She only came after you because of your connection to Abbott and me. You owe me nothing, Eric. I merely wanted you to know you don't have to fear her, anymore. She won't order your capture again.

But her boss is still in control, right?

Yes, but he has enough other things to worry about, without trying to infiltrate the territory for a single human. His territory is a mess, he's lost a lot of people, and his base of operations destroyed. You'll be with either Ranger or myself for a while, to be safe, but I don't think anyone will come after you again.

When can I go back to my yacht?

Soon. Can you come to Abbott's tomorrow afternoon, so I can see you when I rise?

Ranger and I will be in a wilderness area for the next four to six days. I didn't know when I'd hear from you again.

Are you mad at me?

Frustrated with you, and yeah, maybe a little mad. I was worried and didn't hear from you. People told me you were likely taking your time killing her, and it felt like...

After a few seconds of silence, Kendra finished his thought. It felt as if my revenge against her was more important than my feelings for you?

Yeah.

His answer broke her heart, and she wasn't going to make it better talking telepathically. He needed to look into her eyes when she explained.

I need to talk to you in person. Give me an idea of the general area you expect to be in tomorrow night, and I'll find you.

Ranger said I shouldn't tell anyone our location. Not even Abbott.

Your uncle's smart, and very safety minded. I'll speak with you again tomorrow night. Be safe, Eric. I'm sorry you're upset with me, and I hope we can fix it sooner rather than later. You need to hear what I have to say before you decide to be too angry with me.

I'm glad you're okay.

Well, that was something. And I'm glad you've enjoyed this time with Ranger. I'll let you get back to sleep. Enjoy your day.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Eric and Ranger worked to set up their camp for the night after covering nine miles of the Benton MacKaye Trail in one day. They had no intentions of hiking the entire trail, but wanted to cover another twenty five or thirty miles, which should get them into North Carolina, and with a good bit of scenery on the way.

The two had hiked the backcountry together many times, and set up camp without even thinking about it, so within ten minutes the tent was up, bedrolls ready, and they were seated on the ground fixing their dinner over the small camp stove.

Aaron and Nathan were the only people with the number to Ranger's burner phone, and while Ranger had called to check in twice a day, no one knew their location.

"Do I need to pay you, for the time you're taking off work?" Eric asked.

"Aaron tells me I'm getting paid for this week, and I've decided not to argue. Don't know if he'll consider it part of my paid vacation time or not, but I get six weeks a year, and I didn't take them all last year, so..." He shrugged. "I'm not hurting for money, anyway. The new job pays much better than the old, and I'm still spending money at the old standard of living."

"You been seeing anyone?"

He shook his head. "I have lots of s.e.x, and it isn't too hard to find willing submissives in clubs, when I get a hankering to wield a flogger, but my lifestyle isn't conducive to a relationship. A few years ago I was part of a poly group, so they didn't miss me so much when I was gone. I still missed them when I was on a mission, but I didn't have to feel guilty about leaving a woman at home alone." He shrugged. "For a variety of reasons, we all broke up, and I got my heart broken, but I survived. If I was going to get serious with someone again, though, I'd like there to be a similar situation. For one thing, you know how much I love double or triple-teaming a girl, but mostly, it wouldn't be fair to get serious with someone when I could be gone months at a time on a.s.signment."

"I haven't decided what to do about Kendra, yet."

"I know you care about her, and I know you're freaked by learning what she's capable of, but give her a chance. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but she cares about you enough to risk her life by taking so many of the Media Council's people out in such a spectacular fashion."

"Two of her friends have basically told me I've given her a reason to live, again. I guess the oldest vampires sometimes get bored with life, and she was there. I don't want that responsibility."

"Whether you date a human or vampire, you're going to be capable of hurting the other person if you break up with them. Giving her a reason to live isn't something you do, it's just what's happened by spending time with her. You've reminded her of the joys life can bring, reminded her what it's like to have adventures, and to grab life by the nuts and live it."

The two talked until well after dark, but neither was ready to go into the tent, yet. Eric was sprawled in his trek-chair, his legs out straight on the ground in front of him, when Ranger was suddenly standing, ready for a fight. Eric had been practicing holding his shield, and he reinforced it as he, too, jumped to his feet and grabbed his knife from his belt. He didn't know what Ranger had heard or smelled, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

He heard Kendra in his head and with his ears as she landed twenty yards from them. "It me, Kendra. Relax, guys, we're all safe."

Eric didn't relax the grip he had on his knife as he asked, "How the h.e.l.l did you find us?"

"We're linked, Eric. It took me an hour longer than it would've if you'd given me a general location, but I warned you when we created the mind link, it would let me find you."

She looked at Ranger and asked, "Do you mind if I fly him to the next mountaintop? There's a rental cabin with no one in it and an easy lock to pick. I'd like to spend some time with him alone, and I'll bring him back in a few hours."

"You didn't think to ask me if I want to go?" Eric asked. "Because as of right now, I'm thinking you and I can talk when Ranger and I finish our hike in a few days."

She shook her head. "We're going to talk. We can do it here in front of Ranger, or just the two of us, on the next mountain. The two of you can finish your hike afterwards, but you aren't going to go another night thinking I tortured someone for three solid nights when I didn't."

Eric paused, felt some of the twist in his gut relax, and asked, "Then why were you gone three nights?"

"So people would think I did."

Eric looked to Ranger, who told him, "Many of the oldest vampires take pleasure in torture. Others do it when they must, but it isn't something they relish. The former are feared a whole lot more than the latter. I believe Kendra has tricked the world into thinking she enjoys ripping her enemies apart and making their death last as long as possible, when in reality she doesn't."

Eric looked back to Kendra, who gave Ranger a grateful look before telling Eric, "I killed her partway through the second night, because it took that long to hurt her bad enough to get all the information I needed from her. I waited until most of the way through the third night to FedEx pieces of her to Mitroff, with a handwritten note detailing all the ways she'd suffered, and warning him he's next."

Eric sighed, looked at their little campsite, and shifted his gaze back to Kendra to ask, "I guess this would be the part where we ride the storm out?" Kendra smiled, and he told her, "I don't want to leave Ranger alone, but you're welcome to hang out with us until we're ready to turn in for the night."

Kendra looked at Eric's backcountry trek-chair, and Ranger's Helinox chair, and said, "I'm gonna borrow one of the chairs off the front porch of that rental cabin. I'll be right back."

She returned with a heavy wooden rocking chair, and Eric laughed at the incongruity of it, but his heart warmed as she sat and talked to them of the things he and Ranger had been doing over the past days.

Eric gave her a peck on the lips when they said goodbye, not quite ready for more, but he told her, "I just need a few more days in the woods, and then we can talk."

Chapter Twenty-Two.

Kendra was staying in a small, rural home in the sticks until the situation with South Carolina was resolved. Abbott had moved most of the vampires out of the coterie house, and the ones still there with an upstairs bedroom were sleeping in the bunker. He didn't want both Gavin and Kendra there at the same time, and Kendra had volunteered to temporarily relocate, as Gavin had more need to be around to handle day-to-day issues.

Abbott didn't just think politically, but also strategically for battle, and he didn't want all of his most important people bedding down in the same place. The house he'd put her in had a secret bunker off the bas.e.m.e.nt for her daytime resting spot, and was situated in the middle of fifteen acres of forest, with various trip wires to alert her if anyone came in on her while she was up.

She'd had to leave her phone at home, and a tech guy had come to her house and done something so no one could trace her online activities to this house.

Ranger was bringing Eric tonight, as he knew how to be sure they weren't followed, and Eric would be staying with her as long as he wanted.

She just hoped he'd want to stay longer than the night.

The security system warned when they pulled onto the driveway, and then twice more as they made their way down the long graveled path.

Eric had a backpack and a large duffel, and Ranger unloaded two dirt bikes from the back of his vehicle.

She hadn't seen him since the night she'd found them in the forest, and Eric had only given her a peck on the lips as a goodbye. Now, he hugged her as if he was glad to see her, and said, "I'll put my things in the house. I plan to get a lot of undisturbed work accomplished during sunlight hours, and I'm hoping for some dirt biking once you're up. There are some jeep trails not too far from here, and judging from the map and terrain, they look promising."

His warm arms around her felt like home, and she wanted to cling to him when he let go, but she didn't.

Eric went inside, the screen door slamming behind him, and Ranger said, "I kept him safe on my watch, now it's your turn."

"Are you staying in town, or going back overseas?"

He shook his head. "I can't abandon the people working on the project I've been on. Aaron's sending me back, and it'll likely take another couple of months to complete the op."

"Aaron sent a computer geek guy out, and he a.s.sured me no one will trace the activities coming from here, back to here. He left notes so Eric would know what he did, but it looks like gibberish to me."

"Eric can keep ya'll hidden online, it's your job to keep him safe in the real world." His jaw flexed, his eyes sharpened until she could practically see the wolf in them, and his scent also told her the wolf wasn't far below the surface. "Every instinct screams at me to not leave him alone with a vampire, but I know you care for him, and took great personal and political risk to make the point he's to be left alone. Aaron says Mitroff appears to be looking for political solutions instead of trying to fight a war he'll eventually lose, so hopefully the threat to him will be gone, soon." He shook his head. "I know I can't hold you responsible for not hurting him emotionally, but I'll ask you to be kind to him. He's twisted up inside, and he needs patience and caring. For all of his worldly travels, he's been sheltered from true evil and cruelty, and he's coming to terms with it."

Eric stepped back onto the large, wrap around porch. The house might be small, but the porch more than made up for the lack of s.p.a.ce inside.

Kendra's heart warmed as she watched the two men embrace, and Eric told his uncle, "Thanks for everything. It's been great, and I always hate saying goodbye to you when you're headed back overseas, but I know you'll be careful."

"Always. Kendra and Abbott will make sure you're safe, but feel free to let Aaron know if you need anything while I'm gone. Or, if you can reach me, I'll let him know, but I don't want you waiting for me if you need help. Okay?"

"Yeah. I have the burner, and all the numbers."

They hugged again, and then Eric walked in the house without looking back. Kendra watched until Ranger's vehicle went out of site around a curve, and then followed Eric in.

"Have you been feeding off humans, or bagged blood?"

She hadn't expected the question right off the bat, but didn't hesitate to tell him, "Both. Abbott provided humans my first couple of days, while I stayed at his house. I brought enough bagged blood to last nine days, if I'm relatively inactive."

"Does Abbott regularly provide humans to the vampires in his territory?" he asked, his voice casual, his eyes sharp.

She wasn't sure where he was going with the line of questioning, but she answered, "No, but during times of war, it's customary for vampires to be given sustenance when it can be arranged. Also, you know Abbott and I are friends. He has room to house up to a dozen humans, and currently has nine living on the premises. When people visit, it's polite for the Master Vampire to offer to feed them. He had people who hadn't been fed from in a while, and I needed... Eric, why are you asking?"

He shook his head. "I guess I have a bit of an ego, and I like knowing I can take care of whoever I'm seeing. I've had to face the fact it's you taking care of me, and the only thing I can offer you, really, is my blood, and eventually my love, if we get there. You can take care of yourself physically, and you aren't interested in my money. You enjoy the adventures I've given you, but if you wanted to do them on your own, you could - or you could hire someone to take you, if you needed a guide. You don't need me. Not really."

Kendra sat on the sofa, so she was looking farther up at him. He'd seen her as a monster, and she wanted to make him feel at ease and comfortable. Wanted him to see her as a woman, his girlfriend. Not a monster. "I want you, Eric. And truth be told, I need the sunshine you've brought into my life." She searched her brain for something else to tell him, because that clearly wasn't enough. "Even before bagged blood, I never relied completely on a single human for my needs. I can supplement what you give me with bagged blood now, and if you want, I'll promise that - unless it's an emergency - if I need to drink from someone else, I'll keep it to women, so you'll be the only man I drink from."

"Are you bis.e.xual?"

"I've had s.e.x with women, but it isn't really my thing. I can enjoy it, but I don't seek it out. I prefer men, and I much prefer you."

He didn't say anything, and she looked to the floor as she considered how much of herself she could offer, and decided she'd give as much of herself as she had to. Looking up, she told him, "I'll submit to you again, if it'll help? I can't offer twenty-four / seven, but I'll offer two whole nights. We'll need to negotiate some things, but... whatever I can do to help us along? I don't know what to do to fix things."

Eric shook his head, his eyes pained. "I won't accept your submission again until I'm sure I can stick around for the long haul. I care about you, but I'm not sure I won't flake out on you again, so I can't accept your submission." He took a breath. "Besides, I owe you my submission next. What happened didn't change the fact you submitted to me and I turned my back on you. Abandoned you. I may've been captured, but you fought to find me as fast as you could, and to keep me as safe as possible until you could get to me."

"You don't owe me anything, Eric. I can't ask you to submit to me after you were captured and tortured only because you're important to me."

"You may have been indirectly responsible for my capture, but you rescued me in a fantastic fashion. I, on the other hand, was directly responsible for the pain you felt when I pushed you away, and I didn't even realize how badly I hurt you for weeks. I won't accept your submission until you've given me a chance to offer myself to you."

Her stomach in her throat, she shook her head. "I don't want to argue the point with you right now. Have you eaten?"

He nodded. "Ranger and I had a huge meal before he dropped me off. I'm hoping you have beer stocked, though. I could use one."

She nodded and headed to the kitchen, and he followed as she said, "Make yourself at home. I'd like to think of this as our place while we're here. Not mine, not yours. The kitchen's stocked with plenty of food, so we won't need to go out. We're forty minutes from the nearest grocery store, and there isn't even pizza delivery out here."

"Why do they have you so far out in the sticks?"

She opened his beer and handed it to him. "Abbott wants Gavin and I in two places, so if something happens to one of us, the other will likely be safe. Gavin has more to do with the day to day running of the coterie house, and managing the vampires under us, while I have more to do with helping Abbott run his empire. He relies heavily on both of us, not to mention Josef handling security, and Fawne making sure the humans are happy and content." She rolled her eyes. "I'd just as soon drive nails into my feet as do Fawne's job."

"So, he'd rather Gavin be in danger than you?"

"No, Eric. He doesn't want his top four people staying in the same house while there is danger. Gavin runs the house, so it makes sense for him to stay there. I'm pretty sure Abbott wanted you and I to have some alone time, so he gave me this safe-house. If there's an attack, I can put you in hiding downstairs so no one will find you, and then fly to help them, should they need me. However, they won't call me in unless it's dire, because they won't want you left alone, no matter how safe we believe it to be."

"I still don't know if you've fed yet, tonight."

She closed the distance between them, slow so she didn't startle him, and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I misread the situation. I thought it would be ill-mannered to a.s.sume you'd feed me, so I fed before you arrived. I didn't want it to look like I expected it of you."

He kissed her forehead, and her overstrung nerves relaxed a tiny bit.

"I didn't give you reason to think I'd be willing, the last two times I saw you. There's no reason to apologize, but you'll feed from me tomorrow night, not the bagged stuff. Understood?"

She smiled and leaned into him. "Thank you, Eric."

His arms came around her, engulfing her in his warmth, and she relaxed in his embrace as she told him, "G.o.d, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too. I don't have any answers for us, but I love having you in my arms again. Whoever furnished this place did a kick a.s.s job. What do you say we cuddle on that gigantic chaise in the front room?"

"Oh wow, it's so comfortable," she said, reaching for her mug of hot tea she'd set aside earlier, wanting to have a little warmth in her body, for him. "It's like being cradled by an ocean wave. I can't wait to share it with you."

"What's this?" he asked as he stopped at the small kitchen table and looked over the notebook the tech guy had left.

"Aaron Drake sent someone to fix the internet so I can check email and stuff, but no one can trace me to this address. It'll look like I'm hiding out in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the coterie house. Apparently, he was told you're a fellow geek, and he should leave instructions of how he set it up. He asked me to tell you he'd appreciate it if you don't change anything without talking to him, first."