He loudly kissed her head, whispering to her in Russian. Guilt washed over her and splintered her heart. She couldn’t bring herself to look up at him or speak a word.
He leaned back and lifted her chin with his fingers. “This is a happy night. Why the tears?”
“I… I had to choose.” Her eyes flashed up to Nadia, who was standing behind him. Decades of longing for this reunion and now it was tainted with the insurmountable guilt of having left her father to die. Her chest tightened, and she struggled to breathe.
He patted her cheek. “And you chose wisely, little princess. Nadia is your other half, and I was always meant to go before either of you. A father should never outlive his children, and I’m proud of you. My two strong girls who will always exceed my expectations.” He reached up and took Nadia’s hand, pulling her closer to them. “I am a fortunate man.”
Kat drew back when her father tried to stand. Prince watched but didn’t help. She respected that. A man should be able to rise on his own two feet without someone’s help.
He approached Prince and gripped his shoulders, giving them a hard shake before pulling him into a hug. “It’s been a long time, my friend. I never thought I would see you again.”
Prince made his hands into fists as he hugged him back, his eyes brimming with an emotion she couldn’t read.
Her father let go and stepped back. “I hope you have built a good life for yourself.”
“Why?” was all Prince managed to say. Kat knew his question held a deeper meaning—one that went back to her father giving him freedom in exchange for his own.
“Sometimes we are faced with the choice of saving ourselves or saving someone else. I did not feel my life held more value than yours at that time. I had no family. I had been hiding my fortune a long time ago, and my chances were better to financially recover if I could escape. Vlad wanted my money, but he wantedyoudead.”
Prince’s hair had fallen from the band that held it back, and wet strands clung to his jaw. “I can never repay you.”
Her father shook with laughter, bending over and holding his knees. Then he sharply cut off his laugh and looked up at Prince, his eyes resolute. “You fished me out of a river, my friend. My daughters are safe. Consider that debt paid.”
Prince cursed under his breath. “I gave him the ring.”
Kat stood up, water still in her shoes.
“It holds less value than he’s built up in his head,” her father replied. “Vlad obsessed over it because it represented someone outwitting him, but true, it does hold power. In this modern world, I don’t think it will make him all-powerful. Anyhow, I have plans.”
Prince wiped his face and stepped close. “And what plans are those?”
Her father sniffed and straightened his back, the edges of his shirt flapping in the wind. “I have missed my old friend, Prince. I think it’s time that we go hunting together.”
An enigmatic smile crossed Prince’s expression and his eyes darkened. “You’ll need your crossbow.”
CHAPTER15
“You’re rusty, old friend,” Prince said, leaning against the rough bark of an elm tree.
Alex turned around and lowered his bow. “My wolf is not so rusty. We could always do this another way.”
A distant voice wailed in pain, twigs snapping as the footsteps of their target faded into the distance.
“That would be too easy,” Prince said, his voice menacing. “Where is the sport in that?”
Alex pulled another arrow from his quiver. “If at any time you begin to feel a scrap of pity for this man, then I will sit down and tell you about the numerous ways he tortured me and then made me shift to heal so he could torture me all over again.”
Prince stepped over a fallen branch as they headed deeper into the woods. The sunlight illuminated the green leaves above, and they danced in the breeze like flecks of glitter. Most of the ground was covered with old leaves, wild ivy, and bushes. Only in the open areas did the high grass grow, but they were far from the open.
Alex seemed to have put on weight already. He was shorter than Prince, but had always had a robust physique. He’d trimmed his overgrown beard and added a little curl to the ends of his mustache. Alex had more grey in his hair than he should have at his age, but he’d lived a difficult life.
It hadn’t taken long to capture Vlad after his escape. Reno had spoken with Greta and organized some associates of his to trace the vehicle. They’d found him at a gas station two miles outside Waco. From what Prince had been told, Vlad had used his ring. A shockwave of energy had destroyed the windows and batteries of two cars, but Vlad had been unable to escape after Reno plunged a stunner into his shoulder.
Instead of turning him in to the higher authority, Reno had discreetly given him over to Prince, who’d called Alex to help him decide what to do with him. They could collect a reward and watch him receive a death sentence.
Or… they could skip the formalities.
Prince and Alex were born in a different time, and when Alex had asked him how much property he owned, the decision became obvious. He remembered what Kat had said about her handcuffs neutralizing Breed powers—or at least those of a Mage—so he’d lifted them from her holster when she was in the shower. Prince needed them so Vlad couldn’t use his Mage ability to heal with sunlight. She’d noticed they were missing right away but was uncertain whether or not she’d lost them during her jump off the bridge.
