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“You want to train,” he replied as he pushed off the doorframe and motioned for me to leave the room. “You can do that with me.”
My lips parted in shock. “What?”
“Isn’t the whole point of training to fight vampires?” He cocked his head to the side, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. “What better way than to train with one?”
I bit the tip of my tongue, my pulse thudding a little harder. He was doing this to spend time with me just like at the beach. But I couldn’t deny that his offer was tempting. If I wanted to keep my skills, I needed to use them. These small workouts in the bedroom wouldn’t cut it.
“Fine,” I bit out, crossing the room and grabbing my boots. “But only because I want to train.”
The stake I’d taken from my bag at the hotel was in my boot, and I carefully slipped my foot inside, wanting to keep it hidden. I still wanted to somehow get to the bag on the beach that Tim had told me about. But with Zan not leaving me alone, I didn’t see that happening anytime soon.
He waited patiently for me to tie my laces, and once I straightened up, I fixed my ponytail. Seeing as I’d just worked out, I put another layer of lotion on just in case. Lifting my chin, my body was tense as I walked past him and into the hallway, hearing him following closely behind. Viggo and Pax were in the living room, and Viggo shot me a gleeful grin as I went toward the door.
Even from the stairs, I could hear the music from Impulse. My stomach knotted as I entered the club. I hadn’t been down here since Amaros had left. Gia was behind the bar, and she gave me a smile from across the room. The vampires surrounding us must have seen Zan behind me because they hurriedly got out of the way as I strode to the exit.
The humid air hit me in the face as I stepped outside, and I suddenly realized I had no idea where Zan was taking me. I jerked when his hand landed on my lower back, and I quickly took a large step to the side, moving out of his reach. A muscle in his jaw clenched, but he didn’t say a word as we crossed the street.
Zan shot a glare over his shoulder. “Why the hell are you two following us?”
I followed his gaze, seeing Viggo and Pax trailing behind. Viggo’s grin was wide, while Pax had his usual subdued frown in place.
“I’m not missing this,” Viggo drawled. “I want to see Kali try to stab you in the heart again.”
My stomach flipped, remembering my first kiss with Zan. The night he found out I could control my heartbeat. That kiss was the only reason I’d been able to get close enough with my stake. I highly doubted I’d get away with that a second time. My mind wandered despite my best efforts, and I clenched my teeth, pushing my thoughts away. Kissing Zan was in the past, and not ever happening again.
As we walked, I realized we were heading to the exact spot where we’d kissed. My nerves fluttered when the large open area came into view. It looked just the same as last time. Dead grass and the old picnic tables scattered about. This time there were no other vampires, and Zan strode into the center before turning around and focusing on me. Viggo and Pax sat on top of one of the worn picnic tables, neither of them saying a word.
“Come on,” Zan taunted, his eyes dancing with a mischief that had my heart panging. “I need to see what you’ve got before we start training.”
My teeth clenched, and I stayed frozen in my spot. The white-hot rage that had been slicing through me all week hadn’t dimmed. Yet there was a tiny part of me that refused to let my feelings twist into hatred. I should despise him. Especially after what happened with Amaros. Zan was a Kane vampire who would never choose me. Not over what his father wanted. He’d never let me in on all his secrets.
“You actually have to move to train with him,” Viggo called out.
I glanced toward the picnic table to see him lighting up a cigarette. Pax had his arms crossed, his gaze focused on Zan with a quizzical look on his face. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and I whipped my head forward to see Zan prowling closer.
He wasn’t within arm’s reach yet, but he could easily get to me before I had a chance to defend myself. I straightened my spine, my eyes locking on his. His cocky smirk had me itching to reach for my stake. Not that I’d kill him, but he was acting like I didn’t have a chance against him. Even if that were true, I wasn’t about to back down.
His gaze dropped to my feet. “You can even use your weapon.”
My pulse thudded unevenly. “My what?”
“You think I didn’t know you had a stake?” Zan cocked his head, his eyes finding mine again. “Gia told me you went to the hotel that night. Your bag is there, isn’t it? Go ahead, Kali. It’ll make this slightly more even.”
His smug tone had me bristling, and I reached down, plucking my stake out of my boot. But his attention suddenly went behind me, the change on his face instant. Gone was his small smirk, and the humor in his eyes transformed into something lethal that had a chill rushing down my spine. His glare caused me to nearly take a step back, and he wasn’t even focused on me.
I peeked over my shoulder to see a group of vampires watching us curiously. Until their eyes shifted from me to Zan. Blatant fear washed over their features, and they ducked their heads, scurrying away into the darkness.
Looking back at Zan, I raised an eyebrow. “They’re going to wonder what we’re doing.”
“I don’t give a fuck what they think,” he said simply. “The list of people whose opinions I care about is short.”
“Your brothers.” My stomach knotted painfully. “Your father. Maybe Gia too.”
“And you.”
“Me?” I sneered, narrowing my eyes. “How would you even know my opinion about anything when you only tell me half-truths?”
“I did it to protect you,” he gritted out, annoyance flashing in his eyes.
