Chapter Six

 

For two weeks straight, I hunted, even when it wasn’t my shift. I chased Becca, followed her around, kept her kills to the bare minimum. I worked alone because being around others seemed to hold me back. I avoided Peter’s calls, knowing he would only give me bad news from the Council. I didn’t want to believe I was working with the kinds of creatures who would allow people to be sacrificed to keep an incredibly creepy old vampire satisfied.

I kept getting the urge to call Carl, but every time I broke down and dialled, he either didn’t answer or ended the call as quickly as possible. A sense of foreboding kept drawing over me as I realised I hadn’t spoken to him properly in a fortnight. The self-pitying haze had shifted a little, letting me see clearly. He had been so eager to talk to me, then suddenly switched to avoiding me. It made no sense, unless he suspected I knew about his little secret.

Still, it wasn’t like Carl to be secretive. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. He might have made some stupid decisions, but he tended to be pretty open about them, even when he knew he would be hassled.

I tried calling him again, but it went straight to voicemail. Deciding to bite the bullet, I rang Peter instead.

“Have you seen Carl?” I asked.

He hesitated. “Not exactly. He sleeps during the day a lot nowadays.”

“Is he with you now? Wait, sleeps during the day? Doesn’t he work for Eddie anymore?”

“I thought so. He’s at his parents today, I think.” I heard some things fall. “Yep, he left a note. Is something wrong?”

I let out a loud sigh, thinking of Carl’s lies. Peter would only say it was none of my business. Maybe he was right. “I don’t know. Probably not. Never mind. I’ll see you.”

“Wait! You coming over today for a training session?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Not a chance. “I’m a bit busy today. I’ll call you when I’m free.”

I hung up before he could say anything else. Flipping through the phonebook, I found Carl’s parents’ number. I had no real reason to call them, except to prove my own point to myself. I rang, had a particularly awkward call, and discovered Carl’s parents hadn’t seen him in a month.

I mulled it over. Carl was lying to everyone. It worried me because he still had blank moments. They were rare, but there were times when he looked like he had while I accidentally mind-warped him. The pain of the broken bond had been bad enough, but the lingering effects scared me into thinking that maybe little pieces of his mind would never be the same again.

Mentally exhausted, I took a break from the hunt that night, but I was still thinking about Carl the following day when a sharp rap on my door made me flinch. At least I had money if it was the landlord. Still, I never lost that shivery feeling whenever he knocked.

I regretted opening the door as soon as I saw Peter.

“Still busy?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at my unbrushed hair.

“Yes.” I stood aside to let him enter. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing much. Just a supernatural serial killer running the streets. Oh, and I keep having to waste time watching you have catfights with Guardians, then put up with you ignoring me for weeks.”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t call that a catfight. And like I said, I’ve been busy.”

“You punched Esther! And you know the Council is on my back about helping you.”

“She swiped me first with her stupidly big bear claw. Besides, I couldn’t care less what the Council or their Guardians think.”

He grinned suddenly, knocking me off guard. “You won’t be happy until everyone turns on you.”

“It’s not that, and you know it. Look at those people. I told you Coyle had to have had something to do with that shifter who committed suicide in Gabe’s bar. I’m positive those shadows are down to him, and he’s a Guardian, so who knows how far that goes? Oh, and I met creepy Reuben, the virgin-blood-drinking vampire diva. Things have gotten a lot stranger than I bargained for.”

“Speaking of strange, what was with the hand-shaped bruise on your forehead?”

I touched my head self-consciously. I had been wearing my hair over the creepy mark for weeks. It had taken that long to go away. “It’s… hard to explain.”

“Try me. I have time.”

“Well, I don’t really want to talk about it. Besides, I’m exceptionally busy worrying about Carl today, thank you very much.” I didn’t have a clue how to start explaining the bruise, even less of an idea since Carl had filled my head with notions of astral projection and opening Hell.

Peter relaxed on a chair, uninvited. “What now?”

I sat across from him, my voice rising in excitement. “He’s a filthy little liar, that’s what now.”

“Carl? Yeah, right,” he scoffed.

“Seriously. You told me he was going to see his parents, but I had already followed him here. Then when I called his parents, I found out he hasn’t seen them in ages. Oh, don’t look at me like that. I was just curious. Why is he lying?”

Peter sat up straight. “That’s odd, but haven’t we talked about boundaries? Maybe he’s seeing his fiancée again and doesn’t want you breathing down his neck, keeping him straight. I know it’s not your fault, but you’re really going to have to find a way to deal with this leftover possessiveness of your food.”

“Oh, ha bloody ha. It’s not like that.” I got up to find a hairbrush. “I’ve seen him here. Like, in this building. I think he’s coming here to see my neighbour. I don’t understand why he’s acting so weird, avoiding everyone. He hasn’t been… all there since the bond was broken. We need to look out for him.”

“And that involves stalking him?”

“Oh, shut up. Just trust me when I say there’s something off about him right now.”

“Is that coming from your spidey senses? A miniature vampire Seer, perhaps? Or maybe you can read thoughts now.”

I threw a cushion at him, which he caught effortlessly. “I can’t wait to say I told you so, Peter. I love how you give me so many opportunities. What are you doing here anyway? Aside from bothering me, that is.”

He grinned. “Training.”

I groaned. “Not today.”

“I know you. ‘Not today’ means ‘Not ever, so go away and leave me alone.’ Not going to happen. We need to build up your stamina so you can keep up with Becca.”

“The only way I can keep up with her is if I drink blood. Apparently, Reuben knows best. That’s still not on my list of things to do.”

He made a face, but his heart rate remained relaxed. Unlike mine. He glanced around the room, frowning. “Why are you still living here?”

“Ooh, subject change. Um, because it’s my home.” I moved into the kitchenette because Peter always made me uncomfortable on my own territory.

“It’s a shithole. You should get a nicer place.”

“I happen to like it here. This place was the first thing I ever did for myself. It’s been my home for a long time, and if you don’t like it, you’re free to leave at any time.”

A grin spread across his face as he followed me, leaning on a counter, far too close for my liking. “The things that get you to open up.”

My entire body tensed. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Then come hit something. I promise it feels better than talking.”

It was my turn to grin. Peter had strange methods when it came to dealing with my moods, but they sometimes worked. “How could I turn down an offer like that? Fine, I’ll train. Happy now?”

The smile fell off his face, and his forehead creased into a frown again. “It’s not me. Gabe keeps pushing. He’s constantly on me about you. You know what he’s like.”

I folded my arms. “Yeah, a total arsehole. I can’t stand him.”

He inched closer. “Really? Because you go all gooey-eyed around him.”

“That’s just me seeing past his mask. Nice as it is, it’s just what he wants us to see. Can’t trust something that doesn’t show their true face, right?”

Peter stared at me until I fidgeted uncomfortably and made an excuse of having to get ready in order to leave the room. I might have put up a fuss, but I wasn’t all that opposed to going out. Although I liked my home, I had noticed I seemed to reenergise whenever I left it. Maybe fresh air agreed with me. I refused to believe it had anything to do with Peter.

“All right, let’s go,” I said as soon as I was ready. “But you’re confronting Carl with me.”

He rolled his eyes and didn’t commit. Exactly what I expected, but it felt nice to make demands every now and then.

We left my flat and had started down the stairs when an overpowering floral scent hovered in the air. My slutty next-door neighbour made her way up the stairs as we descended.

“Do not say a word,” Peter hissed, probably guessing she was the one Carl had been seeing. I chewed the inside of my mouth in a bid to keep quiet. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t like the woman, but something about her always set me on edge.

Although the stairway had plenty of space for all three of us to walk, she managed to brush against both of us as she passed. Looking over my shoulder, I saw her glance back at us with an unmistakably smug grin.

Unsettled, I followed Peter to the car. “Car’s looking better,” I remarked.

“She’s well able for a vampire-monster tantrum,” he scoffed.

For some reason, the air filled with tension as soon as Peter pulled away from the curb. Although we had been relatively comfortable around each other beforehand, his heartbeat began to race, and that sent off alarm bells.

“It’s getting really hot in here,” he gasped, winding down his window.

I did the same, noticing a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just… warm today.”

I shrugged and stared out of the car window. I watched people walk by, all wearing heavy coats and scarves. “Warm” was probably not the best adjective for the day’s weather.

By the time we got to Peter’s place, he was fidgeting like crazy and scratching his arm. It sparked a reminder of Carl for some reason. I brushed against Peter’s hand as we headed into his home and was shocked by the heat of his skin.

“Are you sure you’re not sick? You’re burning up.” I pressed the back of my hand to his cheek.

“I don’t feel sick. Just a bit warm.” He very carefully took my hand away from his face. “You go on downstairs and get warmed up. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

I pretended to work out a bit, but I found it hard to make an effort without Peter barking at me. When he came down, his hair was wet and his eyes feverish.

I gestured to his long sleeves. “I thought you were hot.”

“Cold now. Let’s get on with this. Today, I figured we’d practice some moves, and do some cardio. You should try to build up some stamina with daily runs. You seem to recover quickly, so you should be able for a hunt in the evenings if you run in the mornings or afternoons.”

“Don’t people get rest days?” I mumbled.

“Yeah, humans do. You don’t. Not until Public Enemy Number One is tied up.”

He gestured toward the mats and did some stretching.

“Think capturing her is really the best idea?” I asked.

“Nope. But it’s not up to us.” He flexed his muscles to psyche me out. It usually only served to distract me, but that might have been what he was going for.

“I don’t like the idea of them testing on her.”

He rushed at me and lifted me over his shoulder before slamming me on the mat. “I thought you hated Becca. And pay attention.”

“I am!” I jumped to my feet and tried to keep moving. “Yeah, I might hate her, but I think she’s suffered enough. I mean, look at her. If we were hunting to kill, this would all be done by now. Maybe. The whole ‘taking her in’ bit has never really sat well with me.”

He threw a punch, but I blocked and kneed him. He surprised me by wrapping his arms tightly around me, although I could see the pain in his expression. I shimmied upward, squirming out of his grip and over his shoulder, but he caught hold of my leg and knocked us both to the ground.

“Stop doing that!” I kicked out at him, but he only laughed.

“Make me,” he said, and the look in his eyes made me shiver.

“Can’t. I pity your puny human strength too much. It wouldn’t feel fair.”

He snorted and let me stand. I was determined to stay standing, or force him down. He tried to grapple me, but I avoided his grasp.

“You’re right,” he said. “It would be over with Becca, but we agreed to a capture unless her death is absolutely necessary.”

“Well, maybe we force the necessary,” I said, ducking out of his way.

“They could be watching,” he warned.

“I hate everyone.” I waited for him to strike again. That time, I ducked under his arm and stood on the back of his knee to reach around his neck. He tripped and fell on his face, much to my glee. I kneeled on his back, but he elbowed me off and managed to pin me.

“Christ, I hate this position,” I said.

“I don’t know. I kind of like it.” His laugh was too husky, his heartbeat too fast. I should have known something was up.

“Get up now,” I said, catching his scent and realising how close he was to me.

He pulled me up after him, forcing me against his chest. His scent, the pulsing of his arteries, I couldn’t help myself. My fangs shot out before I could think. I threw my hands to my mouth, apologising profusely.

“Forget about it,” he said, very un-Peter-like.

Pushing him further away, I managed to retract my fangs, then attacked Peter, hoping hitting him would dissipate some of my embarrassment. He bent his knees and lifted me up before I could react to his shift.

“Ugh, why can’t I stop you from doing that?”

He let me slide down, but tightened his grip. “Because you don’t want me to stop.”

The heat in his eyes was my undoing, and I realised too late he had led me backward.

Then, we were against the wall, and his mouth was on mine, and my head was shouting stop, but my body was running straight for him. His cinnamon scent was all over me, his pulse drummed against me, and my body ached for him in every way.

The lately absent cold presence blew all over us suddenly, so forcefully, we flew apart.

“What was that?” he gasped, running his hands through his now exceptionally tousled hair.

“My ghostly friend.” I tried to calm the beating of my own heart, tried to forget the heat of his body pressed against mine. I had almost lost control without even considering the cons of the situation. That wasn’t me. “Think they were trying to tell us something.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking thoroughly confused. “Not that I didn’t enjoy that, but what the hell just happened?”

My chest heaved. “I have no idea.”

“It was like I could see what I was doing, but I had absolutely no control over myself,” he said, half to himself.

Embarrassingly enough, I did have control. I had just chosen to kiss him back. “Uh, yeah, me, too. Weird.” I tried to laugh. “It’s probably just the hunting and everyone freaking out over Becca. It has everyone acting crazy. Maybe we should take a break from this, though. I’m a little thirsty.” My voice went high enough for him to see the danger.

“You should eat, right?” His voice was too calm, too nonchalant, considering what I had just told him.

We went upstairs to his kitchen, where I sat at the table while he made me a sandwich.

“We need a better plan,” I said as I watched him move and tried in vain to forget about how his lips had felt, how his pulse had ticked against me in a way I had almost forgotten existed. We might have flirted occasionally, but that flash of heat had come out of nowhere.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing’s working with Becca. We need to figure out something completely different, or we’ll be chasing her for the next five years.”

He stopped and took a deep breath. “The only way we’ll ever catch her is if we purposely sacrifice someone. I can’t see us getting close enough to her otherwise.”

“I could be bait.”

He turned around. “You can’t be bait, Ava.”

I made a face. “Why not?”

He took a step toward me. “She won’t go for you. I could be bait, though. She’s into human blood.”

“No way.”

“Careful, people might think you care.”

I stared at him, startled by his proximity. I stood and inched backward because his eyes were feverish-looking again, his heartbeat was absolutely tantalising, and I didn’t know how to stop myself.

He closed in, his arms encircling me so his palms reached the counter behind me, all the while holding my gaze. I couldn’t break away, no matter how hard I tried. His face dipped toward my neck, and as I felt his warm breath on my skin, I knew I was done for.

Brushing his cheek against me as he raised his face to greet my eyes, he lifted me onto the countertop incredibly slowly, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop him. Not that I wanted to. I held my breath as his fingers found their way past the nape of my neck, winding through my hair.

The look in his eyes unsettled me, and I raised my hand to his wrist to pull him away, but he surprised me by stealing one heart-stoppingly soft, lingering kiss, and I forgot about everything except how absolutely right it felt. His heartbeat seemed to slow, and I wasn’t sure who grabbed who, but all of a sudden we were in the middle of a passionate kiss—again—and I had forgotten all about being careful. The heat of his lips against mine, the way he ran his hand up my spine… thoughts of anything else flew out of my mind.

The front door slammed, and Carl’s voice carried through the room. “You home?”

I pushed Peter away and jumped down, heat burning my cheeks. He just looked confused.

Carl opened the kitchen door and faltered when he saw me. “Oh. Hey.” He plastered a smile on his face and went to the fridge.

“Hi,” I said, distancing myself further from Peter. “What have you been up to today?”

“Nothing much,” he said over his shoulder, rubbing at his chest. “Visited the parents, like you’re always telling me to do.”

My hands closed into fists, and Peter cleared his throat, but when I glanced at him, he was scratching his arm. Carl stopped moving, as if he sensed the danger, and I tried to focus on the biggest problem at hand.

“How about the truth this time?” I hadn’t planned on being so aggressive, but the day with Peter had rattled me.

“Are we really back to this again?” Carl headed straight for the door.

I grabbed his shirt in anger, and to my surprise, it easily ripped. I really was out of control, impulse-wise. Forgetting the argument, I gaped at his chest.

“What the hell is that? Peter, look at this.” I stared at the mark in confusion. “Is that a hickey?”

“I’m allergic to her lipstick. That’s all,” he said, trying to cover up, but Peter wouldn’t let him. The mark looked like a love bite except it was raw-red and raised, a little like ringworm. My skin tingled at the sight of it.

“He’s been scratching this,” I said. “Peter, you’ve been scratching your arm today.”

Peter lifted his own arm and pulled up his sleeve, his eyes wide with disbelief. “I saw this when I was in the shower.” He showed me his forearm. It bore a similar mark, albeit smaller and a lot less infected-looking.

I touched it with one finger and jerked away as a stinging sensation shot up my arm.

“This is freaky. Definitely something supernatural.” I sighed heavily. “I have to go to Eddie for help again, don’t I?”