Gary managed to pry his eyes open. Savannah was inspecting him anxiously, dabbing at the mud on his face. He glanced over to where Martin had stood and saw the man’s body on the ground, the water from the marsh oozing up around him. The gun was still clutched in his hand, and blood was spreading out from the pool under his head, leeching into the waters of the marsh. Already insects were swarming around the feast. Gary looked away quickly, his stomach lurching. He wasn’t cut out to be Rambo.
“Where’s Gregori?” he asked, biting the words out between clenched teeth.
Savannah wiped more mud from his mouth. “Leave him alone for a few minutes,” she advised softly.
“Where’s Evans?” Gary suddenly pushed her aside to look anxiously this way and that, worried that he couldn’t protect Savannah.
“He’s dead,” she said bluntly. “Gregori killed him to save your life.” She stood up and wiped ineffectually at her mud-spattered jeans. “I hate this place. I wish we’d never come here.”
“Savannah.” Gary moved up beside her. There was a catch in her voice he had never heard before. Savannah, always filled with life and laughter, seemed so sad all of a sudden, so lost. “Are you okay? Gregori’s right. You shouldn’t be here.”
She shook her head, fighting down sudden anger. “What neither of you seems to understand is that I am here. Whether I’m here physically or not, I’m with him. I feel what he feels, exactly what he feels. It isn’t protecting me to wrap me in cotton wool and put me on a shelf.” She jerked away from him and walked toward the river.
Gregori materialized behind her, his large, stocky frame dwarfing her smaller one. He bent protectively over her, one hand on her shoulder. Gary watched as she shook it off, not in the least intimidated by his size or power.
“Do not be angry, mon amour, I truly sought only to protect you. Had Martin fired the gun, the bullet would have hit you. I could not allow such a thing,” Gregori said gently. He could feel the raging conflict in her. She had never been so close to death and violence until Gregori had chosen to force his claim on her. From their first day together as lifemates, she had known nothing else.
“There was no chance that you would have let him shoot me. Instead, because you locked me up with some ancient command, Gary was almost murdered in front of my eyes.” Savannah’s fists were clenched tightly. She wanted to hit something, and Gregori seemed a solid enough target.
“I will not take chances with your life, ma petite” he emphasized, his arms circling her waist from behind. When she would have stepped away from him, he tightened his hold on her. “I will not, Savannah. You should never have been here.”
“You lost your chance at the vampire because of me, didn’t you?” she demanded, tears in her voice, shimmering in her eyes. “He couldn’t sense your presence—you’re able to do something to mask it—but he knew I was there, even though I was invisible.”
It was the truth. He didn’t want it to be, especially with her so confused and upset. Gregori couldn’t bear it when she was unhappy. But there was no way to lie, and he wouldn’t have done so even if he could have. He remained silent, allowing her to read the answer in his mind.
Savannah shook her head and banged it against the heavy muscles of his chest. “I hate this, Gregori. I feel so useless. I feel like I’m endangering you. We are lifemates. I asked you to meet me halfway in my world, and you’ve done it. You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you. What have I done to live in your world with you?”
Gregori bent his dark head to the slim white column of her neck. “You are my world, ma petite, my very existence. You are what makes living bearable. You are my light, the very air I breathe.” His mouth brushed her pulse, her earlobe. “You are not meant to walk in death. You never were.”
She swung around, her blue eyes darkening to deep violet. “If you walk in death, Gregori, then that is where you will find me. Right beside you. I belong where you are. I am your lifemate. There is no other. I am your lifemate.” She held up a hand, furious at the situation. “There will be no more discussion on this. You can do no other than to see to my happiness, and the only way I will be happy will be to learn to cloak my presence from vampire, humans, and Carpathians alike.”