Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Simon had been trained to sit motionless for hours. Surveillance was half the job—waiting in shadows, tracking targets, learning patterns before the kill. He'd once spent five hours in a tree waiting for a vampire to return to its nest.
This was different.
This was sitting in his own bedroom watching the world's most pathetic vampire drool on his pillow.
Charlie had curled into a ball almost immediately after pulling the blanket over his head, knees drawn up, one arm tucked under the pillow. He'd shifted twice in the past hour, each time pulling himself smaller, like he was trying to take up as little space as possible even unconscious.
Simon's stake rested across his lap, unused.
Why hadn't he used it?
The question kept circling back. At the convenience store, Charlie had been unconscious on the floor. Simon had had the perfect opportunity to deliver a quick thrust between the ribs, and then he could have told Denton the kid was quitting, that he'd run away.
The store manager would likely have believed it.
But instead of doing the smart thing, Simon had helped carry the vampire to a break room couch.
Then brought him home.
Fed him.
Put him in his bed.
Simon's fingers drummed against the stake. Every single action went against his training, his purpose, everything the organization believed in.
Everything he believed in.
He didn't take in stray vampires. He certainly didn't feed them.
And yet.
Charlie made a small sound in his sleep, face scrunching before relaxing again.
In the dim light from the window, he looked maybe twenty-five.
Young. Human, if you ignored the pale skin and the way he didn't breathe quite right—too shallow, irregular, like his body kept forgetting it was supposed to maintain the pretense.
The blood had helped. Charlie's skin had lost that gray undertone. His lips no longer looked cracked. He'd stopped shaking.
And his eyes. They had turned brown. Chocolate brown.
All because Simon had given a vampire his own blood.
He hadn't even been sure it would work until the first drop hit Charlie's tongue and the vampire transformed. But it had worked.
His blood had nourished a vampire back to health.
Reuben would kill him. Actually kill him.
His phone vibrated.
Speak of the devil.
Simon grabbed it before the buzzing could wake Charlie, stepping toward the window as he answered.
"Status?" Reuben's voice was clipped. Never one for pleasantries after midnight.
"Still tracking." The lie came out smooth. A few feet away, Charlie pulled the blanket higher.
"Turner said you haven't filed a report."
"Because there's nothing to report."
"You've been on this for over twelve hours and you have nothing?"
Simon licked his lips. His boss wouldn't believe him if he feigned incompetence. Maybe deflection would work.
"The intelligence was wrong," Simon said, keeping his voice low. "You know that. We both know that. Someone fed us bad information."
"Agreed. But that's irrelevant to the mission parameters."
"It's entirely relevant. Someone wanted us to eliminate this particular vampire. Why?"
Reuben was quiet for a moment. "You can eliminate the vampire and then find out."
"The thing is, I think someone's playing us." Simon watched the city lights below. "And I want to know who before I—"
A sound from the bed cut him off.
Not quite a word, more a wounded noise. Charlie's breathing had changed. It came faster now, distressed.
Simon pressed the phone harder against his ear, willing Reuben not to have heard.
"Before you what?" Reuben asked.
"Before I move forward. I lost him after the convenience store. He disappeared before I could track him properly."
Another sound from the bed. Louder.
"Simon, is someone there?"
Before Simon could respond, Charlie whimpered.
Hells, why did that pathetic vampire have to choose this exact moment to have a nightmare?
Simon hadn't known vampires could have nightmares.
"Simon?" Reuben asked.
Fuck.
Simon made a decision fast. "Someone's at my door," he said into the phone. "Probably Mrs. Chen from 4B again. Hold on."
He muted the phone and crossed to Charlie in two strides, placing his hand firmly over Charlie's mouth just as he started to cry out. Charlie's eyes flew open, panicked and unfocused.
"Shh," Simon whispered harshly. "Stay quiet."
Charlie blinked up at him, confused and still half-caught in whatever nightmare had gripped him. Tears tracked down his face, pooling against Simon's fingers.
Simon unmuted the phone, keeping his hand in place. "Sorry about that. Mrs. Chen's convinced someone's been stealing her newspapers."
"At one in the morning?"
"She's... not all there anymore. I should go deal with this before she wakes the whole floor."
Charlie's breathing was hot against his palm, rapid and scared. But he'd gone still, those brown eyes locked on Simon's face like he was the only real thing in the world.
"The vampire," Reuben said, pulling Simon back. "I trust that you'll have something to report by morning."
"Of course I will."
Charlie's eyes widened. Simon pressed his hand down slightly—a warning.
"Good. I want this resolved, Simon. The intelligence might be wrong, but he's still a vampire."
"Understood."
"And Simon? Don't let your curiosity override your training. In the end, vampires are all the same. Don't forget that."
The warning was clear. Albrecht had gotten "curious" once. They'd found him drained in his own apartment, his research notes scattered around his body.
"That won't be a problem," Simon said.
"See that it isn't. I'll be expecting your report."
The line went dead.
Simon stayed frozen for another heartbeat, Charlie's tears wet against his palm, before slowly removing his hand.
Charlie immediately gasped, pulling in air he didn't need. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—I was—there was a dream and—"
"Stop talking."
Charlie's mouth snapped shut.
Simon sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly exhausted. That had been too close. Way too close.
"That was your boss?" Charlie whispered.
"Yes."
"The one who wants me dead?"
"He wants all vampires dead. You're not special."
Charlie pulled himself up to sitting, the blanket pooling in his lap. His hair stuck up at odd angles. "You lied to him."
Simon didn't answer.
"Why?"
That was the question, wasn't it? Why was he protecting this pathetic excuse for a vampire? Why had he fed him? Why was Charlie in his bed instead of dust on the convenience store floor?
"I don't know," Simon admitted.
Charlie studied him for a long moment. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. This doesn't change anything. You're still a vampire. I'm still a hunter."
"Right." Charlie hugged his knees to his chest. "So what happens now?"
Simon honestly had no idea.