“I’ll manage.” I didn’t want to admit how close I was to losing control earlier, when his blood had filled the air like a storm.
I could still taste it in the back of my throat if I let myself think about it. So I didn’t. Instead, I moved toward the broken doorway, brushing the dust off my sleeves.
“Wait.”
The word was soft, but it stopped me cold. Kit shifted, grimacing as he reached for his back pocket. He pulled out a battered wallet and flipped it open.
“Here.”
Kit fished out a few crumpled bills from his pocket and held them out to me. His hand shook slightly. Whether from pain or exhaustion, I couldn’t tell.
I stared at the money, then at him.
“You’re serious,” I said.
“You think I’m the kind of guy who lets someone pay for his dinner?” Kit asked, trying for nonchalance.
The attempt didn’t quite land. His voice was too hoarse, his skin still pale beneath the dim light.
“You’re letting a vampire buy it,” I pointed out.
His jaw worked, but his hand didn’t drop. He kept holding the bills out stubbornly, as if daring me to make something of it.
For a moment, neither of us moved. His fingers brushed mine when I finally reached for the money. It was a brief, accidental touch that sent a strange current skimming up my arm.
I’d forgotten what warmth felt like when it came from something living. His skin was fever-hot, the pulse beneath it quick and uneven.
He didn’t seem to notice. If I still had a beating heart, I knew it would’ve been thudding in my chest.
“Fine,” I said quietly, tucking the bills into my pocket.
Kit leaned back against the wall again, the effort dragging a faint hiss of pain through his teeth. He tried to hide it, of course. Typical hunter pride.
“Just don’t run off with it,” Kit muttered, settling against the boards.
I hesitated. “You think I would?”
His gaze flicked up to mine, steady and unreadable.
“You could,” he said. “But you won’t.”
The way he said it wasn’t a challenge. It was quiet certainty, the kind that left no room for argument. He wasn’t testing me, just stating a fact. Like he’d already decided what kind of creature I was.
It startled me more than it should have.
A few hours ago, he’d held a blade to my throat, eyes hard and sure. Hunters didn’t trust vampires. That was a fact carved into both our worlds.
Yet here he was, offering me money like I was some stranger sent out on an errand. Did he think I was harmless now? Or had he simply decided I wasn’t worth fearing?
Maybe I should’ve been insulted. Instead, I found myself strangely relieved. I slipped the bills into my pocket, turning toward the door before I could say something foolish, likethank you.
“I’ll be back soon,” I told him.
The air between us felt charged, heavier than it should’ve been. The kind of weight that came from words left unsaid. I could feel his gaze linger on my back as I reached for the doorknob.
The streets were empty when I stepped outside, the air thick with humidity and the metallic scent of rain waiting to fall.
The nearest open store was a corner bodega half a block down, its flickering neon sign humming faintly. I went through the motions.
