Page 86 of Bloodhunter

When she got close enough for me to see her eyes, Iunderstood a sad fact. She didn’t want to just bang Shane Copas. She loved him.

That was why she’d called in the hunter. Not to help me, toteach or guide me, but because she wanted him near her.

“Noone tells me I can’t hunt.” Her voice was cold,but her stare was so fierce and hot I wondered how Shane’s face didn’t burstinto flame.

Clayton stood just behind her, guarding her back, and heonly shook his head when I looked at him. He hadn’t wanted to come. He’d had nochoice.

Shane was raging. He grabbed her arm and shook her, hard,then shoved her away from him. “Get the fuck out of here,” he said. Then heturned on Clayton, his voice full of contempt. “Get her out of here, bitch.”

Clayton didn’t react at all to Shane calling him a bitch—butone day, Clayton was going to explode, and the unlikely person in his pathwould die.

Miriam got in Shane’s face—not literally, since she wasshorter than him by about a foot—but she stepped up to him and poked him in thechest, her face tight with anger. “I will not stay at home like a good littlegirl,” she told him. “I’m more than capable of killing vampires.” She pointedat Clayton. “So is he. Your reluctance is just a little fucking strange, Shane.Just a little fuckingstrange.”

“You are not a hunter,” he told her, through clenched teeth.“You cannot kill vampires. You can only get in my way and fuck up everything bymaking me have to take care of you. Go home, Miriam.”

Her face paled further, but she stood her ground. “I’m goingto help you.”

He threw his head back and yelled his frustration to the darksky and the watching moon.

I took her hand. “We can’t protect you, Miriam. In the heatof battle, we can’t protect anyone. We can only kill, and you will die.”

She looked up at me, but there was no anger in her eyes.Only despair. “I want to be included,” she said, confused. Like a child.

And it broke my heart.

Shane had no such tender feelings. He slung his shotgun overhis shoulder and glared down at her. “You raise the dead—you don’t hunt. You’rea burden I don’t want to—”

“Shut your mouth,” I told him, and my voice was as calm andcold as it had ever been.

He jerked his head around to look at me, but he shut hismouth.

Miriam squeezed my fingers. “Thank you, darling, but he’sright. I wasn’t thinking.” She let go of my hand and turned to Clayton. “Takeme home. We’re not needed here.”

But even as they turned away, the incubus, with a dozenvampires at his back, charged into the clearing.

Silverlight attached with an enthusiasm that hurt my arm—thepain traveled over my shoulder, through my chest, and down my spine, but therewas no time to think about it.

Even if Shane hadn’t felt him, I had. I’d known the demonwas near. I had to start listening to my gut. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn’t havelet my guard down with the arrival of Miriam and Clayton.

The demon led the posse of undead like a nightmare scene froma fictitious horrorscape. And just that quickly, Miriam and Clayton went frombeing unwelcome liabilities to powerful, supernatural allies—despite what Shaneand I thought.

Ouronlyallies in the woods that night.

Seemingly from thin air, Miriam produced two wicked lookingswitchblades, and holding one in each hand, she ran to meet the vampires—andthe demon.

“Miriam,” Shane roared, and raced after her, firing hisshotgun just before he reached her. The crowd of vampires scattered—some died,some kept coming, and I knew they were infecteds before I could properly seethem.

From the other side of her, Clayton, his pistol in his righthand, stake in the left, coolly picked off one vampire at a time. He’d said hewas no longer a hunter, so I’d have to give them the true death later, but thatwas okay. Shot up with silver—I assumed—they’d stay down and out of the way fora good long while.

The infecteds fought and died behind the silver wall of mysupernatural friends, but the incubus shot past them, and he came for me.

After all, there was nothing tastier than a bloodhunter.

Silverlight shook with eagerness and nearly took off my arm whenthe demon threw himself at me. He was well past the point of caution, and Icould see in the rot and cracks in his face that his condition was critical.

And he was not thinking straight.

I drove my blade through his shoulder and he screamed, andall the sounds of hell were in that scream.