Belatedly, it occurred to me that she was a hunter. One of those rare humans with knowledge of spooks. According to Brax, they had been spotted in Columbus recently.
Possible, but why fixate on me? I had no history of causing trouble.
Hell, as a vampire I was considered something of a vegan.
No, she was too confident and not nearly scared enough. If she was truly a hunter, she would have been more on guard. She wouldn't be so cavalier about facing down one of my kind.
Vampires had a habit of making bloody examples of hunters. Only a hunter missing a few brain cells would confront me in this fashion.
Perhaps the answer was simpler. Maybe she read too many mystery books and was unable to resist looking deeper when anything suspicious crossed her path.
Hell, she could even be one of those rare individuals who was sensitive to the paranormal. If so, her locking onto me would make a lot of sense.
If that was the case, then she would feel like there was something off about me but wouldn’t be able to put her finger on what. It was a hop, jump, and skip from there to assuming I was involved with something nefarious.
"Are you aware that trespassing on federal lands after hours is a crime?" she continued.
I didn't respond, still studying her the way a predator would.
She reached for the phone in her pocket, withdrawing it. She unlocked the device, clicking into her apps before holding it up to me.
A photo of my poor car, dent and all, was on full display.
The composition was surprisingly good, I thought distantly. She wasn’t half bad as a photographer.
Her gaze flicked from Connor to me. "This car was found near High Banks earlier this evening. I know it’s yours. I’ve seen you driving it. Would you care to explain how it got there?"
I took the phone from her.
This was proof of her stalking habits. I wasn’t paranoid, after all. She really was digging up dirt on me. Following me. Acting so far outside the parameters of acceptable behavior that it was no longer funny.
"My car was damaged. A friend gave me a ride," I said finally.
She took the phone from me, stuffing it in her back pocket.
"Now?" Connor asked.
"Yeah." The word felt like it was torn from my middle, but I couldn't allow her to go back to her life with what she knew. Connor needed to compel her. If he couldn't, or if any memory remained, we'd have to take her to Thomas to decide how to deal with her.
Connor stepped forward as I spotted blackness spreading across the night sky directly behind Pelt. It blotted out the stars.
Oh shit.
"There’s no use pretending ignorance. You’re going to tell me what I want to know," she was saying, completely unaware of the danger behind her.
Connor made a sound like a startled cat, his gaze on the same spot as me. Right now, the blot was too small to be a threat, but that would change.
I tugged Connor back to my side of the door frame.
"You need to leave," I blurted.
She glanced over her shoulder, looking for what had caught my attention. Seeing nothing, she gave a slight shake of her head as she turned back to me.
"I’m not going anywhere until I have answers."
The darkness spread further, deepening to an oily black, at once infinite and vast.
A foot clad in an expensive Italian loafer stepped out of it, a leg and body draped in an expensive suit following. A red scarf flapped in an invisible wind as Don balanced on the stair railing.
