Page 54 of The Tracker's Secret
“Well, you’ve brought food.” I gestured toward the back. “Anthonino’s burgers, if I’m correct. So yeah, you can come in.” I wasthateasy to bribe. One big fat bacon cheeseburger and I would agree to anything.
He smiled one of his crooked smiles, and inevitably, my heart went all squishy and weak, and I forgot how angry I was at him for constantly sticking his nose in my business, even if he’d made it very clear that, despite our dumb attraction, I was not what he needed.
He wore a gray shirt, with the top two buttons undone, revealing a triangle of smooth, golden chest. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the muscles in his strong forearms rippled as he set the bag on the table and proceeded to take the food out. After handing over a wrapped burger and a box of fries, he ripped the paper bag open and laid it over the desk so we could eat on top of it. He went back out and returned with a couple of drinks.
“I left them on Rosalina’s desk,” he said apologetically as he took the chair across from mine. “I brought her a burger, too. I just didn’t know how she liked it, so it had everything in it. I hope that’s fine.”
I nodded and smiled. Jake could be so thoughtful, and yet such an asshole. Why couldn’t I just find the perfect guy? Both Jake and Stephen had great traits but also such big flaws.
I unwrapped my burger and peeked inside.
“No worries,” Jake said. “It doesn’t have any onions, but it does have extra pickles and mustard.”
There he went, remembering exactly how I liked things. A breath shuddered out of me of its own accord. He glanced up from his fries and met my gaze.
After a moment of silence, he whispered, “I wanted to apologize about the other night.”
I said nothing.
“You see,” he went on, “I wanted to let you be as I promised I would, but I... I just can’t. This is why I don’t like promises. They come back to haunt you. When I see that you’re in danger, a protective instinct takes over, and I can’t help myself.”
I huffed.
“Haven’t you ever done exactly the opposite of what you intended to do?” he asked.
I almost burst out laughing. I’ddonehim. I still wanted todohim, even as my brain screamed that it was the stupidest thing I could possibly do.
“Nope, I wouldn’t know about that.” I stuffed a fry into my mouth and stared at the ceiling.
He chuckled, knowing perfectly well I was lying. “Things are bad out there, Toni. This brewing war between vampires and werewolves is reaching a boiling point. You know Stephen and Ulfen are at the center of it, but you may not realize that Eric Cross and Damien Ward are also involved.”
I froze, poised to take a bite of my burger. Slowly, I set it down and met his gaze. “They are?”
He nodded.
“How?”
“There’s this new drug. It came onto the market no more than a couple of months ago, but it’s already wreaking havoc. It’s at the heart of the conflict in the Skew community.”
I swallowed thickly and spoke almost involuntarily. “Rhabo.”
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “How did you hear about it?”
“Um, Lucia told me. She heard about it in school.”
Jake nodded, satisfied with my lie. High school kids are always in the know, and my sister was one of the “in” kids. She was always up to speed on everything. It was kind of scary, actually.
“But... she didn’t know much about it,” I added. “What is it exactly?”
“No one knows, but it’s clearly the creation of some witch or mage. There’s definitely magic in it, some toxic chemicals, too. It’s highly addictive, and vampires are dropping dead like flies. As you can imagine, vamp leaders are in an uproar and very focused on finding the source. Bernadetta Fiore blames werewolves. She thinks that whoever created this drug works for them, and she may not be far from the truth. Vampires are out every night, looking for dealers and killing them. Most of the time, they turn out to be werewolves.”
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath as the magnitude of the problem became evident. “I had no idea.”
He gave me a “do you see why I want to protect you?” look, though really, it should have been more like a “do you see why I’ve been acting like an ass?” kind of look.
“How do Eric Cross and Damien Ward fit into the picture?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“There are people who think Ward might have had a hand in creating rhabo.”
