He waited, watching her intently. She didn’t change. Didn’t suddenly grow fangs. Just kept staring up at him, wagging her tail, begging for more. So. Ava was wrong. Just as he’d supposed.
She’d find out she’d been wrong about other things, too.
“Stay here,” he ordered, and then stalked to the bedroom to sift through his bag. He withdrew a clean set of clothing, showered, dressed, then pawed through Ava’s weapon’s closet. Theirs now, he decided, since he lived here. He confiscated a pyre-gun and three blades.
Ava clearly assumed she could assault him without any repercussions. She assumed she could leave him behind. She assumed she was in charge. It was past time he showed her the error of her ways.
He stalked out of the apartment with only one backward glance at Hellina, who had followed him to the door. Still no fangs. Didn’t matter. “You’re mine now,” he told her. Payment for his mistreatment at Noelle’s home.
She wagged her tail.
“Stay here, and stay quiet. I’ll return shortly.”
As he strode down the plain, gray hallway that led to the elevator, a man exited his own apartment. He spied McKell and the weapons strapped all over him, and rushed back inside. Probably to phone the police.
Wise of him. In McKell’s current dark mood, anything could happen.
Outside, midday heat caused the air to ripple. And … the doorway appeared, of course, this time bribing him rather than pleading. If only he would enter, he would find shade, safe travels, a short cut, blah, blah, blah. He told the thing where to stuff itself and motored on.
He didn’t have sunblock, as Ava had recommended, not that he thought so simple a solution would work, but he did have the blanket. Once again, he draped the material over his head and trudged through the thick crowd on the sidewalk. His body temperature rose unbearably, and sweat began to pour from him.
Ignoring the discomfort, the stickiness, he breathed deeply, searching for Ava’s scent … the call of her blood … An hour passed with no results, and his frustration mounted. So did his irritability. Anyone who got in his way was shoved aside, hard.
Only one hour of the six remained, then Ava would return to Noelle’s. But he wanted to find her now, proving she couldn’t escape him. Ever. That trying to restrain him was useless.
A few times, he lost his grip on the blanket and felt blisters well up on his face. Not once did he consider giving up, though, and finally his determination paid off. He caught Ava’s scent.
Grinning evilly, he followed.
Twenty-one
Vampire hunting was not as rewarding as she’d expected, Ava thought darkly.
One, they’d most likely killed the night before, the bastards, so they weren’t thirsty while the sun dominated the sky. Meaning, no one stared at her pulse, no one sprouted fangs, and no one tried to mess with her mind.
Two, McKell was right; she couldn’t scent them.
Three, after hours of walking around aimlessly, Ava and Noelle pricking fingers on the tips of their knives so that there was always a bead of blood on them, just kind of hoping a vampire would jump from the shadows and attack—something that hadn’t happened in all the years of her life, so why she’d foolishly thought it would happen today of all days she didn’t know—had produced no results.
It had just given her time to feel guilty about stunning McKell and leaving him behind. Even though it had been for his own good. He would have blistered and weakened, and she needed him in top fighting form for his meeting at AIR. If they tried to hurt him …
Her hands fisted. She couldn’t do anything without jeopardizing her job, and she wouldn’t jeopardize her job. She hoped. Where McKell was concerned, she sometimes acted without thought.
Either way, if they tried to hurt him, she prayed he kicked ass and escaped. He was a nuisance, but a sexy nuisance who was at once selfish and selfless, giving her pleasure without taking any for himself, and besides, his shit was at her place. She didn’t want to have to store it indefinitely. There just wasn’t room.
At least, that’s the only reason she’d cop to for wanting him eternally safe.
He probably hated her. Would he ever return to her apartment, even if he escaped AIR? Even if AIR let him go freely, without restriction? Or would he avoid her forevermore?
She almost turned around and raced back to Noelle’s house. She’d known he would eventually tire of her, but she wasn’t ready to lose him yet.
“You listening to me?” Noelle’s voice dragged her from the dark mire of her thoughts.
Concentrate. “No. Sorry. What’d you say?”
“I think we’re gonna have to switch to Plan B.”
“You’re right,” she said confidentially, though inside she groaned. The daylight vampires might not be thirsty, but would they be able to resist an open, gushing wound? There was only one way to find out … a way she’d hoped to avoid. “Let’s do it.”
They stopped in the next alleyway they came across. On this side of town, even the alleys were clean. No trash littered the walkway, and no graffiti marred the buildings. Ava leaned against a hot metal wall, upper body falling into the shadows, and held out her arm.
Noelle remained in the sunlight and withdrew a tiny knife from her cle**age. The bright rays showed hints of uncertainty in her features. “You sure about being the one to bleed?”
No. “Yeah.” If this worked, no telling how many vamps would chase them—and no telling what kind of abilities those vamps would possess. She needed to be at top strength, but what good was being battle-ready if there was no one to fight? “Do it.”
The tip of the blade inched closer … closer … Noelle’s hand began to shake, and she paused just before contact. “Maybe I should be the one to take the slash.”
“We discussed this earlier and decided it had to be me. Obviously, vampires like the smell of me. Case in point, McKell.” My McKell. Still? “So it has to be me to drip all over the pavement.”
“And I am the better fighter,” Noelle replied in an effort to rally herself. “Therefore, I have to be the one to remain strong.”
“I’d argue the term better fighter, but you’re the one with the knife, so …”
They shared a smile, relaxing into their decided roles.
“McKell is going to kill me for hurting his property, but that just makes doing this a little bit fun, you know?” With a determined inhalation, Noelle slashed the blade from Ava’s elbow to wrist.