Page 7 of The Predator
She had a soft spot for him. They were the same age and had gone to school together. He’d always had her back, so she stuck up for him. What I wasn’t sure about was whether she had given Noah any indication that I’d slept with Sam. I was sure she wouldn’t have, but she was acting a little off.
I jumped up and hugged her. “Good luck. Fingers crossed that it goes well.”
“Wait,” Jordyn said. “Are you enlisting today?”
Rianne shrugged. “Not sure. I want to hear what the recruiter has to say first.”
I snagged my cup. “Convince Noah to join with you,” I teased, but deep down, I was serious. I wasn’t an expert on how to knock some sense into him, but he could certainly benefit from a well-disciplined structure. Not that my uncle Jack wasn’t a hard-ass, but from what I’d seen over the years, he’d gone easy on his sons. In his eyes, they walked on water.
After Rianne left, I poured another cup of coffee. “You don’t think Rianne would tell Noah I slept with Sam?”
“I don’t think so,” Jordyn responded. “Is that what he whispered in your ear?”
I could really use some whiskey in my coffee to settle my nerves. “He asked me if I fucked one of the vampires.” I glanced out the window. The mountain range rose in the distance beyond the horse barn and workshop. “It looks like a great sunny day to explore. Let’s go horseback riding.”
“Sounds great.” Jordyn sounded despondent.
I spun on my heel, and when I did, the hot mug slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor. I jumped a mile as memories careened back of that cold, dark morning when the house we’d been renting exploded. I swore Iwouldhave PTSD. Not only from the house blowing up but from my ordeal with Sam, Roman, Vera, and everyone and everything that had happened to my sisters and me.
Jordyn waved a hand in front of me. “Layla.” Her soft tone drew me out of my haze.
I squatted to clean up my mess while Jordyn snagged the roll of paper towels.
As I went to grab the mug, a jagged piece of the ceramic where the handle had been dug into my hand, breaking skin. “Shit.”
Jordyn wiped the floor. “Did you cut yourself?”
I popped up. “I’m fine.” But as I turned on the faucet to clean the small amount of blood that pooled around the wound, my throat became scratchy and dry. I stared at my hand, licking my lips. Suddenly, the need to taste my own blood hit me like a freight train.
No freaking way.
Images of me sucking on Sam’s wrist like a starving animal danced before me. I grabbed my trembling right wrist and examined the blood like it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.
Jordyn shut the faucet off. “Layla, what’s wrong?”
I licked my lips again then brought my hand to my mouth and was ready to suck the blood from my palm when Jordyn shook me.
“You are not about to do what I think you’re going to do.”
I blinked. “What? It’s my blood. Haven’t you had a cut on your finger and sucked the blood off?”
Her chest heaved. “Sure, but after what you’ve been through, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What’s not a good idea?” Aunt Tab asked as she entered the kitchen with a box of mason jars, looking a bit out of sorts. Her salt-and-pepper hair was mussed. Hay clung to her ribbed black top, and her jeans were dirty at the knees.
We needed to stop talking in this house. Before long, the family would string us up and beat the crap out of us for even mentioning vampires.
I washed my hands quickly. “Staying inside all day.”
Jordyn tossed me a dish towel. “We’re going to take Poncho and Yankee out, if that’s okay?”
Aunt Tab flicked strands of her hair away from her face. “Don’t be long. I’m making lunch. It should be ready around one.”
We had a few hours. My body would probably protest if I rode a horse any longer than that.
“Glad to see you up and about, Layla,” Aunt Tab said.
I gave her a warm smile. “I feel better.”
