**Chapter 4**

He saw my mind was not where it should be.

'What's wrong?'

'Bad memories, don't worry about it.' He smooth back my hair, as we place our suit cases in the back of the car and we drove off with him at the wheel. I placed my hand on his leg as we drove towards the city of Pennsylvania.

'Look at us, legally out in the world with orders I might add both of us together on a hunting trip of evil creatures.'

'Yes, it is kind of nice. No need to hide everywhere.'

'Yeah but it was the thrill of the chase don't you think?'

'Yes it sure did let the adrenaline going.' I nodded my head. He pulled up on a deserted alley and we got out. Looks like strigoi living ground. We stayed in the dark observing the area. Yes as we guessed strigoi where everywhere. We jumped the first single one that was walking by. She slapped Dimitri around pretty good, underestimating me as I burn her with my stake she squirm on the ground as I pin her down Dimitri held her legs.

'Where can we find Mandy?' I asked burning her some more. She yelled at the top of her lunges.

'I'll kill you!' She spit at me.

'Wrong answer!' I said and pulled my signature move and push in the sharp end of my stake into her neck drawing blood.

'Where can I find Mandy?' I repeated. She wanted to yell again.

'Scream or you will die no questions asked.' I told her.

'I know of her. You can find Kevin her mate down at Market Street on the other side of town.' She spilled her guts then I staked her anyway. I got of her and turned to Dimitri.

'Are you okay?' I asked kneeling by his side on the ground.

'I will be.'

'Come let me have a look at your head in the car.' We got back into the car and his head was bleeding severely. I attended to it quickly. Cleaning it out and glued the cut close. Saw on his face it sting badly.

'Any other part of you hurting?' I asked since I'm playing nurse already.

'No, the rest of me is fine. Is this- Is this, how you tried to find me in Russia?' He finally asked me.

'Yes and it was not at all an easy task, believe me.'

'Yes I remember. Let's not dwell on the past.' He suggested.

'Yeah, please let's not.'

'Thank you for playing doctor.' He said then gave me a quick kiss.

'What are fiancé's for?' I said smiling at him and he kissed my hand, and drove out to Market Street.

'Getting even information like that is valuable.'

'Indeed it is.' He said then we drove off to the other side of town looking for a strigoi called Kevin. Again we parked in a dark hidden alley, observing the area. Feeling Dimitri almost skin on skin against my back in our surroundings. His breath on the top of my head. It made it hard to concentrate on our mission.

'That bar over there looks like our best bet.' I pointed out to the far corner. He nods and we head out to the shabby bar and we hung around the alley next to the bar. Another single male strigoi past us and we dragged him into the alley and he kicked me right into a well. Dimitri held him by his throat against the wall. He broke free from Dimitri's hold punching him but Dimitri was just so much faster dodging his blows with his back to me I got up and dragged a long burn mark on his face and neck. He fell to his knees yelling in pain. That's when we both jumped him. Dimitri held him down as I played with my stake across the strigoi's bare skin. I let Dimitri do the questioning this time. This particular strigoi don't know Kevin at all. Dimitri staked him and turned to me cupping my face.

'Roza, are you okay?'

'Yes, I have been kicked harder into walls before. This was nothing. Let's move on to the next.'

'Are you sure? You're not just saying it to get back into the action are you?'

'No, if I'm really hurt you'd know about it.' He held my gaze then we head back into our mission after a quick kiss. Two very drunk human guys passed us, but we kept on looking for our next strigoi target. Near closing time for the bar our next two strigoi targets strolled past. A tall strigoi woman and a short strigoi male walked pass us we grabbed them. We engaged in hand on hand combat on both of us then men against each other and me and the woman had a face down.

I could tell she's new to the strigoi ways not protecting her heart as for the man was a lot stronger and faster. Having my stake in hand and the strigoi man almost at my back. I burned him and puncture him two fast times on his side, giving Dimitri his opening which he took. As for the woman she threw a couple of punches at me I was just a bit faster and very determined. I kicked her feet out from under her and while she lay on her back swearing at me in German, I burn her face dragging it down to her neck.

'Where can I find Kevin?' I asked her feeling very angry for some reason.

'Fuck you bitch!' She yelled at me in broken German English. Like before when you start threatening them more to a point they will start spilling their guts, so I quickly make my move with the sharp end of my stake piercing the side of her neck. Her eyes widen revealing that red eyes I learned to hate even more.

'Where can I find Kevin?'

'Roach's Motel on the I-45.' She answers quickly.

'Go give him a message: Tell him Rose Hathaway is looking for him at this magnificent bar. What's my name?'

'Rose Hathaway.' She repeated.

'And what's the message?'

'To meet you here at Darrel's bar.' She said.

'Fail to deliver this message and we will hunt you down and do this to you.' I said and turned her head so she could see Dimitri stake her mate. I got off her and she flash off almost yelling. Looking at the now dead strigoi man. I helped Dimitri up.

'Why did you let her go?'

'She gave us an address.'

'Send a message, to meet here is only to lure Kevin out together with Mandy they could be a force to be reckon with but apart not as much. What we will do is check out the motel on I-45.' He just shook his head at me and gave me that half smile I love so much.

'What?'

'The way your mind works Rose it sometimes goes beyond me.' He said pulling me closer and gave me a kiss.

Sitting in the motel parking lot observing everything. Dimitri point out that the woman I gave the message to have just entered one of the rooms. I nodded my head and kept looking. We got a couple of 'Burger King' burgers on the way to the motel. We ate and kept watching. Dimitri phoned in our progress to Hans then hung up. The woman I gave the message to was walked out by a man and a woman that I took, might be Kevin and Mandy to a waiting cab. Kevin closed the cab door and the cab drove off. Kevin and Mandy got into a heated conversation so fast. They were yelling and slapping each other around. Mandy clearly being the older ripped Kevin's head clean off.

'Okay that was unexpected.' I whispered through a bite of food. Mandy set Kevin's body a light with a borrowed lighter. Watching him burn. Saw six other strigoi stood around her as they all watch Kevin burn. Great, there is only 2 of us and seven of them.

'We at least now know how many will show up tomorrow night.' I finally spoke.

'Yes, but seven of them and only two of us it is going to be a hard fight.'

'Maybe not.'

'What are you thinking, Roza?' He asked leaning against the door looking at me.

'We even the score during the day time. See we have all their room numbers. We just attack them when they are at their weakest. It work back when Christian, Mia and I were held captive.' Leaving out my captive by Dimitri himself which he still feel really awful about after all this time.

'Okay we'll wait till mid morning so they can't escape from us, and not attack us back so easily.'

'Yes.' I wrote down their room numbers and how many went into which room, and what number Mandy went into. Looked on the clock on the dashboard it said six in the AM and in an hour the sun will rise and being on this stake-out so to speak. It leaves a little room for the two of us to get some sleep. I took first watch letting Dimitri sleep.

My stomach felt queasy for some reason, but I ignored it, but it pass a half an hour later. Looking back over to Dimitri, he really took a couple of serious blows tonight; he needed the rest more than I did. He tilts his chair back and closed his eyes. I took a blanket I grabbed on our way out of HQ just in case and now it comes in very handy. I threw it open over him as he slept. Focus back on all the rooms, no further movement. The sun rose and rose and around nine thirty AM, I woke Dimitri so he can be awake by ten AM. I even got him coffee from a machine a couple of yards from us. He sat up and thanked me for the coffee. Rubbing his eyes he looked me over.

'How are you holding up?'

'I'm fine.' I said drinking my coffee. He reached out and took my hand.

'Roza you are ice cold. Come. Come and sit on my lap so I can wrap you in the blanket to.'

'I'm fine really.'

'Rose.' I comply and got on his lap and he wrapped me in the nice warm blanket. Drinking the last of my coffee. I leaned my head against his chest. He was still drinking his coffee when I started to warm up under the blanket. His one arm around my back. Holding me close to him. The heat almost made me fell asleep.

'You ready?' He asked me.

'Always.' I said sitting up stiffing a yawn and rubbing my eyes. We decided to take on the room with the most strigoi first then worked our way to Mandy's room last. We set out and as Dimitri kick in the first of three doors. The strigoi yelled in agony as the three closes to the door burned to nothing instantly. Dimitri quickly staked the last cowering strigoi in the corner of the bathroom.

We moved on to room 9, again Dimitri kicked the door in and the two strigoi on the bed doing something really nasty, gay things and they burned on the bed in the middle of their act. The sun shone directly on them. Then the last door, room 5. Must be Mandy's room, and another idea hit me. We kick her door in and she went hiding in the black out bathroom. Dimitri and I with a lot of effort dragged her into a chair very close to the sun that shone into her room now to.

'Who do you work for?' I asked her dragging my stake over her bare legs.

'I'm not going to fucking tell you shit! You bitch!' She spat at me. She really had on slutty clothes. Like that really short fanny pelmets, mini-mini skirt that rarely covers the bare minimum with a low cut spaghetti strap shirts with a miss match bra. As on cue Dimitri and I drag our stakes over her bare skin. It made a sizzling sound of her skin being burned filled the air. She cries out in more agony.

'Rose asked you a question.' Dimitri talked into her ear.

'Rose. Rose Hathaway?' Mandy asked shocked.

'Yes, oh and thank you so very much for taking care of Kevin for us. I didn't want to dirty my precious stake with low life like him.' I said more to draw her out.

'YOU BITCH!' Dimitri burned her with his stake across her back. I sat forward in my chair almost putting my face into hers.

'Who do you work for?' I asked again. She hung her head then looked up again.

'His name is Ivan Isnikov.'

'Where can I find him?'

'Western Virginia, town Paris.'

'Any address?' Dimitri asked her before I could.

'He is out on a farm east of Paris, called the 'Birdhouse'.' Mandy said spilling her guts and I drove my stake through her chest so quickly and let her burn in the sun. Dimitri and I jogged to our car and drove off.

'What made you think she was working for a bigger fish?' He asked me as we head for mid town Pennsylvania to a hotel.

'I just had a hunch. Didn't think it will pay off this well. Besides it is in 'Star Wars' they say there is always a bigger fish somewhere.'

'My reckless fiancé everyone.' He said smiling at me. We finally found a hotel that accept cash and got ourselves a room with a double bed and a shower. We both took turns showering then got into bed. Wrapped in my man's arms I fell asleep feeling safe.

'Rose…' A soft sexy Russian accented voice woke me. 'Roza, wake- up my sleeping beauty.'

'Hmmm…' Then pulled the blankets over me some more.

'Come on beautiful get up. Breakfast is almost here.'

'Nope.' I said refusing to open my eyes. Dimitri chuckled then kissed my forehead.

'Please five more minutes.'

'Nope. Up- up- up.' I sat up eyes still close, I lean against the head board.

'I'm up see.'

'No, you're not. Come on Rose open your pretty eyes. So I can see them.' He asked me nicely. I squinted at the light in the room.

'Good morning.' He said cheerfully.

'Morning, but I don't know if it's good being awaken like this.' He chuckled some more then kissed me on my lips. I kissed him back then got out of bed and waited for our clean uniform to arrive. We paid extra last night to have our clothes washed and ironed and be returned to is with our breakfast. There's knock at our door, Dimitri answered it, and it's our breakfast and clean clothes packed in baggies. The delivery man left with a tip. We sat down and ate our food, then finally got dressed for the day ahead.

'I already phone Hans and gave him out report. He even said and I quote: "Hathaway had a hunch and paid off big time. She's a really big asset to the guardian's".'

'Hans didn't say that.' I said popping a piece of bread into my mouth.

'You can asked him later yourself.'

'What? He is coming with us to West Virginia?'

'Yes, he arranged with guardians already stationed there to help us take out this spider web of strigoi nests.'

'Oh, when will he be here?' Feel a wave of nausea wash over me again, then passes.

'In two hours.'

'Plenty of time to gather some Virginia farm land maps and caves, at a local internet café.'

'Yes, only after breakfast.' We finished our food then set out in searching of an internet café. We found one and got down to business. Google earth whatever will we do without you. I print out all the necessary maps and aerial graphic maps that show all the caves and how some of them are connected. With our info we head back to our hotel. Hans arrived with us and we went over the info we just got. Working out our plan of action. As I again stated to rather scout out their lair first before we set out, in attack mode before we all head out in battle.

'When did you become so smart Hathaway?' Hans asked me. Shook off my shocked reaction, then answered him.

'Field work and of course my great teachers.' I said as all three of us just smiled. Caught a glance of Dimitri's eyes on me.

'We should hit the road.' Hans said.

'Yes an eight hour road trip. Can't wait.' I said then head out the door with our bags over my shoulders. Just outside Pennsylvania we filled our two cars with gas and set off.

'You know, Rose we might just unveil the biggest strigoi nest in the US.'

'You really think it's the only one. We might get some more info while we're there, but I think you might be right about the US.'

'It would have been nice if we had enough spirit users to help us reverse them all back.'

'That would have been the ideal thing. I know only a handful of spirit users that can each only change one strigoi back not a whole nest of them.'

'Yeah, your right.' He said kissing my hand.

'Hey, where is your ring?'

'Around my neck. See.' I put it on my necklace, so it won't get in the way when we fight.

'Oh, why?'

'I don't want to break it in a fight or risk losing it.'

'Clever idea.' He said smiling at me then focused back on the road. Saw something is bothering him.

'What's the matter?' He just shook his head. 'Please just tell me.' He just kept silent. Then I click what is going on here.

'NO! You are not like Ivan. This is just an evil nest that is in needs of some deadly bug spray. You are not at all like them.'

'How did you, do that, Roza?'

'Do what?'

'Know what I'm thinking, and know just what to say.'

'We have our own bond. You and me. It's the same with you sometimes. You do the same thing with me as well.'

'I do?'

'You know you do, Dimka.' I'm just glad this SUV has a solid front seat so I just lay down on his leg and fell asleep. No solid is not a correct word. Just very tightly together so you can still go backward and forward with your individual seat and lay back if you want. He threw the blanket over me. Two hours later I took over the driving and let him sleep for the next four hours.