Part 11 (1/2)
”Sh-s.h.i.+fter...?” Francis croaked. ”s.h.i.+fters...vampires...”
They all ignored him. Rayce noted, ”If you thought the guy smelled human, then odds are high that he is human. Not like we have a monopoly on evil, you know. Sometimes, humans can be worse than we are.” His voice roughened. ”I've sure seen that s.h.i.+t first-hand.”
So a human was hunting her? No, that didn't fit. ”A human couldn't work a compulsion.”
”Not without help,” Julian agreed. ”The magical kind. So we have to figure out just where he's getting that help.”
She eyed Francis. ”You said he was going to take me to the others.” Rose crossed her arms over her body. ”If he has other paranormals, then he could be using their powers some way. Maybe that's why he's after us all.” She leaned in close to Francis. ”Where were you going to meet the others? Where are they?”
”I-I don't know.”
”But you said you were going to meet the others-”
”Francis here was just an insurance policy. Someone to make sure that whatever this Simon had left on his boat-that it didn't make it into the wrong hands,” Rayce cut in. ”I'm guessing the destination was plugged into the GPS or some s.h.i.+t like that. So your mysterious buddy Simon could have been heading out to one of the islands that dot the coast. Or he could have been going back to the mainland. He wanted the boat for a fast exit, and he wanted expendable Francis there in case something went wrong with his plan.”
h.e.l.l. ”Do you remember anything that might help us?” Rose asked Francis.
His brows beetled down. ”He...he said we were going where no one would find us. Only the gators could see him.”
Gators?
”My money's on the mainland,” Rayce said. ”Maybe the Everglades? Stretches for freaking miles and miles. That would be the perfect place to hide.”
”Is there anything else?” Rose asked Francis. ”Anything else that can help me?”
Francis just stared at her. ”What are you?” Then his gaze flew to Julian and Rayce. ”What are you all?” His terror was back.
But she knew how to handle that fear. She put her hand under his chin and turned his battered face back toward her. ”You never met us. You were never on this island. You're going to sleep, and when you wake up, you'll be back in Key West. You partied too much and you can't remember anything...now all you want to do is go home and forget this trip.”
”Forget this trip,” he whispered.
”Right. Forget it and live a normal life.” Be one of the lucky ones. ”Now get your a.s.s to sleep.”
His eyes sagged closed.
She exhaled on a rough sigh and stepped away from him. Her gaze darted to Julian and Rayce. ”See? No need to hurt the guy. He told us plenty.” Rose pushed back her shoulders. ”And there's no need to kill him, either. He won't remember any of us or this place, and he can just be taken back to Key West and left there.”
”Uh, huh...” Julian didn't look convinced. ”What happens if Simon appears and decides to attack him? What then?”
”Well, we just have to find Simon first.” She inclined her head toward Rayce. ”You can make sure Francis is safe until he can leave the Keys, and Julian and I-we'll find Simon.”
Julian growled.
Rose put her hands on her hips. ”What? You're going to tell me that if we head back to the wreck scene you won't be able to follow his scent? Because I'm not buying it.” She turned on her heel and marched for the cell door-one that had been left open by Rayce when he came charging in with the rope. Her priority was getting out of that cell. Only...when she started walking, Rose found she couldn't stop. She rushed through the thin security tunnel she'd entered earlier, feeling almost claustrophobic now that she'd done her part.
She hurried through the house and grabbed for the front door. She wrenched it open, and suns.h.i.+ne poured down on her. Fresh air blew against her face and the scent of the ocean teased her nose. Rose hurried outside, so glad to be free. Out of the cell. In the open. She was- ”Did he say something to you?” Julian's low voice came from behind her. ”When Simon had you in the SUV with him, did he say something you haven't told me?”
Her hand lifted to her neck. Her wrist wasn't bleeding any longer. She'd healed, the way vamps could heal so quickly. She remembered Simon jabbing the needle into her neck. The cold rush as the drug had gone through her veins. ”He told me I was the vampire he'd been looking for.”
”For his collection.”
That just creeped her out. Who collected people? Or paranormals?
She looked toward the ocean. She could see a boat in the distance. For a moment, she wished that she could be on that boat, sailing far away. ”He said...he said the guys who tried to jump us in the alley were his back-up.” What had happened to them? Were they somewhere nursing wounds? Were they already back with Simon?
”Anything else?”
”No.” Rose shook her head. Her hand fell back to her side. ”He shoved the needle into me, and I pretty much don't remember anything else until I woke up and saw you.” She looked back at him. ”You got me out of the wreck, didn't you?”
His head inclined.
”Did I tell you thank you?” Now her voice had gone soft.
”Nothing to thank me for.”
Her lips twisted. ”Just the little matter of saving my life. I could smell the gasoline. I saw the flames when the vehicle ignited. If you hadn't come along, Simon and I both would have died.”
Julian came toward her with his slow, gliding steps. The back of his hand rose and slid down her cheek. It was a familiar caress. ”And the world would have gone f.u.c.king dark without you.”
He did that sometimes-just said things that made it hard for her to breathe. He made her want things she couldn't have. Because...
Deep down, so very deep, the truth was that she feared Julian. She wanted him, needed him, but feared him nonetheless. He'd taken her choice away from her before. How could she trust that he wouldn't do it again?
And what about the kills he'd made? The story of him being Luke's a.s.sa.s.sin? Was it true?
”It's because I'm a vampire, isn't it?” She was actually turning her head toward his touch, as if hungry for it. ”I carry a darkness now and that darkness-it likes you.”
His jaw clenched. ”Is that what you think is happening between us?”
”I don't know what's happening.” A pause, then she said, ”I know you scare me.”
He flinched.
”When I first met you, I wasn't afraid. I only felt safe with you. So totally safe. It was strange. I thought I could trust you completely. Something just clicked for me when I saw you.”
His gaze raked her face. ”Then you found out the truth.”
”I found out the truth and I lost my life...all in the same night.” The sun was warm on her face and she was so glad that particular tale was fake-vampires could stay in the sunlight. It made her weaker, yes, but right then, she didn't care. She needed to be outside, just as she needed to get these words out. ”I woke up and everything was different. When I ran outside, I could hear too much, I could see things too brightly. My head felt as if it were going to explode, and I was so hungry. I drank your blood in the road, and I was horrified.”
”Rose-”
She held up her hand, as if warding him off. ”Let me finish. Please.” Because they needed to talk. ”I took your blood, and I liked it.”
”There's nothing wrong with that. You're a vampire.”
He didn't get it. ”It was wrong for me. I ran because I couldn't stand what I'd done.”
His hands had clenched at his sides.
”For days, I was starving, and I couldn't take blood from anyone else. It made me sick to think of drinking it. I had nearly starved myself to death when Luke showed up.”