“So what’s your story? How did you get mixed up in this, Darian?”
He walked in silence for a few paces, until she wondered if he would answer. Then he did. “A vampire killed my parents and brother.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” She almost reached out to him, but let her hand fall before it touched his arm. “How did you survive?”
“By not being there,” he said bitterly. “I was out with friends. Got home later than I should, expecting to be grounded.” A humorless laugh. “Instead, found them all dead.”
“My God. How old were you?”
“Sixteen.”
They reached the end of the path and walked onto a pier, the wood echoing with each step. Darian stopped and gazed over the water, lost in his memories. The lake was so still that a fish near the surface caused ripples that shimmered in the moonlight.
“I lived in foster homes until I was eighteen and the system kicked me out,” Darian said, his voice quiet but carrying clearly in the night. “Got into trouble more times than I can remember.”
“Fighting?” Cally could imagine that.
“Some, yes. But mostly for running away. I went looking for the killer.”
“But you never found them.”
“Right.”
“What did the police say?”
“They tried to blame my dad. There was no forced entry, no broken locks, no sign of a struggle, just the bodies with puncture wounds in the neck. The simple answer was my dad had stabbed them, then taken his own life.” He aimed a savage kick at a small stone, sending it skimming into the water with a gentle plop.
“They didn’t blame you?”
“They tried to at first, yeah,” he replied, staring down at the water. “Then forensics confirmed the time of death, and I couldn’t have been there.”
“When did you begin to believe it was a vampire?”
“I joined the army at eighteen—few options as an ex-foster kid with no money. When they discovered I fit a certain profile, the Order came recruiting.” His voice thickened with resignation. “They like orphans.”
Cally raised an eyebrow. “They have access to the army?”
Darian’s lips twisted wryly. “Technically, I’m still in the army. Sequesteredfor ‘special operations.’”
“Wow. That’s some pull.”
“It’s not that hard when you have the right connections in the government. Just one more black ops project.” He leaned on the pier’s railing, gazing out over the lake. “Anyway, that’s my tragic life story. I fit the Order’s profile, and they gave answers others couldn’t. Now they give me a chance to stop it happening again.”
Cally thought of her mother, and Joon’s sister. “It seems we both lost loved ones to vampires.”
He turned to look at her, brown eyes glinting in the lake’s reflection. “Exactly. It’s why I wanted to talk to you. I believe in this, and I think you do too. The Order can be heavy-handed, I get that. If I had my way, you wouldn’t have been threatened tonight.” He sighed, a small frustrated sound. “You have to understand. To them—to us—you represent a hope, a weapon, a chance to fight back that we so badly need. Your value is beyond comparison.”
Cally leaned on the barrier beside him, considering his words. It wasn’t difficult to see it from their perspective, not really. Would she have threatened too, if the tables had been turned? Would she threaten now, to keep Antoine safe?
It was an easy answer, not least when they were in the middle of planning an illegal heist. She’d do anything to keep those she loved out of harm.
“It’s no fun being on the receiving end, but I do understand.”
“Well, that’s the other thing I wanted to say.” He met her gaze, his own steady. “My promises weren’t idle; I’m going to protect you. From any threat—be it vampires or the Order.”
Cally tried to hide her skepticism. “Are you putting my interests over the Order’s?”
Not a flicker of hesitation crossed his face. “I’m swearing I’ll keep you safe.”
