Page 57 of The Cute Psycho

"Wow," I breathe out, stunned. "So you're saying that no matter how crazy the rumors are, there's still some truth to them."

"Isn't that the nature of rumors? There's always some truth, but you never know justhowmuch."

"I see." I nod thoughtfully.

"Scared yet?" His breath fans my face as he whispers in my ear.

"No." I turn to him, so close I can almost touch him, "But all this talk of human flesh made me hungry. Now, unless you plan on catching me dinner, I'd suggest you take me somewhere to eat," I say softly, watching his pupils dilate, his lips tugging upward.

"Now, we can't have you hungry, can we?" he drawls, amused, leading me down a lively boulevard.

"Any preference?" he asks when restaurants appear on both sides of the street.

Since I'm not too familiar with restaurant food, I let him decide for me. He settles on a burger place, telling me it's something Imusttry. We go inside, and because everything sounds good to me, I let him order for me, too.

"Oh my," I say, my mouth full, when I finally dive in. This burger thing is positively divine. "Great choice," I add, closing my eyes and enjoying the taste.

There's so much meat and the flavor is bursting on my tongue. I don't even realize when a moan escapes me.

My eyes widen, and I quickly look around, embarrassed.

"No one heard." Vlad's hand comes up to my mouth, wiping some sauce off, "But me that is," he says, giving me a mischievous grin.

"It's too good," I counter, swiping his hand aside.

"I agree." He brings his finger to his mouth, his tongue sneaking out and tasting the sauce. His gaze on mine, I feel hypnotized by the gesture.

So lost am I in his black eyes that I'm startled by my throat contracting in a hiccup.

My hand flies to my mouth, my embarrassment mounting. Seeing as my hiccups won't stop, Vlad pushes a glass of water in front of me. Grabbing it, I gulp it down in one go.

"Easy," he drawls, a languid smile on his face.

His eyes are sharp as his gaze swings from me to the rest of the restaurant, and for the first time, I note that he'd seated us in the back, in full view of the entrance.

His smile doesn't falter as he half-turns to me, his voice low and grave.

"At my signal, you get behind the table."

I stare at him, curious, but I nod.

A man walks toward the back, and Vlad slowly orients himself to the right, stretching his long legs down the aisle to block the man's path.

Everything happens in slow motion, but as I see a hint of steel glinting from the man's trousers, Vlad taps me, swiftly pushing thetable down. I realize this is my signal, so I stoop down, hiding behind the table.

From the corner of my eye, I see Vlad kick at the man's leg, promptly tripping him. The man tries to struggle, but Vlad is too fast as his hand grips the gun, taking it out of the man's pants and throwing it to me.

"Just in case." He winks at me, using the back of his palm to kick at the man's jaw until he's writhing in pain on the ground.

More noise from the front of the store, and as I turn to see what's going on, the other customers are running out of the restaurant, all but four men. They rise from their seats, all aiming their guns at Vlad.

"Petrovic," one man speaks. "We know you have him, and we'll need him back." His words are stilted, his accent foreign.

"Well, come and get him," Vlad says, opening his arms in invitation.

I turn to him, stupefied that he'd do something like this, especially since he's in an open field with men aiming their guns at him—directly.

Suddenly afraid for his life, I close my hand over the gun, feeling the cold silver under my palm. A shudder of excitement goes through me as I examine it.

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