“Winter?”
“They can’t see us or hear us. We’re safe,” Winter growled, glaring at Damon as he screamed for his men while waving his arms about, still trying to locate them.
“Could he grab you or me?”
Winter shook his head. “His hand would pass through us, but I wouldn’t advise allowing it if you can. It’s extremely uncomfortable, and I may lose my hold on my power.”
The guard who had been in the doorway entered and looked awkwardly at Damon, confused as to what his master was doing but also probably stunned that Winter and Aiden were now missing.
“Dead! I want all the fucking Variks dead!” Damon screamed.
“We need to get out of here and warn your brothers,” Aiden said.
Shoving one of the knives back into his holder, Winter grabbed Aiden’s hand and led him through the gallery. There were a few more ghosts passing through the open space, but it was the dozen new vampires that filled the gallery that caught his attention. All were heavily armed and searching the area for him and Aiden.
Didn’t matter. They weren’t going to be found.
“I need to return home. He’s gone after Fox.”
“I’ll go with you. We’ll protect your witch,” Aiden promised.
Winter could only nod. The lump of fear that had formed in his throat wouldn’t allow him to say more. That was fine. He swore to himself that if a single hair was harmed on Fox’s head, he would prove to Damon and all his little flunkies why the vampire world feared him. The Angel of Death would claim them all.
Chapter 28
Fox flipped off the TV and dropped back against the couch cushions with a loud sigh in the oppressive silence of the loft. He wished he could have gone to the meeting with Winter and Aiden. Going, of course, would have been stupid and dangerous, but it would also mean he wasn’t wondering what the hell was happening with Damon.
Stupid fucking vampire.
Damon, that was.
Not his sweet, funny, and grumpy vampire.
Just thinking of Winter put a sappy grin on his face. He was a hopeless mess when it came to his vampire, but he didn’t care.
Winter wanted Fox to stay. Winter loved him.
And Fox loved him so completely. He’d never expected this to happen. And definitely not in the middle of a kidnapping. Well, sort of kidnapping. Damon technically kidnapped him. Winter liberated him and then kept him for safety reasons.
Fox snorted at his own thinking. Therapists around the world would be scoffing their heads off at that line of reasoning.
Despite a rough start, Fox had never felt threatened or in danger when he was with Winter. He was sure that if he truly pressed the matter, Winter would have found a way to let him go.
But Fox had wanted to stay to get to the bottom of this prophecy nonsense.
And if he were being honest with himself, he’d wanted to stay near Winter. The vampire was too intriguing and too much fun, even when he was being all stiff and reserved.
Fox groaned at his own thoughts and pushed off the couch, but he stood there, in the middle of the living room. He should be practicing his magic like Zelda taught him to instead of thinking about Winter. He swore and dropped down again. There was no way he’d be able to concentrate on magic like he was supposed to. Worry was crawling through him over this meeting.
What if something went wrong? What if Damon double-crossed him?
Well, of course Damon was going to double-cross him and Aiden, but what if they couldn’t escape from the trap?
Shoving his hand into his hair, Fox tightened his fingers on the strands and pulled. He couldn’t sit around, doing nothing all night. Winter was going to be fine.
He released his hair and stood yet again, but this time he walked over to the breakfast bar where he’d left his new cell phone. Winter had just gotten it for him to use in emergencies. He’d left it across the room to charge to keep himself from checking it every two seconds for a text from Winter.
But he’d look just this once. Maybe Winter had texted to simply say that they were at The Gallery. That way he could start a countdown clock in his mind. Winter had said he didn’t think the meeting would last more than thirty minutes at most, and then he’d return to the loft.
Unlocking the phone, Fox frowned when he noticed there were no messages waiting for him. He was about to put the phone down again when he noticed he had zero bars. That didn’t make any sense. He’d already used the phone a few times to text with River and Ethan—both men had urged him to follow Rafe’s Instagram account so they could all make fun of Winter’s brother. It had been working earlier in the night.