Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

S tay with me, stay with me. Let me hold you in the darkness.

Oleg stared at the black phone sitting on his desk, trying to rid the foolish memory from his mind and grateful he’d muttered the words in a language that had been dead for centuries.

There was no need for Tatyana to know how far she had embedded herself into his mind.

He’d taken her blood twice now without giving any of his to her. It was a dangerous connection, one that tied her to him even though she didn’t realize what it meant.

A third taste and she would live in his blood, perhaps for a very long time.

A third taste and he would have a blood bond to her. The beginning of a mating bond that might just keep her alive if he had to kill Zara.

A sire’s bond was powerful, but so was a mating bond. With a mating bond, he could feel her pain, take some of the agony that would wrack her body if her sire was killed.

It could protect her even if it would hurt him.

The phone rang and Oleg grabbed for the receiver. “I’m listening.”

“The call came from Sevastopol.” The words were clipped and businesslike. “What do you want to do?”

Zara had been in Sevastopol the night before. While he and Tatyana had been touring the house and exploring each other’s sexual appetites in various rooms, Zara might already be heading toward them.

“I’ll take care of it.” Oleg hung up the phone.

Zara was coming for her gold, of that he had no doubt. The only question was how long it would take for her to reach Sochi and who she would have with her when she arrived.

She wasn’t dumb. His daughter would have a plan. She knew her strengths and her weaknesses. She had been Luana’s lover, and she hadn’t survived the twisted vampire courts of Istanbul and Athens because she was beautiful.

She would look for vampires who were alone or vulnerable.

She would definitely be looking for Tatyana, and she’d be able to sense her the moment she got close.

Her weakness? His daughter was severely impatient.

Oleg picked up the phone and called Mika.

“Hallo.”

“I need you back here.”

“Zara?”

“She was in Sevastopol last night when she called me.”

“Before or after I left for Moscow?” Mika’s voice dripped with irritation. “Did you know she?—”

“I thought she was farther away,” Oleg said. “Just get back on the plane and return to Sochi.”

“It’s nearly dawn.”

Damn, it was. The nights were longer in Moscow this time of year, but they were still shackled to the unbending sun.

“Then have the plane ready at dusk,” Oleg said. “I want you back here.”

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Zara, but he was afraid for Tatyana. He had no idea how she’d react to her sire’s presence, and he didn’t want to take a chance.

The gold was here. Zara didn’t really have any interest in Tatyana from what little he’d gathered on the phone the night before.

Perhaps he should load Tatyana on the plane and fly her to the citadel.

“Put a weeks-old newborn in a metal tube flying through the sky, piloted by humans,” Oleg muttered. “A brilliant idea.”

Tatyana would stay with him. For as long as it took to take care of Zara, Tatyana would stay with him. It was a strategic decision. Simply strategic.