Ethan’s glance went to the doorway, then returned to Aidan. He raised his eyebrows in a What’s up? expression.
Ethan’s mind was wired differently than that of humans and other immortals, leaving it mostly inaccessible to telepaths. Seth, Zach, and David could all read Ethan’s mind if they forced it, but all Aidan and other younger telepaths could do was send thoughts his way. They couldn’t read any he sent back.
I read the vampire’s mind and scoured his memories, Aidan told him, trying to ferret out who sicced him and the others on Dana.
Ethan nodded.
According to his memories, which appear to be real and not planted, Aidan told him, the vampires met with me two hours ago, at which time I instructed them to attack. Contrary to Dana’s vision, they were supposed to only scare the bejesus out of her until I gallantly showed up to rescue her.
Taking out his cell phone again, Ethan typed something on it with his thumbs and turned the screen so Aidan could read it.
Aidan smiled at the foul epithet that stood out in bold type. That’s how I feel about it, too.
Again Ethan typed, then showed Aidan the screen.
That makes you look guilty as hell.
Yes, it does. It makes it look as though I’ve upped my game, as Chris accused, to try to get a female gifted one to fall for me.
Ethan typed some more, then showed Aidan the screen.
Especially after what happened with Veronica.
Yes. And since I wasn’t where I was supposed to be tonight—with you and Heather—you can’t confirm it wasn’t me. Chris will say I could have met with the vampires as soon as Dana fell asleep.
Frustration darkened Ethan’s features. Pacing away a couple of steps, he rubbed his stubbled jaw, then stared down at the unconscious vampire.
After a moment, Ethan picked up the discarded tranq gun and opened the cartridge.
Most tranquilizer guns only held one dart, but when Melanie had begun reproducing the sedative for use against vampires, Chris’s weapons experts had created tranq guns that could hold and fire multiple darts that were also smaller than the norm.
Removing a dart, Ethan closed the cartridge and set the tranq gun back on the counter.
What are you doing? Aidan asked.
Ethan typed his response, then showed it to him.
Buying us time to prove you’re innocent.
Kneeling, he jammed the dart into the unconscious vampire an inch from the other one.
Aidan stared. On top of the other wounds the vamp had suffered, the dose delivered by the second dart would prove lethal.
As if to confirm his thought, the vampire began to shrivel up as the virus inside him devoured him from the inside out.
Ethan rose and typed some more.
If Dana says she only tranqed him once, Chris and the others will assume she was rattled by the battle and just isn’t remembering it correctly. And Seth won’t see the damning memory of you and think you’re guilty.
Which explained why Ethan was typing his responses instead of speaking them aloud—so Heather wouldn’t hear them and be forced to either lie for Aidan (something Seth would see if he read her thoughts) or tell the truth and condemn him.
Why would you do this for me? Aidan asked, astonished that Ethan would risk Seth’s wrath for him like this.
Ethan typed again, then showed Aidan the screen.
You gave me Heather.
Thank you, Aidan said, touched that the younger immortal would risk so much for him.
Smiling, Ethan nodded.
A ripple of power made the hair on the back of Aidan’s neck stand up. “Up here, Seth,” he directed the Immortal Guardians’ leader who was down on the first floor.
Ethan blanked the screen of his phone and tucked it back in his pocket.
Seth’s heavy boots sounded on the stairs and heralded his appearance in the hallway outside the bathroom. “Well,” he said, looking all around. “This is going to throw a wrench into the works. Is Dana all right?”
“Yes,” Aidan, Ethan, and Heather all chorused.
“That isn’t the giant with the really long hair, is it?” Dana whispered.
“If you mean Seth,” Heather answered, amusement entering her voice, “the leader of the Immortal Guardians, then yes.”
“Crap.”
Seth smiled. “I suppose I did make a rather bad impression earlier.” He looked to Aidan. “I’m guessing you ignored my orders and remained here alone with her?”
“Yes. While Dana and I were sleeping, she had a vision that vampires were about to attack. I didn’t want the vampires to prey upon her neighbors, so I teleported to Ethan’s and brought him and Heather here to help us defeat them.”
Seth looked toward the bedroom for a long moment.
Long enough for Aidan to guess he was reading the minds of both Dana and Heather.
Seth’s eyes flashed golden. “Had Ethan and Heather not joined you, the vamps would’ve taken your head.”
“Apparently.”
Seth nodded to the vampire shriveling up on the floor. “That’s the vamp she tranqed?”
Aidan nodded.
Seth sighed. “It would’ve been nice to have read his thoughts and found out who is behind all this.”
Not so much, in this instance, since those thoughts would’ve implicated Aidan.
“Did you read the thoughts of the other vampires?” Seth asked.
Aidan shook his head. “My attention was already divided between killing as many vampires as I could and reading Dana’s mind so I’d know if she needed my help up here.”
“Heather, did you read any of the vampires’ minds?” he asked, looking toward the bedroom.
“No. I was too busy fighting them.”
Seth accepted the bad news with a nod. “Well, let’s hope no more gifted ones disappeared while you were unsupervised, Aidan. Your openly defying my orders, combined with another gifted one’s disappearance, would instantly reinstate Chris’s original assumptions.”
Guilt suffused Aidan. Seth had defended his credibility and Aidan was repaying him with lies. “I’m sorry I defied you, Seth.”
He shrugged. “I defied the Others to be with the woman I loved. I won’t fault you for doing the same.” He cast Aidan a warning look. “This time.”
Message received: don’t fuck up again.
Seth turned away.
Aidan glanced at Ethan, the gravity of their deception weighing on him.
Chapter Eleven
Seated on the bed beside Heather, Dana congratulated herself on finally getting her hands to stop shaking.
Until Seth entered the room.
Her heart thumping with nerves, she rose.
Heather rose as well and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, the light contact comforting even though Dana scarcely knew her.
Dana guessed Seth must be at least six feet eight inches tall. He was garbed in the same clothing he’d worn earlier: black pants, a black shirt, and a long black coat. Hair, equally dark, was pulled back with a leather tie, the thick mass dangling down his back to his hips in a ponytail.
Aidan and Ethan entered behind him.