squirms in the mirror, her eyes going back and forth between my face and every other object she can possibly look at. “Eliza.”

  Setting down the toothbrush she was about to start using to avoid answering, her eyes stay glued to the smooth counter and I wonder if she’s going to say anything. “Parker said that some guy delivered a computer . . .” Finally look up, her eyes hold a fine sheen of tears. “The computer was showing a live recording of your parents living room. He said it was supposed to be some kind of warning about minding their own business. He had a way of tracking Ben’s license plate and they showed up early this morning.”

  Leo and Parker saw? They all saw what happened?

  I don’t know whether to feel embarrassed, sad, or furious.

  “They wanted to help however they could,” Eliza says softly, her toothbrush long forgotten.

  “It’s fine,” I say, though nothing could be farther from the truth. My head spins from trying to pick an emotion. “Oh goodness, you’re missing school!”

  “As are you,” she reminds me. “And I have to miss a few classes? Gee, darn.” Back to her chipper self she pops in the toothbrush. I leave her to her thoughts so I can sort out mine. We’ll find out tomorrow if Leo and Parker found anything. If not, I’ll need to hunt a few more vampires while I’m here.

  CHAPTER 4

  HIM

  “She’ll be safe with us.” I don’t know where those words come from since it couldn’t have seriously been me who said it.

  Leo and I cleared out a small nest of vampires hiding in the foothills just a few hours ago, leaving the bodies outside to turn to ash in the sun. It took several days to find the nest, giving Tess time to mourn the death of her parents. It didn’t help that her childhood home wa
s a crime scene investigation with cops trailing in and out all day every day.

  Vampires took care of their cleanup, leaving only the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Addams.

  Now we’re debating Tess’s next step. It’s too dangerous for her to return to the University of Colorado Boulder, especially because the creeps looking for her know where she lives. But an angry flush rose in her cheeks when I suggested staying with her friends here. If she’s determined to return to Boulder, and the way her lips curl in tells me she is, the safest place she’ll be is with a few wolves.

  “What are you going to do? Stand guard outside my apartment?” she asks skeptically. Smudges under her eyes tell me she didn’t sleep well. I hope she’s not having nightmares.

  “I was thinking something easier. Stay at our house. You and Leo can carpool to and from campus.” My brain is shouting about the moronic words coming out of my mouth while the rest of me warms to the idea of staying under the same roof.

  This has nothing to do with her being my mate. She’s in a dangerous circumstance, and I would have offered the same thing to anyone else in her place.

  The vehemence I try to convince myself of that is laughable.

  Her eyes widen and she almost takes a physical step back. “No way. It’s not that I’m unappreciative of the offer,” she says, trying to quell the outburst that could be considered rude, “but it would be a huge disruption to your lives. Finals are coming up and I have to be on campus at absurd hours.”

  “I don’t know, Tess,” Eliza mumbles. “That sounds like a pretty good offer.”

  “Even more reason to stay, especially if you’re going to be on campus after hours. At least for a few weeks.” I see her trying to think of a way out of my suggestion.

  “It’ll be fun,” Leo chimes in. “And we have movie nights every Friday,” he says, wagging his eyebrows up and down like a movie will sway her opinion.

  “It’s a good idea,” Ben says, rubbing his jaw in thought. “It’ll give us more time to figure out the person behind these attacks. He’s gotta be overseas and that will take some time to track.”

  My shoulders flex unconsciously at the thought of a Master targeting Tess. I’ll need to contact Gabe and see what he can find out about these Bulgarian vampires. A group this big is bound to attract attention.

  Leo drives the car we came down in leaving me to ride with Tess in her Civic for eight uninterrupted hours. To say the ride starts out awkward would be an understatement. The two cats sitting silently in the back doesn’t help. Tess attempted to get them out of the car but they refused to budge. A house full of cats and dogs should be interesting.

  Her fingers drum the steering wheel as music softly plays in the background. “How did you find out where I live?”

  Her first question is pretty close to what I had been expecting. “Your friend’s car.” When she doesn’t respond I continue. “I tracked the license plate.”

  “So you have connections?”

  I don’t respond, wondering how much of my job would be safe to reveal.

  “The police? Someone who works at the Department of Licensing? Are you involved in shady business with sketchy back alley dealings?”

  I chuckle at the theories growing more grandiose. “No, nothing like that. I was able to do it through my job.” She grows quiet before squinting at me out of the corner of her eye.

  “The mafia?”

  Barking a laugh, I can feel a stupid grin on my face so I turn to look out the window. Sprawling estates grow closer together, soon shifting to normal houses before turning to businesses as we drive through an increasingly populated area.

  “So, your friend with the glowing eyes,” I start, hoping she’ll pick up the conversation.

  “Yeah . . . she can, if focusing on a specific moment in time, see a couple of seconds into the future.”

  I feel my eyes widen in disbelief but can’t stop it from happening. “The future?”

  “Yup.”

  Standing on the rooftop shouting commands I thought she may have just had intuition, or could anticipate the vampires next move and give warning. But Tess and Ben followed her instructions without a second thought. Nifty tool to have.

  “And your other friend. What about him?”

  “They have names, you know. Ben has a special connection to his ancestors.” Her secret smile makes me think I’m missing something, but I get the feeling she won’t tell me.

  “Is that it?” she asks after a long pause. “That’s all the questions you have? After everything you’ve learned?”

  “How long have you been shifting?”

  The question has been burning in my mind since I first saw her change. Based on Marilyn and her friends account, Tess’s parents weren’t shifters so I wonder where she got her gift. Heck, I didn’t even know there were shifters outside of wolves.

  Her eyebrows draw together and I know she’s thinking of what happened in her house.

  “That was the first time.” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

  “I’m sorry.” The words are inadequate and I wish there was a way to comfort her. Losing your parents is hard enough without seeing it happen. Maybe the best thing is to give her a distraction. “What do you remember from the shift?”

  Clearing her throat, she blinks away the tears pooling in her eyes before answering. “Nothing. I didn’t even know I had changed.”

  Her lower lip gets sucked between her teeth and a blush creeps across her cheeks, adding a faint color that has me clenching the side of my thigh to keep from taking her hand. Maybe Leo and I should have switched places.

  “It’s common not to remember after your first time. It takes practice, like stretching a muscle, to recall what transpired. Then it just becomes second nature.” My words are meant as a comfort, because the opposite is true. She may not have remembered everything, but there should have been fragmented pieces, a way to know she was in control. The fact she didn’t is worrisome.

  “That’s a relief.”

  “Would you want to try it again?”

  She takes a moment to consider. “No, I don’t think so. I already have the benefits of a large cat without needing to turn into one. I suppose if it’s something I need to do it’ll happen.”

  I don’t let her see my disappointment. It’s her choice. And it’s always been my opinion that shifting is a private matter. Wanting her to open up to me of all people is selfish.

  Taking her bag of weapons from the trunk, I store them in the garage before showing Tess to one of the upstairs guest rooms. We’ll need to grab some things from her apartment but it will be better if Caleb and I go so that her scent isn’t fresh. That way, hopefully, the vampires will leave everyone else alone.

  “This is it,” I present, stepping into the moderately sized room. The queen-sized bed sits beneath a dome window with a wide dresser and T.V. off to the right. Hopefully she isn’t opposed to not quite pink but lighter than red. My well-meaning mother sent the thick duvet with matching everything as a gift last year, but the color doesn’t exactly scream masculinity. “There’s a private bathroom through there and the sun rises pretty early so I would keep the curtains closed in the morning unless you want to be blinded.”

  Her footsteps are hesitant as she gives the space a once-over. The cats, on the other hand, claim the bed as their own. “Feel free to anything you can find in the kitchen,” I tack on, deciding the best way for her to relax would be to leave.

  “Thank you,” she says when I’m in the doorway. Her eyes hold sadness and an expression of being lost. Keeping my feet firmly planted I nod my head once before leaving her to settle in. The best thing I can do to help right now is get in contact with Europe’s vampire expert Gabe. If anyone will have information about this Master, it will be him.

  ***

  Tess told me she was a Performance Major. I had no idea what that meant until this moment.

  The auditorium is dark and a handful of people are littered throughout the front seats. Tess
wasn’t lying when she said she had to be on campus at ridiculous hours, and has spent the majority of the last month living here. Twenty-two days. I have seen her for twenty-two consecutive days, each one harder, and easier, than the last.

  A high string wale plays over the speakers, holding the single note until it ricochets across the room, drawing attention to the lone figure standing beneath a sharp beam of white light. The slow, graceful movement of the dancer catches my breath in my throat. The ballerina-esque poses and postures Tess takes reminds me of classical ballets where the heroine dies a tragic death, the tune one of mourning.

  A normal human’s muscles would strain under the pressure from the holds her body demands, but the power of her forms keeps all eyes fixated. The song stays fluid and steady, the perfect way to showcase this particular talent.

  “Thank you, Ms. Wigg, scores will be posted in three days outside my office.”

  Tess rises from her final position and exits the stage, making her way to a crammed seat where she collects her belongings. I rise from the back corner to carry her bags.

  “You’re a shoe-in for Dache’s showcase,” a short blond squeals, her small hands clasped in excitement.

  “Emily,” Tess laughs under her breath, “he’s got hundreds of students. Besides, I have a lot going on right now.”

  “But you’re graduating! And you’ve already done it twice. Twice!”

  “Exactly. Best to let someone else have my spot if I make the cut at all.”

  “Oh you will. And Cece is going to hate you for it.”

  Tess glances across the auditorium toward a gaggle of girls. “If she wants it that badly she can have it.”

  “You’re a better person than me,” Emily mutters under her breath.

  Tess peeks up from stuffing the last of her clothes in a bag as I come to a stop in front of her.

  “I thought Caleb was picking me up,” she says, a fine line of perspiration dotting her hairline.

  “Caleb went to see our parents for a surprise visit. You’re stuck with me.”

  “I’ll see you later, Emily,” Tess waves, following me out of the theater. I take her bags in one hand before opening the door. Several people stop her to briefly chat, her contagious smile spreading to everyone she speaks with. Her shoulders drop incrementally every time she stops, but her tiredness doesn’t affect the kind enthusiasm she shows in listening to others planned performance pieces.