Chapter Seven

“You didn’t tell me you were so popular,” Asher got out just as they were attacked en masse. He retrieved two knives and threw them in one single motion, impaling two of the assailants in the chest, narrowly missing their hearts. It slowed them down but didn’t stop them.

“What can I say?” She ducked beneath the arm of one and came up swinging her sword. It cut a swath across her opponent’s back but didn’t dig deep. The wound healed almost as soon as the blade was lifted. “It’s a gift.”

Fighting was something he’d always done alone. A burden he’d carried for more centuries than he cared to remember. Fighting alongside Jo was completely different. Knowing he’d have to kill didn’t weigh on his soul as heavily with her beside him.

But it did give him something to lose.

Asher attacked the two he’d knifed. They had to die as fast as possible in order to even the odds. He might be old and almost invincible, but she wasn’t.

Throwing caution to the wind, and assuming she was too busy fighting to notice, he allowed the nails of both hands to morph into long, deadly claws.

One of the guys stopped trying to yank the knife out of his chest and stared. “You’re one of us.”

“I’ll never be one of you.” He rammed his fist through his opponent’s rib cage, driving the knife out the other side of the guy’s body, gripped the heart, and yanked it out before tossing it aside. The man went down.

The second one tried to run. Asher almost let him go, but he had to die. He’d come here tonight to kill Jo. There was no coming back from that.

The vamp took a quick look over his shoulder as he ran, fear etched on his face. It was always a shock to the newly turned to realize they still weren’t the apex predators on the planet. Too bad this particular one wouldn’t get the chance to learn from his newfound knowledge.

Putting on a burst of speed, Asher ran down his prey. He didn’t bother trying to get in front of him, but simply slammed his fist through the runner’s back. It didn’t matter how he got the heart, only that he did.

By the time he spun back around, less than a minute had passed.

Jo was still battling and holding her own, but there was no way she could win unless she got in a lucky strike. Fatigue would eventually take a toll as there was no letup. Sweat beaded on her brow but she didn’t even try to swipe it away. The sword whipped through the air, slicing at each of her attackers in turn. With her back to the wall, they couldn’t get behind her. It was a clever tactic, and one that proved her experience.

“I’m going to enjoy your blood,” the vamp that had originally spoken said as he licked his lips.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” she shot back.

Asher went straight for the other guy while the big talker was occupied. He slammed his fist through the guy’s back and yanked out his heart. Fast and brutal and very effective.

Unfortunately, it drew the attention of the remaining vamp. He released a howl and jumped toward Jo. Distracted by what Asher had just done, she wasn’t able to avoid the attack.

He dragged her in front of him, one arm wrapped around her neck and the other around her waist. “Whatcha gonna do now?” he taunted. “And why the fuck are you with this hunter bitch? You’re like us.”

Now that was downright insulting. “As I told your former colleague before he so suddenly passed, I’m nothing like you.”

“The question you need to ask is not what he’ll do to you,” Jo interjected, “but what I’m going to do.” With that, her arm shot up and back. The knife she’d retrieved while he’d distracted the vamp slammed into the guy’s neck. A gurgling sound escaped his lips, but he didn’t release her.

The muscles in his arms constricted. He was going to slay her and take his chances.

“Stop!” Asher threw every ounce of might and ability at his disposal into the command.

The vamp froze in place. So did Jo. Her eyes were wide, her face pale.

His eyes were blazing red, an unfortunate side effect of using that much power. “Release her,” he demanded.

The attacker strained with everything he had, but his arm slowly moved away from Jo’s throat. Asher reached out and yanked her toward him.

“Everything will be fine,” he assured her as he cradled her against him. “But I need answers. We need answers.” There was no way he could release her. She’d either try to kill him or run. He’d make it up to her later.

“Who are you?” he demanded of the would-be assassin.

The muscles in the vamp’s jaw and throat rippled. “Harrison Rucker.”

“Harrison, you picked the wrong hunter to fuck with.”

“Didn’t know the bitch had protection,” he managed to get out.

“Harrison, Harrison, Harrison.” He shook his head in mock sympathy. “She’d have kicked your ass if I hadn’t stopped her. Really, you should thank me.”

Harrison’s face turned an interesting shade of puce. Jo was scowling at him, too. No doubt furious with him for lying to her. Well, not exactly lying, just not telling her the whole truth.

“Who hired you?” The only reason he was still alive was that they needed information.

Jo was staring daggers at the remaining creature, just as interested as Asher.

Harrison tried to shrug but couldn’t move no matter how much he tried. “This isn’t possible.”

Feeling his age, he sighed. “It’s very possible. No matter how strong or badass you think you are, there is always someone else bigger or badder. Who hired you?”

“Got an email. Said where she’d be and how much I’d get if I did the job.”

“You came here based on an email?” They’d done the same, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“Money to off a hunter? Fucking right we came to check it out.” Harrison was talking easier, working to release himself from the partial thrall that Asher had on him. He wasn’t going to walk away from this confrontation, but the thought that he could might loosen his tongue.

“How would you get paid?”

“We send proof. They deposit the money.”

Asher’s harsh laugh echoed among the deserted buildings. “No, whoever sent you knew I’d be here. Jo was bait. They knew if you murdered her, I’d end you. That I’d kill you just for attacking. They never had any intention of paying you.”

This plot was getting thicker by the second. Ignoring Harrison’s protests, he rifled through his captive’s pockets and withdrew his phone.

He checked through the emails and found what he’d expected. “Anonymous. Same as the ones we’ve received,” he told Jo as he pocketed the device. Not that she had anything to say to him. Lips compressed, she glared.

“That it?” He could shred Harrison’s mind but was hesitant to do so in front of her. Bad enough she now realized he was a vampire without giving her any idea of the true scope of his abilities.

In truth, he could have dropped all of them with a thought, but he couldn’t be fully sure she wouldn’t have gotten caught in the backlash. Expending that much energy always had some residual effects no matter how precise he was.

And truthfully, he’d been hoping to avoid her finding out about his true identity for a while longer.

“That’s it. Let me go, man,” Harrison pleaded.

“How many innocents have you slaughtered while they pleaded?” he asked. This wasn’t his first kill. The fact he took a job without fully understanding what he was getting into proved he was bloodthirsty.

“What do you care? They’re just humans.”

No matter how long he lived, they always said the same things, used the same justifications. “You were one once. You have family and friends.”

A brief flicker, quickly gone.

“I was weak.”

“You still are.” Prolonging things wasn’t helping any of them. Duty called, and he had never shirked doing what needed to be done. “For your crimes against humanity,” he stated. He slammed his hand forward, driving it through the vampire’s chest, his fingers closing around the still pulsing heart. Giving a hard yank, he pulled it out and tossed it aside. Harrison toppled forward, landing at his feet.

“What the fuck?” Jo moved as soon as he dropped the compulsion. Sword raised, she stared at him with something akin to fear in her eyes. “You’re a vampire. You’re a fucking vampire.”

He inclined his head even as his soul shriveled. “Of a sort.”

“But you were out in the sunshine. You ate real food. How is that even possible? Your kind dies when exposed to the sun. They survive on blood. Food is poison to them.”

Every single one of the long years Asher had lived pushed down on him, until the weight threatened to crush him.

A vast ocean of time. Mountains of death. Nothing but responsibility.

“I told you. I’m special.” The joke fell flat. There was no roll of her eyes or exasperated sigh. Not this time.

“What are you?” The horror in her voice almost broke him.

“It’s a very long story. We need to get out of here in case there are more of them lurking around.” If he’d been in charge of this kind of operation, he’d have left at least one as a lookout. Of course he’d always worked alone, so what did he really know?

The back of his neck itched. Were they under surveillance even now?

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She raised the crossbow. Sorrow seemed to bleed from her pores. “I’m sorry. I really am.” With that, she fired twice.

He caught both bolts in quick succession. Placing them in one hand, he held them out to her. “In case you need them.”

Giving a shake of her head, she backed away from him. What remained of his heart withered, much like a vampire’s did when they died. He tucked the bolts into an inner coat pocket.

“We need to check their pockets for identification and phones. Anything that might help us uncover who is behind all this.” Just because she was done with him didn’t mean he was done with her. No matter what she thought of him, he would watch over her to his last breath.

Turning his back on her, he walked to the body farthest away, mostly to give himself some breathing space. A search turned up a wallet and phone. A ring and chain lay on the ground. He scooped them up to dump later. The money he found was left in the coat pocket. There were plenty of homeless in the area. They’d put the clothes and money to good use. The jewelry was too identifiable if any of their friends came looking.

While he might be pretending to ignore Jo, he was very aware of her stealthy movements. He dropped and rolled in time to keep his head from being cleaved from his body. Her sword made a low whoosh as it cut nothing but air.

Her pupils were dilated, her lips a firm line of determination. She’d faced down the attackers with steady hands. The last thing he’d ever wanted was to cause her distress. Good intentions or not, he had.

“I’m sorry.” More than she’d ever comprehend. They barely knew each other, but there was something about her that filled the emptiness inside him, drove back the darkness.

Maybe that was the point of all of this.

“I’m the target, not you,” he told her.

“I don’t understand any of this.” A single bead of sweat trailed down her cheek. She swiped it away.

“I’ll explain everything as soon as I clean up this mess.” He slowly came to his feet. “Know this one thing. I will never do anything to harm you.” Slowly, he reached out and touched his fingers to her face. She was deathly pale, which worried him.

…

Jo inwardly trembled while outwardly remaining strong. It was only partially out of fear. A part of her was still drawn to him. He’d been in her home. She’d slept with him beside her. And he was a vampire.

Or was he?

He’d been out in the sunlight. Had eaten actual food. Something she’d never heard of or seen before. And her research was extensive. As was her personal experience.

Whatever he was, he was dangerous. Being frozen in place had been horrifying. Able to hear and see everything but unable to move a single muscle. For someone who relied on their strength and motor skills, it was torture of the worst kind.

And he’d done it without blinking.

She swallowed heavily and took a deep breath, trying to get air into her constricted lungs. I can do this.

There wasn’t any other choice.

While she was standing there fighting to regain her composure, he’d collected the rest of the personal belongings of the creatures he’d ashed and tossed the clothes and boots into a nearby dumpster.

She was split in two. One part of her was standing here; the other seemed to be removed, watching everything unfold from afar. Some portion of her brain recognized she was in shock.

Asher had called her bait. Fury rose like a wildfire within her, spreading out to her limbs and taking heat and determination with it. She was nobody’s bait, no fucking lamb to be dragged to the slaughter. When she found whoever was behind the emails, they’d pay.

They needed to get to the bottom of this.

Her gut clenched, and she swallowed heavily. Whatever was going on was beyond her experience. Someone had put a price on her head. The food she’d eaten earlier churned in her stomach. She placed a hand over it and took a calming breath. She was going to have to work with Asher.

Like it or not, she needed him. He had skills and resources she didn’t. Being a hacker was probably the least of them.

There was no point in running. He knew where she lived. Plus, she had no doubt he’d catch her if she tried to slip away.

If he’d planned to hurt her, he’d had ample opportunity. And motive. She had tried to kill him. Twice. That hadn’t even fazed him.

Then there was the simmering attraction between them. Denying it wouldn’t make it go away. She knew the way he kissed, the languid warmth it sent cascading through her. The touch of his hands on her face, the proprietary way he’d pressed his hand to the base of her spine as they’d strolled down the sidewalk.

And she liked him.

There. She’d admitted it. He was witty and funny and made her want to laugh and smile even when she was annoyed and angry with him.

He wasn’t a normal vampire. So, what was he? Power flowed through his veins like water. It had filled the air around her, freezing her in place along with the vampire.

Asher was one scary dude.

“Ready?” he asked.

Was she ready to head into the unknown with him? Not really. But there really was no other choice. On her own, she was easy pickings for a group of vamps. And with someone out there putting up a shit ton of money to have her put down, there were going to be more.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” She sheathed her sword and held out her hand.

Without her having to ask, he placed the two crossbow bolts in her open palm. She tucked them away and adjusted her coat to cover her weapons. A quick scan of the area assured her they were leaving no trace behind.

A shiver snaked down her spine and made her search deeper into the shadows. Now her mind was playing games with her. There was nothing out there. Asher would know.

But would he tell her?

“Sorry for not helping.” She needed to pull her weight. It was difficult to act normal, but she had to try.

“You more than held your own.”

“Don’t patronize me,” she snapped. There was a whole hell of a lot she’d tolerate but not that.

“I’m not.” Dark eyes narrowing, he frowned. “You held off two attackers while I handled the others. You discovered I wasn’t exactly what you thought I was and then were held in thrall while I interrogated and destroyed the final one.” His frown turned into the slightest grin. “Then you tried to kill me. Twice. I admire the dedication.”

He was crazy. Maybe they both were. “Would have been three if I’d had my flamethrower,” she tossed out without thought.

Asher threw back his head and laughed, exposing the strong column of his neck. The sound of delight warmed her core. His smile was infectious, making her own lips turn up slightly before she caught herself. “That’s my hunter.” The possessiveness in his tone wasn’t lost on her. Her toes curled in her boots.

“Would it have worked?” curiosity made her ask.

“What? The flamethrower?”

She nodded.

He shook his head. “No.”

A vampire who could easily catch steel bolts midair and was strong enough to hold another in his thrall? No, it probably wouldn’t have worked.

He’d said it before, and she’s laughed at his audacious claim, but he really was special.

And on that note, “We need each other to figure this out. We need to work together.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he told her.

“Only work. Nothing more.” The rules she’d laid down for herself existed for a reason. Getting chummy with anyone opened her up to a world of pain.

Not that they had anything resembling a normal relationship. They’d shared a few steamy kisses, but nothing more.

And he’d saved her life. Multiple times. Not to mention he was the only man who’d ever slept in her bed.

“Whatever you say.”

She wasn’t buying his easy acceptance. He might come across as laid-back, but that was nothing more than camouflage to mask the true predator lurking beneath.

“I have to assume my apartment is compromised if the person who brought us together is sending a hit squad after me.” And wasn’t that a pleasant thought.

“We go to my place.”

“Is that really any safer?”

“Yes.” He held one arm out to point the way without touching her. “And it’s time to pull out the big guns.”

Jo stalked back toward the busy streets of the city, not sure she really wanted to know exactly what that meant. She cast one final glance over her shoulder, unable to shake the eerie sensation of being stalked.