Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)(70)

He passed Ethan huddled over one of the graves they had uncovered sorting through the remains in the rotting coffin. Pete assumed the hunter was looking for bits of The Summoner again. It disturbed Pete to unearth the old bodies, but most were nothing more than bones. So far they hadn't found what Ethan was searching for. Pete wasn't sure how Ethan could tell the difference between a human dead body and that of a vampire, but he supposed there were some sort of telltale signs.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, he exhaled with frustration. The night was oppressively warm and the darkest black he had ever seen. A thick cloud cover obscured the cold light of the stars and he wished they had brought more lights with them.

Innocente stared past him toward the graveyard when he approached the truck. He had expected to find her napping, but her eyes were alert and her posture tense.

“Need to grab some water,” he said, stopping before her.

“Do you ever feel like you're doing the right thing, but that it will not end well?” Innocente asked.

“All the time,” Pete admitted. Opening the back door, he leaned and opened the cooler. He scrounged around in the frigid water created by the melting ice and jerked out a water bottle. “That's why they gave me Prozac for a while.”

Innocente frowned at him. “You know what I mean.”

“It's just the graveyard. We wouldn't be human if we didn't get the willies being around the dead,” Pete assured her.

“It's not the true dead I worry about. It's the others. The ones who are dead, but still moving around.” Innocente took the water he offered her. “Thank you.”

“Look, the way I see it, all of us out here are doing the best we can for Amaliya. It doesn't help that we now all recognize that all those scary stories we thought weren't real apparently are very real. You've seen Amaliya since she came back. So have I.” Pete gulped the water, trying to forget the image of Amaliya's bloody tears and sharp teeth. “It changes everything once you realize that vampires are real.”

Innocente lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I always knew ghosts were real. Vampires aren't so surprising. I just don't like my granddaughter being one. It makes her life so much harder.”

“I want to make her life easier,” Pete said in a timid voice. He was certain that his intentions toward Amaliya were pretty clear, but it was embarrassing to know that Innocente was aware of how he had rejected Amaliya and the circumstances around it.

Sighing, the old woman took another gulp of water.

“I know I hurt her. I was just afraid. Weren't you afraid when you first saw her?” Pete leaned against the truck, staring at the woman, willing her to understand.

Shoulders slumping, Innocente nodded. “Yes, I was afraid. But then I realized that she was still my granddaughter and she needed my help.” Her voice was barbed with her anger.

“But you already knew about ghosts. I’m just a good Baptist. I don't believe in that stuff. I mean, I didn't. Now my eyes are open, and I won't hurt her again. I promise.”

Innocente's eyes flicked toward him, her mouth pursuing. She appeared to be pondering something. “It's not me you need to talk to. It's her.”

“I plan to. I want to make right by her. Once we restore her to human, I plan to take her far away from all this bullshit. I don't care how far we have to go; I will find a safe place for her.” Pete touched Innocente's shoulder and she glanced at him again. “I promise, Innocente.”

“She's not the same,” Innocente said sadly.

“I love her. I don't care what has happened since she died. If she killed people, I know it's because she didn't have a choice. When she's human again, she'll never have to live through that nightmare again.”

Wiping a tear away, Innocente aimed her focus toward the graveyard. “She's a good girl. She's just always so lost...”

Pete’s heart speed up at the thought of the pain he had caused Amaliya. He wanted to find her and make her safe again. He didn't want her to ever feel lost again. Together, they could help each other create a home and a life. His arms craved to feel her nestled in them again. Even though his memories of their last night together were horrible, they were also wonderful. They had shared incredible moments of passion when they had made love. Pete had never been so happy. If only he hadn't recoiled from her.

“Pete, things may not be as easy as you hope they will be,” Innocente said, her words careful.

“I know that. But I will find a way to make amends.” It was a vow he was taking very seriously.

The wind rustled through the tall grasses around them, cooling off his overheated skin. Pete closed the rear door of the truck and rested against it. He would give himself a few more minutes before rejoining Sergio and Ethan. The sweat between his shoulder blades was trickling down his back and his skin itched fiercely under its coating of sweat and dirt.

Innocente finished her water and tucked the empty bottle away in a plastic bag. Pawing through her big purse, she pulled out two fruit bars. Silently, she handed him one. Pete took it gratefully. Unwrapping it, he bit into the apple and whole wheat bar. It was the best thing he had ever tasted, or else he was just that hungry.

Sergio's big shoulders were illuminated by the lanterns as he tossed great gouts dirt off to one side while he dug into a grave he was standing in. Amaliya's cousin was a big guy and his muscles glistened in the lamplight. Pete was embarrassed by how much more Sergio had done throughout the night. It was obvious that Sergio was just as determined as Pete was to restore Amaliya.