Page 68 of Craving Her Vampire

I take a bite. “Close.” I do trust Micah’s friends, but the location is personal.

“We are going to let her loose and follow?” Ryker asks.

“Pretty much,” Micah says.

“Let her loose?” I ask, glaring at the vampire.

“I apologize for my choice of words, but anything can happen,” Ryker says.

“That’s why the rest of you will be close,” I say.

“It takes a split second for you to be taken,” he continues.

“I can find her,” Micah says, leaning forward, his forearms on the table.

“Are you sure?” Ryker mimics Micah’s movement.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Micah growls, his eyes swirling dangerously.

“How?” Ryker snaps. “You both treat this as if it’s going to go smoothly. Nothing goes as planned for this crew.”

“I know your intentions are pure, but you're pissing me off,” Micah snarls. My head bounces between the two vampires, entirely too turned on by my mate for the situation. Bash is tenseand attuned to their body language. Heath and Quinn seem to be unfazed.

“I understand. I would hate to deal with the consequences and your pain if something happens to her,” Ryker says, the emotion in his eyes urging us to understand.

“I won’t lose her,” Micah grits out.

“Guys,” I say; everyone else is silent, watching them.

“But what if—”

“It won’t happen,” Micah says.

“Guys,” I say again, louder, gaining their attention. Saphira’s wide eyes focus my way, too. “Ryker, I am calm. I am calm because I lived with Turner most of my life, at least the life I remember. I know how to deal with him. Sure, something could happen, but it always can. Do you know I barely slept at night living there? I always had to be on guard. Many nights, the doorknob would jiggle. Someone in the pack would try to get in. I don’t know exactly what their plan was, but it couldn’t have been good. The past few nights, I have had the best sleep. I can finally sleep through the night.” I stare into Ryker’s eyes, but I feel the tension radiating off Micah and the other men at the table. Saphira's scent fills with anger and pain.

“I was the only girl in the pack. Do you know what that means? For years, they assumed that meant I was there for their pleasure. Every day, I had to fight to show them that wasn’t true. There were many close calls. Pats of affection in inappropriate places I had to fend off. Do you know how many fingers I broke?” I look around, meeting each of their sympathetic gazes. When I reach Micah, his rage washes over me, and I look at my plate. “Since I met Micah, I have been wrapped in a protective bubble, which is great but can’t go on forever. I am strong. I have to do this, and Micah and all of you must trust I know what I’m doing. I want all of them dead; whether I do it or Micah, I don’t care. I will defend myself. I’ve done it for years.”

“I’m so sorry, Daisy,” Saphira whispers.

“Thank you,” I whisper back. “I’m sorry for what you have dealt with, too.” She nods, and a moment of camaraderie passes between us. “Men have no idea what women have to go through every day out in the world,” I mutter. “Saphira and I are lucky to be surrounded now by men who would never do those things, but we weren’t always.”

“You didn’t tell me everything,” Micah says, and I cup his arm.

“It’s not something I wanted to reveal right away.”

“Who? Everyone in the pack?” he asks.

“Not all.” Some of them didn’t want their fingers broken.

“Tell me their names,” he demands.

“If we see them, I’ll tell you, and you can kill them.”

“Fine. But after, you will tell me all their names,” he says.

“Deal.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Daisy,” Ryker says. “I can’t imagine. I want to protect your bond with my oldest friend. He’s waited years for you and would not survive without you.”

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