Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)(54)

“Dammit! I want more sex!”

“Later,” Jeff promised, grabbing her hand and rushing her out the door. He hoped there would be a later.



*



The long highway weaving through the hills was nearly empty of traffic. The sun had burned away all the lush greenery of the spring, leaving a dry, yet lovely tapestry of the Texas Hill Country.

Pete took a long sip of the lukewarm soda he’d bought at a small gas station when they had filled up the gas tank again and wondered how much longer they had to drive. Sergio’s huge navy-blue Ford truck sped along in front of them, the shadowy outlines of the big guy and the diminutive old woman barely visible through the tinted rear window.

Ethan had lapsed into silence. The tall man wasn’t particularly talkative when driving. He didn’t even like to listen to music while they traveled, so Pete listened to music on his phone by streaming it through his Bluetooth. Johnny Cash was his fallback when he was nervous and the Man in Black was crooning in his ear. He still remembered Amaliya as a child dancing in her backyard to her little radio as it played her favorite Johnny Cash song, singing along loudly as the sun played in her blond hair.

Rubbing his goatee, Pete wondered if Amaliya would return to her golden locks once she was mortal again. He kind of missed them, but he didn’t really care in the end. As long as he could ask for her forgiveness and start again. His heart longed for her and he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms again. She had to forgive him. He would find a way to make it up to her. Never again would he reject her or hurt her. He had been a fool to spurn her.

A strange beeping noise sounded in the console. Ethan flipped it open to retract a rather large phone with a long antenna sticking out of the side.

“Hello,” Ethan said briskly, inclining his head slightly in Pete’s direction.

Pete pretended to look out the side window, ignoring Ethan. He made a bit of a show tapping his fingers on his knee to the music. His cellphone didn’t have any bars at all and he wondered if the phone Ethan was using was one of the special ones that had access to satellites.

“Yes, I have located the master vampire. Apparently he was killed in a small ghost town called Fenton. Sergio Guerra and his grandmother are taking me there now. By tonight I should have all the ingredients for the ritual to restore Amaliya. So, yes, everything is fine. Nothing to worry about.” Ethan’s voice was calm, measured, and a somehow reassuring. “Okay. Talk to you later.” Once the phone was stored away, Ethan said to Pete, “That was my employer. They’re pleased with how things are progressing. If not for you, I’m not sure I could have gotten this far.”

“I want to help Amaliya,” Pete answered. “Who does your employer want to help?”

Ethan cast a shadow of a smile in Pete’s direction. “Believe it or not...Amaliya.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t find that strange? That someone that’s not her family is trying to make her human again?” Pete lifted his eyebrows, turning to view the driver.”

“The world is a lot more complicated than you realize, Pete. It’s not all nice and tidy like most of humanity thinks it is. Those who become aware of the truth, that the monsters really are lurking in the dark, either go crazy or adapt. I have adapted. My employer has as well.”

“That’s not answering my question.”

“Maybe not. Besides, you’re going to get what you want. Amaliya human again.” Ethan said pointedly. “Am I right?”

Pete frowned as he stared at Sergio’s truck speeding along before them. “Yeah, but I don’t get why you were hired.”

“Maybe my employer just wants one less vampire in the world.” Ethan shrugged slightly. “Did that occur to you?”

“So someone hired you, a vampire hunter, to go and kill Amaliya’s creator and then make her human just because they want one less vampire?” Pete pondered on his own words, mulling them over. Could it be that simple? Maybe it was. Why couldn’t it be possible that someone out there was so afraid of vampires they wanted them dead or turned back to mortals?

“Again, does it really matter what the motives of my employer are? I’m a vampire hunter. People hire me to eliminate vampires one way or the other. I’m good at it. It’s what I do. Be happy that I’ve been hired to make her mortal, not stake her through the heart and chop off her head.”

“You’d do that?” Pete gulped, the mere thought making him a bit sick to his stomach.

“It’s the only way to make sure they don’t come back.” Ethan shrugged slightly. “But your girlfriend is lucky. She’s young enough for the ritual to work. She can go home, say she was in hiding, and start her life all over again.”

“Yeah,” Pete said thoughtfully, picturing it all in his mind. A smile tugged on his lips and he glanced out the window at the hills streaming past him.

“It’s a second chance. Most people don’t get those, do they?”

Pete shook his head. “No they don’t.”

“So stop worrying and relax. We’ll find a few bits of that bastard’s body, burn it, and prepare the ritual. Easy as that.”

“Easy,” Pete said, his voice full of wonder, hope, and a little fear. “Can it really be that easy?”