“Anastazia, I told you I will not take advantage of you. Did I hire you to have you close to me? Absolutely. But I mostly hired you because you’re good at what you do.”
She focused her anger on Robertson. “And you had something to do with that.”
“Robertson didn’t push you into your line of work,” Matthias said. “If I remember his recollection of the conversation, you told him you wanted to be a ‘fixer.’ Like him.”
She thought back. He was right.
Damn him.
Matthias continued as if he hadn’t heard her thought. “If I knew making contact like this would put your life in danger, I would have come up with an alternate plan.”
She pushed back from the table, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. How much of her feelings for him were due to his funky vampire charm?
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll stay here, thank you very much.”
“You don’t have a choice, I’m afraid. We leave this afternoon.”
She stared at him. She wasn’t sure what shocked her more—the recent revelations or that statement.
Matthias sensed her outrage. “Anastazia, you don’t understand. Someone wants to hurt or kill you. I cannot protect you if I’m not with you.” His condescending tone of voice did nothing to soothe her ire.
“You just left for Europe for a few days and felt pretty safe doing that.”
“That was stupid of me. Had I known then what I know now—”
“You said you didn’t know what was going on.”
“—I never would have left,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “Anastazia, you don’t understand. They have a purpose, and they will not stop until they succeed or we stop them. I will never forgive myself if you are hurt. Or worse.”
She stood and started to walk away. Suddenly, Matthias stood in front of her, forcing her to take a step back. He moved so fast she barely saw him.
“Get out of my way, Matthias.”
“No. You have to listen to me. I know this isn’t the way you want to handle—”
She shoved him. It was like pushing against a firmly rooted tree, but he moved.
“I’m not going with you. I’m going to pack, and then I’m taking the first flight out of Tampa to LA, and go back to work for Bob Stanley. I’ve had it with you and this crazy mess.”
“I’m sorry, Anastazia, but I can’t let you go.”
“Try and stop me.” She bolted for the front door. Outside, a guard stationed there turned. Matthias yelled for him to stop her, and she wheeled on the three. Matthias, Robertson, and Albert, who now had something in his hand, all took a step back from the force of her gaze. She turned and focused on the guard again.
Screw it. If she had this seriously wacky hypnotism, by God, she’d use it.
Taz ignored the sickening roll her stomach took as she fixed her eyes on the guard. “Let me out. Now.”
The guard’s eyes widened. Matthias yelled as the man moved to the side, out of her way.
She stepped through the door when something painful hit her in the back, between her shoulders. And as the front porch swooped up to meet her face-first, the world went dark.
Chapter Sixteen
The air in the room felt cool. Taz heard indistinct voices in the distance and a droning noise she couldn’t place. Her head hurt like a son of a bitch. She started to sit up and felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t. You shouldn’t move yet.”
Robertson.
She focused on him. Where was she, and what the hell was that noise? Her ears felt weird—
She was in a plane. The private cabin in the corporate jet.
Goddamn it.
Robertson looked at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I tried to get to you first, but Albert was faster.”
She worked her jaw, trying to pop her ears to relieve the pressure. “What the hell did he hit me with?”
“A tranquilizer dart. He was afraid you might react badly to the news. Then a syringe of Versed finished you off before you fully came to.”
“He tranqued me? I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.” She started to sit up, and he helped her.
“Taz,” he said quietly, “you had no right to do what you did to that guard. That’s the kind of thing you cannot, must not do. Not unless a life depends on it.”
“I was being held against my will.”
“Do you think I’d let anyone hurt you?”
“You damn sure didn’t help. And you let them drug me?” She yanked her arm free.
“It was for your own good. You must calm down, let us help you through this transition. You were out of control.”
“Transition? You can look me in the eye and call it a transition? That’s so not the word I would use. Hellhole, nightmare, disaster—want a thesaurus?”
He sat next to her. “I know your world has been turned upside down. I know you can’t stand not being in control of your life. I know you’re mad at Matthias, and me, and Albert. I’m sorry. Calm down and look at this from our point of view. We couldn’t risk you turning on one or all of us and hurting someone. You are not a prisoner.”
“Then why the hell couldn’t I leave?”
“Because I agree with Matthias. Until we can get to the bottom of this, your life is in danger. Why don’t you try working with him instead of fighting him? He’s got enough to worry about trying to keep you safe without you fighting us every step of the way. You also need to learn about your new way of life.”
“Oh yes, that pesky ‘I’m a vampire’ problem. Why can’t you teach me?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have near the powers you and Matthias do. My job was to prepare you as much as I could to get you to this point. We had no idea you were as strong as you are. I taught you to remain in control, have empathy for others. Now you need to put every bit of that to good use.”
She wanted to push him off the plane. “How is the guard?”
“He’s okay. Matthias made him forget what happened. You didn’t hurt him, but he’ll be reassigned to corporate out in LA. He can’t have contact with you. Not until you learn to control yourself.”
Guilt swamped her. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”
“We know, but you don’t understand the full implications of your abilities. That’s what we’re trying to tell you. You have to learn.”
“Oh, great. Luke, I am your father.”
Robertson smiled. “That’s not funny.”
“You’re laughing.”
“I can’t help it with you sometimes.” He sighed and shook his head. “Work with us. Trust us. And admit that, in this case at least, you need help.”
She took a deep breath and shoved her anger back. “Fine. I’ll play nice. Can I make Matthias’ head explode?”
“Wait until next year. I’m due for a raise.” He smiled, finally getting a laugh out of her. He squeezed her hand. “Matthias is up front in the cabin. Why don’t you join us?”
Anger tried to regain a foothold, and she struggled to hold it back. This was all Matthias’ fault. If it wasn’t for him, she’d still be in LA, happy and oblivious, working for Bob Stanley and logging a respectable number of billable hours every week. Not almost getting stabbed by something that was a not-demon. “No. I don’t want to talk to him yet. Where are we going?”
“Yellowstone. To a small airstrip just north of the park. We’ll transfer from the jet to a puddle jumper in Livingston, and fly to Gardiner from there.”
“I didn’t pack.”
“I packed for you.”
“How long have I been out?”