He flinched. “Come again?”
I squared my shoulders. “You invaded my privacy by reading my text message. That’s not okay.”
“What happened to you? What happened to the girl who got excited about hunting? Last I knew, you hated vampires, and now, you’re sleeping with one.” His voice grew in volume with each sentence.
My jaw practically came unhinged. “Who said I was sleeping with a vampire?” I muttered several swear words under my breath. I would strangle whoever told him. Given Noah’s snarky comment that morning, I was beginning to believe Rianne had told Noah. The text from Sam hadn’t indicated anything other than his concern for me.
His folded arms rested on his belly as he cocked an eyebrow. “Are you?”
Usually, my uncle didn’t ask a question he didn’t already know the answer to. I’d seen him grill his kids when they did something wrong. He wanted to hear the truth from them. But I wasn’t his daughter.
“Is this why you’re resurrecting the family business? Because you think I slept with a bloodsucker?”
“I suggest you choose sides.”
My eyes widened so much that pain pulsed above my eyebrows. “Choose sides? So if I bat for the vampires, you will what? Hunt me down? Kill me?” If I did carry the vampire gene, I was beginning to believe that my uncles would send me to my grave.
His face reddened. “You will not be part of this family anymore. Either get on board or get out.”
I wasn’t planning on staying, anyway. “While we’re on the topic of family, Aunt Tab told me you stopped hunting because you got spooked over my father’s death—but you said it was because of finances and building a better life. I might believe the latter, but you’re not one to get spooked. What’s the real story, Uncle Jack?” I doubted, with his tough bravado, he would ever admit he was frightened. To his wife, sure. But not to anyone else.
His shoulders lowered slightly. “There is no story. Your father’s death was a wake-up call for all of us. Frankly, I had to reevaluate what we were doing.” He stared at the truck, seemingly reliving the grief over his brother.
“And now you’re ready to hunt again?”
Blinking, he impaled me with a stern expression. “After what I saw on that naval base and from that Roman vampire, I realize it’s time, especially after Rianne filled Noah in on a few things that happened.”
I gaped. “She did?” I said more to jar the rock loose in my throat. Things made sense now. I held my stomach, suddenly feeling queasy. I didn’t want to believe Rianne had betrayed me. Swallowing hard, I pushed my fingers into my chest. My lungs constricted, making it hard to breathe.
He scrubbed a hand over his mouth and down his chin. “It’s time to do something with your life, Layla. Rianne is joining the military. Jordyn mentioned she’s interviewing for a job at the tech company Carly works at in Chicago. You need to choose a path, and one that doesn’t involve sleeping with vampires.”
I fisted my hands at my sides. “Look, Uncle Jack, what I do is none of your business.”
My brain had whiplash from such an eye-opening conversation. I was even miffed about why Jordyn hadn’t told me about her job interview with Jack Jr.’s wife, Carly. My uncle’s look-alike oldest son had taken off for Chicago right after he got married and not long after my father had died. Jordyn must’ve spoken to Carly.
He studied me with equal parts pity and derision.
Screw his pity. I made the decision to sleep with Sam, and I was not about to tremble or shy away from Uncle Jack’s scrutiny. Since he already knew secondhand about Sam and me, I wanted to see his true reaction when he heard it from me. Besides, it was time to own my shit, to lay things out so he understood who I was. Then I could move the fuck on.
“You want me to choose sides? Well, my side is not here.” I stabbed a finger toward the ground. “I appreciate you coming to our rescue in Massachusetts. To be honest, the only reason why I came here was to prevent a war from breaking out between you and the Masons. You want to hear me say I slept with a vampire? I did, and I have no regrets.”
I swore steam blew from his nose as a muscle ticked in his jaw.
But I wasn’t done yet. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is stopping vampires like Roman Brown. I can see why you would want to hunt again.” I lost my sarcastic tone and softened my voice, hoping I could at least make him understand we were on the same side. “Uncle Jack, spending time with the vampire military was eye-opening. Did you know that there are half-breeds out there because of an experiment gone wrong five years ago? Did you know that the Masons stopped their enemy from turning humans into vampires to build a super army?” I took a breath.
I couldn’t discern yet whether he was hung up on my admission that I’d slept with a vampire. But I used his silence to continue. “I want the same thing as you. To live in a world where we can be free not to fear vampires and shifters and whatever other supernatural being is out there. That’s what the vampire government is trying to do. They protect humanity.” I paused once again, hoping for some reaction from him. But his expression was stone-cold.
“I understand you, Uncle Ray, and my dad had been arguing over a woman at the Deer and Elk not long before my dad died. Who was she? Was he dating her? Or were you arguing about my dad working for Steven Mason? Or my dad turning Sam Mason over to the CIA?”
He flinched out of his zombie state. “CIA? What are you talking about? Why would your dad turn a vampire over to them? That’s insane. They would only….” He started pacing.
“Build super soldiers,” I said.
He nodded.
Finally, something we agreed on. “You see? We can’t let that happen. If we are true hunters who protect humans and our loved ones, then we need to work with those who want the same thing as us. We can’t allow any part of the human government or rogue vampires to get their hands on someone like Sam Mason.”
He stopped in his tracks and glowered. “What are you saying? That you plan on working with them? Or you just want to continue to sleep with one of them?”
