He doesn’t look away. “Then you’re not going.”
I turn to Bryce in exasperation, but he’s no help. “Sorry, Sherese. I’m siding with Hunter on this one. You’re not going in alone.”
“Not going in alone? She shouldn’t be going at all,” Ava says, glaring daggers at me.
“I’ll go with you, Sherese,” Raechel calls out. “We can kick some vampire—”
“Angel,” Max rumbles, cutting off her words. She looks up at him hopefully. “No.”
“You’re no fun,” she pouts.
My gaze darts between Hunter and Bryce. “This is a terrible idea. It will never work. They’ll kill you the moment you cross over,ifyou manage to cross into their territory.”
“Then you’d better figure out a way to keep me alive,” he retorts.
I stare at him as anger and frustration build in my chest. “You can’t return.”
“But you can?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.
“Yes! I’m a vampire. I’m connected to Rizo; they won’t kill me. What don’t you get about that?”
He pushes off from the wall, straightening to his full height. “I’m going with Sherese. Better start figuring out a plan to keep us both alive.”
“You’re infuriating.”
He smirks. “Good to know.”
Bryce interrupts our stand-off. “Is there a way to keep him alive, Sherese? He is infuriating, but I’ve grown somewhat attached to him.”
Hunter’s smirk grows, but I look from him to Bryce. “Yes, I can keep him alive.”
Bryce waits a moment. “How?”
“By leaving him behind and going without him.”
Ava sighs. “Sherese, get it through your head. He’s going with. He said it; Bryce said it. It’s a done deal at this point. Now, what do we do to keep him alive? To keep both of you alive.”
I turn back to the rest of the room and see that everybody’s attention is on me. I’m so frustrated right now. I don’t like being backed into a corner. “I don’t know.”
“You’ll figure out something,” Hunter says smugly.
I don’t know what it is, but it just tips me over the edge. I turn to him, wanting to wipe that smug look off his face. He has no idea what he’s getting into. They will literally kill him on sight, and I won’t be able to do a single thing about it.Unless...An idea hits me. “I have an idea,” I tell him. “But you’ll hate it.”
“Will it keep him alive?” Bryce asks.
“I think so.”
“Youthinkso?” Hunter asks.
“Hey, you’re the one who keeps pushing to come. I’m the one who says you’re an idiot and should stay away.” For some reason, my words only cause his smirk to grow.
“If it will keep him alive, he’ll do it,” Bryce interjects.
“He doesn’t even know what it is,” I say, not looking away from Hunter.
“Doesn’t matter,” Bryce says.
“So, what’s the idea?” Raechel asks, breaking our staring contest.
