Page 25 of The Dawning
“Okay. How about this? You didn’t flinch when I shifted. Are you aware of my kind?”
I didn’t have a problem answering that question. “Very much so. I’m a vampire hunter. My family has been hunting the bloodsuckers for centuries. So we’re in tune with creatures like you.”
Her eyebrows knitted. “When you say bad people, are you referring to vampires?”
She probably wouldn’t stop probing until I gave her something of substance. I could lie, but that wasn’t me. And if I wanted her help, she needed to understand the severity of my situation. Actually, she might be in danger as well. After all, Carly’s genetic engineering involved shifters too. So the only course of action was to start from the beginning.
I hesitated to shovel soup into my mouth, fearful she might’ve drugged the food. My gut was saying she didn’t, but just in case, I should wait for her to eat. “I’ve been kidnapped by my grandmother,” I told her, even though I wasn’t one hundred percent certain about that. “The van I was in crashed somewhere in these mountains. The two men who snatched me from the hospital in Massachusetts are dead. I’ve been wandering these parts for two days.”
Lines formed around her pretty eyes. “Your grandmother kidnapped you?” Shock rode her tone.
“I know. It’s sounds unbelievable.” I puffed out my cheeks. “I’m pregnant by a Vampire Navy SEAL. And my sweet granny thinks I’ve committed a sacrilege.”
She reared back, her mouth gaping open. “A vampire SEAL?”
“Do you know any?” Soldiers stuck together, and as far as I was aware, the supernatural military wasn’t as big as the human military.
She clasped her hands together, resting her elbows on the table, not in the least interested in eating. “I do.”
My mouth parted. Now I was the one in shock. If she said Sam Mason, I might hug her or punch her. Sam could snag any woman into the bedroom with one look from his panty-melting green eyes. He’d probably fucked a lot of women before I’d met him. But his past hookups weren’t any of my business, and it sure wasn’t important now—but then, why the fuck was jealousy making me tense?
“A friend of mine, Crysta Evans, has a cousin on the Vampire Navy SEAL team,” she said. “Lieutenant Tripp. I’ve never met him.”
Relief coursed through me that she didn’t say Sam. Nevertheless, I flinched. I mean, what were the odds of her knowing someone I knew? If I thought she was working for my grandmother, I didn’t anymore. Though I couldn’t open the entire jar of trust. Just because she was military didn’t mean she couldn’t be bought to side with the enemy. Yet what I’d shared so far wasn’t top secret. My enemies, including Granny, knew everything except the part where I was pregnant and carrying four babies. Even the latter would be revealed when or if my grandmother found me. Hell, my captors had probably revealed that to Granny already.
“I know Tripp,” I said. “He’s Sam Mason’s immediate boss. Sam is also the father of my unborn children.”
Awe washed over her as she fixated on me. “TheSam Mason. Son to Steven Mason?”
I licked my lips. “You know the Masons?”
“Not personally. But again, it’s a small community.”
Silence hung over the table.
She was probably ruminating over Sam and me or my situation in general. I was sure she had a thousand more questions. I had a few for her. But when she started eating, that was my confirmation that the food wasn’t drugged.
I was tempted to pour the soup down my throat. Instead, I shoveled it into my mouth as fast as I could.
She emptied her bowl quickly. “I’m curious how a vampire hunter hooks up with the enemy—and such a powerful one at that. Were you trying to kill Sam?” Her golden-yellow eyes were alight with curiosity as though she was listening to someone read her a good book.
I grinned, remembering the night at the vampire club. “My two sisters and I were hired to capture Sam. The job was supposed to be simple.” I laughed at the idiocy of what had happened. “Or so I thought. All we had to do was shoot a few drug-filled darts into him, knock him out, then hand him off to our benefactor.”
“Let me guess. The job didn’t go well,” she said with a smirk.
I chuckled. “Not in the least.” The only good to come out of that night was Sam. He’d stolen my breath and probably my heart, but I’d had no notion of giving him my soul. Oh, how things had changed. “It turns out Sam Mason was a hard vampire to nail.” Maybe not in the bedroom, but she didn’t need to know that. Nevertheless, heat wormed its way down to settle between my legs. “Anyway, to make a very long story short, Sam and I hooked up. And you see the rest.” I glanced at my stomach.
She rubbed her lips together. “So, your grandmother found out about you and Sam. Does she live in these parts?”
Her inquisitive nature and the compassion in her eyes gave me more of a sense that I could confide in her. So, after a sip of water, I continued. “Not at all. My grandmother, Harriet Aberdeen, has some sick plans in store for me. She’s teamed up with a company called Intech. The man who owns that company is trying to develop a way to genetically alter humans into someone like you and Sam.”
Her jaw dropped as she fumbled for her dog tags and clutched them. It was as if the tags were a talisman used as a calming device. “You’re kidding.”
I inhaled deeply and after releasing my breath said, “I’m afraid not.”
“Genetic engineering?” She sounded horrified.
Join the club, I wanted to say. “I can’t fall into the hands of my grandmother, Rebekah. I’ll never see Sam again. You said earlier that you had a way to communicate. I believe this is an emergency. Please! We need to leave. Now!” I didn’t care if we traveled in the pouring rain, but thankfully, the dark clouds hadn’t opened up yet. “How far is the ranger’s station?”
