On the Prowl (Bad Things #2)(29)

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 sunshine 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*cking 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 assassin? 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.”

His eyes turned to glittering slits.

“He made me drink from humans. But I vomited the blood up, again and again.” She remembered vomiting on Luke.

He hadn’t been amused.

But then, she hadn’t been amused, either.

“I begged Luke to change me back during those first terrible weeks. Again and again, I begged him.”

Shock flashed on Julian’s face. “He didn’t—he never said—”

“I didn’t want to kill anyone else. I thought I couldn’t drink without murdering a human. I didn’t want that.” Her lips pressed together. “Luke…he was the one who had to go with me on my first few hunts. He was the one that had to stand in the shadows and make sure I didn’t go too far. He’d stop me before I killed. He made sure that I—I learned to control myself.”