Page 58
Chapter 15
Not wanting to scare Alessandra, Kenton released his grip on her hair and eased back, moving ever so slowly. Lawrence’s eyes had been on him all evening, and judging from the look on the man’s face, he understood what had just happened.
Though he hated to do it, Kenton shifted away from Alessandra. She needed space to think, to process. Any second now—
She laughed.
Until she realized he did not laugh with her.
“What did you say?”
He knew that look well. He’d revealed himself enough times over the years to be prepared for what was to come next.
“I said”—his eyes never left hers—“I am a vampire.”
She stood so fast her knee banged the table in front of them.
“Sit back down,” he said, keeping his voice steady. She likely wouldn’t listen, but he had to try.
“You tell me—”
Placing his finger in front of his lips, Kenton willed her to remain calm. The fact that she’d already begun to accept her own abilities should help her accept the truth.
“What do you sense?” he tried, realizing she was more likely to rely on her own instincts than his very tenuous word. “Forget about the Cheld for a moment. Just think about everything that has transpired, Alessandra. Am I telling you the truth?”
She shook her head, unable to accept it.
“I can’t—”
She fled.
Kenton let her go, for now. As soon as she left, her hair swaying behind her in her haste, he strode toward the bar. Giving Lawrence a courtesy he didn’t deserve, for no other reason than the man would likely follow him otherwise, he spat out, “I told her.”
Hands flat on the bar, Lawrence leaned toward him. “What the hell are you doing, Kenton? When the two-week agreement is over—”
“I don’t give a shit about the agreement.”
“We won’t leave her unprotected.”
He supposed centuries of hunting, and killing, Alessandra’s kind would not be forgotten in a matter of days. Fair play.
Kenton leaned over the bar, even though the closest patron sat too far away to hear them. “If I were going to kill her, she’d be dead by now, and you know it,” he whispered.
“Then what do you intend? Your brothers—”
“I’ll handle my brothers. And I didn’t come over here to ask permission.”
Lawrence smiled at him in a maddening, condescending way. “And yet here you are.”
“I came to tell you not to come after us. Tell her friend she’s fine.” Toni hadn’t noticed she was gone yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.
He started walking away, but Lawrence called out his name. “Kenton.”
As he looked back, his cold heart skipped a beat. The man whose sister-in-law had made them into monsters smiled, actually smiled, at him. What the hell was he so happy about?
Ignoring the grinning fool, he left the bar and went after Alessandra. He found her on Main Street, closing in on her house. Grateful his instincts had been correct, he walked up to her from behind.
She didn’t flinch.
