Foreshadowed (6 page)

CHAPTER 11

            As I stood at the floor to ceiling windows of our penthouse room, overlooking the bright, colorful lights and flashing signs of the city, I looked back at Alex excitedly.  Las Vegas, where we could stay up all night and stay in all day; and nobody would think twice about it. Perfect. Alex walked up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist and leaning down to say lightly in my ear, "I can't decide. Take you out and show you off, or stay here and show you an even better time."

            "Hmm, I say we do both. And start with the latter first."

            A sharp knock at the door caused me to jump, and reluctantly pulling away, Alex strode over to the door and opened it. Chaz stood at the entrance. His intimidating size and constant scowl would deter even the worst criminals, but they didn't fool me one bit. He was really just a huge teddy bear. At least to us. Our enemies saw a different side of him. Chaz glanced quickly at me and Alex stepped outside shutting the door gently behind him.

            I chewed my lip in frustration. They were always trying to protect me from whatever came up. All they accomplished was letting my imagination run away from me, probably building it up worse than it was. Clearly, something was up or Chaz never would have interrupted us. It seemed our plans of a relaxing honeymoon were coming to an end before it could even get started.

            I listened as their footsteps got further away and grabbed my phone before collapsing on the giant bed. Scrolling through my contacts, I decided to give Anna a call to let her know where Alex had taken me. After getting her voicemail, I left a quick message and was just hanging up when Alex walked back through the door. One look at his face and I knew it was bad. Really bad.

            Not wanting to hear what I knew would be awful news; I just stared at him, frozen in horror.

            His voice was tight when he asked me. "Who were you talking too?"

            "No one. I called Anna to tell her where we were, but I ended up having to leave a voicemail."

            "I'm afraid you won't get Anna on her phone. Kyle just got in touch with Chaz. Anna's been missing since she left our house last night. Her car was found parked in the usual spot at her apartment but her phone, keys and pocketbook were found on the ground beside her car." At the stricken look on my face, Alex came forward, wrapping his arms around me.

            "We'll find her, Brooke. Ethan and Kyle are already on it. I've called for our jet to be prepared and it should be ready within the hour."

            If I had still been human, I would have been shaking like a leaf. As it was, fear was running rampant in my veins. "I knew it," I whispered. "I knew something bad was going to happen. That vision was
not
just stress." My fear kicked up a notch as I remembered the bloody matted, blonde hair that had flashed by me during the vision. Hair the exact same shade as Anna's.

            I pulled back from Alex, grabbing his shoulders and looking him in the eye. "It's the vision Alex. I saw hair the exact color as Anna’s and it was covered in blood. There were lots of green rolling hills, and a stormy looking harbor with gray, choppy water. It has to mean something. Maybe the hills and the harbor are near where she was taken."

            He looked at me thoughtfully. "Maybe. But even if she is, those kinds of places exist everywhere. It's not specific enough to go on right now, but maybe once we find out who has her, it could help us narrow it down."

            Chaz stuck his head back in the door. "Car's out front when you're ready." Alex nodded his acknowledgment and turned back to me.

            "I have a feeling this is related to us somehow. I don't think that this was a random act. I need you to be
extremely
careful. If I'm going to help find Anna and get her back, I can't be worried that you're not safe."

            I felt a little bad that he even had to remind me but, given my history, he was certainly warranted. I nodded. "You don't have to worry about me. Just find Anna. Please."

            A couple of hours later, I was sitting in my living room back in Charlotte, alternating between pacing and watching my phone for news. Alex had left straight from the airport to meet Ethan and Kyle once we'd landed. A driver had picked me up, taking me home where I was supposed to wait for news. I knew they were just trying to protect me, but I felt like I should be doing something to help. Anything had to be better than sitting there pacing the floors. Alex had a member of the security team in the guardhouse at the road and several more outside watching for any surprise guests. I had a feeling that they were on double duty; both to keep anyone out and to keep me in. There was some validity to that, as I was itching to get out of the house and do some investigating of my own. Remembering my promises to both Alex and Ethan, I reined those thoughts in and, taking my phone, headed up to my room to unpack. Anything to take my mind off of things for a while. Worrying wouldn't do anyone a bit of good. 

           
Tap, tap, tap
.

            I looked up from my suitcase; my vision zooming in on the window where the noise had originated. The thick curtains that hung in front of our large bedroom windows were effectively blocking my line of vision. I moved stealthily towards the window I‘d heard the tapping noise come from, creeping up to it and throwing back the curtain. I had to stifle a scream when I saw the moonlight giving off just enough light to illuminate Brad's face on the other side. Not only was it pitch black outside my room, but it was also two stories off the ground. I couldn't even begin to imagine how he'd gotten up there, or better yet, why. I put my hands on my hips and glared at him through the window.

            "How did you get up here?"

            "Isn't it obvious?" he said. "I climbed. Now, let me in."

            "Yeah. I don't think so. Why are you here and how the hell did you get past all of our security?"

            "Against my better judgment, I'm here to save you. Now, I repeat, let me in."

            "I'm still not buying it. What do you want Brad?" Crossing my arms, I left the window closed between us. I had no intentions of letting him in.

            "You know, I don't remember you being quite this irritating. Is this a vampire trait?"

            When I continued to shoot him a withering glare, he gave me a playful grin. "You're not scared of me, are you?"

            I rolled my eyes. "I'm terrified," I said dryly. "Now leave before I have you thrown out." I started to close the curtain back when Brad threw up his hand. His face had turned serious. "Brooke, seriously. There are some nasty looking Regency vampires on their way here right now. If I was able to get past your guards, they will be too."

            I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. As I was grappling with what to do, I heard Alex's voice in my mind.
I see you have company. And this time he may actually be helpful. We've made some discoveries. Lucien is behind Anna's disappearance along with some help from the Regency. He's sent word that unless you show up to take her place, she'll die. In the meantime, he's sent others to collect you and they well outnumber our guards. They're way too close for me to get to you in time. Go with Brad and take two guards. Meet Ethan and I at the airport as soon as you can get there. And Brooke....I love you.

           
I looked up at Brad and slid the window up. "Looks like I'm going with you."

CHAPTER 12

            I groaned as I noticed headlights approaching from the driveway. It was
not
to be an easy exit, apparently. I hadn't received a call from the guardhouse, so either that guard   was destroyed or he had been detained. I saw a couple members of our security team dashing with vampire speed towards the approaching car. Brad was at my side as well as a few other members of security. Using the diversion created by the guards out front, we shot into the woods at the rear of the estate, practically materializing on the street several miles on the other side of it. The only thing that slowed us was that Brad couldn't run as fast as we could. An unfortunate side effect of being a human, but still, he kept up pretty admirably. We slid into an awaiting SUV and I finally breathed a sigh of relief as it took off at high speed.

            Leaning back in the seat, I looked over at Brad who seemed to be torn about something.
Maybe
, the fact that he was sitting in a vehicle of vampires he’d pledged to kill.

            "What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in question.

            He sighed, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I'm not sure what I planned to do once I got you out of danger. I just wasn't thinking clearly when I saw them heading your way. I knew they were coming for you and all I could think of was that I needed to get you out of there." He ran his hand over his face in irritation-- with himself, I assumed.

            "And I appreciate that Brad. Really, I do. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I probably wouldn't have made it out in time." I gave him a playfully cocky look. "I'm sure I could have handled them though."

            "Yeah, sure you could have."

            I shrugged, deciding against telling him about some of the powers I‘d discovered since being turned. To be honest, I really didn't know much about them anyway.

            He sat up in his seat. "Look, it may not be the best idea in the world for a Coalition member to pick me up at the airport. Just drop me off at the next convenient store we pass and I'll have someone get me from there."

            I waved an arm around at the vampire security members and myself. "You're not embarrassed of us, are you?" I teased.

            "No, I just prefer to forgo the all out fight that
will
occur if there is an impromptu meeting between vampires and slayers. From what I've heard, you have other problems to deal with right now."

            I couldn't stop my expression from crumpling a bit with the mention of Anna's disappearance. The whole thing wouldn't be half as bad if I hadn't had that horrid vision recently. Worst of all, I was getting a foreboding feeling that the bloody, matted head in the vision belonged to Anna.

            "Hey, I'm just as worried about Anna as you are, Brooke. This is a prime example of the trouble vampires will cause you." He stopped and gave me a meaningful look. "And you're yet another perfect example."

            The car rolled to a stop in front of a brightly lit gas station and Brad opened the door, stepping out and slamming it shut without a second glance in my direction. As I watched him walk away, I had the feeling we had not seen the last of him. There was no way he was walking away from Anna’s disappearance without making sure she was found. I was sure it was just a matter of time before he popped up again.

            With all the fear and anxiety I had been feeling all day, it was amazing how just being in Alex's arms again could melt it away. Not completely. No, it was still there; but it felt more manageable somehow with him at my side. I leaned my head on Alex's shoulder as we sat in the plush seats of his private jet. My eyes found Ethan's troubled green ones. He was sitting on a seat across from us and I noticed his eyes reflected the same anxiety and fear for Anna that I'm sure were in mine. It occurred to me that if I ever saw Anna again, I could without a doubt tell her that Ethan cared for her way more than a fling, whether he wanted her to know it or not.

            I lifted my head off of Alex's shoulder, still looking at Ethan. "You care about Anna more than you've been letting on." It was a statement, not a question because it was obvious what the answer was. This probably wasn't a topic I'd pursue with most people, but Ethan was like family to me and so was Anna. It was beyond time for him to confront his feelings; something he probably hadn't done in all of his years as a vampire. I pushed back the fear that it might be too late. I had to believe that Anna would be okay. It was me that Lucien was after and he would lose his leverage if he killed Anna. God, I hoped he didn't turn her. That would tie her to him in some capacity for eternity and, honestly, death might be a better option.

            Ethan looked out the jet window into the dark night, his face not giving away anything. After a few moments where I wondered if he was going to respond at all, he met my gaze again. "Is that what this feeling is? Because, quite frankly, emotions are something I steer clear of. When you've had to kill people to survive, like I have, emotions come at a high price. Avoiding them is crucial."

            Alex spoke up. "You don't kill people anymore-- vampires, yes, but you haven't killed a human in longer than I can remember. You're going to have to move past what you did as a young vampire. Ask forgiveness from God, yourself, or whoever it is you need to, but move past it. I've done it and obviously been successful. It's too late as far as your emotions are concerned anyway. I've seen you around Anna and you can't deny you care about Brooke. Just man up, deal with your past demons, and live this existence the best you can."

            I couldn't resist adding, "And I'd be willing to bet you care about Alex more than you let on too."

            Ethan snorted. "I'd end him in a minute if he ever got in my way."

            Alex and I laughed. "Sure you would," I said. No one sitting there believed that, least of all him. I didn't think I could even begin to comprehend what the two of them had been through in the past few hundred years. The closest I had to that kind of friendship was with Anna, and right now I wasn't even sure if she was alive.

            With that sobering thought, I looked at them both. "You two have given me the bare minimum on what happened to Anna and what the plan is to get her back... alive. Care to fill me in?"

            Ethan raised his eyebrows at Alex. "Yeah Alex. Care to fill her in?"

            I looked at Alex sharply. They were hiding something-- I was sure of it. "What aren't you telling me?" I demanded.

            Alex glanced at Ethan before looking back at me. "Lucien has Anna at his residence in France. We have an informant from inside his chateau that has reason to believe things have not been good for Anna since she arrived a day ago. To Lucien, Anna is nothing but a human pawn, easily disposable. I've known him for a long time and he's using her poor treatment, knowing it will get back to you, as assurance that you
will
come to him." He stopped, I'm sure noticing the look of horror on my face, and reached for my hand. "We’re going to do our best to get her out of there alive, but I can't have you risking yourself in the process. I realize that you feel the need to be there with us, but I really need you to allow Ethan and I to handle her rescue. It would be distracting for us both if we were worrying about your safety as well."

            "Why is it so hard to imagine that I might be of help to the two of you? Alex, you saw what I did to Ophelia when she came to your hotel room in London. I obviously have the strength and ability to be of some assistance." I told myself that now was not the time to get snarky with him but, really, the over-protectiveness was starting to get to me.

            Alex snagged my eyes with his incredible blue ones. "Brooke. It's not that I don't think you would be any help. It's that if you're not there, Lucien can't barter with you as an    exchange for Anna. It'll be easier for us to get her and get out."

            I shook my head trying to keep the stony, annoyed look off of my face.
Now is not the time for me to start an argument,
I reminded myself.

            Alex grinned at me and said aloud. "You're absolutely right."

            I smiled and rolled my eyes, knowing it wouldn't do a bit of good to remind him he wasn't supposed to be reading my mind. I was beginning to think it was a lost cause altogether.