My awakening was a furious knock on the front door to our suite. I creaked open my eyes and saw I lay in the bed. David jumped from the bed, covered himself in a robe from the closet, and swept out of the room. I wrapped a sheet around me and hurried to the partially open doorway in time to watch David open the front door.
Blake stood in the doorway. A deep frown covered his lips. “She's escaped.”
David raised an eyebrow. “Asena?”
Blake nodded. “Yes. I wasn't aware she had cast a controlling spell on Al, and he helped her escape from her holding cell in the basement.”
My eyes widened. “You kept her down there?”
Blake looked past David at me. “Yes, but in one of the newer cells that has no haunting.”
“Where did she go?” David asked him.
Blake closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don't know. Al is still missing, and with his assistance, she can enter any part of the castle.”
Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Famul appeared by Blake's side. He bowed to the vampire before he started into some sort of game of charades with his hands. I would have joined in the fun if the situation hadn't been so deadly, and I had been wearing more clothes.
Blake watched the zombie's pantomime for a moment before he pursed his lips and nodded. “I see. Return him to the castle.” Famul bowed and hurried off.
David raised an eyebrow. “Mind translating that clown show?”
Blake's eyes flickered to David. “It seems your old acquaintance has fled the island via one of the emergency boats. Al was found nearby in a stupor, and I have ordered Famul to return him to the castle.”
David frowned. “Aren't you going to try to follow her?”
Blake shook his head. “No. The boat has been gone too long, and we're not even sure which direction it headed. There are many beaches along the cliffs where someone may hide a small craft, as she had stolen. We would never find her if she chose not to be found.”
I shoved open the door and marched over to him in all my sheet-covered rage. “So you're just going to let an attempted murderer go free?”
The vampire narrowed his cool eyes at me. “I am not without an alternative. I will have Madam Bentley cast a spell over the island that will prevent her from ever touching the shores. If she causes you any more problems, it will not be through me.”
I snorted. “That makes me feel-” David placed a heavy hand on my shoulder.
He smiled at Blake. “Thanks. I doubt you'll get anything out of Al or your nephew, so we'll take our leave of the island as soon as you can get your boat ready.”
Blake stiffly bowed his head. “As you wish.”
He cast one flickering glance at me and strode down the hall. David shut the door.
I shrugged off his hand and glared at him. “What was that for? That stupid vampire just let that crazy woman get away!”
He turned to me with a frown on his lips. “That ‘crazy vampire' was about to make a withdrawal from your blood bank.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “It's not him I'm worried about; it's your ex-girlfriend. She's the only one who's actually tried to kill us. Both of us.”
He leaned down and pecked a kiss on my lips. A brush of that familiar, pleasant haze slipped over me before I shook myself and glared at his smiling face. He chuckled. “I don't think she'll be trying anything for a while.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
He stepped past me towards the bedroom. “It took her father and her this long to try to attack me. I suspect they don't have a Plan B for their revenge against me.”
I followed after him and leaned against the frame to watch him dress himself. It was a disappointing sight. “Why are they so mad at you? I mean, all you did was not pay them, right?”
He stooped to pick up a pillow, but paused at my question. A sigh escaped his lips before he straightened. “That isn't entirely the truth.”
My face drooped, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then what is?”
He turned to me with a goofy grin. “When they told me what they did to me, I kind of scratched up Asena's father.”
“How bad?”
“He was still bedridden when I left them a week later.”
“That sounds like more than a scratching.”
“Well, they weren't sure he was going to be able to walk, either.”
My eyes widened, and I pushed off the door frame. “Okay, that's a little more than a scratch.”
He turned away and glanced down at the pillow in his hands. His eyes were lidded and his face downcast. “I wasn't in complete control of myself at the time. The new werewolf inside of me didn't help.” I walked over to him and set a hand on his arm. He turned to me and managed a small smile. “But here I am moaning about the past when you're the one who's in the worst trouble. Asena is a formidable foe, and you're not even a werewolf.”
I grinned and shrugged. “I think I handled her well enough. Anyway, let's get out of this creepy place before I get tempted to raid the fridge and find myself in a bottomless moat full of alligators.”
“Crocodiles,” he corrected me.
I rolled my eyes, spun him around, and pushed him towards the bathroom. “Let's just get cleaned up and go.”
We were ready in a few minutes, and with bags in hand, we tromped down the stairs to the lobby. Blake waited for us at the front door. A small smile graced his lips as he glanced from one of us to the other.
“Can I not convince you to stay for a short time and enjoy the wonders of my castle and island?” he asked us.
I looped my arm through one of David's and shook my head. “Not for all the wealth in the world.”
“Any news on Asena?” David asked him.
Blake shook his head. “Nothing. She has disappeared, and my employee doesn't recall in which direction she traveled.” His eyes flickered from David to me and back to my mate. “Under the circumstances, you are of course free to visit the island whenever you wish. It will give you some peace of mind.”
David smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but there's no place like home.”
Blake closed his eyes and bowed his head to us. “Very well. Until we meet again.”
“Later,” David returned.
We strode out the doors and out of that adventure, but more awaited us in the great mystery of future days.
