Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

an embarrassing noise. The thudding vibration in my chest doesn’t dissipate when he returns to my lips, searing them as he lays the claim that we belong solely to each other.

By the time he breaks away my skin feels flushed and my lips are swollen. Not a terrible way to welcome him back, though maybe next time we could do that someplace where metal prongs aren’t poking me in the back.

“Did you enjoy your time with Eliza?” he questions as he opens the door for me.

“I did. Thanks for calling her.”

“I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. But I’m glad I went in person on this case.”

“Was is bad?”

“It merited results,” he answers vaguely. “And it put us in the path of Stephany Wares.”

“Really?”

He nods his head. “We’re meeting her at four.”

Mercifully Ben and Eliza have the decency to stop their own session when we approach. The dazed expression on Eliza’s face is one I feel I can reciprocate.

“Thank you for coming up here on such short notice, Eliza. I appreciate how quickly you arrived. But I’m afraid Tess and I need to catch a plane.”

“What?”

“Oh, it was no problem,” Eliza responds, sliding off my car. Her lip stick is smudged but I hardly doubt she would mind. Especially knowing who did the smudging.

“Where are you going?” Ben, my ever-practical other best friend, asks. If he weren’t holding Eliza’s hand, I’m fairly certain his arms would be crossed in an upset father stance.

“Dallas. There are rumors the Master we’re searching for is there. And at the very least an employee who can point us in the right direction.”

“That’s a long way to travel.”

“It’s closer than Bulgaria.”

“Parker!” Caleb yells from the doorway, “Phone.”

He looks about ready to say something else, but instead releases a tiny sigh. “Excuse me.”

I watch him head back up the steps, shutting the door behind him.

“I don’t like this,” Ben states. “I don’t like us being so far apart.”

“I already live in another state.” My weak reply doesn’t hold much water. If trouble happens it would be best to be together, but I’m also ready to finish this. I follow Eliza’s line of sight to the twitching tails in my upstairs window. “I’ll take the Twins with me. They’ll be happy to leave the house.”

“You’ll call if there’s any trouble, right?” Eliza asks, giving me a hug.

“Please, if my hunch is correct, I won’t be able to go five feet before bumping into one of Parker’s coworkers.”

Ben still doesn’t look convinced. “Dmitri and Viktor have proved to be determined.” He glances back toward the front door where Parker disappeared.

“Ben. Ben. Benjamin!” I say, finally getting his attention as Eliza returns to the warmth of his hand. “If they get that close to me, I will kill them. Okay?”

The small crevices of his face still show worry. But I can’t blame him. The only thing I can hope is that by leaving I will draw any attention away from them and toward me, and that Dallas will provide answers.

***

Stephany Wares is a non-assuming woman of average . . . well, everything. Muddied brown hair in a loose bun and thin rimmed glasses veiling muddied brown eyes. Her standard frame carries tailored clothing meant for someone two sizes larger. The character she has created is one that can blend in with any crowd.

Her house, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Ostentatious is a word that comes to mind.

“How may I help you?”

Sitting in a highly decorated highbacked chair upholstered with a rich red fabric makes her appearance even more mundane. But that chair. It looks like it costs more than a semester’s worth of rent.

“We’re searching for someone within your organization,” Grant informs. Being the lead field agent in Dallas and the surrounding region, he knew exactly where to find this sprawling estate in University Park. The city north of Dallas contains jaw dropping homes, and Stephany’s interior does not disappoint.

Driving up to the circular driveway told me just how heavily fortified the place truly is. Cameras in every shady nook and gardeners who look more equipped to be packing heat than carrying pruning shears. I wonder how many secret chambers exist and what kind of monster they’re fortified to keep out.

“Is that so?” she questions, sitting completely still as if the small brigade who sits on the other side of her desk are nothing more than paper cutouts. Half of Grant’s team, who loudly protested the order to remain by the SUV’s, are keeping tabs on any other visitors’ arrival. “Do you have a name I can look into for you?”

Stephany has no computer before her or even pen and paper. It struck me on the drive over that she probably has a special ability. It would be wise for vampires to utilize such people. Not knowing what she can do, however, is worrisome. I keep my features expressionless and my thoughts dull, just in case.

“He would be high ranking.”

“He? Well, I know many ‘he’s’ so I’ll need more specifics.”

The man working in the corner next to a broad window tenses ever so slightly, probably unnoticeable to anyone else in the room. Facing the beautiful southern sunshine, the desk he sits at is a smaller version of Stephany’s.

Parker’s patience has run out. “We want a meeting with your boss.”

I bend over in an act of tying my shoe to get out of Stephany’s observant gaze. Out of the corner of my eye I watch the young man whose hand takes on a minor tremble, the smooth flowing cursive now marred. He knows precisely who we want to speak with. I wonder if it would be possible to get him alone.

“My boss? I’m afraid you must have me confused. You see, I run a non-profit—”

Parker looks ready for a harder form of interrogation but Grant intervenes before we burn our bridge. “Yes, you’ve been running a non-profit organization for Wildlife Conservation for seven years now if I’m not mistaken.”

Sitting up, I take Parker’s hand in my own. Our