Page 46 of A Vampire's Pain

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“So?”

“He is my friend,” Dominic said.

“And I am …”

“Don’t do that,” Dominic said. “You mean the world to me too.”

“And yet my mate is running out of the house as soon as the sun is down.”

“Find another way,” Dominic said.

“What way?! Damon has her on a tight leash,” I said.

“I could speak to her,” Lara said.

We both turned to Lara, who looked at us surprised.

“What?”

“Valeri isn’t really the problem,” I said.

“No, but the only one who can stand up to Damonandmake sure he stays alive is Valeri. If she speaks up and tells Damon she is done doing what he says, then you two can be together, but it depends on Valeri.”

I slowly nodded, as I realized Lara was right. I did see Damon as an obstacle, but the only one who could remove it, and make sure he still continued to breathe was Valeri. So far, I haven’t succeeded in convincing her, but maybe Lara could. Valeri seemed to admire her after all.

“It might not be a bad idea,” I said.

Lara smiled pleased.

“I told you I could help.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Lara chuckled and took a bite of the bacon in front of her. She seemed overly pleased with herself actually, and I was glad to have her here. She and I had gotten quite close, and I didn’t have a lot of female friends. There was a lot I had slept with, but Lara was a real friend.

“You think you could convince her?” I asked.

Lara shrugged and looked a little more unsure.

“I can’t promise anything.”

I sighed.

“So, I might just have to kill him.”

“No!” they both said.

I looked at them frustrated, feeling rather lost.

“Then what then?! I can’t accept not having her,” I said.

Dominic sighed and shook his head.

“No killing Damon!”

“If he forces my hand—”

“No!” Dominic said.

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