Something skittered at the edge of Leah's memory, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "This memory loss stinks."
Abby winced. "I'm sure you'll get better with time."
Leah sighed. Why did everything seem like a clue? The broken chain on the sporran. The red nightgown. The handful of heather. The phantom necklace. Green eyes. Her lack of abrasions and bruises. She felt like she had the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle but no idea what the final picture was supposed to look like.
An hour later, when Yoshi told them the Vamps had brought in new soldiers, she rushed to the clinic, hoping to see him. Angus, J.L., and Kyo were there, dropping soldiers onto stretchers.
The gorgeous one wasn't there.
A surge of loss hit her so hard that she gasped from the pain.
"Are you all right?" Abby asked her as she put one of the new soldiers into stasis.
"I-I'm fine." But she wasn't. Something was wrong. Why would she feel such a terrible loss over someone she'd never met?
Chapter Thirty-three
Five nights later, she finally spotted him. Leah's heart leaped in her chest when she saw him in the clinic. He was with the other Vamps, delivering a new set of mutated soldiers.
She studied him from the back. He was wearing pants tonight, black pants with a black sweater and jacket. His long hair was tied at the nape of his neck with a strip of leather. Knives were strapped to his legs, and a sword was sheathed on his back. He was huge, powerful, and absolutely gorgeous.
She walked up to the stretcher where he'd deposited a soldier. "Hi. I'm Leah Chin."
He stiffened. He glanced halfway toward her. "Good evening." Then he turned and strode from the room.
"What's with him?" Leah asked Abby, who was standing by the door, a pale look on her face.
"Nothing." Abby dashed over to the stretcher to put the soldier into stasis.
The other Vamps nodded at Leah and left the room.
With a sigh, she wandered over to Abby. "Why did he leave like that? Does he dislike me? Is he married?"
Abby shook her head.
"Is he gay?"
A pained look crossed Abby's face. "No."
Leah groaned inwardly. Why did her heart sing whenever she saw that man? Why did she miss him so terribly when she didn't see him? Why was she thinking about him all the time when he was a stranger?
Or was he?
"Do I know him?"
Abby winced. "I-I'm busy right now."
"Right. Sorry." Leah quickly took the vital signs on the new soldiers, then headed to the lab with their charts.
Briathos was standing in the hall, and he bowed his head as she walked by.
"Hi." She never quite knew what to say to an angel. She wasn't even sure if he was completely there. His image tended to shimmer if she didn't stare at him, and staring seemed a bit rude.
"May I be of service?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Thank you." She walked into the lab and set the charts on her worktable. The outdoor lights were on, and she spotted movement outside. She moved closer to the window.
It was him. He was standing on the bluff, looking at the sea.
This was her chance. She ran to her room, threw on her coat, hat, and gloves, then stepped out the front door.
He was gone. Dammit. She walked to the bluff. Had he teleported away?
No. There he was. On the beach. Carefully, she made her way down the icy stairs and across the pebbles. She didn't want to slip and clonk her head again.
"Hi!" She glanced up and was taken aback by the stark expression on his face. Sheesh. Was her company that bad?
"I was wondering if we'd ever met before?" She winced. Wasn't that an ancient pickup line?
"Ye may have seen me before," he answered quietly. "I work for Angus."
His voice had a deep, lyrical tone that sounded familiar. Her hand went to her chest for the phantom necklace.
He was even more gorgeous close up. Strong jaw, beautiful mouth, incredibly green eyes. A wide forehead and eyebrows that seemed so expressive. Why did he look like he was in pain? "Are you all right?"
He nodded. "How are you? Are ye happy?"
"Yes." She smiled, hoping he would smile back, but the pain in his eyes only seemed to deepen.
Her eyes lowered to his chest, and she flinched. "What-" It was a jade dragon. Her jade dragon. She winced. Why would she think that?
He grabbed the jade pendant and stuffed it underneath his sweater.
Why was he hiding it from her? She rubbed her brow. "Are you sure we haven't met?"
"I need to go now. Good evening." He strode toward the stairs, then glanced back. "Ye shouldna stay out here in the cold."
Her heart fluttered at the way he said "oot." So familiar. Why couldn't she remember?
With vampire speed, he dashed up the stairs and into the school.
She huffed, her breath vaporizing in the cold air. For a big, tough vampire, he scared off awfully easy. She turned to gaze at the dark waves crashing on the pebbly shore.
A memory flitted by. Waves crashing on a beach of golden sand, warm beneath her bare feet. The scent of flowers and tropical plants in the air. And so much love. She was full of love. And she felt so loved. She opened a small box, and inside was a pendant. The jade dragon.
The memory dissipated like a cloud of smoke, and she reached once again to hold the phantom necklace. Only this time, she knew what it should be.
He was wearing her necklace. Why?
Who was he? And why the hell couldn't she remember him?
Twelve nights he'd survived. It felt more like twelve years. Dougal had asked Angus for a transfer, but it had been refused. Angus needed him here because he could speak Chinese. A sad, pathetic part of him had wanted to stay so he could make sure Leah was happy. But each time he saw her, it was like being stabbed through the gut.
He trudged into the cafeteria to warm up a bottle of blood. Just as he pulled it out of the microwave, Abby marched up to him, glaring at him.
"It was a mistake," she whispered angrily. "You shouldn't have done it."
He groaned inwardly. "I doona want to talk about it." Even though he questioned himself constantly. Leah had been wronged by Darafer, but had he committed a second wrong to make things right?
"We have to talk about it," Abby insisted.
"She's happy. She told me she was happy. There is nothing more to say." As long as she was happy, he could tell himself he'd done the right thing. He took a swig from his bottle. "I'm leaving as soon as I finish this meal. They're expecting me in Tiger Town."
"Wait." Abby grabbed his arm. "She-she's attracted to you."
His heart squeezed in his chest. He hadn't counted on that. But he should have. No matter where they were, their souls would reach out for each other.
"If you start courting her again, I'm going to freak out," Abby said.
"I willna court her."
"This whole thing is driving me up the wall. You get to run off and hide, but I'm stuck here having to lie to her. I had to tell her she went to Scotland with Angus and Emma. I can't do it anymore!"
"Ye agreed to my decision."
"I know!" Abby dragged a hand through her hair. "I was so worried about her."
"Aye. I was desperate, too."
"But now-" Abby grimaced. "She loved you so much. It seems criminal to take that away from her."
"I had to do something. I couldna bear to see her in pain. I should have protected her, but I failed her. 'Twas my fault she was suffering."
Abby's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. You-you did this to punish yourself."
"Nay! I did it to save her. It was the only way to protect her. I took away her suffering."
Abby's eyes glistened with tears. "You took her suffering onto yourself."
"So? Should I no' do that when I love her?"
Abby punched his chest. "She loves you, too, you noble idiot! And you took that away from her." With a huff, she marched out the door.
Dougal finished his bottle, then teleported to Tiger Town. Already the were-tigers were starting to gather in the courtyard for the Grand Tiger's two-week memorial. Rajiv had asked him to play the tune his grandfather had loved.
Dougal's gaze wandered to the tiger statue he'd broken with his prosthesis. He'd been filled with so much rage and frustration. Now he was full of doubt and despair.
Had he made a terrible mistake? He'd been devastated by his failure to protect Leah. How many times had he sworn never to fail her? He'd failed Li Lei, and for that, he'd suffered almost three hundred years of shame and regret.
Then a miracle had happened, and he'd gotten a second chance. Li Lei had come back to forgive him, but he'd failed her again. And Leah had suffered terribly for it. How could she ever forgive him?
How could he forgive himself?
He strode down the alley to the guesthouse to get his pipes. Was that why he'd been so eager to erase Leah's memories? Not just to ease her suffering but to punish himself as well?
Because he couldn't forgive himself. He stumbled to a stop. What a fool he'd been. Why had he longed all these years for Li Lei's forgiveness? The fact that she'd come back for him meant she still loved him. Her love had spanned the centuries to find him.
She had been the one to keep the vow. She'd found him. And she'd always forgiven him. Always loved him.