Not knowing why, but acting entirely out of instinct, Amaury jumped toward Luther. But he was too late. By the time he reached him and slammed him to the ground, Luther’s hand had already pulled out a small electronic device from his pocket.

“THE TRIGGER!” Samson screamed from behind him.

Amaury wrestled with Luther, trying to pry the device out of his opponent’s hand. Luther was quicker. His thumb pressed down on the button.

A split second later, the mausoleum was shaken by an implosion. The walls caved in and crumbled before they sank into each other. A cloud of dust rose from the rubble.

Vivian’s resting place was no more.

Forty

Amaury’s legs felt heavy as he stepped into his private elevator and pressed the button to his apartment. He’d spent the entire night searching for Nina. She hadn’t waited at Samson’s house for him. She’d simply left without a word.

If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even surprised. He’d been an ass, and convincing his mate to forgive him and come back to him wouldn’t be easy. But first, he’d have to track her down. After finding her studio in Chinatown empty, he’d scoured every alley and every club for her. Nothing. She’d vanished. The only reason he was returning home now, was the rising sun. Once the sun set again, he’d continue his search for Nina.

The moment he walked into his place, Amaury realized he wasn’t alone. At the sight of Nina standing in the door to his bedroom, dressed in his white bathrobe, he froze.

The elevator door clicked shut behind him.

Hallucinations wouldn’t set in until his body was in starving mode, but it was too early for that. Twenty-four hours without blood wouldn’t do that to him. He’d gone longer without it before.

“Amaury, you’re home.”

Even the voice of the mirage sounded like her. And the scent drifting into his nostrils was all Nina. She was real, and she stood in his apartment, looking like she’d just taken a shower. She didn’t look like a woman on the run. And if she was trying to avoid him, this had to be the worst hiding place he could possible think of.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You’re here.” His parched throat hurt as he spoke, but his heart leapt with joy.

“And you’re stating the obvious.” Nina took a few steps toward him as he watched with caution. She didn’t look like she was angry at him. Could it be that she already knew what he wanted to tell her? And how had she gotten into his apartment in the first place?

“I broke in. Fire escape,” she answered his unspoken question and tilted her head to the window.

He raised an eyebrow. “I would have given you a key.”

Nina shrugged her shoulders. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Or you could have just waited at Samson’s for me instead of making me chase all over town for you.”

“Even less fun in that,” she countered.

“You knew I was looking for you?”

She gave a nonchalant shrug. “You wouldn’t be the Amaury I know if you weren’t.”

Nina wanted to spar with him? He took a few steps toward her. “And I wouldn’t be the Amaury you know if I didn’t paddle your sweet ass for that.”

She stemmed her fists at her hips, but mischief glinted in her eyes. “You’d have to catch me first.” In a flash she took off toward the window. He cut her off before she even got halfway. Thank God for vampire speed.

With one swift move, Amaury hauled her body against his and locked his arms around her. She gave him a coquettish look. Damn, did it feel good to have her soft form pressed into his.

“So now that you’ve caught me, were you going to come out with that apology anytime soon, or were you planning on kissing me into submission?”

Damn again! Nina knew him better after knowing him for a week than his friends did after two hundred years. And within seconds, she’d turned him from a man who’d been prepared to grovel into a predator ready to claim his prize without considering the consequences—again.

Amaury let out a deep breath. “You tell me, chérie, given that you’re holding all the strings.”

Nina gave him a long look until her expression changed to serious. “Why didn’t you save yourself when I asked you to?”

He gave a slow shake of his head. “Save myself for what, to live a life without you?”

“Next time you’ll—”

He framed her face with his hand and put a finger on her lips. “Next time, I would do exactly the same. And you can fight me all you want on that.”