Page 27

“Who are you guys?” I asked, staring at Bryan and Tobias, mostly because I needed a distraction from Derek’s very human, very cute ex-boyfriend. “Are you Thierry’s friends or something?”

Tobias and Bryan exchanged a look, but it was Bryan who replied, his gaze still locked on me. “No, Quinn. We’re family.”

* * *

The next two hours were mostly spent interrogating Brent, with Derek running interference.

I didn’t miss the knowing, sympathetic looks Thierry and Sadie were shooting in my direction every five minutes, either.

To be absolutely fair to Derek, Brent needed every single save. Sadie seemed absolutely convinced he was a monster.

From my perspective, he seemed less like a monster and more like someone with a shady family who scared him really badly. He was just as much a victim of them as anyone else. And it was a family he couldn’t go back to, all because they were actively trying to kill his ex-boyfriend and knew, by now, that he’d fled.

It was ridiculous, this stab of envy I got every time I looked at Brent. Sure, he was handsome. Way more wholesome looking than I would’ve imagined for the son of a mafia boss or don or whatever they were called, with his wide baby blues and his full lips, the inherent kindness of his features. He looked like the boy next door, who also happened to be the town quarterback and also the guy who was going to save his family’s Christmas tree farm in some cheesy Hallmark straight-to-TV movie.

But the real reason I was jealous was because he was human.

He could offer Derek something I never could: safety.

True safety. He would never look at Derek and imagine biting him. Imagine tasting him.

He’d never heard someone scream and liked it.

The thought—the memory—twisted my stomach.

If I’d been human, I might’ve been sick. It would have only been natural.

But I wasn’t, so I couldn’t be. My inhuman body wouldn’t allow it.

“Can we talk?” Bryan asked, finally approaching me. His gaze searched mine and he gave me a small, tentative smile. “In private?”

Tobias trailed after him, stopping a few feet away with his arms crossed. He was watching me with a skeptical look.

I cast a glance over in Derek’s direction. He was currently trying to talk Thierry and Sadie out of using mind control to get Brent to tell them everything he knew about his family’s tactics and whereabouts. Simone seemed to be on his side. He wasn’t paying any attention to me.

Hugging myself, I turned back to Bryan and nodded. I was curious as to what he was doing here—to the best of my knowledge, he wasn’t particularly close with Derek, and he definitely wasn’t close with me. But from what he’d said earlier, I’d gathered that Thierry must’ve asked him to come with.

“Yeah, sure.”

Bryan smiled. “Good. Let’s head outside.”

“If there’s any trouble…” Tobias gave Bryan a pointed look. I got the impression it conveyed a lot more than it seemed. And that there was a whole world of context on the other side of his silence.

Bryan’s expression went softer. “I know.” His gaze dropped to Tobias’s hands and he shook his head. “Holster the guns. We’ll be okay. And if we’re not, you’ll know.”

Grudgingly, Tobias nodded. But he gave me a narrow-eyed, scowling look of warning as Bryan turned and led the way out of the conference room.

“He’s a little overprotective,” Bryan said, as I fell into step beside him. It was getting late and the hallway was deserted. “It’s kind of his thing, protecting me.”

He pushed open the glass door leading outside to the pool. It was completely vacant and we were alone.

“What did you mean that he’ll know if there’s trouble?”

“Oh. We’re blood bonded. So he’s got the inside scoop on everything going on in my head.”

I shuddered. “That sounds awful.”

“It’s not.” Bryan turned to face me and gestured for us to sit down at one of the circular glass tables, the kind with giant vinyl umbrellas in the middle. As we sat, he cast me a sympathetic look. “But I can make a guess as to why you might think so.”