His question caused memories to tumblethrough her mind. She shuddered and pulled the blanket closeragainst her. She could keep fighting him, keep trying to hide herpast from him, but she didn’t see the point anymore. And she was sotired of fighting, so tired of keeping him at arm’s length. Sotired of bearing this cross all by herself. The last person she’drevealed her secret to, Nabel, had promised to help her and guideher, but he’d only told her lies. Ian didn’t offer her thosepromises, he didn’t have to; he would be there for her for as longas she needed him. This man across from her was many things, but aliar wasn’t one of them.
“My father,” she admitted in a whisper. Sheheld her breath as she braced herself for his response.
His eyes didn’t flicker, his breathingdidn’t change, but she sensed a subtle stiffening of his body. “Howdid he become a vampire?”
“I don’t know how. I don’t know when. Mymother and I fled from him when I was seven, and he was stillhuman. He was a vicious, drunken bastard who often mistook mymother for his punching bag. One night, he came home and I hadcolored on the wall with a marker. He cracked three of my ribs, andbroke my arm before my mother succeeded in pulling him off of me.The next day she packed a small bag for me and we fled to abattered woman’s shelter. We spent a couple of years moving aroundbefore she finally felt safe enough to settle down in a small townin Vermont. I was nine.”
Anger festered inside Ian’s chest; his teethgrated together. He forced himself to remain outwardly relaxedaround her. “What happened after that?”
“I got a life,” she said with a small laugh.“At first it was difficult because I kept waiting for it to fallapart, and for us to have to run again. But after a couple of yearsI began to settle in, relax, and I made friends.Goodfriends. I had fun. I had a boyfriend, I went to prom, I graduated,and I was going to college. It was all so good and then…”
“And then what?” he prodded when her voicetrailed off and her eyes focused on the far wall.
“He found us,” she whispered. The tone ofher voice tore at his heart, but he remained unmoving on the bed.“And he accomplished what he’d set out to do years before. I wasworking with my mom as a volunteer at the hospital where sheworked. We were going to drive in together that morning. The sunhadn’t come up yet. He attacked us before we made it to the car. Hekilled my mom, and then he came after me again.”
“How did you get away?”
“He tore out my throat and left me fordead.” Her fingers instinctively drifted to the scars on her neck.“I’m only alive because the sun began to rise, and some neighborshad emerged from their houses. The attack was swift, but my screamsstill drew them out. I also think he believed I was dead or as goodas dead anyway.
“The only reason I’m still alive is one ofmy neighbors was a paramedic and somehow managed to keep me alivewhile his wife drove to the hospital. No one mentioned vampires; Ithink maybe some of them thought it, but no one said the word andneither did I. The last thing I wanted was to end up in the looneybin, and to tell the truth I believed I might be a little insane atthat point. The police wrote it off as a random act ofviolence.”
Her eyes darted away from his. Tears pooledon the pillow beneath her. She didn’t bother to wipe them away asshe stared at the wall behind his bed. No wonder she hated vampiresso much and had been so unwilling to trust him in the beginning. Hecouldn’t imagine what she’d endured over the years, couldn’t beginto relate to it. His family hadn’t been normal by human standards,but it had been a loving, open environment. One where he’d neverknown fear and definitely never known abuse.
The tears sliding down her face now, thetrembling of her lower lip drove him from the bed before he couldthink about what he was doing. Covering the distance between themin one long stride, he sat on the bed beside her and reached out totouch her cheek. She didn’t shrink away from him, but turned herhead into his touch. His fingers slid over her silken cheek, wipingaway the wetness on her skin.
“I spent a week in the hospital and then Iwas sent home, but I was too afraid to stay there. L.J. and I hadalready broken up, and most of my friends had already left forcollege. I grabbed my mom’s ashes, spread them in the sea, packedup some of my belongings, and set out on my own. After what I’dwitnessed, I knew there had to be others out there who were awarevampires existed. I was determined to find them. I was alsodetermined to find my father.
“I spent a couple of years searching foranother survivor. I spent most of that time training to fight,taking martial arts classes, self-defense classes, running, andlearning how to protect myself. Apparently all for nothing,” shemurmured and shook her head. “But once I finally found anothersurvivor, I discovered there was a whole different world out there,and a powerful group who fought against the beasts like myfather.
“It took me over a year to infiltrate thehunters, and for them to trust me enough to take me in. I never sawwhere they lived, or really got to know much about them. I met withthe handler they assigned me to every day, Nabel, and he taught memore about vampires. He told me your weaknesses. I think theybelieve none of you can go out in the daylight, so they don’t knowas much as they think they do.”
She couldn’t keep the bitterness from hertone, but she couldn’t help it, she still felt deeply betrayed bypeople she’d trusted with her life. A life they hadn’t consideredall that valuable. “I was told if I proved myself, I’d get to learnmore. I don’t think they ever intended to teach me anything trulyhelpful.”
“Probably not. Where did you meet withNabel?”
“At an old warehouse they’d converted intoan exercise and training facility. Some days there were two orthree other people in there with me, usually it was the two ofus.”
“I see.”
“Ian?”
“Hmm,” he murmured as he mulled over herwords.
“The hunters aren’t entirely humaneither.”
“I’ve heard rumors of that.”
“I’m not sure what they are, or what they’recapable of. I was allowed to know more than most humans, but theydidn’t reveal much to me. I didn’t care either, all I wanted was tofind my father and make him pay for what he did to my mother. Shewas everything to me, my best friend. She never got over what hedid to her and slept with a gun in her nightstand for years. Shenever realized a gun would be useless against some things.”
“She never could have.”
“Ian, the vampire in the alley, the one yousaved me from…” her words drifted off. She didn’t know how to openup this much to someone. It wasn’t something she’d ever donebefore.
“What about him?” Ian inquired as he brushedthe hair back from her face.
“That was my father.”
“I’d figured as much.” She tilted her headback to look up at him. Her eyes were filled with torment and herlower lip trembled. “You were searching for him in the bar?”
