Chapter 2 #2
The truth was, we’d gotten a little lucky. As much as my team was growing more skilled, if the vampires had been awake, we would have had a very different situation.
“We should go to the academy and see what else we can take on,” Naomi said. “I feel like we could kill ten more vampires tonight. And Vegas would be a lot safer if we did.”
“I couldn’t do another tonight,” I replied, aware I was already slowing as we got closer to the academy building. From the outside it was just another office in the city, but once we were inside a lot of scrutiny would be on me. Not to mention my team.
They had been misfits. The quirky, outspoken, questioning hunters, and I had brought us all together. When I’d done it, it had made sense on some level. But I knew the academy talked. If they were unhappy with me before, they were even more disgruntled now.
Despite that, we were getting results and we had made a fair bit of money already. More than I had in the same sort of time frame with my previous team. And being the team leader got me a larger cut of the money as well. Not that I took too much more, but a little.
Then there was the matter of the large sum the academy had paid me for killing Ludis. He had been a powerful vampire and a big struggle. It was supposed to have taken a big team a lot of effort and expense. I’d been offered the job as a way of redeeming myself.
Of all the traits a vampire hunter wasn’t supposed to exhibit, sympathy for vampires was the worst offender.
And I hadn’t just almost screwed up a mission because I had hesitated, showing sympathy for a new turned, but I had then spent a significant amount of time on what was supposed to be my redemption mission in bed with a true-blood.
On top of that, I wasn’t sorry about it. I knew that if Leandro walked into my life again and so much as looked at me with desire in his eyes, I’d happily let him do as he wished with me. There was something about the vampire that undid every sensible thought I had.
Despite him being the epitome of the creatures I had been warned about my whole life and raised to fight, I felt safe with him. I had been safe with him. And now I had his ring in my pocket and it had kept me safe several times since.
“You’re not like other vampire hunters, are you?” Tess said, looking at me. I lifted an eyebrow, wondering if she’d just read my mind.
“Of course she’s not,” Alan replied, and Naomi nodded. Still, I didn’t answer the question.
“She’s got a brain and she doesn’t treat vampires like mindless beasts to be killed without a second thought. Of course she’s different. But it’s the kind of different that will keep us all alive.”
I chuckled. “Or the kind of different that the academy say will get you killed.”
“That’s when you trust vampires you shouldn’t. Or when you trust people you shouldn’t,” Naomi replied.
“You make it sound as if people are as likely to betray us as vampires.” Tess shook her head at the thought, but I glanced at Naomi and she was nodding.
“I don’t trust most people more than I would trust a vampire. People are as likely to stab you in the back. At least vampires are honest about what they need. They need blood and some of them can’t control how much they take. The ones who can enjoy taking humans as pets.”
“I wouldn’t want to be one of their pets,” Alan replied, shuddering.
“Don’t mock it until you’ve tried it,” I said without thinking. While it wasn’t something I’d thought I’d enjoy, I had found it surprisingly easy to get used to.
My entire team stared at me for a few seconds. I shrugged again, not sure what to say.
“Have you been an enthralled?” Tess asked.
“Not officially.” I knew as soon as I said it that it wasn’t strong enough of a denial. They were already looking at me with interested expressions again.
Alan looked between the two women on my team. All of us had stopped walking now and I knew there was no way I could avoid this scrutiny.
“The academy want us to think all vampires are bad, but they’re like us.
All different, just like you’ve said. I’ve never officially been an enthralled, but I do know a vampire that I don’t hate or want to kill, and that’s all I’m willing to say on the matter.
” I tried to sound as if it was final, and for the first time ever I wished I was in the academy rather than out on the streets of Vegas.
Not one of them would be pushing for more details inside the academy.
Naomi tilted her head to one side, not giving up just yet.
“We all know you must have some secrets. We also all know who your parents were. I get that the academy doesn’t teach us every last bit of information we need to know.
We’re not going to tell any secrets you do pass to us to the academy.
It doesn’t deserve to know them. But we won’t pressure you either.
Just know that we’ve got your back and we want to learn the things you know.
To go beyond being an academy vampire hunter just like your parents did. ”
I considered her words, trying to process what she said about my parents more than the rest. What did she mean? How had they gone beyond the academy?
It was a question for another day, however. I wasn’t going to tell my team anything else right now. Not without long thought over what I said and how.
“Let’s get this mission turned in and see what is up on the board for another day. I’m tired.” As I spoke, the three of them looked disappointed but they accepted that I wasn’t going to say anything more. They already knew more than I ever thought I would tell anyone.