Shades of Midnight (Midnight Breed 7)

"I'm out at the Tulak cabin, Zach. I'll leave right away, but I'm probably forty-five minutes out."

"Forget it. We can't afford to wait on you. I'll track down Roger Bemis instead." He disconnected, leaving Alex sitting there, frozen in shock.

"What happened?" Kade asked. "Who's been hurt?" For a moment, it was all she could do to concentrate on breathing in and out. Her heart banged miserably, guilt gnawing at her. "I should have warned them. I should have told them what I knew instead of thinking I could deny it."

"Alex?" Kade's voice was cautious, his fingers firm but tender as he lifted her face up toward his.

"Tell me what's going on."

"Big Dave and Lanny Ham," she murmured. "They were attacked today in the bush. Lanny's dead. Big Dave might not make it."

And if Kade had gone with them, instead of coming out with her? The idea that he might have been close to that danger--or worse, a victim of it--made her heart lurch. She felt ill with fear and dread, but it was her anger that she clung to.

"You're right, Kade. I can't run away from what I know. Not anymore. I have to face this evil. I have to take a stand now, before anyone else gets hurt." Fury buoyed her where fear threatened to hold her down.

"I need to tell the truth--to everyone in Harmony. To the whole damned world, if that's what it takes. People need to know what's out there. They can't destroy an evil they don't even know exists."

"Alex." He pressed his lips together, started to shake his head as though he meant to dissuade her.

"Alex, I don't think that would be wise ..."

She held his stare, incredulous. "It's because of you that I feel strong enough to do this, Kade. We need to stand together--everyone--and defeat this."

"Ah, Christ ... Alex ..."

His hesitation felt like a cold blade slowly pressing into her sternum. Confused by his change in attitude, but too determined to do what was right--to do what she had to do now--she backed away from him and started getting dressed. "I have to get back to Harmony. I'm leaving in the next five minutes. You can decide if you're coming with me or not."

Chapter Sixteen

They didn't speak the whole flight back.

Kade sat beside Alex in miserable silence, torn between wanting to explain to her about the Breed and her place within that world and fearing that if she knew what he truly was, she would lump him into the same category of monster that she abhorred and was now so determined to expose to all of Harmony and the rest of humankind.

The fear that she would hate him kept his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth for the entire fortyfive minutes it took for her to fly them back to the snow-packed airstrip on the edge of town. He was a bastard for withholding the whole truth from her; he knew that. He'd proven himself something even worse than that in the Tulak cabin, when he'd let his desire for her trump his duty--his own personal code of honor, flimsy as it might be--that would have compelled a better male to put all of the cards on the table before he'd taken her.

But it hadn't been all about the sex with Alex. It wasn't just about desire, although he had that for her in spades. Things would be a hell of a lot easier right now if it was merely physical. The fact was, he cared about her. Cared for her. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore, least of all by his own words or actions. He wanted to protect her from the things that had harmed her in the past, and he would do whatever possible to see to it that nothing bad could touch her ever again. Oh, yeah, he was doing a damn fine job there.

Doing a first-class job on everything he'd touched since his arrival back in Alaska. In light of the evidence he'd found at the cabin, what might have been a simple, sideline mission to rout out a probable Rogue problem in the frozen north country was now a quest to locate a killer in his own family. And now he had at least one more dead human to add to that mix, potentially two, if the report of Big Dave's injuries was accurate.

Another savage attack that Kade prayed against all suspicion otherwise would not have Seth's name written all over it.

He was still chewing on that dread as Alex brought the plane down in a flawless landing. Damn, even as shaken as she had to be, Alex was total cool control behind the wheel. A real professional. Just one more thing that made him appreciate her all the more.

"Shit," he exhaled low under his breath as he stared out the window of the cockpit. He really did have it bad for this female.

"Looks like half the town is gathered outside the health clinic," Alex said. "Since Roger Bemis's plane is in, I'm guessing they must have brought Big Dave and Lanny in from the bush already." Kade grunted, looking a block up the center of town at the converted ranch house where a couple dozen people had assembled under the floodlight that lit the yard, some on foot, others seated astride idling snowmachines.

Alex cut the plane's engine and opened the pilot's door. Kade got out with her, walking around the front of the plane as she secured it and locked everything down. Her movements were efficient, her gloved hands working as if by habit more than conscious thought. When she finally glanced over at him, Kade saw that her face was pale as ash, her features stricken and wary. But her gaze was sharp with grim determination.

"Alex ... let's talk about this before you go in there and say what you think you need to say to those folks."

She frowned. "They need to know. I need to tell them."

"Alex." He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, more firmly than he'd intended. She stared at his fingers clamped around her, then looked back up at him. "I can't let you do this." She pulled out of his hold, and for a second he considered trancing her to keep her away from the gathered crowd up the road. With a small mental effort and one brief sweep of his palm over her forehead, he could place her into a pliable state of semiconsciousness.

He could buy precious time. Prevent her from jeopardizing his entire mission for the Order by alerting her fellow townsfolk to the existence of vampires living among them, preying on them from the shadows.

And she would hate him even more--rightfully so--for the further manipulation. She took a step back from him, her brows still knitted together in confusion. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? I have to go."