The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(26)

Finally, I set my empty Orange Julius on the table and broke eye contact. I turned my head only for a second and he was gone.

Shit!

I waited for Drew for another twenty minutes. After rambling on like a crazy person about what had happened and freaking out on him all over again, he rushed me out the doors with one hand around my waist and another on his gun.

I had brought my gun, too, this time.

“I should have shot him,” I told Drew, once we were in the truck and speeding down the dark icy streets.

“Yeah, right, you were going to shoot him, in the mall, in front of all those people.”

I clenched my fists, getting angrier by the second. I had let him get away. “I don’t care. He needs to die.”

“There was nothing you could do, Chloe. He was messing with you.”

I wanted to scream, I was so frustrated and angry. “Where were you?” I demanded of him.

“I was in the knife shop.”

“Figures,” I mumbled under my breath.

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I snapped.

Despite the attack a couple nights before, I felt safer once we had driven through the gates and they were securely locked on the other side of us. We pulled into the driveway and I jumped out of the truck, slamming the rusty old door behind me. I had no idea why I was treating Drew so badly, but I had to take it out on someone. I guess it was how he had felt earlier when he had yelled at me.

“’Night,” I called out rudely. I let myself inside the house. I didn’t even look back to make sure he came inside. I went straight up to my room.

Once I had stripped off all my clothes and put on my comfy pajamas, I crawled under the covers and hugged my extra pillow to my chest. I wasn’t tired at all. I tossed and turned, I tried counting backwards, I tried turning on my iPod, but nothing was going to bring the sleep I needed so much.

My mind kept going back to those piercing eyes, those dangerous eyes…

While his dark eyes haunted me, a realization hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. It was a realization so simple I should have thought of it before. He wanted me.

People were dying because of me.

So, maybe… maybe I should simply go to him willingly. I could protect my other family, by going to the one I hated and making him believe I wanted to be with him.

And then I could kill him.

Well, I could try…





THE VAMPIRE HUNTER'S DAUGHTER





PART IV





DIVIDED





The cast on my right arm was more than annoying. It was bulky and sweaty and stinky and itchy underneath. I could not wait to get it removed.

I stared at myself in the mirror and wondered why the heck I had agreed to go to the New Year’s bash. My grandfather Luke was still in the hospital. It felt wrong to go to the event without him. Also, Drew was not happy about it at all.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Going with Gavin—one of the hottest guys at school— to the dance wasn’t exactly a terrible thing. It just felt like the timing was wrong. Besides, I had other plans to get on with. Aside from all that, it really wasn’t so bad.

I thought about these things while dressing and doing my hair.

And my dress!

It was certainly nice to wear something pretty instead of jeans or workout clothes. The silky royal blue fabric hung loosely against my skin and went perfectly with my dark hair. My cast stood out stark white in contrast with the blue.

Groaning, I gave my hair one last bobby pin, placing it in with my good hand with the other hundred bobby pins that held up the top half of my hair. I had it piled in a bun type thing with loops and curls, which hadn't been easy to do with the freakin' cast on my arm. The bottom half of my hair lay in ringlets against my back. Finally, after putting on a pair of silver hoop earrings, I turned away from the mirror and grabbed my coat.

I had a wrap, but that certainly wasn’t going to keep me warm. I planned on wearing my coat, no matter how out of fashion it might be.

Knowing Gavin would arrive soon, I tried to hurry.

Drew was down there, and I didn’t want Gavin to have to deal with him. Drew had been super cranky the last few days. I figured it was because of the attack, losing his uncle and Luke being in the hospital. That was certainly enough to make anyone cranky.

When I finally managed to make it down the stairs in the dangerous too-high heels I had bought to go with my dress, I found Drew in the kitchen, tying his bowtie and eating an apple. Boy, he looked good in his tux. Weird how some guys looked uncomfortable dressed up and others could pull off a suit with no problem. Drew was the no-problem kind.

“Hey,” I said.

His eyes flicked up my way and then back to his tie. I didn’t know why he had been practically giving me the silent treatment lately, at least since the town had been attacked. There I was, all dressed up, and he couldn’t even tell me I looked nice, not even an approving glance.

Well, see if I compliment him on his tux, then.

“You never told me who you’re taking tonight,” I tried. I leaned against the counter next to him.

“I’m taking Christina,” he said around his apple.

Ugh, what is wrong with him?

I should have known he’d take her. I didn’t care how bad her childhood had been, she was still a mean slut as far as I was concerned. After she had started that fight with me at school and got us both suspended, I would have thought Drew would have been on my side. At the very least, he shouldn't have been taking her to a fancy dance.