“You disrobed me?” he said, incredulity dripping from his every word. He checked under the covers. His jaw dropped. “I am in nothing but my underpants.”
She rolled her eyes. “I have seven brothers, señor. I have seen worse.”
“What if someone comes in?” He jolted. “Where am I?”
“You are in my abuelo’s bedroom. I had to get you somewhere no one would go while you healed.”
He gulped. “So you can finally have your way with me in private?”
“Behave yourself.” She wiggled her brows.
Lalo balked. “Saints, woman, that isn’t what I meant. I meant so you can kill me like the murderess you are.” A terrifying thought occurred to him. “Fernanda, where—”
“Your sister is asleep in my bed, pretending to be me. I’m here to make sure you don’t try anything in my own home.”
“Where would I go without any clothes?!”
“Keep your voice down,” she snapped.
Lalo took a calming breath. “May I have my shirt and breeches?”
“I threw them in the fire. You were shot. There was blood or whatever the hell is inside you seeping out of your wound for the entire world to see.”
He hadn’t even pulled the trigger before Rafael had fired his weapon. That cheater had turned at the count of four not five, just like she had warned. Meanwhile, Lalo had panicked and forgotten to shoot his own weapon. Then the world had turned to mayhem around him. And his thoughts and control had dissolved when he caught a whiff of spilled blood.
She leaned forward. “You wouldn’t heal for a long while. I’ve not seen one of your kind act so weakly before.”
“As I said, I do not partake in feasting on human blood.”
She pursed her lips in disbelief. How many times would he have to explain that fact before she took him seriously?
“What happened?” he asked. “After the duel you forced me into. You’re welcome, by the way.”
She snorted, rather rudely. “It is you who should be thankingme. I saved you from going after sweet Señora Orozco. That would have ultimately forced me to kill you once and for all.”
“How did you stop me?” he asked.
She pulled her dagger back and held it on her lap. The blade sparked in the low candlelight. It was thin, with star lilies depicted on the handle, while a single ruby sat at the tip of the hilt. The piece appeared old and expensive. A peculiar bit of weaponry for a ruffian.
“I know there are things I do not understand about you and your kind, but there are some things I do.” Her fingers toyed with the necklace around her throat. She had a beautiful neck. And the vein just there, beneath her brown skin, throbbed ever so enticingly. He gulped and turned away, disgusted by the thirst and desire burning through him.
“I know your kind cannot enter a home unless welcomed,” she said. “Springwater weakens you. Wood through the heart kills. Obsidian too. And the sun scorches your skin, of course.”
“Indeed.” He leaned forward, trying to take in Carolina Fuentes’s features. Trying to determine if there was any part of her he could trust with his truth. He’d so often been dismissed in his life because of his prickly personality. There had been too many times to count that he watched the light go out in people’s eyes when he told them about his day. He’d given up trying.
He was awkward and shy, and he didn’t care for going to balls or enduring meaningless small talk about people’s wealth and popularity. He hated how the upper crust of society thought they were somehow more valuable than others just because of what was in their pocketbooks. He was brushed off as a bore. And after so long, he decided he would rather be alone and figure things out by himself than try.
Until now.
Now he needed help. So far, he’d only gotten into more trouble than out. Though, to be fair to himself, Carolina was mostly to blame as of late.
“You and you sister are close,” Carolina said.
His brow furrowed. “Is that a question or statement?”
“She begged me to save you when the bloodlust took over. She wanted to protect you so badly.” Carolina huffed. “Ironic, isn’t it? Considering you are the one who we need to protect people from.” He opened his mouth to retort, but she held up a hand. “You said in the library that you were searching for a way to end vampiros.”
Lalo’s spine straightened. “You remember that?”
