Zane’s Redemption (32 page)

Zane closed his eyes. “I know him from the war.”

“The war?” Amaury echoed.

Zane opened his eyes and looked at the two men who had known him for decades yet knew nothing about his past. This was about to change. “World War II. I was an inmate in Buchwald. The concentration camp.”

He noticed the surprise in Samson’s and Amaury’s eyes, but they remained silent, their bodies rigid in attention.

“Portia’s father was a doctor there. His name isn’t Lewis, it was Franz Müller. If you think Josef Mengele had a reputation for torturing prisoners with his horrendous experiments, you haven’t met Franz Müller. He makes Mengele look like a choirboy. I can’t tell you all the things he did, how he tortured us, killed so many of us.”

Compassion spread in the eyes of his friends.

“He was obsessed with creating a master race. When they captured a vampire one night, he got what he wanted. I was one of his guinea pigs, so was my sister.”

“Are you sure it’s he?” Samson interrupted, his voice calmer and quieter than before.

Zane nodded. “It’s a face I could never forget. I’ve hunted him for years. Samson, you have to believe me when I tell you this: he’s just as mad and as dangerous as he was then. He’s started up an organization to create a new master race.”

“What kind of race?”

“A race of hybrids, stronger than any others, stronger than all vampires. He’s still obsessed. It was a mistake for me to send Portia away. I know that now.”

“You sent her away?” Amaury asked.

He gave his friend a rueful look. “When I saw a picture of her father and realized that she was his flesh, I told her to run or I would kill her. I threatened her.”

“Oh God, why?” Samson gasped.

“Don’t you see? I’m in love with the daughter of the man who destroyed my family, who tortured and killed my sister. I had to send her away. I couldn’t trust myself not to kill her in my rage.”

Zane dropped his head. He should have never let her go. Now he knew that even in his rage he wouldn’t have harmed her.

“My God, Zane, what now?”

When he met Samson’s gaze and realized that his boss believed him and was willing to help him, relief swept over him like a soft breeze. “We have to get her away from her father.”

“And then?” Amaury asked, his voice solemn.

“You have to protect her.”

“We?” Samson asked softly.

“She won’t want me around anymore. She hates me now.” And he could live with that as long as he knew she was safe.

Chapter Thirty-Four

There was a cold chill in the air when Zane alighted from his Hummer half a block from Portia’s house.

According to Gabriel, Oliver had been assigned to watch the house while Samson and Amaury had searched for Portia in Tahoe. After she had returned home and Oliver had reported that fact to Gabriel, Oliver’s assignment had ended, and he’d left his observation point. Considering that Scanguards’ assignment had terminated as soon as Portia was back with her father, Gabriel’s action was only logical, however, knowing what they all knew now, it would have been more prudent to keep an eye on the house.

Behind Zane, Amaury and Samson got out of the car and quietly eased the doors shut. It was past three in the morning, and the streets were quiet. Any sound they made would carry far, and the last thing Zane wanted was to alert Müller to his presence before he was in position to strike.

The house was shrouded in darkness, not a single lamp illuminating it from the inside. He didn’t know what to expect. Had Portia told her father who her lover was? She knew his real name: Zacharias Eisenberg. Had she divulged it to her father? And why wouldn’t she? She was angry with him because he’d rejected her and threatened to kill her. What could be more logical than for her to tell her father where he could find his greatest enemy? It would be the easiest way for her to take her ultimate and well-deserved revenge on him.

But what was unclear was how Müller would punish his daughter for going against his wishes. Zane feared the worst. Müller was a fanatic. Would he really tolerate his daughter having slept with a Jew, even if this brought him closer to exterminating said Jew? Would he first lash out at his daughter because she had betrayed him? There was no way of knowing for sure until he actually saw Portia.

For all he knew, Müller could be lying in wait in the dark house, ready to plunge a stake into Zane’s heart not only to end the chase that had lasted for over sixty years, but also to punish him for defiling his virgin daughter.

Zane sighed. How ironic that he’d been in Müller’s house and never realized it. But there had been no family pictures, nothing that would have given Müller’s identity away.

“You okay?” Amaury whispered next to him.

“No.”

He would probably never be all right again. Whatever he did now, it would hurt somebody. He had to get Portia out of the house, most likely against her will, because she wouldn’t want his help now, and at the same time, he had to take this chance and kill her father. She would hate him even more for that.

They approached the house from the north side, which had no windows. Only the front door was on this side. Their footsteps made no sound on the cold concrete, all three of them were well versed in stealth. Communicating only with hand and eye signals, they positioned themselves around the door.

Zane slid his key into the lock and turned. With a nod to his colleagues, he jerked the door open and lunged inside. Samson and Amaury did likewise. Within a second, they were inside the small house, each positioned against a different wall from which to attack or defend.

Zane inhaled and allowed his senses to reach out. Emptiness greeted him.

“They’re gone,” Samson said, letting out a breath.

But Zane barely heard his boss’ voice, because the scent that drifted into his nostrils had set alarm bells ringing in his head, and catapulted him toward the stairs. He crouched down and wiped his fingers over a spot on the railing.

Blood. It was dried blood.

“Portia …”

His eyes focused, and he discovered more spots of dried blood.

“Oh God, no!”

Samson’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. “We’ll find her.”

Zane raised his lids. “He hurt her … She bled. Samson … it’s all my fault. He hurt her because of me.”

“She must have told him who you were,” Amaury stated.

Zane closed his eyes, pushing back tears he wanted to cry for Portia’s pain. “We have to find her … before he kills her.”

 “He won’t.”

Zane turned at the sound of Quinn’s voice coming from the door, fury instantly taking over his mind. His erstwhile friend was the reason this situation had gotten to this point in the first place. Had he not sold him out to Samson, Zane would have never had to take Portia away.

As Quinn stepped inside, next to him, another person appeared. Instantly alert at the appearance of the unknown vampire next to Quinn, Zane jumped up and reached for his stake. He’d have to deal with Quinn later.

 Quinn quickly raised his hand. “This is Cain. He’s the man who identified the pin you found on the assassin.”

“Assassin?” Samson interrupted, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Long story. I’ll fill you in later,” Zane quickly replied.

Samson nodded curtly. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Zane gave a short nod in agreement and turned his attention back to Quinn and Cain. The vampire was a little over six feet tall, well-built with short dark hair and a permanent shadow where his beard would have grown were he still human.

Cain nodded in greeting. “Quinn flew me in today so I could help.”

Quinn shrugged toward Samson. “I borrowed one of the jets.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Samson replied. “How is Cain gonna help, no offense.”

The stranger nodded. “None taken. I might be able to identify some of the members of the breeding program.”

“We already know who the head is.”

Quinn nudged the vampire. “Tell Zane what you told me.”

Cain cleared his throat. “There’s going to be a big event in two or three days.”

“What kind of event?” Zane asked impatiently.

“A blood-bond. Apparently the leader has found a suitable hybrid to mate with the princess.”

“Princess? What the f—?” This wasn’t England with royal families and all.

“They say, it’s his daughter. She’s supposed to start a dynasty of superior hybrids. He’s found a hybrid she’ll mate with.”

Zane’s heart stopped. Portia was supposed to blood-bond with some hybrid her father chose for her? “No!”

“That’s why he won’t kill her,” Quinn added. “He needs her. She is his ticket to his master race.”

Zane tried to shake off the thought, but couldn’t. “He can’t do that. She’s mine! Portia is mine!”

Voicing it in front of his friends and colleagues, brought reality home. He couldn’t kid himself any longer. Without Portia, he was nothing, merely an empty shell without a heart. Only with her, he had a chance at life. Her father might need her to create his master race, but Zane needed her to survive.

“We don’t have much time then,” Amaury said. “We have to find her before the ceremony or …”

Amaury didn’t complete his sentence, and he didn’t have to. Zane knew the implications only too well. If Portia was blood-bonded to another man, she was lost to him. Only killing her mate would set her free. And even then, would Portia open her heart to Zane again? Would she be able to forgive him for what he’d done? Because, after all, it was his fault that she found herself in this situation. He’d been the one to cast her out without considering the consequences. He’d driven her back to her father and into hell. Had he thought things through for a moment, he would have seen that it didn’t matter who her sire was. She was pure and good despite the seed she came from.

“Do you know where this ceremony will take place?” Samson asked Cain.

“It’s somewhere on the West Coast, that much is certain, but I never got to find out where. The location is kept secret. Only a few people know.”

Zane glanced at Quinn, remembering something. “You left me a message that you found some phone numbers on Brandt’s cell. Was that just bait to get me to come back?”

“Thomas extracted some partial numbers. We have an area code and a prefix.”

“Where?”

“Seattle. The prefix identifies a neighborhood called Queen Anne. But—”

“But what?”

“We can’t be sure that’s the place where Müller went.”

“It’s all we’ve got.” Just a straw, but Zane clung to it for dear life.

Samson nodded. “It’s the best we can do.” He turned to Amaury. “Mobilize the troops. We need everybody we can get.”

“I can help,” Cain interrupted.

Zane perused the vampire. He’d helped them so far, but could he be trusted? “You wanted to be part of the breeding program. I understand that you’re disgruntled about being rejected, but why would you help us now? What’s stopping you from running back to them and warning them that we’re onto them?”

The tall and well-built vampire ran his hand through his dark hair. Zane silently wondered why Müller had rejected him. He appeared strong and intelligent, and from what Zane could tell, he was fairly decent looking too.

“Listen, I know this must sound odd to you guys, but when I heard of the breeding program I figured it would give me purpose in life. You see, I’ve been drifting. No family, no friends, no clan.”

“Why is that?” Zane shot back, suspicion rising. A loner always meant trouble.

“It’s because I don’t know who I am. I woke up one night, and I just ‘was’. I have no idea when I was turned, by whom, or how. Nor do I remember my human life. Nothing. I’ve been searching for an answer, and when I heard about the program, I thought it was as good as anything I’d ever be part of.”

Zane nodded. He understood the need to find a family, to have friends, to not be alone anymore. “The breeding program, did you believe in it when you applied for it?”

Cain shrugged. “They promised the most enticing women would be at the disposal of any vampire or hybrid who made it into the program. It’s not something somebody like me can afford to turn down. I don’t understand why they didn’t want me. Hey, I’m strong, I’m smart. And I’m told I’m not too bad looking. Beats me what they were looking for that I don’t have.”

“I think it’s your lack of commitment that made you ineligible,” Zane mused. “Müller only wants men who believe in his cause. He’s a fanatic. He likes to surround himself with other fanatics. You wanted in for the wrong reasons.”

“I guess. Well, never mind. Seeing that they’re going down anyway, it's just as well that I’m not a part of it.” Then he made a motion toward the door. “Well, good luck, guys. Seeing that you have no use for me, I’ll be moving on.”

Before Cain could exit through the door, Zane blocked it. “Not so fast. I’m sure you can understand that we can’t let you leave and risk you alerting Müller.”

Zane glanced at Samson who nodded in agreement.

“That’s why,” Samson chimed in, “we’d rather have you on our team. Fight on our side, and if you prove yourself, maybe we’ll have a place for you in our midst.”

Zane noticed Cain’s eyes widen in surprise. Then a smile spread on his lips. “You won’t regret it.”

“Now tell us everything you know, every detail,” Samson ordered. Then he turned toward Amaury. “Organize the jet, get everybody up to speed. We’ll be leaving before sunrise.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Portia tried to move her arm to relieve the ache in her shoulder but realized she couldn’t move. Her eyes flew open. Panicked, she stared into the semidarkness. As her eyes adjusted, she was able to make out her surroundings.

She lay on a large bed in an average sized bedroom with two windows, which were darkened by both heavy curtains and thick blinds. There was an old fireplace with a gas fire burning in it. A dresser sat at the wall near the foot of the bed, and there were three doors. One, she assumed led to a closet, one most likely to the hallway, and the third one, which was ajar, seemed to lead into another room.

Portia craned her neck to get a better look and managed to get a glimpse of the room, which appeared to be a study. But her movements were severely restricted. She jerked her arms, but they were tied around a heavy bar.