He shifted, unable to get comfortable. Most of the wounds on his body had healed. His wings would need more time, though. The immortal black sheep had done a good job of splinting them. Zach supposed he would have to find a way to repay him. If Bastien didn’t betray Lisette to Seth.
A raccoon the size of a beagle waddled across the lawn below him.
Zach’s thoughts wandered to the scene that had greeted him when he had sensed Lisette was in danger and teleported to her, fearing the Others had found her.
Something about the vampires she and the younger immortal had fought hadn’t been right. Not the lanky ones who had already fallen by the time he’d arrived, but the other two.
Mentally he replayed the scene over and over again. Two immortals working together should have had no difficulty defeating two vampires. He had seen Lisette drop five in one skirmish. Two shouldn’t have even made her sweat.
Zach had given the vampires a quick scan, wondering at first if the two weren’t immortals who, like Bastien, had been overlooked by Seth. No advanced DNA had inhabited their forms. Zach had, however, found blank spots in their minds. While the vampiric virus did cause brain damage that resulted in blank spots, the ones he had found in the muscled vamps’ minds had been different. Their blank spots could only have been caused by one of two things: either memories had been buried so deeply that they would never rise again or memories had been completely erased.
Someone with strong telepathic abilities must have buried or erased those memories.
Someone other than Zach.
Over the shuffling steps of the raccoon and the multitude of croaking frogs that lingered in a nearby stream, he heard the low rumble of Lisette’s Hayabusa.
After Seth’s unjust accusation—and the torture Zach had endured as a result of Seth’s stealing his powers and planting a Come and Get ’im, Boys sign on Zach’s head for the Others—Zach had thought it would be fun to watch some unknown immortal with aspirations of grandeur try to destroy his or her leader and usurp his command.
The betrayal would tear Seth up inside.
Watching his Immortal Guardians suffer on his behalf would kill him.
Revenge would be so sweet.
Unfortunately, Zach had neglected to consider that Lisette would be caught in the crossfire. That she could suffer or be destroyed, too.
His pulse picked up as she turned onto her drive and headed toward the house.
The thought of offering Seth aid—look what the hell it had gotten Zach in the past—really chapped his ass. But Lisette . . .
A low sound rife with frustration vibrated his chest.
Damn it, he was going to have to say something. Either that or watch over her twenty-four hours a day until whatever happened happened. He wouldn’t let her come to harm. And Seth could go fuck himself if he didn’t like it.
Silently, Zach watched as she parked the Busa. Removing her helmet, she stowed it away, tilted her head back, and looked right at him. “What are you doing up there?”
He would’ve shrugged if his wings hadn’t been aching so much. “Waiting for you.”
“Why didn’t you wait inside? You should be resting.”
“I am resting.”
She pursed her lips.
“Being in your home when you were gone felt . . . wrong,” he admitted. Being in her home at all had felt wrong. Her home was warm and comfortable and welcoming. He could practically hear all of the laughter she and her brothers and their Seconds had shared beneath this roof.
That was foreign to him.
She waved him down. “Well, I’m home now, so let’s go inside.”
A strange fluttery feeling invaded his stomach and chest.
Zach teleported to the ground, appearing a few feet away from her.
“You’re scowling,” she said.
Was that why her pulse had picked up? Did she fear him?
Zach endeavored to smooth his brow.
A tentative smile curled her full lips. “Better.” She motioned toward the steps that led up to the front porch. “Shall we?”
Still he hesitated.
Following her through that front door would be tantamount to giving up any plans for revenge. He couldn’t involve himself further in Lisette’s life and sit back and watch Seth fall. Lisette would gladly die trying to protect her leader.
The silence stretched.
Stepping closer to him, she reached out and took his hand.
Zach’s heart began to slam against his ribs as Lisette twined her slender fingers through his.
Her hand was so small and delicate within his. Her touch warm.#p#分页标题#e#
Giving his hand a light squeeze, she offered him a shy smile, turned, and led him into her home.
Chapter Five
Lisette wondered at her daring.
She could hear Zach’s heart pounding in his chest, nearly drowned out by her own heart’s attempts to burst from her breast. Did he feel the same thing she did? That sort of nervous, yet delicious excitement that she hadn’t felt since she was a girl embroiled in her first infatuation? It had been so long, she had almost forgotten how wonderful it was. How alive it made her feel. How . . . happy?