Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (35 page)

Oh, yes, I knew that well.

“Somehow he escaped,” I said. “He goes by the name Jared now and works for the same boss I work for. He’s the agency’s recruiter.” I balled my fingers into fists. “He hit my car.”

Fane’s eyes narrowed to slits. “It wasn’t an accident?”

I shook my head. “It’s worse. I think my boss gave him the orders. I think he’s creating his own army of assassins to wipe vampires off the planet.”

“As long as there’s disease, there will be vampires,” Fane said.

“I don’t think he cares.”

“So we’re dealing with a madman?”

What did he mean by “we”? I pushed the plate of toast away.

“Not entirely mad, but there’s definitely something off about him.”

“Agent Melcher, you said?”

I nodded.

Fane set his mug on the counter with a clunk and walked over to me. My breath hitched when he stopped inches away and looked me in the eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s time we started working together?”

Work together. Not sleep together. That would be okay, wouldn’t it?

I moistened my lips. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea.”

Fane straightened. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a bloody brilliant idea. You need all the help you can get. What’s the hesitation?”

I looked at the ground.

“Dante?” Fane suggested.

My head shot back up.

“Oh my god! He could be here any minute. I can’t believe he’s not here now.” I pushed past Fane, out of the kitchen and into the hallway, hoping he’d follow me. “He has to be wondering what happened to me last night.”

It was a small miracle he hadn’t shown up earlier and found Fane sleeping on the couch—just the two of us home alone together.

I looked into the kitchen where Fane hadn’t moved.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“A little after ten.”

“He must not have seen my text,” I said, shaking my head in bewilderment. Wouldn’t Dante have checked his phone to find out where to pick me up? That was the plan.

I shook my head again. “No, someone must have taken his phone.”

Even so, he would have borrowed someone’s and contacted me, or, at the very least, come over to see what happened. Maybe he had too much to drink and passed out.

“You need to go now,” I told Fane.

He folded his arms. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“Fane, you have to go.”

“The only way I’m leaving is if you agree to work together.”

“Fine. Maybe you can be a consultant or something,” I said without a second thought.

I needed him out of the house.

“Can I finish my coffee first?”

“No!”

I stormed down the hall, not checking whether Fane had followed me or not. He’d better be right behind me. As I neared the front door, there was a quick knock before the knob turned. I stopped in my tracks.

The door swung open, and with it, the vixen entered, fiery red waves tumbling past her shoulders. She’d obviously had a chance to go home and change. She now had on tight jeans and a skintight three-quarter-sleeve sweater.

“Want to tell me about the “big” problem you ran into last night?” Valerie said as she closed the door.

Oh, god. Please tell me Fane hadn’t followed me into the hallway and wasn’t right now standing behind me. Please let him be in the kitchen, finishing his coffee, and now standing out of sight.

Valerie looked past me. She sucked in a horrified breath. Her nostrils flared and she sneered. I had my answer.

“What the hell is Fane doing here?” she demanded. She looked at him accusingly. “Did you spend the night?”

Her eyes flew back to me, looking over every inch of my dress.

“So it’s true? Wait until Dante finds out about this. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know you’ve been sneaking around with a vampire behind his back.”

My heart slammed against my chest like a fist. I wasn’t planning on telling Dante the vampire part. Spending the night with an ex rather than him was bad enough without turning the whole thing into a bloodbath.

Valerie shot Fane a malicious smile. “I bet Aurora didn’t tell you that Dante hunts vampires. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when Dante finds out. He enjoys killing vampires almost as much as he does fucking Aurora.”

Without a second thought, I took three swift steps up to Valerie and slapped her across the face. My hand stung like a bitch afterwards, which meant Valerie’s cheek had to throb. It matched the color of her hair, anyway.

She pressed her hand to her cheek. “You... bitch,” Valerie said, fighting for breath.

For one brief blissful moment, Valerie looked too stunned to speak more than those two words.

I braced myself, fingers curling into fists, expecting her to lunge, but Valerie gave me a death glare instead and said two words worse than the previous ones.

“Big mistake.”

She turned on her heel and headed for the door.

“Wait!” I called out, following after her. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Melcher. He can decide what to do about your unauthorized fang banging. As for Fane, I recommend he leave town before Dante has a chance to catch up to him.”

Panic seized me. I sprinted for the door and jumped in front of Valerie.

Her eyes flared. “Out of my way, Aurora.”

“Tell Melcher whatever you want,” I said. “I don’t care if he punishes me. But you can’t tell Dante about Fane. You know what he’ll do.”

“Fine,” Valerie said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You both have to promise me that you won’t see or speak to one another ever again.”

“No,” Fane said in a hard voice that carried across the hall.

His jaw, which had been moving side to side, stopped.

“No?” Valerie repeated, a look of challenge in her eyes.

I didn’t know who was more intimidating at the moment: Valerie with her death glare, or Fane with his glacial stare and chilling voice.

“I survived two world wars. Outbreaks. Earthquakes, famine, and flood. I survived the plague.” Fane grew taller with each disaster he named. “You are the least of my worries, Valerie Ward.”

“You ought to worry, Fane. You forgot to mention volcanoes, and you have yet to experience the red fury. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“I could say the same thing,” Fane replied. “I have a lot of friends. One word from me, and you could disappear tomorrow.”

A ghastly silence filled the hall. I was pretty sure Valerie felt as shocked as I did.

“Was that a threat?” she asked slowly. She looked at me. “Did he just threaten me?”

It took me a moment to find my voice. “You threatened him first,” I said.

Valerie ignored me. Her eyes narrowed on Fane. “We’ll see about that.” Her voice turned sticky sweet. “It was nice knowing you, Fane.” She yanked open the front door.

“Valerie, wait,” I said.

“Let her go,” Fane said.

After she slammed the door, I looked at Fane.

“I need to talk to Dante before she does.”

“I’m not afraid of your big brother type.”

“He’s not my brother. He’s my partner. I’m not with him the way Valerie implied, but I care about him.”

“I still want to help you,” Fane said.

Our eyes met, and in Fane’s stare I felt my heart ooze with longing. I pushed the feeling aside.

“We can work together, but that’s all. Right now I need you to leave so I can talk to Dante.”

“I think I should be here when you speak to him.”

“You’re the last person who should be here when I talk to him!” I cried. “Please, Fane, let me handle this alone.”

Fane straightened. “Last time you asked me to leave, you were drugged and nearly outed as a vampire hunter.”

“You can’t follow me everywhere,” I said.

“Watch me.”

I walked up to Fane until we were a breath away.

His eyebrows rose.

“There’s something you should know,” I said. “The government has me on a monthly antidote. If I don’t take it I’ll become like you. Undead. A vampire. I used to be afraid of immortality. I know it sounds crazy. Who wouldn’t want to live forever?” I shook my head. “I think the thing I fear most is being alone the rest of my life.”

“You’re not alone,” Fane said gently.

I believed him, but that scared me even more. Was this what my life would become? Being Fane Donado’s life partner? What if he wasn’t the one? What if it didn’t work out? There wasn’t exactly Match.com for vampires.

What about my mom and grandma? At what point did I disappear from their lives before they noticed I wasn’t aging? How much time did I have left with them? Four years? Five? Ten?

Mom already knew about vampires. It wouldn’t take too much convincing to tell her I’d turned.

I chewed on my lower lip.

Melcher had put a hit on Selene for telling her family what she was. Who would take Melcher’s place if we managed to take him out? Would they leave my mom alone if she thought I was dead?

What would Dante think? He loved his work as an assassin. He lived for it. How could he ever understand why I wanted out?

They’d send someone after me for sure. I knew too much about the organization.

“We need to fake my death,” I said.

Fane nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“No one can know,” I said. “Only you and me. But first I need to talk to Dante alone.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what to tell Dante. I had to do damage control before Valerie had a chance to make up stories about me and Fane sleeping together the same way she’d told Fane I slept with Dante. I had to tell him Francesco was really Fane, the vampire. If I didn’t, Valerie would. Somehow, I had to convince Dante not to hunt Fane down.

“And afterwards?” Fane leaned forward, lips practically touching my forehead.

“After
wards we come up with a plan.”

It was much easier to talk Fane into leaving once I’d agreed to end my life as I knew it. My heart raced in terror and anticipation. I hadn’t seen a way out until now. I wouldn’t have to kill anymore. I wouldn’t have to take orders or stay in Alaska. I’d be free.