I sighed and I had no choice. I called The Vampire.
CHAPTER NINE
“Empath,” he greeted as he pulled over and unlocked the doors of his black car. I was horrible with recognizing makes and models, but I knew it was black. As I got in the front seat, I saw that it was new, like new new, like next year new. The seats were made up of black leather and they were still slippery. I almost wooshed off when Kates climbed into the back seat.
“Thanks.” I felt stiff as I reached for the seatbelt. “I see our truce is over with, Vampire?”
“You don’t have to bother with the seatbelt.” He shifted gears and shot back onto the street. “I’m taking my cues from you. You called me ‘Vampire’ in your head when I pulled up.”
“Huh?”
Kates just snorted.
“I have vampire reflexes, Empath. We won’t get into an accident.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he can go fast and still land on his feet, just like a freaking cat. Didn’t you know? All vampires have nine lives,” Kates drawled from the back. She was still pissed.
I sighed.
Roane murmured, “Vampires have one life. It’s called immortality.”
Kates met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Is that so? Here I thought you were the one that took away their immortality, right? You hunt them. Or did I get that wrong?”
“Takes one to know one…” The words were so smooth, so chilling, and deadly…
I had no idea what that was, where that came from, but something else was in the car with us. As I looked between Roane and Kates, I knew it was something between them and it was something specific. I held my tongue, though. I knew that I did not want to step sideways into whatever they were in…
“You have something against vampires, Kates? I wasn’t aware of that.”
I needed to give him his due. He could hold his own against my nolstage.
Kates choked on something. “Please. We both know what I have against vampires and it ain’t a grudge, Hunter.”
“That’s right. You and Cherry go way back. How long exactly?”
Kates was silent, the very scary quiet when I knew she was about to explode… any second now…
Roane slowly rolled his knuckles over the steering wheel. He was in control, perfect control. “You don’t know him. You met him tonight and you had every intention of killing him.”
“You don’t know that! You don’t know anything!” Kates came unhinged. She jerked upright and slammed against my seat. She was so furious. Kates always looked sultry. She was the sexy one of us, but just then her heavily made up make-up looked clownish on her. It looked wrong. That’s when I knew that what Kates was doing was wrong.
Their argument passed over me, but I tuned back in to hear Kates shout, “—who made you judge and jury? You’re a Hunter. You kill them and you enjoy that. That makes you an animal in my eyes. You’re no more above the rest of them, but you like to think you are—”
“—an animal?” Roane narrowed his eyes dangerously and replied, silkily, “I’m the animal, Kates? I died. I came back as a vampire. You’re a human. You have a choice in the matter. You have a soul.”
“A soul.” Kates threw herself back in the seat, disgusted. She glanced to the window and muttered underneath her breath, “What is that anymore?”
“Okay.” I sat up and ignored the chilling glance from the vampire and turned around. I even ignored how Kates refused to look at me and how her back was perfectly poised to make me feel insignificant.
“You’re stupid.”
I caught the slight jerk of Kates’ eyebrows.
“You can sit there and ignore me, but I know you’re listening.”
“Tell me, o wise best friend, why am I so stupid?”