AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Every woman before her had been faceless, nameless. A sea of meaningless connections meant to satiate their mutual needs and little more. He’d hated it.
Jace dragged in another long smoke-filled breath. “Now you sound like her. Besides, it doesn’t affect me as much as it would a human. You know that.”
“What’s going on with you and her, J? You’re usually more focused than this.”
Jace shrugged and blew out more smoke. “I don’t know.”
Sighing, David rested his elbows on his knees. “She’s beautiful, and she’s gotten under your skin.”
Jace ignored him and flicked away his ashes. That much was obvious. They sat in silence for several minutes before Jace cleared his throat. “She’s a wolf shifter.”
“I know. So?”
“She’s Rochester’s packmaster, David. I hunt her kind for a living, you know that better than anyone, and she’s one of the head honchos. How the hell am I supposed to do my job when I’m sleeping with the enemy?”
“It’s not as cut and dried as that and you know it.”
Jace chuckled. He held the cigarette out toward David, but the other hunter passed, and Jace stomped it out shortly after that. They sat in companionable silence. Nothing but the sounds of an occasional passing car, and a couple arguing from an upstairs apartment to disturb them.
“Since when have you cared about playing by the rules, J?” David asked, breaking the silence. “At the rate you’re going, unless you bring this asshole’s head to Headquarters on a silver platter, you’re out, and even then, you better pray on bended knee that Damon can get the higher ups to have one forgiving bone in their bodies. You lied about your bloodline so you could be a hunter. Why start sweating the details now?”
“What are you saying, David?”
His friend cast him a hard stare. “I’m saying, you’ve risked everything for that woman, J. Don’t lose her over this. Fight for her, or I promise someday, you’ll regret it.”
Jace ran a rough hand through his hair. “You talking about me or about you and Ally?”
David grumbled at the mention of his ex-fiancé. She’d been the one who got away, and Jace knew it still haunted the man. “Both? Does it matter? Its good advice. Listen or don’t.”
“When did you get so lenient about the guidelines, Mr. ‘Be at the Meeting on Time and Don’t Disrespect Damon’?” Jace mocked.
David crossed his arms, a grim look tightening his features. “Since Headquarters forced me to choose between my job and my friends.”
Jace stubbed out his cigarette and clapped David on the shoulder. “Thanks for having my back.”
David relaxed a little and leaned back against the door. “You owe me big-time. Like ‘sacrifice your firstborn child’ big-time.”
Jace chuckled and offered David the flask from inside his coat.
David refused, but tapped his forefinger against the metal. “Take a large shot of that before we keep talking. You aren’t buzzed enough to discuss this yet.”
Jace didn’t need to be told twice. He swallowed three large gulps, nearly draining the flask dry. The warm liquid sloshed down his throat.
“You know that you seriously need to consider taking her offer, right? About learning how to shift?” David said.
Jace shook his head. “I can’t, David. You know I can’t.”
David frowned. “No. I know you don’t want to. There’s nocan’tabout it, J.”
Jace shot him a glare and tightened his grip on the flask, wishing there was still whiskey in it. “You should know better than anyone that I can’t, David. I refuse to be anything like that dirtbag piece of shit who was my father.”
“I hate to say it, Jace, but forget your daddy issues for a minute and screw your head on straight. Shifting doesn’t mean you’re anything like your lowlife father. You’re not a coward. You need to face any personal issues you may have and do this. The longer you wait, the more women that monster will slaughter. And the only way you’ll be like your father is if you sit around and do nothing to save them.” David slowly rose from the stoop and reached for the door.
Fuck. He was right.
Jace sighed. “You sure have a way with words.”
David paused. “Being a closet book nerd all those years in high school came with a few perks, kept me golden in Allyson’s eyes. She always loved it when I’d read the books she liked.”
