So Ill finish in thirty, she said. Now get lost.
Lets not start that argument again. Tucker Harbor perched at the edge of her desk, pushing books and newspapers on top of each other and crinkling their precious pages. Just to irritate her, she was sure. Im not going anywhere.
Do you mind? This stuff is important.
Yes, I do mind, thanks for asking, he said, staying put.
She glared up at him. A mix of blond and brown hair shagged around the boyish face of an angel. Which was one hundred percent false advertising, considering hed been spawned from a demon. Or would that be spawned from the devil?
When are you going to tell me what youre looking for? he asked.
When I stop wanting to rip out your trachea. In other words, never.
He shook his head in mock despondency. A hard thing to pull off while he was freaking grinning. Harsh, Mary Ann. Harsh. He was so annoying. Shed dated him for months, then dropped him like the used condom he was when she found out hed cheated on her with her best friend Penny. Penny, who was now pregnant with his kid.
Penny, whom shed forgiven and still called. As of this morning, her friend was suffering from all-day sickness. Despite that, shed managed to crawl her way out of bed to check on Mary Anns dad.
Her friends words played through her head.
Sweet Jesus, Mary Contrary, Penny had crackled over the line. Hes, like, the walking dead. He doesnt even go to work anymore. He just stays in the house. I peeked in the window last night, and he was just staring at your picture. You know Im as hard core as a girl can be, but that almost broke me.
Me, too, she thought now. Nothing I can do about that, however. Im saving his life. Shed had him freed from a vengeful fairys compulsion to never leave his room and to ignore everything around him. That would have to be enough. Better he was despondent than murdered to get to her.
And, now it was time to change the subject inside her head. What had she been thinking about before? Oh, yeah. Tucker.
Why, why, why had she convinced Aden, Riley and Victoria to save Tuckers life after a group of vampires used his body as an appetizer? If she hadnt, he wouldnt have been alive to stab Aden in the heart.
Weirdly enough, Tucker had confessed to the crime without any prompting from her. Hed even cried while telling her. Not that she had forgiven him. Maybe when the shock wore off. Then again, maybe not.
What you did to Aden was harsh, she said softly.
He blanched, but still he didnt move away. I told you. Vlad made me do it.
And how do I know youre not here under Vlads orders, watching me and reporting what I do?
Because I told you I wasnt.
And youre known for your honesty and integrity?
Sarcasm is an ugly thing, Mary Ann. Look, I did what he wanted and then I ran. I havent seen him or heard from him since.
The heard from him part gave her pause. She knew Vlad had spoken to Tucker inside his head, as if standing next to him and whispering when he hadnt actually been standing next to him and whispering. Maybe Tucker was telling the truth right now, but again, maybe he wasnt.
Bottom line: at any moment Vlad could whisper, command him to drag her home, hurt her, bury her, and Tucker would obey without hesitation. She wasnt willing to risk it.
So she said, I dont care about your reasons or that youre desperate to escape the head vamp. The facts are, you hurt Penny, hurt Aden, and youre a liability. Id be stupid to trust you.
You dont have to trust me. You just have to use me. And in my defense, again, Aden is still alive. I can feel the pull of him.
So could she, and that was the only reason she hadnt followed through with her threat to get up close and personal with his windpipe. Okay, that wasnt the only reason. She wasnt violent by nature. Usually.
Neither was Aden, but life had shaped him differently than it had shaped her. While shed grown up in the comfort of her parents love, hed grown up in the cold, uncaring walls of mental institutions, his doctors constantly shoving pills at him. Pills he hadnt wanted and hadnt liked.
The docs had assumed he was crazy, never digging deeper to get to the truth. And the truth was, Aden was a paranormal magnet. Anyone or anything with supernatural abilities was drawn to him, and their powerswhatever they werewere magnified.
Mary Ann, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She tended to repel the supernatural and suppress powers.
The suppression thing was the reason Tucker had glued himself to her side. Around her, the darkest urges of his demonic nature were eased, even forgotten. He liked that. In fact, that was the reason hed dated her. Not because hed been attracted to her, but because he liked feeling normal.
So not flattering.
Look, he said. Ive helped you, havent I?
She refused to admit that, yes, in the past few days hed helped her. She still wanted him to suck it.
Riley was closing in on you, and I cast an illusion, hiding you inside it. He passed you.
Dont take the bait. And dont you dare think about Riley! Riley, who was probablyargh! She pressed her lips together, once again remaining silent.
Tucker sighed. Such a stubborn girl.
Though she tried to stop them, thoughts of Riley continued to flood her. Riley, chasing after her the night she discovered the truth about her mother. Riley, catching her, carrying her to his car. Riley, kissing her. Comforting her. He would comfort her now, if she let him. But as much as she wanted to see him, she couldnt. She would definitely hurt him and quite possibly kill him.
And really, seeing him that last time, when hed by passed her, unaware she was right there hidden in Tuckers illusion, had nearly killed her. She loved that boy. So much so shed come close to giving him her virginity. Twice. Both times he had been the one to stop them, wanting to make sure she was ready. That she wouldnt regret what happened. That she was with him because she wanted him, and for no other reason.
Now she regretted that they hadnt.
Walking away from himfine, running as fast as her feet would carry herhad been hard. Was still hard. Harder by the second. How easy would it be to call him and ask him to pick her up? Beyond easy. Hed do it, too. Meet her wherever she asked, sweep her up and cart her to safety. Thats just how he was.
So, she had to be the same way for him. Anything to keep him safe. Even if that meant being apart. Forever.
I had to stand far away from you, Tucker went on, either oblivious to her inner turmoil or simply not caring, so you wouldnt mess with my mojo. You know, stifle it.
No. I dont know what mojo is because Im a moron.
Sarcasm again. Seriously, rethink it. Anyway. I had to be close enough to you to still be able to force Riley to see only what I wanted him to see. That wasnt easy.
She made a big production of leaning forward and studying the screen. When, in actuality, the words were kinda blurred together and had been for a while. Fatigue rode her hard. Nowadays, fatigue always rode her hard. She felt like she hadnt slept in years.
Every night, when she laid her head on whatever motel pillow she could affordor when she couldnt, whatever building she stumbled uponshe tossed and turned, her mind lost to the things shed witnessed and done what seemed an eternity ago.
Wow. An eternity that was really only about two craptastic weeks ago. Bodies had been writhing in pain all around her. Because of her. People had begged for mercy. Because of her. Because she had placed her hands on their chests and absorbed their powers, warmth and energy, leaving them with nothing, turning them into empty husks. Did you want to see the wolf? Tucker asked, head tilting to the side as he measured her expression.
Yes. The truth left her before she could stop it. How big and strong and capable Riley had looked. How frustrated and angry. Howfrightened. For her.
Exasperated, Tucker threw up his arms. Then why are you running from him?
Because she was dangerous. She wouldnt mean to, but one day she would drain the energy out of him, too. Without touching him. Truly, she didnt need to touch people to kill them. Touching helped, yes, but she could simply stand in front of them and inadvertently start tugging their life force into her own body.
Those life forces had become her food, after all.
Though shed tried, she hadnt drained Tucker yet. For some reason, she couldnt. He possessed some kind of block. Either that, or her previous overindulgence prevented her from feeding. Yet.
She should feel guilty that shed tried, because, if she had succeeded, he would never have recovered. The witches hadnt. The fairies hadnt. Only the ones whod left the fray before shed reached them had survived the carnage.
She sighed. Despite her failure with Tucker, she thought it was just a matter of time before her hunger returned in full. Every few hours, she experienced slight pangs. She feared those pangs would only grow. That they would develop invisible arms and reach out, grabbing onto whatever creature happened to be in her vicinity.
Fingers crossed, Tucker was victim one.
She found herself wondering what demons tasted like and had to shake away the thought. See? She couldnt control this newest aspect of her nature. Bile burned a path up her throat. She needed a distraction. Big-time.
Mary Ann swiveled in her chair, leaned back and rested her hands on her middle. Peering up at her ex through the thick shield of her lashes, she said, Tucker, Im no good for you. You should leave while you can. Hed get one warning. Only one.
He frowned. What does that mean?
You saw what I did that night. A statement not a question. And she didnt have to specify what night she meant.
Yeah. His frown disappeared, a high-wattage grin taking its place. And it was impressive as hell.
Impressive? Hardly. Her cheeks suffused with heat. If you stay, Ill do that to you. I wont mean toat least, thats what Ill tell anyone who questions mebut I will.
The person next to her, a college-aged girl, shushed her. Trying to work here.
Trying to converse here, Tucker said, flashing a scowl at her. You dont like it, you can move.
She moved, her ponytail angrily swishing back and forth.
Mary Ann fought a small wave of jealousy. Shed always wanted to be strong and assertive, and while she was working on it, she wasnt there yet. For Tucker, it came so effortlessly.
Tucker studied her, one brow arched. Liked that, did you?
Took a Herculean effort, but she maintained a neutral expression. No.
Liar. He rolled his eyes, then rested his elbows on his knees. Back to what we were discussing. He threw the last word at the girl, now four desks away, before refocusing on Mary Ann. Lets say I like to live on the edge, and the fact that you could one day hurt me revs my engine. But guess what, baby doll? You need me. Riley wasnt the only one chasing you, you know.
What? That was news to her.
Yep. Two girls. Both blondes. You kinda fought them before. He gave a low, raspy wolf-whistle. And BTW, theyre hot.
The bile gave her throat another good singeing. Were they wearing robes? Red robes? If so
Yes. You saw them this go-round?
No. But hot blondes shed fought before were rare. So, she knew exactly whom he spoke of and suddenly wanted to vomit.
Too bad. You could have put in a good word for me. Because, yeah, Id do em.
A good word? she scoffed, though inside she trembled. When youd do anyone? Please. The blondes were witches, no question. Witches who had escaped her wrath. Witches who now hated her for destroying their brethren. Witches with power beyond imagining.
Mmm, power
The fear momentarily left her, and her mouth watered. Witches tasted so good
When she realized what thoughts were pouring through her mind, she slapped herself on the cheek. Bad Mary Ann! Bad!
Okay, what was that about?
She ignored Tucker to concentrate on her new top priority. More wards. If witches were on her tail, she needed to be ready for their attack. And they would attack. New wards would protect her from specific spells they might cast. Spells of death, destruction and even mind control.
Yeah, the Red Robed Wretches could go there.
Hey, youre getting paler by the second. Theres no reason for you to worry. I sent them away just like I sent the wolf away. Oh, and I sent the other group chasing you away, too. A mix of males and females with sparkly skin.
Please, no. Not
Fairies, Tucker said. They were definitely fairies.
Confirmation. Wonderful. As many as she had drained, they had to want revenge just as badly as the witches. Tucker might have sent them away, but theyd be back. All of them.
So what do you come here every day to read about, huh? Tucker asked, changing the subject. To give her time to calm down? To distract her? Tell me, and maybe I can help. More, that is. Help more.
Subtle. It involves Aden, and secrets hes shared with me. And I am not sharing those secrets with you.
A moment passed in silence. Then, Secrets, secrets, lets see. There are so many to choose from, I dont know where to start.
What do you mean?
Vlad had me research Aden before I stabbed him, and guess what? Youre not the only one whos good at researching.
Heart thundering with a storm of dread, she whipped upright. What did you learn? Aden did not like anyone knowing about him. He was embarrassed, but also cautious. If the wrong person found out about himand actually believed the truthhe could be used, tested, locked away, killed. Take your pick.
Tucker held up one hand and began ticking off items like he was reading from a list. He has three souls trapped inside his head. He used to have four, and one of them was your motheryour real mother, not the aunt who raised you as if you were hersbut Eves gone now. What else? Oh, yeah. Hes now king of the vampires. Until Vlad decides to step in and take the crown back.