Only Him

Chapter 47

*Dimitri*

"Slow down!" Sydney cried from the back seat as Dimitri cut another switchback dangerously close to the edge. Dimitri tightened his grip on the steering wheel but didn't alter his speed. The GPS tracker had Ambrose's car only ten miles ahead. It had been stationary for the past half hour and all of Sydney's research and satellite photos had shown no reason for the car to stop there. No scenic overviews, no pull off stations, no campgrounds. Dimitri was determined to get to them as soon as possible, before they could start up once more. He, along with Sydney, Mikhail, Eddie, Stella and Janine had all been crowded into the SUV for the better part of the day, chasing after Ambrose and Rose.

It had taken very little time after realizing who Marlen's partner was to get the ball rolling. Guardian Stone had sent several people to search his apartment and talk to his aunt while Dimitri himself had gone to question the guards on gate duty when Ambrose had left Court.

He knew the two guardians and knew of their competence. He believed them when they said everything had seemed normal. Ambrose was going on another supply run, which he did frequently enough. He was due back any time.

They had not checked his trunk as it was only standard procedure to do so on incoming parties.

Dimitri also knew that Ambrose was good at being unassuming. He knew—knew with all his heart—that Ambrose was behind this. Seeing his name on the guard list had brought everything screeching into perspective. Ambrose was often present at guardian debriefings, serving drinks and running errands. He hadn't even crossed Dimitri's mind during the interrogations because they'd been so locked onto the idea of a Moroi dissident being responsible. With Lissa so well liked among the dhampir community none of them had even considered that a dhampir could be in league with Marlen.

Then again, no sane guardian would. Ambrose wasn't a guardian.

A search of his apartment had turned up nothing. As in, he'd packed everything he could carry and left. His aunt had been questioned but hadn't had any information on his whereabouts. She had confessed, however, that he hadn't been himself for some time, always introverted, quiet and watching, nothing like the sociable Ambrose she remembered from years ago. Dimitri was a little suprised with himself and others that this change in behavior had gone unnoticed for so long. Then again, many people had changed after Tatiana's murder and not many people knew Ambrose outside of a silent Court worker. Rose was among the few who might have any insight into the man.

That made it all the more difficult to guess his endgame. Dimitri had no idea where Ambrose could be taking Rose, but he was fortunate enough not to need one.

Ambrose had taken a Court vehicle which—after his and Rose's daring escape from custody several years ago in one of the Courts vehicles—were now all equipped with a GPS tracker. It wasn't common knowledge, only a tool for the guardians to use if necessary.

And today it was very necessary.

It had nearly torn Dimitri's heart out to leave Aleksey behind so soon after reuniting with him but he knew that Lissa and Sonya would take good care of him in his absence. Now that Ambrose was no longer at Court Dimitri felt more confident that the members of Lissa's guard remaining at Court to protect her could handle any disgruntled Moroi threats. Still, he counted down the minutes until he could hold his son and his love again.

"They still haven't moved," Sydney assured him as he rounded another turn. Now the drop off was to the passenger side of the car while he was near the forest. "Its about five miles ahead."

Dimitri scanned his surroundings. There wasn't much for them to stop and do here and he couldn't imagine five miles would change that.

They'd tracked the car across the state of Pennsylvania, taking most of the daylight hours to do so. The sun was riding low on the horizon now and Dimitri worried about Strigoi activity. They'd ended up deep within the Allegheny Mountains, which were part of the Appalachian chain. They were climbing up higher into the Mount Davis area and Dimitri had to wonder if Ambrose's plan was to hole up in the wilderness with Rose for the rest of their lives or make his escape over the West Virginia border a few miles south.