Page 38 of Secret of the Vampire
“I don’t want you to.” And I really didn’t. I enjoyed her company more than I thought possible.
“I have to.”
“I’ll walk you home.”
She shook her head. “No. You can’t.”
I clenched my jaw. “I don’t like you roaming The Quarter alone.”
“I’ll run,” she said with a smile. “Vamp speed.”
Although she was smiling, I could tell there would be no arguing with her, so I gave in. “Let me know when you’re in the house.”
“Deal,” she told me.
I walked her to the wall where she’d come in. She stopped and listened for a moment, then graced me with one last smile before she backed up a few steps and leapt the wall, landing silently on the other side.
By the time I let myself out of the gate, magically locking it behind me, she was gone. I’d only made it to the end of the block when I received a text.
Home. Thank you for tonight.
Then a few seconds later,
We can’t do that again.
I laughed. Little things like agreements between covens and a scary djinn were not enough to keep me away from this female.
Chapter 14
Kenya
Iwaited until Alex had left the graveyard before I hit send on my phone, alerting him to the fact that I was home safe and sound and not following him down the empty streets of New Orleans.
I was taking a huge risk. I knew this. But I had to know if I could trust him or if he was just feeding me a bunch of bullshit.
Djinn were known to be liars. Manipulative. Power hungry. It truly frightened me that this was in his blood. And if what he’d said was true, if it was activated the night he’d saved me, then perhaps he really wasn’t the same guy he’d always been. Not that I’d known him well before, but I’d always had the impression he was a well-respected member of the Moss coven.
Besides, if anyone was a wild card there, it was the witch with the bright red hair and rebellious pale green eyes. I’d put money on that one any day.
But I couldn’t help but worry that this was nothing but a game for him. What if he was lying about his power? What if Alex had been in cahoots with his djinn uncle all this time?
And did the entire witch coven know? Were they all just playing with us? What if the curse that almost killed me had been planned all along? Same as Alex being the one to save me? It would explain why I, the only female vampire and completely insignificant as far as coven hierarchy, was the one who was attacked.
Perhaps I was saved only so he could earn my trust. So he could seduce me and have an “in” into my coven. Get close to me, and therefore close to Killian.
I was an easy target for a male such as Alex.
My stomach dropped at the thought. But why else would Alex, who just a few weeks ago was insisting I didn’t go anywhere alone or even stay at the club after closing time by myself, suddenly deem it perfectly safe for me to ditch that guard and have a secret meetup with him so we could make out in a graveyard? He’d told me I didn’t need to worry about the djinn tonight. How would he know that? And why go from super cautious to completely blasé about the whole thing seemingly overnight?
Yeah, I wasn’t stupid.
Even if he hadn't been in on the djinn's plans all along, maybe something had happened. He'd turned Alex somehow. Used our attraction to each other against him. Manipulated him.
Maybe the djinn was playing a game with the both of us.
I ground my teeth together as rage flooded through me. How dare he play with me this way.
And at that very moment, I couldn’t have said which "he" I was talking about exactly, or which one I was angrier with, but I was done being at the center of their game. Done being the victim.
