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He leaned against the opposite counter. And waited.

“Sometimes it’s not a demon on my table, but a hunter. You guys are tough, but you’re not invincible. I know of at least one entire team wiped out, because of this… issue. Long before any of us were even born. If you try to help… if your involvement is even suspected, you could make it so much worse for Eryn. I’ll do whatever I can to keep her safe.”

He refilled his coffee and hers, and nodded toward the deck.

She followed him out.

Hell, even the outdoor furniture was done and set out. A deep sofa and two Adirondacks framed a propane firepit. A table and chairs. The humming of the forgotten hot tub piped off to the left.

They sat overlooking the ocean, and he clicked on the firepit. Flames sputtered in the coastal wind, but the fire stayed lit.

Forearms resting loosely on his knees, he fiddled with the mug in his hands. “What do you know about demon hunter prophecies? Visions?”

“What, like prophecies? Like… seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Um… nothing. But I guess I should stop being surprised by the paranormal world.”

“A few years ago, my team rescued the mother of all demon hunters. Our ancestor, who had been imprisoned for millennia. Ryan was born to kill her.”

“Okay…” She crossed her ankle over her knee and leaned back.

“It was an impossible fight; she shared a dose of her power with us. The edge we needed to win.”

“What? I… I don’t even know how to make sense of that.”

“It was similar to how we share some of our power when we get married, to protect our spouses.”

Lexi chewed the edge of her cheek and scowled as she calculated. “I’d love to hear more stories, but you’re not just bragging, are you?”

“You remember my friend, Bennett.”

“How could I forget the first living vampire I’ve ever met?”

“He’s a demon hunter.”

“He’s a vampire,” she said flatly. “Didn’t know day-walkers existed, but cool, I guess. Maybe his tastes are ‘sunnier,’ but he’s still a vampire.”

“He’s a hunter.” Vann puffed his cheeks and looked out over the ocean. “Bennett is the only one of his kind, a hunter-vampire hybrid. His existence fulfilled a prophecy to save the world. We took out the original vampire—the demon that had been locked away for millennia. Bennett got a dose of his power, too.” The corner of his lips lifted as the thought struck him. “Don’t tell him I said it, but he’s tougher than I am.”

“He’s hot.”

He huffed a laugh. “And he knows it.”

Watching him curiously in the firelight, Lexi squinted and cradled her coffee more to warm her hands than to take a drink. “Does he need blood?”

“Animal blood does the trick. He craves human, and it’s not easy, but he controls it.”

“And if temptation won out? If he got a taste of human blood and couldn’t hold back? Would you kill him?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s never going to come to that, but if it did? He’s hunter enough that he’d give his life before letting his vampire side take over.”

“Could you do it yourself? Kill your friend?”

“I would. If it came to that. But I won’t let it come to that.”

Lexi looked out over the ocean, secrets held tight in her distant gaze. A look she shared with Eryn.