Page 13 of The Vampire's Hunter

The moment the elevator doors opened, Dani practically dove out onto the main floor, desperate to be free, only to find herself standing in a handsomely decorated vestibule. There were two armed vampires waiting outside the door, identifiable from the stillness with which they stood, like sentries standing guard over their king.

Or their mafia boss, truth be told.

Corbin didn’t so much as acknowledge them, before he opened the door to the penthouse and led her in, the entrance behind them falling closed with a subtle littlesnick.

Dani’s breath stopped short. She’d always known the other half lived a different existence, and it wasn’t as if Cillian hadn’t taken her to one of his own glittering abodes, but something about specifically seeing where Corbin rested his head each night stole her breath away. Though vampires didn’t need sleep, she supposed. Or at least, Cillian hadn’t.

She wasn’t certain whether to consider that a blessing or curse.

The inside of the penthouse was filled with modern décor, tastefully decorated, particularly so. As if its owner wasn’t explicitly attempting to showcase his vast wealth, but he simply couldn’t help it. The design was subtle, understated, and yet so grand in contrast to the diner and her own dingy apartment, she could hardly stand it.

“It’s beautiful,” Dani breathed.

Corbin didn’t acknowledge her compliment. Instead, he crossed the room to the glittering window wall that overlooked the city below. He stared down at the night lights before him, as if the whole of the city were sprawled at his feet. As distant to her now as he’d been years ago. “Now, I’m assuming you plan to tell me what you were doing in my club tonight, Dani.”

Dani wasn’t certain what it was that made her feel brave then, as if for once, she could manage to lie and get away with it. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Corbin’s cold gaze cut toward her. “Don’t play coy with me, love. It only becomes you when it’s genuine.”

Dani swallowed. “I was there as a patron,” she dared. “Nothing more.”

“Bullocks.” Corbin placed his hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall, though there was nothing leisurely about the piercing look he gave her. “You’ll find my kindness runs thin in the face of liars and thieves, Dani.”

In other words, he wouldn’t stand for her to betray him, to sell him out to the Execution Underground. She known that from the start though. She owed him better than that.

Dani fell silent then, hanging her head low. How did she keep her word, stay the course when Corbin had undoubtedly been kind to her and—

As if he could read her mind, Corbin’s expression turned from distant and cold to something far more fearsome. “Did that brother of yours put you up to this?”

It’d only been a matter of time before he realized, of course.

Dani gave a small nod.

At the mere mention of Quinn, Corbin swore. “Absolute bastard.” He raked a rough hand through his hair, pacing a little as he muttered, “And I suppose he told you to use whatever means necessary.” Corbin’s eyes shot to her slender form.

As if to indicate all the places he’d touched her.

Dani’s face heated. “If you’re asking if that’s why I let you touch me, then the answer is no.” The fact that he thought that little of her hurt, frankly. Though she supposed she hadn’t exactly built a reputation among the syndicate that she was proud of. “I made that choice of my own volition. I was caught up in the moment,” she lied. “Take that as you will.”

If Corbin cared about what had happened between them in the alcove, he didn’t dare show it then. “And I suppose your brother tasked you with gathering information for him? About my holdings, my dealings, where I keep my—”

“No,” she cut him off, before he revealed anything she couldn’t unhear. “No, it’s Lucien who’s his target. Not you. Quinn just…thought you might know something, something that could point him in the right direction, that’s all.”

“And you believed him?” Corbin’s frustration seemed to settle then. “You agreed?”

Dani shrugged. “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Corbin lifted one smooth brow, prompting her to go on, but confessing how truly vulnerable she was pointed to the crux of her problem, the part she hadn’t been able to fully admit to herself. “If…If Lucien decides to come for me…to…to target my brother, or worse, to retaliate against me for Cillian’s death, then—”

“Then you’ll need protection,” he finished for her.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“And your brother and his band of human thugs couldn’t possibly offer that themselves?”

It wasn’t her place, nor in her nature, to make excuses for the life her brother had chosen. He’d made his choice, and she’d made hers, and yet…

“Quinn says politics in the Execution Underground are…complicated right now.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Apparently, there’s been a split in the organization. A rift.”

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