He laughed with her, and her nervousness eased a bit and her smile widened. Her uncle had deliberately said what he had to lighten her pensiveness. That was what made him such an excellent number two… he always knew what every pack member needed at any given time. Settling back in her seat… she closed her eyes as the Jeep surged forward, away from the pack, and her mission truly began in earnest.
It seemed like no time had passed before she was getting out of the Jeep, after submitting to a huge bear hug from her uncle. Now she watched the car drive away and realised that she was now truly on her own for the first time in her life.
Squaring her shoulders, Dara checked her surroundings quickly before she shadowed her presence and headed towards the address she’d been given. This part of the city was particularly seedy, and it made sense not to advertise a lone female wandering around. She didn’t want to have to kick ass just to get to her destination.
She found it easily enough, scented the area carefully to see if she could pick up any trace of Kothari. She thought she detected a faint scent but couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just wishful thinking on her part. Making her way down the alleyway, she unknowingly echoed her friend’s movements, slipping passed the vampire guard who was staring perplexedly at the steel door that had appeared to open all by itself twice now.
As she entered the door at the very end on the hallway, the dark-haired vampire looked up with a shrewd expression but didn’t rise from his seat behind the desk. Dara unshadowed herself as the door closed, keeping a respectful distance from the elder male.
“It’s customary to knock when you wish admission,” the male growled, displeasure crossing his face as he glared at her.
“I didn’t want give you the opportunity to refuse,” she countered, moving further into the room and sitting down in a chair across the vampire. “I seek one who is like me.”
“I don’t know any blondes. My taste runs to brunettes.”
She supposed he thought he was being witty but she wasn’t very amused by his response. Fighting not to allow her temper to rise, Dara took a deep breath and tried again. “The person I seek is around six foot, with short dark hair and an unnatural predilection for sunglasses and the colour black.”
The male sat back, steepling his fingers as he watched her intently. “What makes you think that I would know anything about this individual?”
Dara smiled, mimicking his position. “Because you weren’t the least bit surprised when your door opened all by itself and I revealed myself to you. In addition, you had the sense not to instantly attack me. That tells me that the person I am looking for has been here ahead of me, and you, being an Elder of some age, learn quickly. Hence why you didn’t attack me. You’ve already had one lesson today.”
The vampire’s expression changed, turning guarded as he leaned forward onto his desk. “Let’s say… just hypothetically… that such an individual did come to see me. And let’s say that the said individual promised to take my head should I divulge his visit, and that I might only do so to one other person and only if said blonde was to say one word only… what would you have to say to that?”
Dara felt elation well up inside and fought to keep her expression as neutral as possible. Kothari had been here, she was certain of that, and he had known that she would come looking for him. He did want her to find him just as she suspected. Only now, she had to try to come up with the password he had left in place for the forger. She had to think carefully because the wrong answer would lead to her having to kick the vampire’s ass to get the information she needed and that would take too much time.
What word would Kothi have chosen? What did he believe she would be able to come up with when asked? Dara’s thoughts went to the journal nestled in her pack, the journal that was an insight into Kothi’s mind and a map to where he was headed. Taking a chance, she met the vampire’s unwavering gaze, and took a deep breath before she answered…
“Angel.”
For a long moment the vampire just looked at her, then she heard the whirring of the printer beside him, and he pulled off an A4 sheet and handed it to her.
Glancing down, Dara stared at the image of Kothari, now called Simon Ducat. He had been here as they had expected. Clearly she must have given the correct password for the forger to give her the information. Looking back at him, she gave him a brief smile. “How long ago was he here?”
“Close to five hours now. He’s had sufficient time to leave the country with the travel documents I gave him.”
It was enough to make her heart sink, but Dara tried not to be too disheartened. At least they had a name now and she could call it in and have one of their contacts at the airport let them know when Kothi had travelled. “Thank you for your assistance. I won’t bother you any longer.” She didn’t need travel documents, her mother had arranged those with their own contact while she was packing.
“Just who the hell is he? And you?” Faraday asked as she turned around to leave.
Giving him another smile over her shoulder, Dara stored the printed page in her pack beside Kothi’s journal. “Let’s just say my father and his twin brother are extremely grateful for your assistance today.”
The vampire watched the pretty blonde leave, swallowing hard as he did. He didn’t need to ask just who her father or his brother were, there was only one vampire family that consisted of a set of twin brothers. However, that wasn’t why he swallowed hard, even though the Romanov twins were something to be feared by anyone with any intelligence.
No, the reason he felt fear clog his throat was he finally understood that he had been in the presence of not one, but two, hybrid offspring that day… and they scared the complete shit out of him.