Page 37 of A Bond Beyond Blood

I breathed deeply and tucked my keys into my pocket, then slung my purse over my arm, and readied myself with my dominant hand hovering near my stake.Then I pushed the door open and moved quickly inside.

The door shut behind me without my help, and I froze as a sinking sensation filled my belly with dread.

I definitely wasn’t alone.

But, thanks to Vinny and his surprise attack last week, this time, beneath my puffy jacket, was a holster and two sharpened stakes.

This time, I was prepared.

I was also excited, because it was likely Vinny again, showing up to test me before our date.I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from grinning—

“Jack,” a man who wasnotVinny said in a way that made it seem like he was testing the word for the very first time.

Ice trickled down my spine and cooled my blood.My pulse sped as I struggled to focus in the dark shop, frustrated by the lack of nightlights.After Vinny’s surprise visit, I’d told myself I wanted to install low lighting that would stay on all night so I’d never be caught off guard in pitch blackness again, but I had yet to act on that idea.

“I’d expected a male.”He chuckled softly and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.“Your father was a clever man.”

My muscles hardened at the mention of my father and I took a step back, but the vampiretskedand I froze.

“Surely he was clever enough to have taught you not to run from a vampire.”The man’s voice was velvety smooth; I hated the way I liked the sound of it.

Because this was the one I’d been waiting for.

I knew it with every cell of my being.

Eli had finally come for me.

“You knew my father.”

“Indeed, I did.”

I tilted my head, trying to listen for the monster in the dark kitchen.I’d waited almost a year for his appearance.

I wanted toseemy enemy.

Wanted to look into the eyes of the man who turned his back on my father.

I struggled to keep my anger under control even as my blood boiled.I’d been training for this moment for so long but had begun to think he’d moved on.

Or been staked.

I’d hoped for the latter.

And because of that hope, I’d grown complacent.I still trained, sure, but each day that passed made me less sure that I’d ever meet the man who’d turned his back on Franco Fiorino.

“You’ve been waiting for me,” he murmured thoughtfully, a hint of a smile in his tone.

“Not waiting exactly.”Preparing.

I reached for the light switch, but froze when my fingers met with a hard body beneath smooth fabric.He’d moved from his spot across the room to immediately beside me and I hadn’t heard a goddamn thing.Not even the tickle of a breeze as his movements displaced the air.

His hand circled my wrist and my pulse sped faster, louder in my ears.“He told you about me.”

“Yes.”

“Then you know I am ancient.Fighting me would be futile.”

I swallowed hard, annoyed by the loud sound it made in the quiet shop.

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