Immortal Craving: Immortal Heart (7 page)

“This is your big plan?” Kale grumbled as he surveyed the crowded bar.

“I know it seems out of character for me, but my real plan comes into play once we find her.”

Kale, Lothar, and Cree were taking up a corner booth in a college bar. Kale’s failed attempts at research had ended with him frustrated beyond belief and him and his brothers trying their hand at a simpler way of locating her.

They were in their fourth bar of the night, bouncing between college hangouts near where Kale had run into the Succubus and been taken out by the
Trow
. If Katarina was in fact the Succubus he’d followed, then these bars would call to her—even he could feel the sexual energy in the crowded, alcohol-filled room.

“So you think we’re going to get lucky enough and she’s going to just walk through the door?” Kale complained
, his tone filled with derision.

“That’s the hope,” Cree said as he swallowed the remainder of his scotch. “It may not happen tonight but it’s the best we can do while Lucas tries to find her.”

“My tequila at home is far better than this swil—” Kale’s eyes drifted to the bar entrance, stunned silence and pain ricocheted through him.

He was right, she was thinner then he remembered, but the pale gold with platinum running through her long locks was just as he remembered. It looked soft and he guessed even now, fifteen years later, it would still smell as good. He
longed to see her eyes, and maybe even feel some sort of emotion from her, but he knew if she saw him he’d have another chase on his hands—but this time she would not get away.

“Take a breath,” Cree said as he slid from the booth. “You go left,
Lothar will go right, and I will be the one to approach her.”

“You see the goliath of a man behind her?” Kale nodded in their direction.

“Yep, I see him,” Cree said with a smile.

“That would be the tree of a
Trow
she has as protection,” Kale said.

“Right, new plan,” Cree said, surveying the room. “We need to move them towards the back. Kale, go outside and guard the back exit. We’ll get
Katarina and the
Trow
and bring them to you.”

Kale hesitated for a second, his eyes reluctant to leave Katarina. She was so damn close. The thing was he couldn’t decide if he was so angry he wanted to haul her off and demand some answers or if he wanted to rush to her and crush his mouth against her softly curved red lips. She looked as sexy as the last time he saw her, still rocking a mix between classy lady and fifties pinup.

“Go,” Lothar encouraged and lightly pushed Kale towards the dark hall that lead to the bar’s back alley.

Kale shook his head as he reached the dark blue metal door with a sign saying: “HAVE A GREAT NIGHT FROM ALL OFF US HERE AT MURPHY’S LAW.”

Murphy’s Law, ironic wasn’t it?

Cree moved like a predator towards the
Trow
as Lothar headed towards the woman who had destroyed his brother’s heart and nearly killed him. He had liked Katarina and not once had he felt any sort of deceit in her, and now as she realized that two Immortal Warriors had closed in on her and her
Trow,
all he felt was despair and fear from her.

“Tell the
Trow
to behave, Katarina,” Cree said from behind her and her bodyguard.

“It’s been a long time and you owe a certain warrior some answers,”
Lothar added.

Katarina’s green eyes were wide as she stared at
Lothar. How had she been so stupid? It had been a few days since Kale had almost caught her. She should have known, especially with the
Succubi
killings, that the brothers would be keeping tabs in the area, watching for any Fae that didn’t belong here.

“Let him go,
Lothar,” she said, nodding towards Jake, who hadn’t made a move since Cree stepped close behind him. “He has nothing to do with what you want from me.”

“No, but he’s Dark
Fae and we have a few questions for him,” Cree said, slowly pushing Jake forward. “Don’t make a scene and we won’t have any problems.”

“You expect me to trust you,” Katarina said, annoyance clear in her tone.

“I fail to see how you have much of a choice,” Lothar said flatly, “but we are not monsters and we have questions for the both of you.”

Katarina locked gazes with Jake and smiled softly. “I’m sorry, Jake. Just do as they ask.”

Lothar led the way, with Katarina at his side and Cree following with a hand holding Jake’s arm tightly.

Time slowed and the world disappeared around Katarina as she locked gazes with Kale when they stepped out into the stale, still night. Her breath caught and flashes of some of the happiest—no matter how false they’d been—moments of her life played like a movie on fast forward in front of her.

She swore she could feel the soft, intimate way he used to run his fingers over her cheek. Whenever life seemed to be too hard for her, he used to soothe her angst. She remembered the way it felt when he used to pull her to his hard chest and press his face to her hair. The way his smooth and seemingly loving lips would gently kiss every inch of skin he could get to.

Even those memories couldn’t hide what stood in front of her. He was different—she could see it. She’d noticed a slight shift and dangerous air in him the other night and his once soft eyes were now hard.

Had all of it been just an act?

“What now?” Kale asked, breaking his stare with Katarina.

Lothar looked to Cree, who smiled. His midnight wings burst out and took flight, taking Jake with him.

“What are you doing?” Katarina screamed and shoved at
Lothar.

“We won’t hurt him,”
Lothar assured her as he passed her off to Kale. “Safe house number two is waiting for you.”

“Was that your plan?” Kale asked, his brows dipping.

“You’ll understand when you get there. It has been prepared for the two of you. It’s time you get your answers, little brother.”

Katarina’s eyes shot between the two brothers. Fear, and if
Lothar trusted his gift—which he absolutely did—longing, was flowing off of her.

Kale nodded, his own wings stretching out from his shoulder blades. He pulled Katarina’s back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaned close to her ear, “We have some things to discuss,” he whispered before rocketing into the air.

Katarina pushed away from Kale the second her feet hit the dry ground of the forest floor.

“Where are we?” she demanded, pushing her hair from her eyes as she tried to tame her unruly locks.

Kale smirked. “Safe house number two,” he said as he grasped her upper arm, pulled her up the stairs, and through the front door.

“It’s about time,” a small fairy said as Kale shut the door behind them.

His smirk turned into a full-on smile. “Hello, Genevieve.”

“The house is secure,” the fairy’s fuchsia eyes fell on Katarina. “She won’t be able to leave the house.”

“Thank you, Genevieve.”

“My pleasure,” the fairy said as she disappeared into a swirl of glitter.

“Are you freaking serious right now?” Katarina fumed. “You had a Twilight cast a spell so I couldn’t leave?”

Kale smiled. “No, Lothar did, but I have to admit it is genius. You don’t get to run and you don’t get to hide. You owe me some explanations.”

Katarina scoffed, angrily. “I owe you? No, Kale. I owe you nothing. Why do you even care anymore? It’s been fifteen years. So you didn’t get what you wanted—just let it go.” She stomped down the hall, her hips swaying in her tight jeans and the heels of her red pumps playing an angry staccato melody against the hard slate that covered the main living space in Hawk’s Eye’s safe house.

What he wanted?
No, he had not gotten what he wanted… This infuriating woman, a woman he would have at one point laid his life down for, the woman he’d been in love with, had betrayed him.

Most definitely not what he wanted.

Kale followed her down the hall, reaching the room he assumed she’d just claimed as her own as the door slammed in his face. Kale knew Kat well enough to know that while she knew a Twilight’s spell was nearly impossible to break, she would still give it one hell of a try.

Kale moved around the corner of the house just in time to hear Kat let out a string of curses. Kale moved to her open window and grinned at her frustrated scowl.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Kale shrugged. “Yes, quite a bit in fact. Where would you go if you could get out? We’re miles from civilization.”

“You’re a bastard, you know that?”

Kale clucked his tongue. “It’s not nice to call names. We’re going to be stuck together till I get some answers,” he said, stepping in her window to tower over her. “Try to play nice,
Kitten,
” he said as she blanched and her back hit the wall behind her.

Kale pressed even closer, caging her with his arms. “I have so many questions and until I have answers, it’s not even worth contemplating what will happen after I get those answers.”

Katarina felt a shiver run down her spine, not sure if it was fear or lust. But the stone of his eyes told her he was not playing around, but neither was she—she had questions too.

“Fine, what do you want to know?”

“First off, how’d you get mixed up with a
Trow
?”

“
Jake
has been helping me,” she said, emphasizing his name.

“How exactly has
Jake
been helping you?” Kale felt a prick of jealousy as the
Trow’s
name slipped from Katarina lips.

He shouldn’t be jealous but he couldn’t help the green monster that was bubbling up inside of him. Katarina was his, or had been, and while he couldn’t understand it, he still wanted her. He’d held her for a good thirty minutes as he flew them here. He’d been teased by her scent and the soft curves of her body. It was taking everything inside of him not to simply crush his lips to hers, to run his fingers against the firm curve of her breast and down the thin sides of her ribs to the dip of her waist so he could claim
her and pull her hips hard against his own.

Katarina smirked. “In every way,” she said hatefully. “Where is he?”

Kale nearly snarled at her answer.

“He’s with Cree and
Lothar,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

“No shit,” she snapped. “Where did they take him? I want to see him.”

Kale growled, this time a low rumble from deep in his throat. “Well, I imagine he’s being held back at Hawk’s Eye and until I’m done with you and satisfied that every question I’ve asked is answered, you won’t get to see him.”

Kat pushed off the wall, meeting Kale’s angry stare. “And I won’t answer a single question until I see him.”

Kale chuckled. “As you wish,
Kitten,
but who do you think can last longer out here?”

“Quit calling me that,” she snapped at him.

It had once been something sweet. He never called her Katarina, it was always Kat, but when they were alone and he was feeling gentle, romantic, and loving, he’d call her Kitten. Right now, it felt harsh and cruel.

“It’s what I always called you when we were alone. It used to make you smile. It even used to make you weak in the knees and a little wet.”

“It was a lie,” she said, pushing past him and retreating into the attached bathroom.

A lie—that’s what it had all been.
All of it, every seemingly perfect moment was a trick. He’d used her to get his rocks off and then turned to Darion and demanded her death. Kat started the shower and slipped under the steaming spray of hot water. She needed to wash of the hurt, the anger, and get her head on straight if she and Jake were going to get out of this.

****

Kale stood outside Kat’s bathroom door, in an attempt to convince himself to just walk away… to take a breath. He had stepped so close to her with the intentions of intimidating her. They both knew she was no match for him and that if he had wanted to keep her trapped, he could have. But it was a stupid move, because she smelled as good as he remembered and the heat that radiated off her was part of her seduction. She made him crave her heat.

Kale stepped into the darkened hallway and pulled out his new
iPhone.

“Talk to me,
Lothar,” he said, not bothering with a hello.

“Not much to say as of yet, the
Trow
won't talk. All he keeps saying is he won’t say a word until he talks to Kat.”

Kale
growled, frustration and jealousy eating away at him. “Same thing she said.”

“What’d you tell her?”
Lothar asked.

“I asked who she thought could make it longer out here.”

Lothar chuckled, though it really wasn’t funny, but Kale had a stubborn streak a mile wide… he would turn this into some form of a competition.

“Ok, well, keep an eye out for some company.”

“Why? Who’s coming to laugh at my misery?”

Lothar
shook his head. “No laughter. Izzy made it clear to Bain, Cree and me, that she would make us all miserable if Bain didn’t take her to check on you before they headed home.”

Kale couldn’t help but smile.
Izzy was like a big sister and though he was centuries upon centuries older than her, she saw him and treated him as if he were a younger brother… and he loved that about her.

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

“Good. She’s bringing some supplies with her, though I think it was just a good reason to force my hand and tell her where you were and a good reason to force Bain to take her.”

Kale chuckled. “All she’d have to do is bat her lashes and he’d do anything she asks of him.”

“Are you implying that I have Bain wrapped around my finger?” a voice asked from behind Kale.

He spun at the sound of
Izzy’s voice and smiled sheepishly.

“I
gotta go; they just showed up.”

Kale ended his call, but just continued to smile at them.

“Are you going to answer her brother?” Bain asked, a shit-eating grin spreading like a wildfire across his face.

Kale wrapped an arm around
Izzy’s shoulder. “That is a much nicer way of describing what I was implying, but I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.”

Izzy
arched a brow at him, and then looked to Bain, “How do you suppose he would have said it?”

“It probably would have been crass and would’ve had something to do with Bain being whipped by what’s between your legs.”

Bain shook his head, while Izzy and Kale both turned to see Kat standing in the hall.

Izzy
smiled at Kale, knowing the very beautiful blonde was right, while Bain responded with a low chuckle.

“I have no complaints about my current whipped position.”

“Bain,” Izzy sighed.

“I had wondered what the woman who had finally captured
Bain’s heart would look like,” Kat said as she gave Izzy a long, lingering once over.

Bain cleared his throat. “She’s spoken for, Kat.”

Kat lifted her gaze and grinned at Bain. “I get it now. All the rumors I heard said she was beautiful… I’m not sure they quite did her justice.”

“
Rumors
?” Izzy asked.

“You’re the talk of the
Fae. Even those of us who are hiding here in the Human World have heard of you.”

Izzy
looked to Bain, her blue eyes wide. “Did you know I was the talk of the Fae?”

Bain nodded. “You’re the center of my world, sweetheart; it doesn’t surprise me you’re the talk of the
Fae too.”

Izzy
shook her head and Kat smiled.

Bain looked from Kat to Kale. “Is
Izzy safe with her? Are there weapons in this house?”

Kale cocked a brow at Kat.
“None that she can get to.” He added pointedly, “Plus, she wouldn’t hurt Izzy.”

Kat locked gazes with Bain. “I’m no threat to your woman. I have no reason to want to hurt her.”

“Good, Izzy brought you some things and I need to talk to Kale. Walk with me, brother.”

Kale gave Kat one last, almost threatening, look before heading for the front door.