Vicky’s lungs burned, and her heart thundered as she raced through the tunnels behind Duncan with April in her arms. The faint glow of a harbor light pierced the darkness before she emerged onto a narrow ledge situated over Boston Harbor. The briny water and the ozone scent of the rain starting to fall masked the smell of the Savages pursuing them.

Turning, Vicky followed Nathan up the small trail and into the parking lot of the dockyard above. The cries of the Savages pursued them through the roadways between the numerous buildings making up the seaport. Cradling April’s head against her shoulder, Vicky poured on the speed.

She would not let anything happen to any of these children.

When they rounded a large boathouse, Nathan’s truck came into view. The first time they’d come here, she told him to park in this lot as there were no cameras. Then, she’d taken him to the sewer entrance.

His truck was a few spaces over from Abby and Brian’s rented Suburban. On the drive here, the vehicle had seemed too big to her, but now Vicky welcomed the size as Brian pulled the keys from his pocket and aimed them at the SUV. The vehicle beeped as something loped out from behind a large, shrink-wrapped boat parked at the edge of the lot.

“They’re coming!” Vicky shouted, and April whimpered.

She skidded to a halt beside the Suburban, flung open the back door and plopped April inside. “Get in the back, honey,” Vicky commanded as she turned to take another child from Abby. “All of you keep climbing all the way into the back.”

“That’s illegal,” April whispered, and Vicky almost laughed at the aghast tone of her voice.

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Vicky said to her as the door across from her opened and Duncan set his two children inside.

Vicky took Elmo from Brian and placed him in the vehicle. She hated the dazed look in Elmo’s eyes, but there was nothing to be done about that. Vicky was still stuffing children inside like some weird-ass clown car when she heard the first grunt of an attack. Spinning, she found Nathan driving his stake into the chest of a Savage as Logan fired his crossbow to take out the next one.

Brian opened the driver’s door, then closed it again as he ran forward to join the fight. Vicky turned back to the children as more Savages bounded around another building and raced toward them.

“We have to get the children out of here!” she cried.

The others retreated toward the vehicles, and Brian ran around to the driver’s side again. Abby threw open the passenger door and was reaching for Vicky when Nathan grasped Vicky’s bicep and pulled her against him.

“She’s coming with me,” he stated.

Vicky couldn’t argue the command when it was what she wanted too.

“Ronan is still at the hotel in Falmouth,” Nathan said to Brian. “Take them to him and make sure no one follows you. I have something to take care of, but we’ll meet you there soon.”

“Be careful,” Abby whispered to Vicky and hopped onto the passenger seat.

“You too,” Vicky said and squeezed her hand. “Get in,” she said to Sister and Duncan. “They’ll make sure you stay safe.”

They nodded before joining the children in the SUV, and the doors banged shut. Nathan kept hold of her as they ran with Asher toward the pickup while Logan planted his feet and aimed his gun. He fired at the vamps coming at them, knocking the ones in front off their feet as the packed Suburban pulled away from them.

Tires squealed when Brian put the vehicle in reverse, stomped on the gas, and aimed the ass end of the SUV at the horde. Savages scrambled to get out of the way, but not in time to avoid the missile Brian had turned the Suburban into. Bodies thumped sickeningly off the bumper and ground, metal crunched, and the tires skidded on wet pavement as Brian plowed some of the Savages over.

“Those kids are going to require some serious counseling,” Asher panted.

“Hopefully, they never remember it,” Vicky said.

Brian shifted into drive, and the Suburban barreled past them before skidding onto the street. The back end fishtailed on the road, and the engine revved as the SUV shot down the peaceful side road. Nathan opened the passenger door of his truck and helped her inside. The remaining Savages and the ones who weren’t crushed by the SUV were regaining their feet when Asher and Logan jumped into the back of the pickup.

Nathan ran around to the other side, opened his door, and climbed behind the wheel. Starting the truck, he shifted into first and followed the vanishing Suburban onto the road. Glancing in the mirror, he watched as the remaining Savages descended on the bodies of their fallen brethren, most of whom were still alive.

Beside him, Vicky made an anguished sound and lifted her hand to her mouth. Her eyes closed, and her shoulders hunched up as a shiver ran through her.

“You were never like that,” he said, guessing at her thoughts when she rubbed at the scar on her wrist.

“But I could have been,” she whispered.

He grasped her hand. “No, you couldn’t have.”

“What if they follow us?” Logan shouted over the rushing wind.

“They won’t,” Vicky said. “They may be mindless, but they have to know exposing themselves will only result in death. Joseph, or whoever created them, would make sure of that.”

As if to prove her point, Nathan watched in the rearview mirror as a couple of Savages followed them to the edge of the road before retreating to the lot.

“They were creating a nest down there,” Vicky murmured. “It was perfect for them; dark, indiscrete, and no one would miss the people they turned. Duncan only knows of so many encampments, but he said with the numerous old tunnels running beneath the city, there could be hundreds of groups down there. There are so many forgotten tunnels, collapsed and rebuilt areas, it might be impossible to learn them all. There could be more nests like that.” Vicky’s realization made her heart sink.

“He’s building a silent army as well as converting hunters,” Nathan said.

Vicky shuddered. Kadence hadn’t become as strong as a purebred when she turned, but she was stronger than an average turned vamp, and every male hunter was trained to kill. From what she’d heard, Joseph already had more turned hunters than there were purebred vampires in this world.

“If it were only you and Duncan down there tonight, you could have died,” Nathan stated.

“But it wasn’t.”

“But it could have been!” he roared, his control unraveling with the realization he could have lost her.

In her side mirror, she saw Asher and Logan exchange a glance.

“Everything okay?” Asher called to them.

Vicky waited for Nathan to reply, but his jaw was set so tightly she could hear his teeth grinding together. “It’s fine!” she yelled back to him. “Nathan—”

“You’re mine to protect,” he said.

She had no response for him. It had been such a vampire thing to say; it was how she felt for him, even if he wasn’t hers.

Stopping at a red light, Nathan glanced into the back of the truck as Asher and Logan rose. They both slapped their hands on the truck roof before leaping out of the bed and running toward a parking lot.

“Where are they going?” Vicky spun to watch them disappear into the night.

“Asher brought a vehicle so they could return to the others and stand guard when we finished here. We parked it here in case something went wrong and we needed a backup. I have something to take care of before we return,” he said.

“Jordan?” she guessed.

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“Bring him back and tell everyone the truth.”

Vicky gaped at him before recovering enough to speak. “But they’ll… they’ll label you a traitor or something, won’t they?”

Her breath sucked in when his head turned toward her. In the glow of the streetlights, his eyes were wild.

“Nathan?” she whispered.

“They’ll label me whatever they label me, but I’ve already lost the hunter organization my father and ancestors ruled for millennia. Our old way of life is dead. They’ll accept the alliance, or there will be a larger fracturing in the hunters than what has already occurred.”

Vicky swallowed the lump of dread clogging her throat. “But what about you? What if they decide to blame you for all of it? What if they put you on trial? What if they kill you?”

He turned away from her, and she found herself gazing at the chiseled planes of his profile. She memorized every detail of this proud man as if it were the last time she’d see him.

“They won’t,” he said flatly.

“What happened with the hunters today wasn’t your fault! No one could have seen that coming. The planning Joseph and his followers must have put into it—”

“No one could have seen it coming, but it happened on my watch.”

“There are fifteen other stronghold leaders!”

“There were fifteen other stronghold leaders.”

Vicky sucked in a breath and bit her lip.

“And I am in charge of them all.”

“Nathan….” She reached for him before lowering her hand.

Protect yourself, Vicky.

But it was already too late to protect herself. Like a thief, he’d stolen her heart without her realizing he was doing it. Lifting her hand, she rested it on his arm. He glanced at her before focusing on the crowded city streets once more.

“The Savages and Joseph will pay for this,” she said.

“Yes, they will.” He stopped at another red light and turned toward her.

Before she knew what he intended, he pulled his arm away from her and clasped the back of her head. He dragged her across the space separating them to claim her mouth in a kiss that stole her breath.

Her hands fell on his chest, and she attempted to push away from him, but instead, her fingers curled into his solid muscle. She leaned closer to him as their tongues entwined.

The blaring of a horn pulled them apart. Nathan held her gaze, the heat in his eyes turning her insides to liquid before he turned away and drove on. Vicky slid back across the bench seat and leaned against the door to put some distance between them.

She tried to control the trembling in her body, but there was no control when it came to him.

• • •

Vicky stepped out of the small hall and into, what she assumed, was once the living room of Nathan’s home in the old stronghold. She couldn’t see Nathan from here, but she knew he was in the kitchen. Not only could she smell him, but she’d become acutely aware of his presence when he was near.

The wood floor cooled her bare feet as she crossed the room to the kitchen. Nathan came into view when she stepped in front of the half wall dividing the two rooms. He stood by the sink, his white-knuckled hands gripping the edge of the counter as rain pelted the window in front of him. He’d used the other bathroom to shower while she did, and his damp black hair hung to the edge of the gray shirt he wore.

Vicky fidgeted with the edge of the button-up, black shirt he’d given her to wear, as Savage blood coated her clothes. She’d pulled on a pair of his sweatpants too and cinched the string around her waist. The bottoms were rolled up around her ankles so she wouldn’t trip over them.

A bolt of lightning lit the night beyond the window and reflected his image in the glass for a second. That second revealed the starkness of his features and the haunted look in his stunning eyes.

Never in her life had she ached so badly to go to someone as she did him. His distress was palpable in the air, and an aura of barely restrained violence surrounded him. She could help him feel better for a bit. However, in the mood he was in, Nathan wouldn’t be satisfied with her only giving him a release.

No, he wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d given everything to him. But everything would bring about her demise far faster than this half-assed game they’d been playing. She could ease this torment from him, but if she went to him, there would be no turning back.

She tried to get her feet to retreat, but they remained frozen as every one of her vampire instincts refused to leave her mate like this.

Then, she realized she’d rather know what it was like to ride the storm of Nathan than never know. She’d rather only live another year without their bond being complete than live another hundred years and never experience what it was like to be with the only man she’d ever loved.

Untying the band of the sweatpants, she tugged them off and tossed them aside. She started unbuttoning her shirt as she walked into the kitchen.