He was one ofthem, so why was he taking her away from them? Or was he taking her back to them? No, that made no sense. She couldn’t remember much about tonight, but she knew they’d been with Joseph and the other Savages. They wouldn’t be in this river if they weren’t trying to escape her captors. Plus, Killean had said they were still hunting them, but maybe he didn’t mean Joseph and his Savages, perhaps he meant Ronan. Maybe the Alliance had somehow found them.
And then she recalled the building, the blood, and being swept into a pair of arms and carried away from all the screams. The details remained fuzzy, but Killean had taken her from Joseph.
But why? And just who and what was this enigmatic vampire?
Simone frowned as Killean’s eyes slid toward her and their gazes locked. In the tanned complexion of his harsh face, the golden color of his magnificent eyes stood out starkly. She read nothing in those eyes or his expression.
“Why did you take me from there?” she asked.
“Quiet,” he replied gruffly.
Simone glowered at him. No one could annoy her the way this vampire did, but though she was tempted to do the exact opposite of what he commanded, she wanted to survive as a non-monster more than she wanted to annoy him too.
Drawing on the proper upbringing that propelled her through life, she buried her irritation and closed her mouth as she nestled closer to the warmth he radiated. The trees on the shoreline whipped by as the current swept them toward an uncertain destination. However, she preferred the unknown and the ice rattling her bones to what lurked behind them.
Killean tried to keep himself distanced from Simone, but when she trembled against him and her teeth chattered in his ear, he couldn’t stop himself from rubbing her back to warm her. He studied the shifting shadows leaping through the trees in search of anyone hunting them, but he didn’t see any sign of their enemies.
The current was fast, but if the Savages realized what he’d done, they would be able catch up to them. And it was only a matter of time before they figured it out.
He had to get them out of this water.
Kicking toward the shoreline, Killean suppressed a grunt when the current caught him and smashed his back against a rock before shooting him into the middle of the river. It took him a couple more tries, but eventually, he succeeded in getting them to land.
His legs wobbled from blood loss when he staggered onto solid ground, but he managed to stay upright. If they were going to evade Joseph, he had to feed, and soon. Holding Simone in his arms gave him strength as he ran.
Chapter Thirteen
He hadn’t run farbefore the rapids of the river became a lazy stream, and he came across a campground where, nestled on the shoreline of the river, more than a dozen RVs were set up. Most of the RVs were unlit, but outside of one, a group of campers sat around a dwindling fire. The scent of pot wafted to him as the handful of men gathered around the fire passed a joint while they sipped beer and spoke in low murmurs.
Killean needed to feed, but with the amount of blood Simone took from him, he’d end up drunk and high if he consumed their intoxicated blood. Turning away from the men, he didn’t set Simone down as he slipped through the RVs parked along the river. Water dripped from them and his boots squished as he jogged onward.
“What is this place?” Simone whispered.
“A campground. Humans vacation at them.”
Simone gazed in awe at the vehicles and people gathered beneath the trees. It was an odd thing to do, yet it was peaceful here and she could see the allure of it.
“Have you never seen one before?” Killean asked.
“No. I’ve rarely been outside a stronghold, and I never encountered anything like this when I was.”
Killean clenched his teeth as he recalled how sheltered the hunter women were and how much of the world she’d been deprived of seeing. “Did you ever want to see more?” He was stunned to hear himself asking the question when he was determined not to get closer to her or learn more about her.
“Not really,” she admitted. “I was curious about the outside world of course, but not overly so. Now I think it’s strangely fascinating, maybe because I almost lost everything and still might if Joseph finds us.”
“I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Killean vowed.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Killean frowned at her. “For what?”
“For taking me from there and keeping me safe. I don’t know why you did it, but thank you. What they wanted to do to me—”
“There’s no need to thank me,” he said gruffly.
Simone was amazed to realize he was discomfited by her gratitude. “But—”
“No buts. Donotthank me.”
