Tears shot into her eyes. She didn’t want to wait any longer either. She knew now that they were both ready, ready to blood-bond with each other. She was ready to bind herself to the only man who could ever make her happy and wipe away the painful memories of her past. The only vampire she could ever entrust her heart to.

Faye parted her lips, ready to give him her decision, when a ping from the bedside table interrupted her.

Cain turned his head and glanced at his cell phone. A scowl crossed his handsome face almost instantly, before he pulled out of her and sat up. He grabbed the cell phone and swiped his finger over it.

“Fuck!” he hissed a moment later.

On alert, she rose. “What’s wrong?”

He cast her a sideways glance. “I have to deal with this.” He jumped up and reached for his clothes, all business now. The passionate lover from moments earlier was gone, replaced by the man who was married to duty.

Her heart pounding now, Faye watched him get dressed in a hurry. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

When he looked at her, she flinched at the savage look in his eyes. “Someone’s gonna lose his head tonight.”

Cain stormed to the door.

“Wait! Cain!”

But he charged outside, slamming the door behind him. The echoing sound reverberated in her body, making her shudder, while the cell phone he’d hastily placed on the edge of the nightstand fell onto the floor.

Something was wrong.

11

Cain closed the door to the shed behind him and looked at his colleagues. They were all still there: Thomas, Eddie, Haven, Blake, and Wesley.

“Where’s John?” Thomas asked immediately, glancing behind Cain.

Cain ran a hand through his short hair. Had John betrayed him? “I don’t know. I was hoping he was here with you.”

“But he left with you,” Haven interjected.

“When I entered the palace through the tunnels, he was supposed to wait for me there, but when I came out, he was gone.”

“Shit!” Thomas cursed. “Have you tried his cell?”

“It’s going straight to voicemail.”

“Do you think he warned the palace of your coming?”

“We have to assume that,” Cain admitted.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Eddie chimed in. “Why show you the tunnels so you can enter the palace, bypassing whatever security they have, and then alert them to your presence?”

“What are you suggesting?” Cain asked, staring at the blond biker.

“What if somebody snatched him?”

Cain shook his head. “The only people who know about the tunnels are he and I. Nobody would have been able to find him there.”

“You can’t know that,” Eddie insisted. “All you have is his word that you and he are the only ones aware of the tunnels. We must assume he lied.”

“I agree,” Haven spoke up. “In either case, whether John betrayed you or whether he was overpowered by somebody, the palace might already know that you’re here. Which doesn’t give us much time. If whoever planned your assassination is still in the palace, he’ll prepare to fight you when you come back. Let’s not give them time to mount an attack. We’ve gotta go in now while we still have the element of surprise. Did you speak to Faye?”

Cain shook his head. “She wasn’t alone. I couldn’t risk it. Nevertheless, I’m certain now that I am the king. I recognized my surroundings from the dreams.”

Haven nodded.

When making his case to Samson about needing men to check out John’s story, Cain had informed his boss about the dreams he’d been having. No details of course, but only what Samson needed to know: that the woman in the picture John had presented was the same woman as the one in his dreams.

“You’re right,” Cain now said to Haven. “We can’t allow them to mount an offensive. We have to go in now. But we’ll split up.”

“No!” Thomas protested. “We’ll go in with full force. You’ll need as much protection as possible. We have no idea how many vampires we’re dealing with, and how hostile they are.”

“It’s not wise. Two of us will stay back,” Cain ordered, firm in his decision. “Eddie and Blake won’t enter the palace grounds.”

Thomas glanced at his mate, then clenched his teeth. “Why them?”

“Because Eddie is your mate. If anything happens in there and we’re unable to use cell phones to communicate, you’ll still be able to convey that we need help via your telepathic bond. And nobody in the palace will even realize it.”