Chase strapped on the last of his weapons, then checked his ammo supply one final time. He had one pistol loaded with regular rounds; another held a clip of the hollow-nose titanium specials that he'd been given by the warriors for the express purpose of killing Rogues. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't need to use those, but if he had to blast through a dozen feral vampires to reach his nephew, he damn well would.
Grabbing his dark wool pea coat from the hook near the door, he stepped into the hallway outside his private quarters in the Darkhaven. Elise was there; he nearly ran into her in his haste to be on his way.
"Sterling... hello. Have you been avoiding me? I'd been hoping I could talk with you." Her lavender eyes swept him in a quick glance. She frowned, seeing the array of guns and knives that circled his hips and crisscrossed his chest. He felt her apprehension, could smell the sudden, bitter note of dread mingling with the delicate scent that was simply her own. "So many terrible weapons. Is it very dangerous out there?"
"Don't worry about that," he told her. "Just keep praying for Camden to come home soon. I'll take care of the rest."
She picked up the tail of her scarlet widow's sash and idly smoothed the silk through her fingers. "That 's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, Sterling. Some of the other women and I have been discussing what more we can do for our missing sons. There is strength in numbers, so we thought that perhaps if we banded together... We would like to do some daytime searches of the waterfront or the old subway tunnels. We could look in the places where our sons might have gone for shelter from the sun --"
"Absolutely not."
Chase hadn't meant to cut her off so abruptly, but the idea of Elise leaving the sanctuary of the Darkhaven during daytime hours to venture into the worst parts of the city made his blood run cold. She would be beyond the protection of himself or any other members of the Breed so long as the sun was out, and while the Rogues would be no danger then for the very same reason, there was always the risk of running into their Minions.
"I'm sorry, but it's out of the question."
Her eyes widened momentarily in surprise. Then she quickly glanced down, giving him a polite nod, but he could see that she bristled beneath the veneer of her propriety. As her closest kin, even by marriage, Breed law gave Chase the right to impose a daytime curfew on her--an antiquated measure that had been in existence from the origination of the Darkhavens nearly a thousand years ago. Chase had never imposed it, and while he felt like an ass for doing so now, he could not allow her to risk her life while he stood by and watched.
"Do you think my brother would approve of what you want to do?" Chase asked, knowing that Quentin never would agree to such an idea, not even in an effort to save his own son. "You can help Camden the most by staying here, where I know you are safe."
Elise lifted her head, those pale purple eyes flashing with the spark of a determination he'd never seen in them before. "Camden is not the only child missing. Can you save them all, Sterling? Can the warriors of the Order save them all?" She let out a small sigh. "Nobody saved Jonas Redmond. He's dead, did you know that? His mother senses that he's gone. More of our sons are disappearing, dying every night, yet we are supposed to do nothing but sit here and wait for bad news?"
Chase felt his jaw go rigid. "I have to go now, Elise. You have my answer on this subject. I'm sorry."
He brushed past her, shrugging into his coat as he headed out. He knew she followed; her white skirts rustled softly behind him with each quick step she took. But Chase kept going. He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and threw open the main door of the Darkhaven building, clicking the remote lock of his silver Lexus SUV in the driveway outside. The vehicle chirped, lights flashing in response, but Chase wouldn't be going anywhere fast.
Blocking the drive was a black Range Rover, its engine idling in the dark. The windows were tinted beyond legal opacity, but Chase didn't need to see through them to know who was inside. He could feel Dante's rage pouring through the steel and glass, rolling toward him like a frost heave.
The warrior wasn't alone. He and his companion, the stone-cold one called Tegan, got out of the vehicle and strolled around to the lawn. Their faces were deadly calm, but the menace radiating off both huge males was unmistakable.
Chase heard Elise's gasp behind him. "Sterling--"
"Get back inside," he told her, keeping his eyes locked on the two warriors. "Now, Elise. Everything's all right."
"What's going on, Sterling? Why are they here?"
"Just do as I say, damn it! Go back in the house. Everything is going to be okay."
"Oh, I don't know about that, Harvard." Dante prowled toward him, those wicked, arced blades at his hip glinting in the moonlight with every long stride of the warrior's legs. "I'd say things are about as fucked up as they could be right about now. Thanks to you, that is. You get lost last night or something? Maybe you just misunderstood what I told you to do with that drug-dealing scum--that it? I told you to haul his ass in to the compound, but you thought I said let the bastard walk?"
"No. There was no misunderstanding."
"What am I missing here, Harvard?" Dante drew one of his blades from its sheath, the steel whisking out as softly as a whisper. When he spoke, Chase saw the tips of his fangs. A bright amber gaze locked on him like twin laser beams. "Start talking fast, because I've got no problem cutting the truth out of you right here in front of the woman."
"Sterling!" Elise screamed. "Leave him alone!"
Chase whipped his head to the side just in time to see her dash down the brick steps of the Darkhaven entry and onto the pavement below. She didn't get far. Tegan moved like a ghost, vampire speed no match for Elise's human limbs. The warrior captured her around the waist and held her back as she struggled to get away from him.
Fury rose in Chase like a lit match on dry tinder. His fangs ripped out of his gums, his vision going sharp as his pupils narrowed with his transformation. He roared, ready to take on both warriors simply for the offense of touching Elise.
"Let her go," he growled. "Damn it, she is not a part of this!"
He pushed at Dante, but the vampire didn't budge.
"At least we have your full attention now, Harvard." Dante shoved back at him, a freight train coming at full steam. Chase's feet left the ground, his body propelled backward by the force of Dante's rage. The brick facade of the residence stopped their trajectory, slamming hard against Chase's spine.
Dante's enormous fangs came right up in Chase's face, his eyes burning into Chase's skull. "Where is Ben Sullivan? What the fuck is really going on with you?"
Chase glanced over at Elise, hating that she had to witness this brutal side of their world. He just wanted it over for her. He saw the tears streaming down her cheeks, the fear in her eyes as Tegan held her so coldly against all of the deadly steel and leather that girded his immense body.>Ben backed up, retreating as far as he could into the darkness of his holding cell. There was a snick of a key turning the lock, then the door swung open and the two huge guards who'd brought him here came inside.