"They bear similar dermaglyphs," Fabien gasped. "This male is the Ancient's kin?"
"A Gen One son, bred for the sole purpose of serving the cause," Dragos said. "All of the Hunters in my personal army are the strongest, most lethal weapons in the world. They have been specially raised and trained at my direction. They are flawless killers, and they are unfailingly loyal to me."
"How can you be certain of that?" asked the Darkhaven leader from Hamburg, a shrewd male who would no doubt appreciate the realtime demonstration that Dragos had in mind.
"You notice this Hunter wears a collar. It is a GPS monitoring device, only this collar is also equipped with an ultraviolet laser. Every Hunter wears one, from the time he can walk. I can track his every move, locate him in an instant. And if he displeases me in any way," Dragos said, casting a meaningful look at the Hunter standing so rigidly stoic beside him, "all it takes is one simple remote-controlled command and the laser activates, sending a UV light as thin as a razor around the Hunter's neck, severing the head."
One or two males at the table exchanged uncomfortable looks.
It was the German who spoke up first, his gaze glittering with interest. "What should happen if the collar is tampered with, or removed?"
Dragos grinned, not at the German, but at the Hunter himself. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Although her every instinct screamed at her to creep in like a thief on the prowl, Renata strode through the west corridor of her enemies' lair as if she had every right to be there. She heard the low rumble of male conversation coming from one of the large rooms out back. Elsewhere in the house, there was nothing but quiet, until...
A child's soft sobs, drifting toward her from a stairwell leading to the second floor.
Mira.
Renata flew up the steps and followed the cries to the end of the hallway. A bedroom door had been locked from outside.
She ran her hand along the top of the frame but didn't find a key.
"Damn it," she whispered, drawing one of her blades from the twin sheaths at her sides.
She wedged the point between the door and jamb just above the lock and gave it a hard lever. The wood cracked, loosening just a bit. Twice more and finally she had enough room to jimmy the thing free. With shaking, eager hands, Renata opened the door.
Mira was in there, thank God.
Her veil was gone, and as soon as she looked up and saw the black-clad figure coming into the room, she scuttled into the corner in absolute terror.
"Mira, it's me," Renata said, flipping open her dark visor. "It's okay now, kiddo. I'm here to take you home."
"Rennie!"
Kneeling down, Renata held out her arms. With a hitching little cry, Mira flew into her embrace.
"Oh, mouse," Renata whispered, pressing relieved kisses to the top of her blond head. "I've been so worried about you. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. Are you all right, sweetheart?"
Mira nodded, her small arms wrapped tightly around Renata's neck. "I was worried about you too, Rennie. I was afraid I'd never see you again."
"Me too, kiddo. Me too." She hated to let go, but they still had to get out of there before Fabien and his cronies caught up to them. Renata stood, lifting Mira up into her arms. "We have to run now. Hold on to me, okay?">"It's not like that at all. Nothing that happened between us today - nothing I said to you - had anything to do with the Order. Today was about you and me...it was about us."
"Bullshit!" He reached for her and she drew back, out of his grasp. She opened the door and got out of the SUV. He was out of the vehicle and around to her side, blocking her with his body, all of it happening so fast she couldn't even begin to track his movements. "Get away from me, Nikolai."
"Where are you going?" he asked gently.
"I can't sit here any longer and do nothing." She took a step around him but he was right there again. The gentleness in him was fading fast, replaced by a firmness that said he would keep her there in shackles if he thought he needed to. "I can't let you do this, Renata."
"That's not your choice to make," she fired back, trembling with fear and outrage. "Damn it, that was never your choice to make for me!"
He growled a curse and lunged for her.
Renata hardly knew what she had done until he froze in midstep, clutching the sides of his head in his hands. He hissed, his eyes throwing off amber sparks as he pinned her in a shocked, furious gaze. "Renata. Do not - "
She blasted him again, all of her fear for Mira and her pain at his betrayal pouring out of her in a punishing stream of mental heat. Nikolai crashed down onto his knees, groaning and writhing from the jolt of pain she'd unleashed on him. Renata bolted away from him, into the forest, before she allowed herself to be deterred by the regret already swelling up in her.
Chapter Thirty