“You’re not a vampire, though.”
“But I’m married to one. Lucas is the oldest vampire in Chicago, and the city has one of the largest vampire populations in all of the U.S. Even though Lucas just wants to be left alone, if he spoke out against assimilation, others would follow. Age matters when it comes to vampires.”
Easton brings his hand to his forehead and looks away, thinking. “That hunter didn’t come close to killing you, did he?”
“No, and I was totally caught off guard.”
“I heard others talking, saying he’s not a very good hunter. If some old, rich vampire was going to hire a hunter to actually kill you, he’d go for someone good, right?”
“Right.”
“I don’t think he was hired to kill you. I think he was hired to try and kill you.”
“But why?”
“What would Lucas have done if he caught the guy who tried to kill you?”
“Given him a very stern talking to.”
“Yeah, if that’s what you want to call murder.”
I let my eyes fall shut, feeling like I’m going to puke all over again. “There was someone else there, acting as a driver. They were probably recording. Just like…oh fuck.”
“Just like what?”
“Just like the crazy person who attacked Lucas with a switchblade in front of his bar.”
“They’re trying to get a public reaction out of him.”
“Yeah. Fuckers.”
“At least now you know,” Easton offers and takes a step toward the truck.
“Yeah, so we should just never leave the house again.”
“I think you’d be safe in Thorne Hill, wouldn’t you? Doesn’t your coven make up half that town?”
“They do, but…I, uh, kind of left the coven.”
“Really?”
“I had to in order to marry Lucas. Witches aren’t allowed to marry vampires.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Callie,” he says, and I know he means it. He knows firsthand how much it sucks to be forced away from your family, from your home, for following your heart.
His was because he didn’t murder me. Mine was because I got married.
“Whatever. Most of them still love me.” I make a face again and turn away, throat feeling thick. “We have to stop for water because I can still taste that beer and it’s making me sick.” I go around and get in the truck.
“Are you sure you’re not—” He cuts off, letting out a snort of laughter.
“What?” I pull the seatbelt over me, looking at him.
“I was going to make a joke. You’re a newlywed…maybe you’re pregnant, but then I remembered you’re married to a vampire. There’s no way you could get knocked up.”
“Right,” I say as my seatbelt clicks into place. I start to laugh, but the humor quickly leaves me. There’s no way I could be pregnant. Lucas is a vampire.
But a little over two weeks ago, he was cursed.Chapter 34I put my Jeep in park and look at the house, letting out a shaky breath before getting out. I called Lucas on the way back, filling him in on everything. He couldn’t put a face to the description, but all it will take is attending a VC rally and we’ll be able to find the vampire who’s trying to set Lucas up. Lucas will kill him on the spot but promised to wait until after we dealt with Ruth to go into this any further.
“Julian?” I whisper, stopping by the porch. “Are you here?”
He doesn’t appear before me, and that familiar feeling I get when he’s around doesn’t fill me. I pull my purse over my shoulder and walk up the porch steps, going in through the back door. I can hear Lucas talking to someone on the phone.
I greet Scarlet, grab something from my purse, and get another drink of water to try and settle my stomach. Lucas ends his call but doesn’t come out of the office yet, so I kick off my shoes and walk through the house.
“Are you busy?” I lean against the doorframe, keeping the little pink box behind my back.
“I’m almost done,” Lucas say, not looking away from the computer. He’s typing at vampire speed, writing and sending an email in the time it would take me to type out the email address in the “send to” line.
“Okay. Good. I was hoping we could chat.”
“About how you want to find and kill that vampire now?”
I give him a pointed look. “No. One problem at a time, remember.” Though if I’m right, we’re gonna have another problem that won’t go away any time soon.
The sound of an email being sent echoes through the room. Lucas looks up at me, smiling.
“Get naked and then we can chat.” He flips through papers on the desk, referencing something before he types up another email.
“I kind of have to pee before we have sex.” I dig my fingers into the box.
“Then go pee.”
“I’m waiting for a reason.”
Lucas closes the laptop and eyes me. “You’re acting weird.”