“Weare listening,” James said seriously.
“There’s something… strange going on with that group. The president, especially, is a bit of an enigma. No one’s ever seen them, no one’s ever heard their voice. Virtus exists to take down monsters for the sake of human preservation, butI don’t think the ones who run the operation are human at all. I think they’re a vampire.”
My heart raced. Memories flooded back to me: Two pairs of blood red eyes lighting up in the darkness. Two people who weren’t touching the wooden stake and the silver chains that nearly took James, Kian, and me down. Two people who saidanothervampire was coming.
They may not have been its leaders, but they’d certainly been vampires. And they’d been working with Dani, a hunter.
Jame’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “What is it, love?”
I took another sip of my tea, letting the warm liquid soothe the ache in my throat before I spoke. “I think he’s onto something.”
“You do?” Gabriel asked incredulously.
I nodded. “I’ve seen vampires and hunters working together. How long have you been working on that theory, Luke?”
“Years,” he admitted, squirming. “Even before I started hunting…” His eyes flickered to the vampire standing behind me.
“Me,” James finished for him.
Luke grimaced. “Is there any level of apology for something like that?”
“You can start by giving us everythingyou’ve got—all of your research, going back to the beginning. Something tells me you didn’t trash it all when you left town.”
Color bloomed over Luke’s cheeks. “No, I didn’t. But I’ve had to keep it extremely well-protected, for obvious reasons. That’s why I live where I do. I can’t risk someone from Virtus finding me.”
“You asked for help and you will have it,” Gabriel decided. “You’ll move in here.” It was a statement, not a question.
“No, I?—”
“I wasn’t asking, Tweety Bird.” I leaned back into James’s arms and watched the interaction. Gabriel tossed his hand in our direction. “These two seem to have targets on their backs, and now you can’t stay where you are. If what you claim about Virtus is true and they come to suspect it, then we need you close, and we need to know where you are at all times.”
“You already have that information, don’t you, you crazed, bloodsucking stalker!”
“All right, you two!” I shouted, immediately regretting it. I pushed through. “Luke, you can’t stay in that shithole apartment. I’m pretty sure that place hasn’t seen a fresh coat of paint since you were in the womb. This place is closer to everything, and this was the deal you made: Information in exchange for protection. That is what that looks like.”
Luke closed his eyes and when they reopened, he looked at Gabriel. “I’m not sharing a bed with you. Or would it be a coffin?”
“I don’t sleep,human.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Can Petunia come too?”
That name struck a bell with me, but I couldn’t quite figure out from where.
“Who is that?” Gabriel asked.
“My ball python.”
“Petunia!” I said, realization dawning on me. “I’m glad to see someone adopted her.”
Gabriel, however, didn’t seem so thrilled. His eyes went wide, and his throat worked as he swallowed.
James leaned down to whisper in my ear, “This is going to be interesting. He’s terrified of snakes.”
“I am not!” Gabriel hissed in our direction.
“You two would be useless in a pet store,” I snickered into my tea.
“Fine,” Gabriel agreed. “Your,” he gulped, “petcan come with you.” He turned his attention on us. “James, if he’s not turning, you should get him home to recover. Ryder, you’ve been drugged before, haven’t you?”
