Enemy Within (Vampire Born Trilogy, #2) (35 page)

I smirk. My biggest dilemma then was that my mom wanted to buy me the Mazda, but I was set on an older Jeep Cherokee. Other than that, I had a crush on a boy who was taken. Things were simpler. Things were pretty good.

I next pass the path leading to Jaren’s small paradise, the spot where his dad used to take him fishing. Maybe that’s where Jaren disappears to when he wants to be alone nowadays.

He seems to do that more and more.

I can’t blame him. At least he runs off when the sun is still out.

I bet the pond is beautiful at night, with the moon’s reflection on the water lighting up the alcove.

I’m tempted to park on the side of the road to visit the pond, but a greater pull tugs me elsewhere, somewhere I want to be a little bit more.

The familiar curvature in the road has me tapping the brakes and then pushing the gas pedal a little harder to get up the steep incline.

When the white sign reflects in my lights, I turn on my blinker and pull onto the gravel road. The crunch beneath the tires is comforting as I follow the single lane to the open parking area. I maneuver the car into the spot I’d claimed as mine, and then put the car in park.

The headlights shine on trees still dressed in lingering autumn leaves. I can’t see far down the path, but I know what’s there. Kaitlynn and I walked that path for two years. I can’t help but wonder if this year, when the leaves start to bud on the tree branches, if Kaitlynn and I won’t find ourselves on this path.

It depresses me.

I came up here hoping to feel closer to her somehow. Her distance has me searching out other ways I can fill her absence. Sadly, our hiking trail isn’t helping.

Without another thought, I put the car in reverse and follow the road back out to the highway and make my way into town.

Kaitlynn’s street is dimly lit. One of the streetlamps is out farther down the hill.

As I creep closer to her house, I can make out a figure running down her driveway toward Kaitlynn’s Jeep parked on the street.

When the figure reaches the driver’s side door facing the light, I see who it is.

Kaitlynn.

She opens the door, does something inside, and then pushes the Jeep down the hill. Once she’s cloaked by the neighborhood dark spot, she jumps inside and cranks the engine.

What is she doing?

David’s gone and we don’t have any plans to warrant her sneaking out. Where is she going?

She reaches the end of the street and flips on her lights, turning left onto the main road much quicker than she should have.

My heart speeds up and I push on the gas. Kaitlynn hasn’t been in the best place since she’s turned. Or since David died. And shouldn’t Hawk or someone be watching over her? Whatever has her speeding off under cover of darkness can’t be anything good.

I follow cautiously and accelerate to catch up with her.

She’s farther ahead than I expect. She doesn’t stop at stop signs or the red light she blows through to merge onto Highway 60.

I have to catch her before she reaches the interstate or I’ll never catch her. Her Jeep is bigger but also faster than my Mazda ever dreamed of being.

As soon as Kaitlynn is ahead of me on the highway, I flash my lights at her.

Kaitlynn’s eyes reflect in her rearview mirror as she peers back at me. She shakes her silhouetted head, and speeds up.

My breath quickens as I scramble for my phone in the center console. My fingers shake as I dial Kaitlynn.

The time between each ring grates on my nerves and increases my nausea.

She isn’t going to answer.

“Go home,” Kaitlynn says after the third ring.

Relief washes over me for a millisecond before being drowned with cold fear. “I’m worried about you. What’s going on?”

“I don’t have time for this,” she growls. “Go home.”

“Kaitlynn? Since when did we start keeping secrets from each other?”

“Since you lied to me about Mirko breaking up with you.”

Ouch.

How the heck did she know? I haven’t even spoken to her today.

“Kaitlynn …” I consider telling her the argument I’ve had planned for this very moment, but telling her she would have done the same for David doesn’t seem right anymore. Saying that won’t soften her to my side. It will only hurt her more, even if it is true. “This isn’t like you. Please, pull over.”

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of that going around lately.”

A lump forms in my throat but I manage to talk around it. “We’ve both lost people. I don’t want to lose you too. Is that what you want?”

Silence.

I glance down at my phone to find it lit up on the home screen.

Kaitlynn hung up on me.

I bite my lower lip, my eyes stinging with tears. It doesn’t matter how hard I fought to save Kaitlynn. Losing her is inevitable.

I ease my foot off the gas but can’t bring myself to tap the brake. No matter what Kaitlynn wants, I still love her and care what happens to her and what trouble she is bound to get into.

Kaitlynn’s blond hair glistens in my headlights when she glimpses back over her shoulder before braking and pulling off to the side of the road.

I’m so relieved I can barely keep control of my shaking hands as I follow her off the road.

Kaitlynn jumps out of her Jeep and heads toward me before I can get the car into park.

I roll down the window and brace myself when the cold breeze hits my face. I open my mouth, then hesitate, not sure what I can say to convince her to go home, to care enough about me to not abandon me.

Kaitlynn spares me by speaking first. “No, I don’t want to lose you. I’ll tell you where I’m going, but I’m also telling you that you aren’t going to stop me.”

I’m speechless. I have so much to say, but none of it makes sense in my head when I try to turn it into words.

Kaitlynn continues without missing a beat. “I’m going after Emerik.”

I gasp. “Emerik? But … How do you—”

“I can feel him. Every night I’ve searched for him, but something changed tonight. I can feel where he is now.”

“You feel him …? What do you—”

“Ever since I woke up, I’ve been able to feel people, to know where they are. How do you think I knew about you and Mirko? What else was I supposed to think with you being in his room in the middle of the night?”

Holy cow. It’s not only David or her turning that’s causing her to pull away from me.

She’s mad at me.

Kaitlynn steps to the side when I open the door and get out. “We didn’t have sex,” I say. Not telling her about our relationship is one thing, but not telling her when I’ve lost my virginity is against a serious BFF code. She needs to know we haven’t done it yet.

She raises an eyebrow. “This is Mirko we’re talking about, right?”

“He hasn’t pushed it. I swear. I’ve instigated it more than he has, and we almost, but then my dad, and we … yeah, it was bad. We have a lot to catch up on.”

I freeze. It truly hits me. “You couldn’t feel David.”

Kaitlynn’s eyes close.

“Outside his house. When you said you couldn’t feel him. You meant literally.” Oh my God. Not only is she suffering from the fact that the boy she loves is never coming back, but she can feel everyone except him. It must leave her with a gaping hole where she should feel him.

I’m not sure how it all works. I’ll have to ask her when time heals her a little, but I’m certain her loss goes deeper than I can imagine.

Kaitlynn’s eyes glisten in the moonlight.

I step closer and wrap my arms around her.

“I have to leave,” Kaitlynn says and steps back, but she doesn’t turn to go.

I ignore her. We both fight back tears.

“I’m so sorry.” I want to ask her why she didn’t tell me about being able to feel people. I want to tell her that her need for revenge is justified, that I’ll go with her, but it’s a suicide mission. We aren’t prepared to fight Emerik, nor are we prepared for the dominoes that will fall if we get lucky. But most of all, I’m not prepared to lose my best friend.

“You can’t go—”

Kaitlynn opens her mouth to interrupt, but I talk over her. “Tonight. You go and Emerik wins. Is it more important to you to go after him tonight, or to win when you go after him? You need backup. You need training. You need a better plan than simply knowing where he is.”

Kaitlynn peeks back at her Jeep as if it beckons her.

I step toward her and place my hand on her shoulder. “You want Emerik? Fine. We’ll get him. But tonight is not that night. Not yet.”

Kaitlynn tilts her head and appraises me. “You’ll help me get him?”

“Of course.” I cross a line without second-guessing myself. I’m now willing to kill for more than self-defense. That should bother me, but in this case, it doesn’t. Emerik tried to kill me. He’s behind David’s murder, and these facts overpower any guilt that might weigh upon me.

Kaitlynn sticks her hand at me with her pinky pointed out. “Promise?”

I hook my pinky around hers and then we bring our hands to our mouths and kiss the hollow end made by our fists. I won’t break this promise. “I promise. Now let’s go home.”

Kaitlynn shakes her head. “I can’t go home. Too many memories of David. I can’t be there tonight.”

I can take her back to Garwin’s, but being in a house full of Zao Duhs probably won’t be much better.

But …

I know a place that can work.

My house is where Kaitlynn and David had their first kiss, but my room is free of all memories of him and filled with others that should be comforting. “Wanna stay at my house? In my room?”

She considers it before nodding.

“I’ll meet you there.” I climb into my car and wait for Kaitlynn to turn around before I do. I set the alarm on my phone for 4 a.m. so I can text Mirko and let him know where I am. He’s going to be pissed when he finds out I left the house by myself and stayed the night somewhere else. But it’s worth it for Kaitlynn.

Hell, I just pinky swore I’d help her kill a man without question.

Actually, I do have one question: I get my own shovel, right?

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Mirko

The moonlight streaks across the room, casting shadows on the far wall. I lie awake and stare at them, willing them to give me answers to some of my worries. I’ve had many sleepless nights recently, but none have been as desolate as this one.

Brooke used to fill some of my nights with whiffs of lemon drops from flipping her hair, with her quiet laughter when I nip her bottom lip, with her freshly shaved legs rubbing against mine, softer than silk. Her taste, her warmth. I miss every facet of her.

I knew Brooke would be scared of her father’s threats. That’s why I made her promise she would never give me up. I wanted Brooke to fight for us. To really fight for us. But as soon as real resistance stood in our way, she gave up on me.

I toss in bed and pull the covers out from around me.

Zladislov is locked away somewhere, so he can’t really do much to keep us apart if we don’t want to be.

So why hasn’t Brooke come to me tonight?

A large part of me has been hoping she would. The fact that she hasn’t proves to me how little she’s willing to fight for me.

For us.

I battle with myself to not get up and go to her instead, telling myself that if she doesn’t come to me, she doesn’t want to. But the more I agonize about it, the more I can’t help but wonder if she’s changed her mind about us.