Dark Secret

outside his body, allowing it to fall away and leave behind a light, pure energy, traveling into her body to heal her from the inside out. He took his time to repair her leg carefully, ensuring the swelling was gone, the ragged edges would become seamless, and the injuries to the muscle and tissue inside were healed.

When he pulled back into his own body he leaned over her, touching her leg with gentle fingers. 'Does that feel better?'

Colby could only stare up into his dark eyes, drowning there like an idiot when she wanted to be strong. Her leg felt perfectly fine, but the lines in his face were etched deeper than ever. 'You shouldn't have done that.'

'I had no choice.' He bent to kiss the corner of her mouth, her eyelids, the tip of her nose. 'You scared me. Do not ever do that again.' He reached for her wrist, the one she had slashed open to save his life. He brought it to his mouth, his tongue moving over the faint scar.

The intimacy of it sent heat curling through her body. 'Rafael, you need to heal more yourself.' She could feel hunger beating at him, a living, breathing monster that roared for attention. 'You should take care of your own needs.'

'I am taking care of my needs.' His voice was low and husky, a seduction on all of her senses.

The shadow was the only warning, dark and ominous and filled with a black kind of evil as it loomed over the two of them. The door jerked open behind her, nearly spilling Colby out of the truck. She screamed in shock and horror as her brother, his face twisted into a mask of hatred, lunged at her with a knife.

15

Rafael moved too fast to be seen, placing himself between Colby and Paul. Savage growls emerged from Paul's throat and he slashed wildly with the weapon. Rafael clamped down hard on his wrist, easily removing the knife, and at once, Paul's expression changed. He blinked rapidly, his eyes clearing, becoming aware, and he gave a startled cry of recrimination that tore at Colby's heart.

'Colby!' He sounded like a lost child, the little boy she had loved so much, had cared for all of her life. 'What am I doing? What have I done?' He didn't struggle in Rafael's grasp. Tears filled his eyes and tracked down his face. His entire body shuddered.

'Honey.' Colby reached out to him, wanting to comfort him.

Paul jerked backward out of her reach. 'It is me! The vampire did something to me when he bit me, didn't he? That's why Nicolas wanted me dead. He knew I was going to hurt you.' He turned to look Rafael straight in the eye. 'Could I hurt Ginny? Was I the one who did something to the horse to hurt Colby?'

Rafael probed the boy's memories and saw him finding his sister's bra in the barn where it had been forgotten. The undergarment had triggered the hidden compulsion buried deep in Paul to kill Colby. He saw the boy prepare a syringe and shoot the horse full of drugs before saddling it and waking Colby. He pulled out of the boy's mind and let out his breath slowly. 'Paul,' he spoke gently, 'this is the kind of thing vampires thrive on. It is not you. They take someone good and try to get them to perform acts that the person would never conceive of doing. You cannot remember because it is so against your nature to harm either of your sisters. He couldn't twist you into something evil. He can only use you when you are vulnerable.'

Paul backed away from the truck. He didn't remember jumping out of the back or tearing open the door behind his sister. He didn't even know where the knife came from. 'I love my sisters. I'd rather be dead than hurt either of them.'

Colby made a single sound of distress that tore at Rafael's heart. She tried to slide out of the truck and go after Paul, but Rafael caught her hand and held it to him, never taking his eyes from the boy. Querida, allow me to try. He is ashamed of what he's done and terrified he might succeed. 'Paul, we know you love your family and that you would never do anything to harm them.'

'I did, though. I did.' Paul turned as if to run, but Rafael was faster, holding him there, his arms locking around the boy.

'Listen to me.' Colby recognized the compulsion in Rafael's voice. 'Now that we know what he has done and who he is, we can better stop him. He cannot have you. You belong with us. You are familia, family to us. You will be the one to bring about his downfall if he continues to try to use you.'

Paul burst into tears, sobbing wildly, burying his face against the Carpathian. Rafael found himself comforting a teenager, a human boy, his heart reacting right along with Colby's to Paul's unrestrained crying.

'I saw what the vampire did to you. He was hideous. And his teeth going into my skin.' Paul shook with revulsion. 'I have nightmares.'

'I have hunted the vampire a long time. I know you think he is invincible, but I have destroyed more than you can imagine over the years. I was careless, feeling too many emotions, and was not as wary as a hunter should be. The vampire took you with the intention of using you against us, but found you much stronger than he expected. You could have killed Colby in her sleep, anytime during the afternoons.' That was not strictly the truth; Paul could have attempted, but Nicolas had provided safeguards to her room while she slept and the Chevez brothers had watched Paul closely. Paul had never made the attempt in spite of the vampire's compulsion. 'Your character proved too strong for him. All these days and nights have gone by, yet only now, when I was close to rising, did you succumb to the demands.'

'But I hurt her.'

'You had to obey him. Paul, look at me.' Gently Rafael held him at arm's length until the boy's shattered gaze met his. 'You know I am far stronger than you, and far faster, yet you attacked when I was here to stop you. He did not defeat you and yet you are a boy, a human thwarting his plans.'

Paul bristled a little at being called a boy, his pride surging forth. 'I'm sixteen,' he said and stepped back, wiping at his eyes.

'Yes, you are, and I am counting on the fact that you have been shouldering a man's responsibilities. You are definitely mature enough to understand the stakes and what we have to do.'

Paul glanced at Colby, a quick, nervous shift of his eyes. He straightened his shoulders. 'Tell me how to stop this.'

'We have to kill the vampire in order for his hold on you to he completely gone, Paul,' Rafael explained. 'In the meantime, I can aid you in the same way Nicolas can.'

Nicolas hasn't been much help so far, Colby was compelled to point out.

Nicolas prevented him from outright killing. Rafael was gentle, but firm. Without his interference, Paul would be in bad shape.

He is in bad shape. I'm in bad shape. My ranch is in bad shape. My life is a mess ever since all of you came here. Did that vampire follow you here…? Colby trailed off, her mind racing. The accidents on her ranch had started long before the Chevez brothers had come to make their claim on Ginny and Paul. She couldn't blame them for that.

'Whatever it takes,' Paul said. 'Whatever you want me to do.'

'It may mean leaving here, Paul,' Rafael said.

Colby stiffened. 'We're not leaving, Rafael.'

'We have no choice, Colby,' he said. 'Until the vampire is destroyed, all of you are in danger. Paul, most of all. We need to put distance between them.'

Colby suddenly felt trapped. She turned her face away from Rafael and looked up at the craggy peaks of her beloved mountains. 'You're talking about sending Paul to Brazil, to the Chevez family, aren't you?'

There was absolutely no expression in her voice, but Rafael felt the surge of adrenaline, of resolve. 'There are five of us in South America to protect Paul and his sanity. Across such a distance, the vampire could not so easily direct him when he is vulnerable. He will have his uncles and cousins to look after him during the sunlight hours and all of us when the sun is down.'

'Paul, get in the truck,' Colby said.

The boy hesitated, but she was giving him her fiery gaze, so he climbed into the back, still unsure and confused and very upset.

Rafael started the truck. 'Colby, you cannot run away from your feelings for me. Vampires are utterly evil. This