Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(38)

"No. I'm smarter than this little girl. She will not make a fool of me again," Nathan cursed.

Finally, she stopped in front of a perfectly manicured lawn,  surrounding a little house on a quiet street. Nathan had to slump down  and drive past her to avoid drawing attention. At the end of the block,  he pulled over and watched in the side-view mirror.

She hopped out of the vehicle and stomped up the front steps, slamming  the front door behind her. He was fairly sure he hadn't been detected.  He got out and walked back down the street to investigate. Taking down  the address and noting that the name on the mailbox was Vaughn, he  decided to return to the car. He quickly ran to the convenience store  they'd passed on the way in and returned with provisions to last a  couple of days, if necessary. Getting into a better position, he  hunkered down as the sun set.

A couple of hours later she left on foot, but Nathan didn't follow her  out of fear that she'd see him. How far could she go on foot anyway? She  would be back for her car before leaving again.

Just after the girl rounded the corner, a man and woman came out onto  the porch. More specifically, a vampire male and a human woman. He had  enough experience with vamps to know one when he saw one. They spoke  with stern faces, until the male reached out and wrapped his arms around  the woman. She seemed to sag in his arms and cry on his shirt. She  pulled away from the vamp and straightened her clothes. She wiped her  face and, after a few more words, the male got into a black BMW and  drove away.

That was an interesting development. What could it mean? Who was the  vamp? Maybe the woman was a donor or an employee, as Nathan had been.  Then there was the last name on the mailbox. It couldn't be a  coincidence that she'd left the Vaughn estate and driven to a home with  the same name displayed on a mailbox-though that quaint little home  wasn't what one would expect of a member of the Vaughn family to live  in. That information alone was worth the drive. Nathan would wait her  out and get to the bottom of that mystery. The master would have to  forgive him after he returned with that valuable nugget and possibly the  girl.

Relaxing back into his seat, he ripped open a bag of chips and popped  the top off of one ice-cold beer, then another. Before he knew it, the  twelve-pack and chips were gone, and the peaceful night sounds of the  quiet neighborhood lulled him to sleep.

Hours later he woke and stretched, trying to return circulation to stiff  limbs. The midmorning sun shone brightly through the windshield. Damn  it! He'd slept all night and half the morning. Nathan checked his  side-view mirror and cursed.

The bitch had left. Her car was gone. She must have snuck out while he was sleeping. He'd let her get away again! Shit!





Dani had several missed calls and voice mails. Mostly from her mom, who  was totally freaking out because Dani didn't call in the allotted time  it took to get back to school. The others were from Kayden and Mason. On  the way across the courtyard, she called Mason. He answered on the  first ring.         

     



 

"I'm sorry. I was indisposed for a while and didn't hear my phone. I am  on campus and heading to my room," she said before he could even say  hello.

"You better call Tessa. She's freaking out and about to come searching  for you herself. Then get in touch with Griffin and see what he wants  you to do. I imagine he will send someone to pick you up, so you can't  escape like the last time." Mason's words were clipped.

"I am not a prisoner, or one of Griffin's subjects, so I have nothing to  escape from. He can kiss my ass. He hasn't missed me in the last  twenty-one years. He can deal with it now," she clipped back.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, child. He is going to be  devastated when he realizes who you really are. He suffered terribly  when he lost you and your mother. I will likely lose his friendship when  he finds out I helped hide you all these years, but that is a  discussion for another day. Right now, I need to get you under our  protection, or your mother is going to lose her mind," he scolded her.

She was walking down the hall to her room when her senses were assaulted  by something unpleasant. She reached her bedroom door, which was open a  crack. "Hold on, Mason. This is weird. My door is open, and something  smells nasty."

"Don't go in! Leave now. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'd rather be safe  than sorry. I'll be right over. I'm already moving." Dani heard the  sound of a car engine starting.

"I have to go in. I have a roommate, Mason. She could be sick," Dani whispered and pushed the door open.

"You don't know who is in there. Just listen to me." She tiptoed into  the dark room. Olivia's bed was made, and she wasn't there. But someone  was in Dani's bed. She flipped on the bathroom light. The bathroom was  empty. "Someone is in my bed." She crept forward and pulled back the  blanket. "Oh God, Mason! It's a girl! She's dead!" She backed up to the  door and slid down the wall, hyperventilating.

"Get out of there, now! Are you sure she's dead? Can we get help for her?" he shouted.

"No." Dani sniffed. "She looks like she's been gone for a while. I can't  leave. She's one of us. She has fangs. I can't let anyone else find her  like this." Her voice trembled so badly she could hardly understand  herself.

"Damn it! It's our missing girl! I'm calling Griffin! If anyone comes  in, you put them down until we get there. Do you understand? If they try  to hurt you, kill them!" Mason said sternly.

"I understand. I'll do what I have to." She hung up and sat in the corner, fighting the urge to vomit.



Kayden had tried to call Dani twice, and she hadn't returned his  message. She should have been back on campus by now, so he decided to go  hunt her down. He found her car in the parking lot. The hood was cool,  so she'd been there for a while.

At her door, he knocked, but she didn't answer. She was in there, but  wouldn't open the door, and he could smell death. The sickeningly sweet  smell of decay polluted the air, but it was still too faint for the  humans to detect with their weaker senses. If she was harmed, he'd never  forgive himself. She was his charge to protect.

The door was locked, so he calmed himself enough to use his mild  telekinetic skills to unlock it. It was dark, and as soon as he stuck  his head in the door, he found himself plastered to the wall with a  tight stranglehold on his throat, only nobody was touching him. He  struggled to no avail against the nothingness that pinned him there.  Finally, the light came on, and he saw Dani, huddled in the corner with  her hands out. She held him back in fear. As soon as she registered whom  she was choking, she released him and ran into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Kayden, I'm sorry. It's just so awful, and I was afraid  someone was coming for me." She was crying and shaking and, yes, she  smelled strongly of the human male, but Kayden didn't care. She was  letting him hold her.

"Shit, Dani. You scared the hell out of me. What's that smell?" he asked, holding her securely to his chest.

"She was here when I got back." She pointed across the room.

Kayden reeled back a few steps at the sight of a dead vampire in Dani's  bed. "I have to call someone right now, honey. Just relax, and I will  take care of it." He squeezed her and stroked her back. Then he noticed a  girl asleep in the other bed. "Is she okay?" he asked.

Dani nodded. "My roommate showed up, so I had to put her down until this  is cleaned up." She shut off the light telekinetically. "I don't want  to see her," she explained. Then the door flew open, and Dani shoved  Kayden into the corner to protect him. She threw her hands out in a  defensive movement. They heard two thuds hit the floor and could only  see forms in the light from the hallway. Kayden leaped around her and  dragged the two bodies farther into the room while Dani shut the door.         

     



 

"Turn the light on, Dani," Kayden said hastily. She turned it on from  the corner with her hands still held out, and Kayden sucked wind. "Oh  shit! It's Griffin and Mason!"

Dani immediately released them both from the nap she had induced and  returned to the corner, while Kayden helped the two adult vamps up. The  dead body on her bed clearly had Dani shaken. "What was that?" the  adults said in unison.

"Danielle is a little frightened, to say the least. At least she didn't  try to choke you before she figured out who you were," Kayden said. The  two men looked at each other, and then went to Dani in the corner.

Mason tried to help her up but she snapped at them, "Don't touch me! Do  what you have to do, so I can release my friend and get out of here."  She sniffled.

Kayden went to sit by her on the floor. She didn't seem to mind the  small comfort he offered. She leaned into him for support and buried her  face in his arm.