Page 19 of The Vampire's Hunter

It wasn’t until they were sealed securely inside, the partition window up and the silence growing tense between them that Corbin finally spoke.

“Lucien keeps the current locations of the drop houses written in a journal inside his office. You’ll find it located to the right of the third-floor stairs.”

Dani lifted a brow. “How do you—?”

“Where I get my information isn’t your concern.” Corbin shot her a look. “When I give you the signal, make your way upstairs, unnoticed. You’ll find it unlocked. Don’t hesitate when I give you the signal. Just go.”

Dani inhaled a long breath, steeling herself. “It’s that simple?”

Corbin tsked his tongue at her, as if she were being a fool. “It’s both that simple and that difficult, Dani.” He faced toward her then, his eyes growing dark. A reminder of the violence he chose to surround himself with. “Because if you get caught, may God have mercy on you, since Lucien certainly won’t.”

They continued the rest of the ride in silence, the blurred neon lights and concrete scenery of the city soon fading into the trimmed shrubs and manicured lawns of the suburbs. The car didn’t stop until they’d reached a secluded mansion, a line of limousines and other town cars queued around the circular drive for the black-tie event.

“Play your role, Dani,” Corbin said. “That’s all you have to do.”

Dani’s heart was suddenly pounding in her ears, her palms sweaty.

Corbin reached for the door.

But before she realized what she was doing, Dani lunged for him, staying his hand.

Corbin’s eyes narrowed, his lip curling a little as if he were preparing to tell her she’d overstepped.

“Corbin, I…I’m not certain I can do this.”

The whole thing had seemed so manageable from the safety of Corbin’s penthouse, or when he’d held her in his arms, but now that they were here, the thought of facing Lucien again, even though she’d requested Corbin’s help with this, it…

Corbin must have recognized what she was thinking, because something inside him seemed to melt then, his gaze softening.

It was almost too much to bear.

“What can I do to convince you of your power?” he whispered.

“My power?” Dani’s eyes widened as she blinked.

Corbin smirked a little as if she’d amused him. “Come now, Dani, you’re not naïve. You must see the way men look at you, women too.”

Dani glanced down at her hands. “As if I am a prize to be claimed, or a…a threat to be eliminated.”

“Exactly,” Corbin flashed her a devilish grin. “There is power in captivating attention, in being the most beautiful woman in the room, in deciding when and to whom you gift your attention. You need not have a blade to cut a man down with a single look.”

Dani’s breath felt heavy now, her chest rising and falling with the quickening of her pulse as she hung on his every word. Is that how he saw her?

As someone who could be powerful?

Who could be fierce enough to wield beauty as a weapon?

“Now, what can I do to help you claim that power for yourself?”

She was nearly drunk from the high of his words, his unfaltering belief in her. She could feel it beneath her skin. Like being glamoured, and yet, so much better. So much more.

It was intoxicating.

But could she trust it?

Dani met his eyes. She desperately wanted to.

“Just…Just don’t leave my side, please.” She gripped his arm, fortifying herself a little. “Not until I have to go upstairs, that is.”

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