Otherwise, Iâd have had you.â
Caleb scoffed. âHardly. Donât flatter yourself or insult me.â He bared his fangs at him. âNow itâs your turn for full disclosure. Give me a reason not to bleed you out at my feet.â
He pulled his sleeve back to show a faint scar where a scar appeared to have been branded at one time. âI was a Hellchaser.â
âWas?â
âEarned my freedom.â He slid his gaze to Nick. âBut youâre right. I have the blood of a Necrodemian, too. Thatâs what youâre reacting to.â
âA what?â Nick asked, trying to follow what was an impossible discussion.
Caleb glanced at him, over his shoulder. âBubba isnât quite as crazy as we thought, Nick. Well, he is, but you know, zombie hunting notwithstanding.⦠Reason why he does some of what he does, and why the things that chase you also chase him? Heâs a natural-born Hell-Hunter. But like you, and unlike his father here, his blood is dormant, which is why I havenât cut his throatâsomething I assure you, I would have done had I known he was one of them .â
Well, that wasnât even a little bit useful to him. Cay was still hogging all the information and Nick was as lost as a three-year-old in a snowstorm.
Caleb lowered the sword and held his hand out to help Dr. Burdette to his feet. âWhich line are you part of?â
âMichaelson.â
Caleb let out a scoffing laugh. âShould have known. That explains so much about Bubba.â
Nick scratched at his ear. âGlad someone knows whatâs going on âcause Iâm all kinds of clueless over here.â
Ignoring him, Caleb held the sword out to Dr. Burdette, hilt first. âKeep that in your pants. Weâre on the same side. Nickâs girlfriend is an Arel.â
His jaw went slack. âHowâs that possible?â
âI ask myself that every morning when I get up and she hasnât killed him. Not so much for being a demon as for being an idiot, but thatâs another discussion.â
Nick sputtered indignantly. âThanks, Cay. Way to bolster my teen ego.â
âYeah, right. Thereâs nothing wrong with the ego of anyone whoâd dare wear that shirt in public and not die instantly of mortification. Or bad-taste poisoning.â Rubbing a hand over his face, Caleb let out a tired breath and turned back toward the doctor. âSo, youâre the real reason Bubbaâs wife and son were murdered?â
Dr. Burdette winced as he straightened some of the items theyâd knocked over. âYeah. It was an old enemy after me. Iâd just left town and thought Iâd covered my tracks, so that none of them could follow me. Somehow, the demon tracked my scent to Michaelâs and found her there alone, with Little Hank.â
Tears welled in his eyes as they filled with utter misery and guilt. The kind that left a mark on the soul, forever. âShe was completely unprepared for what I unknowingly led to her door. And youâve no idea how much I hate myself for what I did to my child and grandchild. What I did to Melissa. I should have told Michael long ago what we were. But I never thought the blood would taint him.â
âHe doesnât know?â Caleb asked.
âNo. How could I tell him after that? Heâd hate me forever for not warning him, and I canât blame him for it. I hate myself enough for both of us.â
Nick saw the same pain play through Calebâs dark eyes. No doubt, he was thinking about his own wife and what had happened to her when heâd left her to fight in a war heâd wanted no part of. An ageless war he was still having to fight, that had cost him everything and left him with nothing, except physical scars, and memories so painful he couldnât stand to think of them.
Not that Nick didnât understand himself. It was the same fate that would eventually claim his
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