Page 76 of V for Vindictive

Thanks to the distraction of pretending to do the thing Phil and I discussed—you know, the great act of losing control and using it to “lure” Cash into stealing me away in the dead of night—I had something else to focus on. Except, with Sloan here, everything was fucked up and it wasn’t clear where things stood. By the sideways glance Cash gave me when I bent down and sensed out the ground below, he had the very same question. So not only my love life, but now our entire trap was royally screwed up.

Great.

Still, we had a job to do even if it was painfully reminiscent of our previous employment under the assholes who genetically altered humans with supernatural blood.

The coven wasn’t far from the nearby town, and I’d bet my lucky stake that the disappearances and freak accidents were starting to add up based on the number of vampires said to be living underground here.

We crept, one after the other, into the tunnel. Using my freak speed to make quick work of the ladder, I waited for the other three to join me at the bottom, emptying my head of anything that wasn’t killing every vampire in this godforsaken hole. The underground network of tunnels smelled heavily of stale water and mildew. Nowhere in this underground deathtrapcould light enter, and I heard the soft grumblings of the Dark Fae before his wispy, sparkly magic illuminated his face.

“Put that out, asshole,” I hissed angrily, already concocting a way to leave the Dark Fae here while the rest of us did the vampire killing.

Cassius pouted, and the light disappeared. “Well, how am I supposed to see then, Hunter? With sheer willpower? Or is this some cleverly crafted revenge where you force me to stumble around like a bloody idiot so I can eventually rouse our hosts?”

This dude is so melodramatic.

It didn’t fail to shock me how much of a teenager this grown-ass man was—not to mention how often I was left to mitigate his tantrums. Worse, the very same dude blackmailed me into a favor.

I’m losing my touch these days.

But for some odd reason, Cassius intrigued me. He was a cowardly bastard and deserved a smack or two, but he’d come to my rescue all day. Okay, sure, he was likely doing it because he was a snake-bastard and good at playing someone’s emotions, but I couldn’t hate the dude for some reason. I tried, and every time I did, the gorgeous boy band imitator did something stupid and made me laugh.

It helped me forget the bullshit presently bothering me.

No, V. Bad girl. Cash is a big hell-to-the-no. Get your head back on straight and remember your Hunter training, you fucking amateur.

I caught sight of the blind Dark Fae blinking rapidly, as if it’d make him see better, and a devilish grin spread across my face. If I wasn’t so ready to duct tape the asshole to the wall and finish the mission without him, I might’ve dragged it out for a moment longer.

But we had vampires to kill.

Sighing in defeat, I removed a pair of night-vision goggles from my pack. I’d thankfully brought them along since I wasn’t sure what the Fae could or couldn’t do, and Hunters prepared for everything.

As I forced the goggles into Cassius’s hand, Sloan’s straying gaze and smile distracted me briefly. Then I looked back at the helpless coward in front of me, who was first grumbling about something under his breath, then fumbling with the goggles next. Cash cursed a couple times, making it a real struggle not to laugh, until he finally put them on. The Dark Fae looked fucking ridiculous, and it was absolutely glorious.

Cassius looked over at me, eyes covered by large black circles that clung unattractively to his face, and I threw an arm across my own to smother the giggle leaving my mouth. Unfortunately, the Dark Fae saw it all and immediately reacted with disgust. But his snarling lip only made it worse, and I barely kept it together.

If the bastard did one more fucking thing, it’d be the end of our covert infiltration, and I took a few minutes to breathe through the rising laughter in my throat.

Still wearing the goggles like a total asshole, the Dark Fae planted hands on his hips like a scolding mother. “Having a laugh, are you?”

Licking my lips and struggling, my eyes skipped over Phillip to find Sloan again. The Brit’s laughing expression made it worth the minutes I’d spent trying not to lose my shit. “Those look very good on you,” I lied and bit my lower lip.

It was clear Cassius didn’t find one bit of it funny, and my eyes naturally tracked back over to Sloan to see what the cool Hunter’s expression might give away—and it was worth the stolen glance. The man had a hand over his mouth, concealing a grin by the way the topography of his face hadchanged. When our eyes met, he winked in a way that was far too sexy for my heart to handle.

Oh, fuck. I’m doomed.

I rushed to hide my expression from Phillip, knowing he’d see it all. Shame crept into my throat like the punishment I surely deserved, but my thoughts swirled with what it could all mean. If it was this bad even on a mission, then I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I’d need to say something to Phil, and soon. It might mean our relationship was forever altered—or totally over—but carrying on the way I was wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

Not to Phil. Not to Sloan. Not to me.

And it’d probably be one of the hardest things I’d done since ending my relationship with Nigel.

I couldn’t be sure the bracelet Cash gave me was working, but so far, no one’s treatment differed from previous interactions. Cassius didn’t mention how long it took for the thing to work, but what I did know was that my feelings were conflicted without the aid of the bracelet.

I liked Sloan.A lot. Enough to make it difficult to ignore, even with Phillip right there watching. Maybe it was better to be unattached for a bit while I figured shit out, as convenient as that was for me to suggest. It’d likely lead to some kind of fight with Phil, who’d probably blame Cash or something else and believe I was only confused because the Dark Fae had messed with my head.

To be fair, I wasn’t certain the Dark Fae hadn’t, but I’d been drawn to Sloan from the beginning. Truth be told, our relationship changed before Phillip came back into the picture. It wouldn’t be crazy to think I’d developed feelings for the gentle-mannered and considerate Hunter whilePhillip was gone. Feelings strong enough to contend with the ones I had for the dude who abandoned me.

If I continued to fight what I was feeling for Sloan, someone might get hurt, and I wasn’t going to hurt someone like Phillip did when he left. After Nigel, I promised to be honest with myself. More so, I’d be honest with everyone else. Well, as honest as I could be when I hadn’t figured out anything in my head. But not until after we defeated Eros. It could wait until we put a stop to the powerful Dark Fae.

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