Page 2 of The Vampire's Hunter

No hint of the city slicker he could have been. He stood and pulled her into a brief hug.

“It’s been a while,” Dani said lamely, wiping her hands down the front of her apron.

For a moment, Quinn didn’t bother to say anything, just tilted that hat of his in acknowledgement.

An awkward silence passed between them. Tense and heavy. Full of all the things neither of them wanted to say.

“Why didn’t you come see me at the bar?” Dani asked, attempting to fill the quiet, though the constant clatter of forks against dishes, the sizzle of the diner’s griddle and Thelma’s usual hollering about why her other orders weren’t up yet sort of did the trick.

Quinn frowned. “I hear having a hunter around isn’t good for business,” he said, his mouth pressing into a thin line.

Dani nodded, tentatively sliding into the booth across from him.

It felt…strange sitting there with him, like when they were young and she’d adored him.

“I suppose Trixie told you to back off then?”

Quinn’s Stetson dipped low on his brow. “In not so kind of words.”

That sounded like Trixie alright—the bartending witch served as the proprietress and owner of the newest incarnation of the Midnight Coyote, a supernatural-only bar that’d recently relocated not too far outside Detroit. About an hour drive from middle-of-nowhere here.

On occasion when they were short-staffed, Dani sometimes worked there on the weekends, which meant she knew firsthand the magic-wielding bartendress was a force to reckoned with. Hell, Dani owed her life to Trixie, along with her partner, Malcolm. It hadn’t been that long ago that the other woman had saved her when she’d been unable to save herself, hands down, no questions asked. Dani could never be that strong willed, as much as she admired it. As much as she considered Trixie a friend.

“So, what brings you here then?” Dani forced a smile.

Quinn gave her an incredulous look. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Thelma showed up at their table a moment later, quickly setting down two mugs of steaming coffee, before Dani was forced to introduce Quinn. Thankfully, her brother was unusually polite to Thelma, accommodating the woman’s need for friendly small talk, until Thelma left them alone again.

Quinn turned his attention back toward her. “So, you’ve switched from vamps to witches, huh?”

Dani clutched the mug her coworker had given her like a lifeline. “Trixie’s been good to me. She’s…helped me out when I needed it.”

Unlike you.

She’d never dare say such a hurtful thing, but that didn’t stop her from thinking it.

Still, the unspoken words seemed to settle between them, heavy and present.

She couldn’t exactly blame her brother for not coming to her rescue. Lord knew they’d chosen different paths. He’d long ago become a renowned hunter for an elite clandestine organization of humans—the Execution Underground—the only protective force that stood between the predators of the supernatural world and humanity. And her, well…she drifted wherever the wind blew her, which was often into the arms of the wrong man, or vampire as it were, more than her elder brother would ever care for.

She was a wistful human nobody in a sea of powerful beings, as she’d been reminded more than once before, and Quinn wasn’t about to let her forget it.

“I heard you got yourself into some real trouble back in Billings,” Quinn said, cutting straight to the elephant in the room.

So, he’d heard.

Dani felt her ears turn red.

Of course, he’d heard. Him and everyone else under the sun. It was why she was here in this damn diner, after all. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to be made a fool of, to become a powerful vampire’s human plaything, drugged and taken advantage of like she was a pathetic human toy, but now everyone had to know about it. Her hurt, her shame. The supernatural community wasn’t large, and she stood out as one of the few humans in it.

“Yeah, well, that’s over now, isn’t it?” She forced another smile.

And I’m fine, thanks for asking.Not that anyone ever did.

“Is it?” Quinn lifted a brow.

Unshed tears prickled her eyes. This is exactly why she had no desire to talk to Quinn. Her brother had never approved of her life choices, even the ones she couldn’t control, which was why they hardly ever spoke. She couldn’t handle his constant judgement, so she’d just sort of…drifted away. Like she did with a lot of things. But that’s what happened when you came from a broken family, wasn’t it?

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