“You’re splattered with blood,” he said in lieu of an answer. “You weren’t supposed to hunt without me. What the hell were you thinking?” Locking his arms around her, he held her tight.
“Relax. Three of the usual psycho vampires caught a couple of eggheads who were stumbling back to their apartments after studying late. I couldn’t just let the vamps kill them.”
“Lisette—”
“None of the new vampires were with them. I made sure of it before I attacked. And I didn’t stick around after saving the humans. I called Chris’s cleanup crew in to tidy things up and take the guys home.”
Zach grunted.
Leaning back, she looked up at him. “What about you? You didn’t say what took so long. Is everything okay?”
“Yes.”
She lost her smile. “Uh-oh. What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look guilty as hell. What did you do?”
“Why would you assume I did something?”
She arched a brow.
“All right,” he conceded. “I might have accidentally made a telepathic immortal’s nose bleed. A lot. While forcibly intruding into his mind.”
“Zach!”
“I said accidentally.”
“Was it an accident?” she asked.
“No.”
She pushed out of his arms. “Damn it, Zach! Seth told you to be subtle and not to alert the immortals to your intrusion when you read them.”
“Don’t worry. The immortal won’t remember having his thoughts read.” He’d made sure of it.
“What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re thinking. I merely commanded him to sleep through it. And I stopped his nosebleed and cleaned him up afterward, so there will be no indication that anything happened.”
She stared up at him.
“I can’t read your expression,” he said after a moment. “What are you thinking?”
“You said you’d play nice.”
“I did play nice. I let him sleep through it.”
“Zach—”
“What would you have me do, Lisette?” He paced away, tension beating him. “I’ve read every immortal on the list who can easily be read and keep coming up empty. There is nothing more incriminating in their minds than lusting after this person or that or cheating at fucking cards. Only the elders remain. Those whose minds, like Ethan’s, are extremely difficult to read. And no stone can go unturned.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “It’s okay. Come here, mon coeur.”
Sighing, he returned to her and welcomed another embrace.
“I know this is all new to you and that you’re frustrated,” she said, her small hands roaming his back. “I shouldn’t have criticized.”
“And I shouldn’t have snapped.” He rested his chin on her hair and closed his eyes.
“So you didn’t find anything in the telepath’s mind?”
“Nothing.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t understand this. Something is wrong. Something is off. But I can’t put my finger on what it is. Why can’t we find out who the enemy is? Why is there no trace of him in any immortal’s thoughts? Someone has to know who he is. Someone has to be complicit.”
“Have you read the thoughts of everyone on the list?”
“Almost. Only three remain, all older than the one I examined tonight. And those I must read before Seth awakens.”
Seth had slept soundly for going on two days now, waking only twice to ask if all was well.
“Why do you have to do it before he awakens?”
“Because I’m not confident he will do what’s necessary to seek the information we need.”
Her hands stilled. She leaned back. “Zach . . .”
“He told me not to force it, not to give anyone nosebleeds. Do you think it will be easier for him to do it himself?”
She sighed. “No. As long as you can do it without them knowing it or causing permanent damage, you may actually be doing Seth a favor by taking care of it yourself.” She smiled. “And I know how much you love to do Seth favors.”
He groaned. “I hope you know what torture this is for me.”
Instead of laughing, she bit her lip. Her face turned pensive. “Is it really?” she asked. “I know being with me requires you to do things you’d rather not do . . . like play nice with Seth and the others.”
“You’re worth it.” Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “I would do anything for you, Lisette.” He kissed her again. “If you told me tomorrow that Tracy had inadvertently thrown away your favorite throwing star, I would fly to the nearest landfill and comb through the mountains of reeking, dripping garbage until I found it.” He thought about it for a moment. “Actually that would probably be a lot less irritating than dealing with your immortal brethren has been for the past forty-eight hours.”