Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“We don’t know that. Vampires have helpers who do things for them during the daylight hours. If he’s worked for the Sandor clan for a while, it’s likely that he knows who the helpers are. He might have spotted one and run to a new hiding spot rather than risk being captured.”
Nolan appreciated Sky’s attempt to help, but the idea of his brother being hunted sat like a heavy stone in the pit of his stomach.
“Or maybe he went into another apartment to hide and fell asleep,” Sky suggested. “Let’s at least peek into the other apartments on this floor; double-check to make sure he isn’t here.”
Nolan grunted. He didn’t have high hopes, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away from the building if they didn’t search for his brother. With Sky taking the opposite side of the hall, they made quick work of poking into each apartment, calling for Owen as they went, but they came up empty. As far as Nolan could tell, they were the only humans in the building.
They met up at the front door, Sky coughing softly against the dust and grime they’d stirred up. He needed to get Sky out of the building before poison coated his lungs and made him sick.
“He’s not here. We should go,” Nolan stated.
“What about the other floors? We could tackle those in ten minutes,” Sky suggested, but Nolan was herding Sky to the exit.
“I spotted the stairs. They’re rotten and half-collapsed. Even if we could get up there, we might not get safely down. Owen has left.” He tilted his head toward the street. “Besides, the sun is setting. We need to get out of here now if we want to be home ahead of full dark.”
Sky hesitated, his frown deepening, as he stared out the door. He appreciated the witch’s desire to help him, but he wasn’t risking the man’s life more than he already had.
“It’s okay, Sky. Owen is gone. He called me once. He can call again. Let’s get out of here.”
A soft sigh escaped Sky as he nodded. They hurried out of the building, sucking in deep gulps of clean air as they rushed to his car. There was no telling where Owen had run off to, but there was no finding him now. Nolan had to hope that his brother’s luck continued to hold and wait for him to call.
Right now, his primary concern was their luck and the setting sun.
Chapter 5
Skylar Wallace
The sun was gone.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The sun was gone.
It had finished slipping below the horizon ten minutes ago.
But that wasn’t what worried him. Clouds had moved across the sky before they even climbed into the car, blocking out the last of the sun’s rays and bringing an early sunset to Hartford.
Were the vampires already out and watching them?
He’d wanted to be back in his suburb ahead of sunset, putting a good amount of distance between himself and the vampires. Yes, there was a good chance the Sandor clan knew where Nolan lived, but he could protect Nolan in his home. Or Sky could bring Nolan over to his own house. That would be better. And convenient.
Images of Nolan sitting comfortably in his place while Sky fed him and cuddled him on the couch danced through his head. Wouldn’t it be cozy? And safe! It was better if Nolan was at his home.
Though he wouldn’t be surprised if Nolan wanted to crawl into his dark cave across the street. Their expedition to fetch his brother had been a complete bust, and seeing where he had been supposedly hiding wasn’t reassuring. Because of the condition of the crumbling building, there was no way to tell if the vampires had captured him or if he’d sneaked away to a new hiding place.
Or was there a chance that Owen had lured his brother out for more nefarious purposes? Owen couldn’t be that evil and selfish, right? He wouldn’t do that to his own flesh and blood…right?
Sky tried to shove aside the thought. He definitely wasn’t going to float that idea past Nolan. The guy had enough on his mind, and he at least seemed fully aware of how evil his brother was.
Didn’t matter.
His job from here on out was to keep Nolan safe, even if it meant that he had to protect the man from his own family. No vampire was getting their fangs into his sexy neighbor.
“I’m sorry for making you run all the way into town for nothing,” Nolan said, breaking the silence that had ruled the car for the past twenty minutes. When they’d climbed into the vehicle, Nolan had sighed, closed his eyes, and dropped his head against the window, looking as if all his energy had drained out of him. Sky hadn’t tried to talk to him. Nolan was clearly dealing with all his worries, fears, and frustrations with Owen.