didn’t think it was because of me.” It wasn’t really a mistake she’d made or something she’d missed. If Davyn hadn’t been watching both of them, seeing the way Lamere tracked her from the moment the sun went down, he wouldn’t have known either.
“You’re not surprised, though. Why not?”
“He and I go back a ways.”
“You’re, what, twenty-five human years old? How much ‘a way’ can there be?”
“I’m twenty-three. We…met six years ago.”
“You were practically a baby, definitely underage. I’m guessing you showed him a fake ID. Then what happened? Relationship went south? You got too clingy, so he told you he needed more space?” He shrugged. “Personally, I think you’re better off without him. I mean when your boyfriend drains all the blood out of another woman and fills her back up with his , that’s just going too far, am I right? Although, it did give you one hell of a good excuse to kill the bastard.”
“I don’t need an excuse to kill him—he’s rogue and he’s dangerous. And he wasn’t…”
“Wasn’t what? The vamp you always thought he was? A good lay? Tell me before my brain explodes from all the possibilities of why someone like you would feel so passionately about killing a mark that you’d go up against a demon to do it.”
“Self-preservation. Offense is stronger than defense.”
“You lost me.”
“He’s playing,” she blurted. “This whole time—both of us looking for him, him showing up in public, knowing we’ll find him and knowing we can’t do anything in front of the people. It’s all a game to him. Some fun before he tries to take me.”
“Why would he want you?”
She hesitated. “Because he’s male, and he wants to control. Possess. You said it yourself—I look like the girl he turned . I’m his type.”
Davyn was proud of himself for not killing her, because this was getting interesting. Unlike basically everything else. “Okay, my little narcissist, why doesn’t he just take you then?”
“I told you: because he’s psychotic and enjoys the challenge. I assumed I was the challenge.” She laughed bitterly. “But I’m not. You are. I’m the…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Distraction?”
“Not anymore, puppet,” he said, grinning. This was perfect. “Now you’re the bait.”
Four
The hunter’s chair squealed as she shoved away from the table. “Like hell.”
“Lamere might be old and evil, but he still has weaknesses,” Davyn said. “Now that I know what one of them is, I need to decide on a way to use it.”
“You mean me . No way am I bait.”
“You’ve been bait for weeks, but neither of us knew it. Now we do. Bright side: I’m not going to kill you any time soon. What good is bait if it can’t wiggle?” He almost wished he’d pushed through her shield and read her mind, because something big was going on in there—something that made her realize the uselessness of arguing.
“If I’m the one risking everything, then I get to kill him.”
“You’ve never been fishing, have you? Neither have I, but from what I’ve seen on TV, the bait always ends up in the fish’s belly. So I think you’re probably better off hoping you make it through at all. You take care of that, and I’ll take care of gutting the fish.”
“I need to be the one to kill him.”
“If you can think of one reason why I would give even a tiny amount of shit, then sure. Sadly for you, the chance of that happening is only slightly less than me winning the Ms. America crown. I take that back. That crown would be mine for the taking.”
The hunter stood again, tossing her napkin on the table. “Come on.”
“We’re going on a field trip now? I’m not done eating.”
“It won’t take long.” She walked outside the restaurant and went around the building to the garbage area, without checking to see if he followed.
Not that she needed to. Davyn was so curious about her, he’d put off killing her. A demon.
“You’re not surprised, though. Why not?”
“He and I go back a ways.”
“You’re, what, twenty-five human years old? How much ‘a way’ can there be?”
“I’m twenty-three. We…met six years ago.”
“You were practically a baby, definitely underage. I’m guessing you showed him a fake ID. Then what happened? Relationship went south? You got too clingy, so he told you he needed more space?” He shrugged. “Personally, I think you’re better off without him. I mean when your boyfriend drains all the blood out of another woman and fills her back up with his , that’s just going too far, am I right? Although, it did give you one hell of a good excuse to kill the bastard.”
“I don’t need an excuse to kill him—he’s rogue and he’s dangerous. And he wasn’t…”
“Wasn’t what? The vamp you always thought he was? A good lay? Tell me before my brain explodes from all the possibilities of why someone like you would feel so passionately about killing a mark that you’d go up against a demon to do it.”
“Self-preservation. Offense is stronger than defense.”
“You lost me.”
“He’s playing,” she blurted. “This whole time—both of us looking for him, him showing up in public, knowing we’ll find him and knowing we can’t do anything in front of the people. It’s all a game to him. Some fun before he tries to take me.”
“Why would he want you?”
She hesitated. “Because he’s male, and he wants to control. Possess. You said it yourself—I look like the girl he turned . I’m his type.”
Davyn was proud of himself for not killing her, because this was getting interesting. Unlike basically everything else. “Okay, my little narcissist, why doesn’t he just take you then?”
“I told you: because he’s psychotic and enjoys the challenge. I assumed I was the challenge.” She laughed bitterly. “But I’m not. You are. I’m the…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Distraction?”
“Not anymore, puppet,” he said, grinning. This was perfect. “Now you’re the bait.”
Four
The hunter’s chair squealed as she shoved away from the table. “Like hell.”
“Lamere might be old and evil, but he still has weaknesses,” Davyn said. “Now that I know what one of them is, I need to decide on a way to use it.”
“You mean me . No way am I bait.”
“You’ve been bait for weeks, but neither of us knew it. Now we do. Bright side: I’m not going to kill you any time soon. What good is bait if it can’t wiggle?” He almost wished he’d pushed through her shield and read her mind, because something big was going on in there—something that made her realize the uselessness of arguing.
“If I’m the one risking everything, then I get to kill him.”
“You’ve never been fishing, have you? Neither have I, but from what I’ve seen on TV, the bait always ends up in the fish’s belly. So I think you’re probably better off hoping you make it through at all. You take care of that, and I’ll take care of gutting the fish.”
“I need to be the one to kill him.”
“If you can think of one reason why I would give even a tiny amount of shit, then sure. Sadly for you, the chance of that happening is only slightly less than me winning the Ms. America crown. I take that back. That crown would be mine for the taking.”
The hunter stood again, tossing her napkin on the table. “Come on.”
“We’re going on a field trip now? I’m not done eating.”
“It won’t take long.” She walked outside the restaurant and went around the building to the garbage area, without checking to see if he followed.
Not that she needed to. Davyn was so curious about her, he’d put off killing her. A demon.
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