“Kill humans myself?”
“Yes.” She hadn’t wanted to ask, in part because she wasn’t sure she would like his answer.
“I don’t feed from humans or prey upon them as vampires do. But, as you saw tonight, I will kill any human who threatens me or mine.”
Which had it been tonight, she wondered, me or mine? Then called herself a fool. “But, you do need blood?”
“Yes. I assume Richart gave me blood while I was unconscious?”
She nodded. “He, ah, bit your wrist and fed you or whatever.”
“Normally we receive sustenance from blood bags. The humans who work with us also donate blood regularly, so we don’t feed directly from humans unless extreme circumstances drive us to do so.”
Drinking blood. Gross.
“We don’t drink the blood,” he said. “Our fangs carry it straight to our veins.”
Right. That’s what Richart had said. “Are you reading my thoughts again?”
“No. Your face sort of scrunched up with disgust.”
“Oh. Sorry about that.” It wasn’t his fault he needed blood.
He smiled.
Damn, he was handsome when he smiled.
Hell, he was handsome when he didn’t.
Etienne leaned forward a bit. “Listen, about the humans who aid us . . .”
It was so weird, hearing that there were other humans out there who knew about all of this. “Yes?”
“Their top priority is to protect us, to protect immortals, or Immortal Guardians as they call us.”
Wasn’t that sort of backward? The weaker mortals protecting the powerful immortals? “They protect you?”
“Yes. They have a vested interest in doing so. After all, we’re the only thing keeping vampires from slaughtering humans unchecked. And we’ve been fighting to protect humans for millennia. So, the network—”
“The network?”
“That’s what we call the organization of humans who aid us. The network not only provides us with blood, it protects our identities and keeps the general public from finding out that vampires, immortals, and gifted ones exist. Our ability to hunt and destroy vampires would be severely inhibited, if not halted altogether, if mankind learned about us and began to hunt us.”
“But wouldn’t they help you if they knew? Why would you think they would . . . ?” A sickening dread soured her stomach as she recalled the way those soldiers had gone after Etienne earlier. “Is that what happened at Duke? Humans found out about you?”
He nodded. “We dealt with another such threat recently, but quashed it. I’m certain we quashed it. The attack tonight should not have happened. Should not even be possible. No mortals outside of the network should know about us.”
“Except, those solders did. And . . .” Oh, crap. “I do.”
“Precisely.” He shifted the arm resting on the back of the futon and cupped her shoulder in his large hand. The warmth of it still caught her off guard. She had assumed vampires—and immortals now that she knew about them—would be cold to the touch.
“The network is going to want to talk to you,” he told her somberly. And the concern on his face made her nervous. She had thought vampires were the biggest threat to her. His face said something different.
“You say talk,” she voiced. “I hear interrogate and make disappear.”
“It won’t be like that.”
“Are you sure? Because you look worried.”
“I’m not worried.” He looked away, muttered something in French, then turned back to her. “All right. I won’t lie to you. I am worried. The head of the East Coast division of the human network can be ruthless when it comes to protecting us from perceived mortal threats.”
Alarm rose. “You aren’t reassuring me. Are you saying I should run? That we should run? Because Sean knows about this, too.”
“No, don’t run. It wouldn’t do you any good. Chris could find a white dove in a blizzard.”
“Who is Chris?”
“Head of the network.”
“Great.”
“I don’t mean to scare you, Krysta. As long as you don’t view us, Immortal Guardians, as the bad guys and start hunting us, then everything should be fine. In fact, once Chris finds out you’re both gifted ones and that you can successfully hunt vampires, he will likely want to recruit you.”
That was a lot to take in. And could potentially be a good thing. How cool would it be to have other people working with her to eradicate the vampire menace? And to maybe even get paid for it?
Paid. Awesome.
“That sounds pretty good, actually.”
“Yes, it does,” he agreed. “You and Sean would fare much better if you worked for the network and had their support.”
“Then why don’t you look happy about it?”
“Because until he assures himself that you and your brother pose no threat to us, Chris will be a hard-nosed bastard and I don’t want him to upset you.”
Etienne was upset because he didn’t want her to be upset?
That was so sweet. It made her feel all mushy inside. And made her wonder . . . “Why?” she asked. “Why would it bother you so much if I were upset?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head and fingered a strand of her hair. “Because I like you far more than I should.”
Her heart began to pound once more. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
And she thought it wasn’t? She had spent the past six years hunting down and destroying men infected with the same virus that infected Etienne. She was pretty much going on faith here that he wasn’t like them, though his words and actions were pretty damned convincing. Plus . . .
He was immortal.
She was mortal.
Liking each other too much could have some serious consequences.
He gave her a faint smile. “You mimicked my thoughts so closely I may as well have spoken them aloud.”
“Stop reading my thoughts,” she murmured without heat or anger.
“Stop broadcasting them,” he said, equally hushed. “You haven’t told me your gift, Krysta.”
She did not want to go there. “Could we maybe save that for another time?” Everyone she had ever told (outside of her family—and there had been precious few) had thought her a nutcase.
“If you wish. But you will receive no mockery or condemnation from me when you do. I’ve dealt with the surreal and paranormal all of my life. Very little surprises me anymore.”
“Fine.” Hoping he would be the one person who wouldn’t think she either needed a straitjacket or was bullshitting, she drew in a deep breath, ordered herself not to feel hurt if he laughed, and said, “I can see auras.”
“Auras. The glowing colors some say surround people? Those are real?”
She breathed a little easier. He sounded curious, not doubtful. “Yes.”
“How does that help you hunt?”
“What do you mean?”
“The only mortals who can hold their own in battles with vampires are gifted ones whose particular talents give them some kind of edge. How does reading auras help you?”
She hesitated, wanting to tell him, but . . .
He smiled. “Not quite ready to trust?”
“This is all a lot to take in. I just don’t want to—”
“Don’t worry,” he said, touching her shoulder again. “I understand and can wait for you to tell me in your own time.” He winked. “No need to share all of our secrets at once.”
Which implied he thought they would be spending more time with each other and could share secrets later.
The notion pleased Krysta far more than it should.
Chapter 6
“Who are you and why are you sniffing after Ami?”
Zach raised an eyebrow at the question and fought back a smile when Roland’s wife grimaced.
“Really, sweetie? You couldn’t have worded that a little less . . .”
“Offensively?” Lisette suggested.
“Thank you.”
“No,” Roland grumbled, scowling. “Answer the question. What do you want from Ami?”
Zach arched a brow. “Lollipops?”
Sarah grabbed Roland’s arm and stopped him as he drew back a foot to level a powerful kick Zach’s way. “Honey, you know Seth doesn’t like fighting amongst the ranks. What’s he going to do if this one shows up bloodied?”
Roland glared at Zach. “He’s immortal. As long as I don’t remove a limb, he’ll heal before Seth sees him.”
Zach felt Lisette’s gaze. She had been quiet since he had awakened. The second time. He had awoken this morning, but, upon realizing she had gone, had feigned unconsciousness all day until sheer boredom had coaxed him into sleeping for real. When he had opened his eyes the second time, she had been standing nearby, talking to her brother on the phone.
Her pulse had picked up a bit when she had noticed he was awake. Unfortunately, the only words she had spoken before her friends’ arrival had been into the phone to Roland, alerting him to Zach’s return to consciousness. The rest of the time she had merely studied Zach silently with those piercing, light brown eyes.
And, much to his confusion, Zach had found studying her as entertaining as engaging in conversation.
“Are you immortal?” she asked, finally speaking to him directly.
“Yes.” It was an honest answer, he told himself.
“I can’t smell the virus on you,” she stated.
He shrugged, rattling the heavy chains. “Can you smell it on Seth?”
“No.”
“You don’t have to answer his questions, Lisette,” Roland uttered. “This isn’t a free exchange of information. It’s a demand for it.”
Lisette’s brow furrowed.
Sarah tilted her head. “How old are you?”
Zach looked at Roland. “Old enough to make him seem young.”