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“How long have you been hunting the ones who killed your family, Dee?”
“Since that night.” A stark whisper. But she’d been little more than a kid. She hadn’t known where to hunt. Hadn’t known how to track. By the time she’d learned, they’d been long gone from the city. “I won’t stop,” she told him as her gaze darted to his hand. The stake was so sharp. So deadly. “Not until I find the bastards.” Because she’d never forget their faces. Never.
He pulled back a bit and lifted the stake between them. “How many vampires have you killed? How many did you stake because you were trying to punish the ones who hurt you?”
Her gaze sharpened. What was this? She wasn’t in the mood for some kind of therapy session. Not her thing. “The vamps I staked were killers. They got off on fear, on torture?—”
“So vampires are all evil? They all have to be put out of their misery and given a one-way ticket to hell?”
“Aren’t they?” He’d hunted, too. Just like me. She caught his hand and wrapped her fingers around the stake. “I’ve never met one who wasn’t addicted to the power.” That was the problem with vamps. As humans, maybe they’d been okay, normal even, but when they woke as vampires, the power rush got to them. Human life lost its meaning.
Humans became nothing more than prey. No, food. And so many vamps enjoyed playing with their food.
He grunted. “I have.”
“What?”
His lips thinned and pulled away from her, dropping the stake onto the floor. “The vamps who went after my family. Hell, yeah, they were freaks. Sick, twisted bastards who deserve hell, but I-I’ve met vamps who aren’t pure evil.”
She stared at him. Waited.
Simon exhaled. “You need to open your mind. You got a raw deal. We both did, but hating every vampire isn’t gonna bring your folks back.” A pause. “Killing them all won’t, either. Trust me, I know.”
Dammit, she knew that, too. But when she’d first started hunting, the rage of revenge had been all she’d had.
She hadn’t wanted to live. When the remains of her parents, and, God, Sara, were hauled out the next day, she hadn’t wanted to take another breath. She’d fallen to her knees and wished for death.
Even thought about?—
Dee shook her head, hard. Her mother had died for her. No way would she have taken the easy way out. “Sometimes vengeance is the only thing that keeps you going.” Especially once you found out the world wasn’t the happy, picture-perfect postcard all the TV ads promised you.
His hands fisted at his sides. “There’s more to life than death, Dee.”
Her lips trembled at that. Not a smile. Not yet. “Tell that to the vamps.”
“I’m telling it to you.”
She swallowed. “Why are you here? Why did you track me to that vampire hell? What do you?—”
“Would you rather I’d just left you in the pool of blood? Left you with the body and with the cops on the way?” His shoulders stiffened. “Well, fuck, next time I’ll know to just leave you the hell alone.”
He spun away. She reached for him. Her fingers brushed over his shoulder.
Simon stilled.
“I’m not good at this emotional stuff,” she managed gruffly and felt rough, awkward. “I know how to fight. I know how to kill. I don’t know how to—” Love. No, no, they weren’t talking about love.
Don’t go there.
But he wanted more from her than she was used to giving. That need was there in his eyes, in his voice, in the rough demand of his questions. Simon wasn’t going to settle for small offerings from her. He wasn’t that kind of guy. She’d have to open up to him if she wanted to keep him.
And she wanted to keep him with her. Maybe the best way to do that was to start by being civil. She could do that. She could drop her guard and try being normal.
So she let the armor fall and jerked up her big girl panties. “Thank you for pulling my butt out of that place.”
He glanced at her. “Hard, wasn’t it?”
Uh, yeah.
