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I can’t do it.
It isn’t me… and I don’t want to be the type of person that would cause another pain for the purpose of their own gain. The way Gabriel came into my life doesn’t matter, not in this sense.
As much as I want my life back—and the idea of freedom and a real future, one thatIchoose—I can’t destroy someone else’s life to achieve that.
I still don’t trust the guys, and I haven’t a clue what Brighton’s family is involved in that links them to the vampires I’m bound to, but I am hellbent on figuring it out.
Which pretty much leaves me with only one option: I need to figure out a way to get the hell away from here. Preferably alive.
5
Gabriel
Iarrive at the address Fallon sent and find what appears to be a small dive bar. Getting out of the town car, I step onto the sidewalk and shut the door. The music inside isn’t blaring, but it’s loud enough to hear when the old, stained glass door opens ahead of me as a group of patrons with whiskey on their breath leave the green brick building.
I walk inside when the doorway is clear, and the sound of Fallon’s excited squeal catches my attention immediately. I turn toward it and have less than a second to prepare myself for her to throw her arms around my neck, hugging me as if I’d just returned from war. Ithasbeen a while since I visited.
The floral scent of her perfume overwhelms me as I wrap my arms around her narrow waist and hug her tightly, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek when she pulls back. “Fallon,” I greet with an easy smile. “Long time no see.”
She punches my arm. “Yeah, no kidding. Jerk.”
Jase approaches from behind her, shaking his head and grinning at me, flashing a bit of fang. “Long time indeed. You look like shit.”
“You know, people keep telling me that,” I mutter as the two lead me to the booth they secured near the back of the room. The bar is crowded with mostly middle-aged people. This place certainly isn’t a popular hangout spot for the students in the city. Most of the people here are at least fifty years old.
I slide into the booth, glancing around the dark space. The walls are wood panels, covered in curling and ripped rock band posters. The scent of smoke and liquor hangs heavy in the air, and though I don’t see anyone actively smoking, nicotine clings to their clothes.
“What brings you to the city?” Jase asks.
I turn my attention back to my friends as they sip on their beers, waiting for me to answer. “It’s sort of a long story.”
“Such a shame we aren’t immortal,” Fallon remarks dryly with a mocking sigh, sticking her tongue out at me when I roll my eyes. She ties her bright red corkscrew curls back and dumps a handful of peanuts into her mouth. The black tank top she’s wearing is barely containing her breasts, much to the delight of the men at the bar. Not that she notices.
“Something’s wrong,” Jase says, his voice serious as he looks at me.
I press my lips together for a moment, debating how I should start. “We fulfilled the blood oath.”
He shoves a hand through his obsidian-colored hair. “Shit, bro. When did that happen?”
“A month ago.”
He nods. “How did it go?”
I exhale on a laugh. “About as well as we expected. Calla knew about the deal her family made with us, but she didn’t know when we were coming. She was pretty pissed.”
Fallon arches a brow. “I mean, fair enough, Gabe. I’d be pissed too, and I actually like you. The others mind you…”
I just shake my head at her. She and Kade had a fling a few decades ago that ended with her burning his favorite jacket. I never asked, and neither brought it up. “Anyway, we were trying to keep her away from all of the hunter shit we’re dealing with, but as you can imagine, after having her future dictated by an ancestor before she was born, and her life now controlled by the vampires she was bound to, she wasn’t much of a fan of being kept in the dark.”
“Can you blame her?” Jase asks, setting his pint down on the wooden table. There’s sticky residue covering it, as if they don’t clean them very well—or at all.
“Of course not. And when Dante started sniffing around for her, we had to tell her about him. Well, some of it. She knows he was involved with the business her family was in here and that he was seeking revenge against her for what went down.”
Fallon scoffs. “He went after that poor girl because he got screwed out of some money.”
“Some money,” Jase echoes, downing the rest of his drink. “Last time I checked, twenty million dollars isn’t justsome money, my love.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. That shit has nothing to do with—what’s her name again?”
