fine so far. They saved me, Royce. I’m going with them.”
He growled softly in frustration, gesturing for the other vampires to back up. Most of them did, one or two staying at his side. I recognized the one on the left as his lieutenant, John, who didn’t look very happy. His gaze slid from me to the interior of the house, and I looked back to make sure there weren’t any baddies sneaking up. The room behind us was empty. My paranoia wasn’t appeased, however–I still had a bunch of trigger-happy fanatics on one side of me and a crowd of pissed off, hungry-looking vampires on the other.
Royce stared at me for quite a while, his black gaze as piercing as, and more unnerving than, Max’s. Somehow I managed not to waver, meeting his eyes and keeping my expression as neutral as possible. Hard to think of him as a monster, looking so human in jeans and a casual-but-tailored shirt, hair swept out of his face by the wind rustling through the trees surrounding the house. Unlike the other vamps, he wasn’t outwardly ruffled, showing no hint of his fangs and no trace of red in his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He was studying me with such a bland expression that we might as well have been discussing the weather over coffee. But I still couldn’t meet his eyes; it was obvious by his gaze alone that he was still intensely scrutinizing me, maybe gauging what I felt about him after talking to Max. Or maybe he was trying too hard not to show interest in the damage to my neck.
It was hard to see the man in front of me as the murderous beast Max had described, the same one who’d come within a hairsbreadth of drinking my blood less than twenty-four hours ago. He was here to save me. All these vamps at his back weren’t here to kill me. They were here to help him get me free. Well, more likely to help him tear Max and his cronies into itty-bitty pieces.
What had he intended to do once he got me out? If he had gotten to me before the White Hats, would he have tried turning me? Somehow I couldn’t picture him giving me a lift home and dropping me off with simple admonitions to watch my back.
Eventually he relaxed a trifle, waving a dismissing hand. “Fine. For the time being, go with them. I do want a chance to speak with you about this. I’ll be calling you later, as soon as I’m done here.”
Oh, whatever. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend. I frowned at him in disapproval. “Max took my cell phone.”
“I see. I’ll be in touch, then.”
How? I shook my head, not wanting to think about it any longer, tugging lightly on my savior’s hand to lead him and the rest of the White Hats past the vamps. None of the vampires or hunters looked very happy about it. Royce’s followers watched us go with naked hunger in their eyes. If Royce hadn’t kept them in check, I had no doubt they would’ve fallen on us like a pack of ravenous dogs the instant we came into view in that doorway.
Once the last hunter was clear of the shattered doors, the vampires spilled in with Royce in the lead, disappearing into the house using that unearthly speed of theirs. The hunters kept their weapons trained on the vamps, staying close to each other. Obviously they didn’t trust that one or more of those monsters might not decide to grab a snack before battling Max’s minions. Honestly, I didn’t totally trust that they wouldn’t try something like that either.
I shuddered once the last of them was out of sight. The guy at my side gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, his words punctuated with sofft, shaky laughter. “That was really something. For a second there I thought we were toast.”
“For some reason, Royce has a soft spot for me,” I said, my laughter wavering more than his. “It’d be a shitty way to stay in my good graces if he went and killed all the people who saved me just because they got here first.”
He nodded, his nervousness fading as he gave me a lopsided smile. “The name’s Devon, by the
He growled softly in frustration, gesturing for the other vampires to back up. Most of them did, one or two staying at his side. I recognized the one on the left as his lieutenant, John, who didn’t look very happy. His gaze slid from me to the interior of the house, and I looked back to make sure there weren’t any baddies sneaking up. The room behind us was empty. My paranoia wasn’t appeased, however–I still had a bunch of trigger-happy fanatics on one side of me and a crowd of pissed off, hungry-looking vampires on the other.
Royce stared at me for quite a while, his black gaze as piercing as, and more unnerving than, Max’s. Somehow I managed not to waver, meeting his eyes and keeping my expression as neutral as possible. Hard to think of him as a monster, looking so human in jeans and a casual-but-tailored shirt, hair swept out of his face by the wind rustling through the trees surrounding the house. Unlike the other vamps, he wasn’t outwardly ruffled, showing no hint of his fangs and no trace of red in his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He was studying me with such a bland expression that we might as well have been discussing the weather over coffee. But I still couldn’t meet his eyes; it was obvious by his gaze alone that he was still intensely scrutinizing me, maybe gauging what I felt about him after talking to Max. Or maybe he was trying too hard not to show interest in the damage to my neck.
It was hard to see the man in front of me as the murderous beast Max had described, the same one who’d come within a hairsbreadth of drinking my blood less than twenty-four hours ago. He was here to save me. All these vamps at his back weren’t here to kill me. They were here to help him get me free. Well, more likely to help him tear Max and his cronies into itty-bitty pieces.
What had he intended to do once he got me out? If he had gotten to me before the White Hats, would he have tried turning me? Somehow I couldn’t picture him giving me a lift home and dropping me off with simple admonitions to watch my back.
Eventually he relaxed a trifle, waving a dismissing hand. “Fine. For the time being, go with them. I do want a chance to speak with you about this. I’ll be calling you later, as soon as I’m done here.”
Oh, whatever. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend. I frowned at him in disapproval. “Max took my cell phone.”
“I see. I’ll be in touch, then.”
How? I shook my head, not wanting to think about it any longer, tugging lightly on my savior’s hand to lead him and the rest of the White Hats past the vamps. None of the vampires or hunters looked very happy about it. Royce’s followers watched us go with naked hunger in their eyes. If Royce hadn’t kept them in check, I had no doubt they would’ve fallen on us like a pack of ravenous dogs the instant we came into view in that doorway.
Once the last hunter was clear of the shattered doors, the vampires spilled in with Royce in the lead, disappearing into the house using that unearthly speed of theirs. The hunters kept their weapons trained on the vamps, staying close to each other. Obviously they didn’t trust that one or more of those monsters might not decide to grab a snack before battling Max’s minions. Honestly, I didn’t totally trust that they wouldn’t try something like that either.
I shuddered once the last of them was out of sight. The guy at my side gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, his words punctuated with sofft, shaky laughter. “That was really something. For a second there I thought we were toast.”
“For some reason, Royce has a soft spot for me,” I said, my laughter wavering more than his. “It’d be a shitty way to stay in my good graces if he went and killed all the people who saved me just because they got here first.”
He nodded, his nervousness fading as he gave me a lopsided smile. “The name’s Devon, by the
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