I shut down, locked myself in walls of seclusion because I was determined to never again feel such loss. It suited me well for three centuries. Until I met Delaney. She became one of my closest friends and someone I knew I could count on. After her death, I lost myself for a while. In the guilt, the pain, the knowing I failed another person in my life. It was all too damn much to bear.
“She deserved to live,” Rainey says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Did you know anything about her life before she died?”
I put the image back up on her refrigerator. “What about it?”
“Anything she was facing I should know?”
I get the impression she’s digging for a purpose, possibly the identity of Delaney’s murderers. “How about you tell me what it is you’re referring to, and then I can answer you. Digging for information without a full-sized shovel will take you quite some time. And in case you didn’t realize it, I’m not sure time is on either of our sides at the moment.”
Rainey bites down on her lower lip, and I force my gaze to stay on hers. The reaction I’m having to her—it’s unheard of, and honestly, it’s fucking annoying.
“I received an email from Delaney earlier.”
I straighten, crossing both arms. “What email?”
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell, after tapping on the screen a few times, she hands it over, and I stare down at the words typed on the screen.
R,
If you’re reading this, it’s because I’m no longer around. There are things you need to know, dangerous things I couldn’t tell you until now. Had to wait until enough time passed. Hell, I don’t even know if it’s safe now, but I’m going to try. Still, I can’t say it all at once. It’s too risky to do that.
By now, I imagine you’ve met Elijah. He’s something else, but I promise you he’s someone you can trust. He promised me he’d look out for you once I was gone. I’ll be in contact soon.
Watch your back, and keep an eye out for my next email.
D
Grief tightens around my heart, a vise that squeezes my tortured soul. Lifting my gaze to Rainey, I study her as she watches me.
“I got that this morning. So how about you explain to me how my sister is emailing me after she’s been dead for two years?”
I hand her back the phone. “She must have set it up before she was killed.”
“Thank you for that logical deduction, but I’d already safely reached it. How did she know she needed to set it up? And why now?”
I take a deep breath. The next words will be hard for Rainey to hear. Hell, they were hard for me to hear. But if she’s going to trust me, I need to be as upfront as possible. “Delaney knew she was going to die.”
Rainey’s eyes widen, her mouth falling open on a soft gasp. “What? How?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me until the night she was killed.”
“You talked to her?”
“I did. I was in Prague, and she called me to say goodbye.”
Her grief-stricken face hits me like a punch to the gut, and I fight the urge to reach for her, to offer any comfort possible, though I know there’s nothing I can say or do to help her. “She called you to say goodbye. But not me.”
“She probably didn’t wish to alert you. And honestly, if I hadn’t been so far, she probably wouldn’t have called me either.”
“Didn’t wish to alert me? I could have saved her!” she roars at me. “And yet, she let herself die? Alone in a fucking alley!”
“She wasn’t alone. At least not at the beginning of the night.”
Rainey stills. “What do you mean she wasn’t alone?”
“She was out with another hunter. I never met him in person—probably because she didn’t want us to kill each other—but she mentioned him a time or two.”
“Did she give you a name? A description?”
“A name. She referred to him a time or two as Jack.”
Rainey pales, her body stiffening like a corpse, and she stands in her kitchen for a heartbeat like that before her face contorts into rage.
Face red, jaw tight, nostrils flaring, she looks like she’s about to kill someone. Which, I suppose, probably doesn’t bode well for me since I’m the only one here.
“Jack?”
“Yes. But like I said, I never met him. Only heard her mention him a time or two.”
“That fucking son of a bitch.” She opens her cell phone again and taps on the screen before putting it up to her ear. A moment passes until she says, “Text me your address. I can’t talk over the phone.”
22
Rainey
She wasn’t alone.
I repeat that to myself, over and over again, as I walk down to my bike. My sister was not alone the night she died.
Jack is a fucking liar, and I’m going to make him pay dearly for withholding.
“Where are we going?” Elijah asks.
“To get more answers,” I snap.
“That’s descriptive.”
I halt and spin, jabbing my finger into his hard chest. “I’m teetering on the edge of murderous at the moment, so unless you want me to decapitate you and leave your body in the fucking woods, I’d strongly suggest not poking me.”
Elijah lifts both hands in mock surrender. “Understood. Just thought it would be nice to know where we’re going to be getting these answers.”
“Where’s your car?”
He points to a silver sedan parked near my bike.
“You drive.” I walk around to the passenger side, and after he presses a button on the key fob, I climb in.
“Where to?”
“Here.” I thrust my phone at him and watch him carefully as he reads the name of the contact we’re headed to meet. When he turns to me, anger clear in his sharp gaze, I decide I can trust him when it comes to finding out what happened to Delaney.
Anything else? I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, which, as you can imagine, is not very far.
“J? This is the person who was texting you when you were unconscious.”
I glare at him. “His name is Jack.” Elijah stiffens, his mouth flattening into a tight line as he stares at me.
“Jack?” he asks, his voice tight.
“Yeah. Too much of a coincidence for you too?”
“Fuck yes, it is.” He tosses my phone back at me. “I know where that is.”
We’re pulling onto the highway before I manage to get my rage under control enough to have a conversation. “How often did you go out on hunts with Delaney?”
“About three times a week for nearly a year. Then I took off. But we talked at least once a week.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why were you two friends? How did you bond? You said it wasn’t sexual, so then what was it?” I really doubt my sister would have made friends with a vampire. Unless it was for a damned good reason.
He casts a curious glance my way. “Not every relationship has to have a sexual undertone.”
“I’m not saying it does. But if Delaney were into you, it would explain why she didn’t kill you on sight.”
Elijah chuckles. “She wasn’t nearly as tough as you are. She trusted easier.”
He’s not wrong. For as strong as Delaney was, she gave people the benefit of the doubt. Me? I assume everyone wants to kill me until I’m proven wrong. “And she died for it.”
“Possibly,” he agrees. “As I told you—I saved her. After that, I don’t know. We just bonded. She’d lost people. I’d lost people. A friendship was formed.”
“How long did she know Jack?”
“From what I gathered, a while before I came into the picture. They had a bit more complicated relationship.”
“They were sleeping together?”
Elijah shrugs. “That I don’t know. But I do recall quite a few conversations where she’d talk about him as though they were in a relationship.”
“Seems strange she never introduced you t
wo.”
“Not exactly. Hunters are as much animals as we are. They find out one of their own is consorting with the enemy, they’ll kill them before even bothering to ask why.”
“So she didn’t fully trust him?”
“I don’t think that was it either. Honestly, I think it was me she was worried about.”
“But she trusted you enough to send you to me.”
“She did,” he confirms. “Maybe she believed I wouldn’t like Jack. And from what I’m picturing right now, I really fucking don’t.”
“And what are you picturing?” I ask.
“Him abandoning her.”
I lean back in the seat and stare out into the dark sky as we head to the outskirts of town. “Don’t kill him until I get my answers.”
“Agreed.”
We pull into the parking garage of a small apartment building. From the outside, it appears to be no more than three or four stories above the garage level. The weight of my firearm beneath my shoulder is only outmatched by the familiar feel of my daggers sheathed against my thighs.
Remember what I said about hunters abandoning other hunters? Letting them die to take their territory? I can’t help but feel like that’s exactly what Jack was doing with my sister. What he tried to do to me. Yes, he saved me once and came to pick me up after the tunnels Elijah pulled me from.
But what if all of that was for show? What if I had something he wanted? He could have just been using me until he didn’t need me anymore. Rage and hurt battle for control over me. I’d been blind because I’d hoped to finally have someone in my life who understood.
Someone I could talk to about all the craziness I face night after night as a hunter.
What if he was the one who sent those vampires after me in the alley? If he’d baited me into going to that trailer? It’s entirely possible that he handed over information to the vampires that they then used to track me. And if he had a hand in Delaney’s death…
Reaching down, I toy with the hilt of my blade as Elijah pulls into a spot.
If Jack had anything to do with what happened to Delaney, it’s not going to matter that he helped me once or twice. I’m going to fucking rip him apart.
I’m out before Elijah’s put the car in PARK and stalking toward the stairwell.
“There’s an elevator right here,” Elijah offers, but I shake my head.
“I don’t like elevators if I can avoid them.”
“Noted.”
The heavy metal door opens with a creak, and I move inside, Elijah’s steady presence right behind me. On a good day, I’d never turn my back on a vampire. But today has been shit, and according to my sister—who I trust more than anyone regardless of how fucking pissed I am at her right now—I can trust him.
So I will until I don’t.
Two flights up, we walk through the steel door and onto the second floor. The lights are dim, the red carpet with golden flowers is faded in some spots. Otherwise, I get the impression the building is cleaned regularly.
Two-fifteen, two-twenty, two-twenty one. “Here we are.” I reach up to knock but stop and turn to Elijah. “You may want to do that heart thing you do.”
He nods. “Done.”
I focus in on him, surprised that he managed to flip so quickly. But there it is, beating steadily, a heart no different from that of a human. My eyes travel up his heavily muscled chest, landing on his face.
I’ve gone up against all different types of monsters, but for some reason, the thought of facing my sister’s murderer is far more terrifying. Not because of what he might do but because of what I’m capable of. The edges of my vision waver, and I take a deep breath to control myself. I can’t lose it—not now.
Not yet.
Elijah reaches past me and knocks, his eyes never leaving mine. Dropping my hand, I swallow hard and turn toward the door.
Jack pulls it open, his smile falling when he sees Elijah behind me. “This is a surprise.”
“Can we come in?” I ask, barely leashing my rage.
“Sure.” He steps aside so Elijah and I can get into the apartment. I stand right beside the vampire, who stands about two inches taller than Jack.
“I’m Jack,” he says, holding out a hand.
Elijah doesn’t say a word, nor does he move.
“Okay, what’s going on, Rainey? What’s with the human muscle?”
Good. No suspicions. “It’s been a long couple of days.” I turn and walk further into Jack’s apartment. It’s sparsely decorated. A duffel bag sits open on the small, round table. “Hey, did I ever mention to you that I had a sister?” I ask, turning to face him.
There it is. The twitch just beneath his eye. As I’ve mentioned before, everyone has a tell, no matter how damned good they think they are. “No, you didn’t.”
Bad move. “I did. She was brutally murdered in an alleyway two years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says tightly.
“Thanks.” I pull out one of my daggers, palming the hilt and running the tip beneath my fingernails. “How long have you been in town?”
Jack crosses both arms and glances up at Elijah, who’s stayed rooted in the same spot by the door since we came in. “I thought we covered this? I typically hunt lycans. I’m here because of the surge in activity.”
“And how long have you been here? Simple question, Jack.”
“I didn’t realize this was an interrogation.” He’s handsome, ruggedly so. Is that how you were able to trick her? She wanted companionship—affection—and you gave it to her?
“It doesn’t have to be.” I get to my feet and walk toward him. “If you’d give me some answers.”
“And what answers would those be?”
“My sister was out with a hunter named Jack the night she died.” His eyes widen. “Seems awfully coincidental to me.”
Jack swallows hard, his silence deafening.
“You’re going to want to be completely honest with me, Jack. I’m done with the fucking lies.”
“I didn’t lie,” he says finally. “I just omitted.”
“Same damn thing,” I growl.
“I knew Delaney,” he says.
“You fucking knew her? There’s your answer, Rainey, time to fucking kill him.” Elijah snaps. I turn my attention to him, completely taken aback by the level of anger on his face. Every muscle in his body is rigid, ready to pounce if only given the command. A beast on a chain—a very, very, short chain.
“Not yet.” I turn back to Jack. “How did you know her?”
He glares at Elijah, then looks back to me. “We met on a hunt about four years before she was killed,” he answers, begrudgingly.
“You expect me to believe my sister knew you for four years and didn’t bother to mention you to me?”
He shrugs. “Honestly, I’m not surprised at all.”
“And why the hell is that?”
He bites down on his bottom lip and shakes his head. “It’s not my place.”
In a move I’m pretty damn sure he didn’t anticipate, I lunge for him and wrap my hand around his throat, slamming him back into the wall.
Blue eyes shine with rage, but he makes no move against me. “My sister was slaughtered in a fucking alley, so you damn well better start telling me what I want to know or I swear you will meet the same fate.” In demonstrating, I use my free hand and raise my blade, pressing it against his chest.
He glares at me. “Your sister didn’t feel comfortable talking to you about the supernatural world,” he says. “She didn’t think you could handle it, given your drive to have a normal life.” I release him and step back, his words slamming into me like a fucking battering ram.
My head whips to Elijah, but the look on his face confirms Jack’s words. “Let me get this straight,” I say, drowning in my own emotions. “You expect me to believe my sister trusted you two assholes more than me?”
Jack’s gaze flies to Elijah’s. “You knew Delaney?”
“You don
’t get to ask the questions!” I roar. My vision wavers, my legs feeling heavy and unsteady all at the same time—a feeling I know all too well by now. A blackout is coming. And I can’t say I much mind considering how pissed I am at Jack right now. My blade clatters to the floor while I fight to remain in control as the blackout tries to drag me down, the weight of my anger—not only at Delaney or either of the men standing in here now—but also at myself.
Because deep down, I know Jack is right. My sister needed me at her side, and I abandoned her—abandoned my legacy—because I wanted nothing to do with it. Because I foolishly believed I could have a normal life.
Rage burns a hole through me and I shut my eyes, determined to remain standing when all I want to do is give up. After all, maybe dying as my sister did is what I deserve for abandoning her.
“Rainey!”
Someone yells my name, so I open my eyes to stare up into Elijah’s concerned ice-blue gaze. He’s straddling me, his hands pinning my wrists to the ground. I can’t remember how we got here, but my confusion is drowned out by my fury. Rage burns through me hot and fresh. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I hiss and fight against his hold, bucking my hips in a futile attempt to get him the hell off of me. Unfortunately for me, he might as well be a steel band pinning me to Jack’s floor.
“What the fuck just happened to you?”
A fresh bruise blooms on Elijah’s cheek, his bottom lip split wide open.
“Nothing, but if you don’t get the hell off of me, I’m going to make sure something happens to you,” I growl.
He stares down at me a brief moment longer before getting up and stepping back. He doesn’t offer to help me up, and as I survey the apartment, I can’t blame him. The entire place is destroyed. Windows broken, walls dented, sheetrock dust covers the carpet.
A lamp is on the floor in broken shards, and Jack is standing in the kitchen, a huge gash in his chest. He stares at me, confusion and, if I’m not mistaken—a little fear in his gaze. “What the hell happened in here?” I ask. How did I miss—“Oh, shit.”
Elijah crosses his arms. “I’d say oh shit is an understatement for whatever the hell just happened to you.”
Blood Hunt Page 14