Foxx held his hand up and sent him a look telling him to shut up.
“Hanes ran?” Foxx pressed.
“N-no! I-I—” More blood burst from Kinley’s mouth, the man having a violent coughing fit before finally admitting, “I-I left… My fault…myyy…” The vampire’s words slurred before they cut off completely, Kinley’s eyes fluttering closed again.
Fucking hell… Killed because some kid was in over his head. If Hanes did have one flaw…it was trusting too easily.
Foxx’s grip tightened as the man’s words slurred and stopped. But he forced the anger back, loosening his grip. There was no point lashing out. Kinley…was facing the biggest consequence of his own foolish actions—death. Why show him only harshness in his last moments? What would be the point? He was dying, and he…was just a child…a foolish fucking child.
So instead, Foxx lied and mumbled reassurances. As he continued to lie, he listened to each beat of the vampire’s heart, until the last. When finally it stopped, the threads running through Kinley turned fully dark, Foxx hissed, “The fucking fool,” as he released his hand. “He’s gone.”
Foxx leaned over the table, eyeing the many wounds, but mainly the one in his chest. Dipping his fingers in, he shook his head as he pulled them free with a tired curse. “Part of his heart is missing. I’m surprised he lasted this long.”
Straightening up, he eyed the body and tried to not feel anger. There was no point being angry at a dead man. Yet…he still was. In fact, now that he thought about it, he was angry at everyone here. All of them were so fucking young…throwing their lives away, for what?! What was here that was worth dying for?!
“Foxx?”
He flinched, and turned towards Harlow, forcing a smile as he asked, “Yes?”
“You okay?”
Foxx went to say yes, but the word wouldn’t come out. He stared at Harlow’s blank expression and blurted, “Aren’t you angry?”
Harlow’s head tilted, his expression never changing. “Angry that Hanes died? No. Angry about how he died? Partly.” The human sighed. “Let’s be real, as much as this is on that kid, it’s also on Hanes for not watching his own back. They hadn’t been partnered long. Not long enough?—”
“Does it matter how long?! He was twenty-five, Harlow! This was a ticking time bomb! It could have happened now, or years from now. The minute that dumbass kid thought he was in over his head, he was always going to run, and any partner he was with would then find themselves in danger.”
If Harlow had been… The cases they’d had… Harlow had said if he had been partnered with anyone else, he’d be…dead. If Harlow had been paired with Kinley…
Foxx’s stomach dropped. Would Harlow have even made it past the cult case?
“Luck and skill…that is all this job is, Foxx. Hanes’ luck ran out.”
Foxx’s hands clenched. “That’s…bullshit. If Hanes hadn’t been paired with an idiot lying about his age…”
“Just like I was paired with an idiot who lied about his?” Harlow’s brow furrowed, his head tilting the other way.
“That’s different!” His voice caught and he shoved down the emotions that were trying to bubble up. When he managed to clamp down on them, he responded calmly. “I’m not lying to hide that I’m not strong enough. What if Kinley had been paired with you, Harlow? What if things had gone differently? What if I had ended up with Hanes?”
“You’re lying because you’re too strong. I know that. I also know I’m alive because of that lie. I think I’ve made it clear that I’m aware I’d be dead if you hadn’t been there. If someone weaker had been there, I would have never left that hotel. Whoever I was with would have likely never left either.
“But that is luck all the same. Luck that I got paired with you, luck that Hanes didn’t. The thing is, even if our situation had been switched, I wouldn’t be in Hanes’ place right now.”
“How can you say that?!” Foxx cried. “How could you possibly know?!”
“Because I would have never trusted Kinley to have my back. I checked the case database while you were in the bathroom at that dumbass gas station diner. They’d only been working together for a few months, Foxx. Before that, Hanes had been on low-risk cases. The Guild placed everyone without a partner on low-risk cases.
“I don’t know what Hanes was thinking, or why he gave so much trust so quickly, butIam nothim. I barely trust the people I’ve known for years, Foxx. Would I have died if I had been partnered with him in some of the cases we’ve had? No doubt. But I likely would have died with a different partner, no matter who it was, because they wouldn’t be you.”
Foxx stared into Harlow’s eyes, looking for any hints that the man was lying, and then hesitated before softly asking, “Do you trust me?”
Harlow smirked and sauntered forward. Foxx gasped when the man snagged him around the waist and yanked him against him.
“Mhm, brat. I trust you. You're too bloodthirsty to run away, and too crazy to leave my ass to die. If I’m dying, you’d be right there with me, killing as many as possible before we both go down.”
Foxx stared, his heart starting to race as he felt locked into the man’s unwavering gaze. While older paranormals usually were more stable, the many years they’ve lived bringing some equilibrium…plenty of crazies had managed to stumble through the years without meeting their ends.
The situation could come…where their opponent was too strong for either of them to handle. It was just the facts of the job. If it came to that…came time to run or die…if it were just him, he may run. But if the choice was to run and live, but leave Harlow to die, versus stay and die with him…
