CHAPTER TEN
Eva didn’t know what to make of Raz, who insisted he had no last name.
On one hand, he was the picture-perfect example of a vampire who was good at stealth. Sometimes, she couldn’t even tell that he was in the same room she was in, which meant he had to make an effort to announce his presence if need be and could do whatever he wanted without her knowledge. That was dangerous in itself, along with the idea that he was the one guiding the kids to the forest now practically every night, and she couldn’t be sure if he would be manipulating their minds in the process. A quick interrogation of the kids determined that hadn’t happened yet, but she never knew when the wheel would turn.
On the other hand, it was almost three weeks, and all three of them—her, Ana, and Peter—were still alive. He’d have been a lousy killer if killing them was his purpose, and Eva was sure Raz was far from lousy. All of his moves spoke of calculation and purpose, and he never wasted energy unless absolutely necessary.
Which was why it also puzzled her why he was being so adamant about protecting the kids when she couldn’t see how it would benefit him in the long run.
It didn’t help that he was handsome—too handsome for his own good and using that to get in her good graces, along with his innate charm. She imagined he would have made a good politician had he been human, or some television figure or businessman. He had all the makings of those, and she was pretty sure that honeyed mouth of his caught more flies than it ought to. It should have turned her off, knowing he had the experience and would use it to his advantage with no qualms. But for some reason, it made something in her stir, a hot and heavy feeling that singed her bones and made her squirm more times than she wanted.
It was attraction. It had to be attraction. But obviously it was one-sided, and she’d been attracted to enough troublesome guys to know when to pursue it and when to take a step back—and when it came to Raz, the best bet was to take a step back. A very long step back.
Despite that earlier vampire attack and this vampire’s intrusion in her life, her work routine remained the same: go to the bakery early, create and recreate pastries, help out Jenny when she was done with baking, go home right away. The only significant change was that she no longer needed to go to the hospital as much for the blood bags, and had to explain to her witch friend that she was switching to other methods to help the kids out. On Friday, however, she decided to drop by just after work and get some stock for the weekend, just in case the kids needed a change.
At first, the sight of Malena looking at her worriedly had Eva thinking that maybe her friend was worried she was getting in over her head. Eva couldn’t exactly tell the other about Raz’s presence, but she spoke ahead the moment she was within hearing distance, wanting to ease the worry off.
“I’m fine, the kids are fine,” she assured firmly. “They haven’t consumed human blood in more than three weeks, and they aren’t acting violently at all.”
Malena stared at her as she got some blood bags prepared. Wordlessly, she put them to the side and walked to the nearest dresser, taking out some local newspapers. She then handed them to Eva, who read the headlines Malena specifically highlighted.
They dated back to the day she got sick and ran on until yesterday—reports of missing teens, as well as some adults whose bodies were found butchered with missing parts and drained of blood. It was speculated that a serial killer was on the loose, one so violent that the town was planning to involve the other towns to keep a watch out for the culprit. Eva covered her mouth as bile rose in her throat again, remembering what Raz had shown her in the forest weeks ago.
She was wrong, and he was right. Ana was unstable.
And Eva had to do something about it fast.
She stared at Malena, who stared back at her.
“I was waiting for you to come back,” Malena said. “I knew you were alive, but when you didn’t come back…I was very afraid.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Eva found herself saying.
If anything, that only made Malena look more worried. “But I can help you with spells—”
Eva’s hand clamped on Malena’s wrist firmly. “I don’t want her tracing it back to you. She knows me, and she’ll listen to me. Let me handle this.”
There was tense silence between them for a long time. Finally, the witch nodded her head.
“Stay safe, Eva.”
Eva nodded her head in return, hugging the other. Then she was taking the bags and walking as fast as she could back to the house.
*****
“You need my help to what?”
The slight incredulity in Raz’s tone indicated that he didn’t quite expect her to ask for help in the first place, something that spoke a lot about her pride more than anything else. She swallowed that pride now and faced him squarely, knowing now was her only chance to ask him while Ana and Peter were still roaming about in the forest.
“I need your help to catch Ana in the act,” she said, repeating her earlier words. Before he could state another question, she made it easier for him by placing the papers Malena gave her right in front of him, then stepping back to let him see to them.
Raz read quickly, his expression never changing. They were both sitting on opposite ends of the couch, her body tense while his was ever so relaxed. Finally, he looked up, blue eyes meeting hers.
“And what will you do once you catch her in the act?” he asked.
It was a question she expected, and one she didn’t have an answer to yet. “That’s why I’m asking for your help.”
“And if I end up killing her?”
“You won’t,” she insisted. “You’ve been with them for weeks and know her violent tendencies, but you never did anything to harm her. So you won’t.”
“I’ve never caught her in the act,” he said softly. “Innocent until proven guilty, as they say.”
Eva tilted her head. He said it with conviction, but instinct told her that wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t harmed the kids.
It was because he didn’t want to.
She leaned forward. “You’re full of bull, you know that?” she whispered, making his lips quirk. It made her gaze stray towards his mouth, but she quickly shot her gaze back up before he could catch on.
“And you’re too trusting,” he said.
“I don’t fully trust you,” she admitted. “But I’m learning to. And I know you’ll do the right thing for Ana if we do catch her in the act.”
“Stop trusting me,” Raz warned.
“All the more reason for me to,” she shot back. Eva held out her hand, waiting. His gaze zoned in on it, then went back to her. A spark of heat entered his eyes, turning them a deeper blue that made her unable to look away. She thought he would reject her request because he looked like he was on the verge of doing so.
Instead, he raised his own hand and took hers. She was shocked again at how warm he felt when they shook on it. Electricity flew. Then she was snatching her hand back, afraid of getting scalded.
Not the least bit affected, Raz nodded.
“We’ll wait tonight,” he instructed. “Act as normal as possible and do the normal dinner routine. We’ll know the answer soon after dinner.”
Dinner came and went, surprising Eva with the easiness of it. Considering how tense she felt, it was a miracle she was able to act normal. It took her some effort to keep her tone modulated as she asked to speak with Raz just as they were about to leave, giving him the leeway to shoo them off to roam on their own. The kids didn’t look the least bit suspicious, though Ana shot them both a look of curiosity before she followed her brother out the backyard.
Eva washed the dishes, and Raz helped her wipe them. No word was said between them as they waited for the time and felt each other’s presence side by side.
Finally, after what had to be ages, Raz took the last dish from her, wiped it dry, and placed it quietly on the rack.
“It’s time,” he said.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, hoping against hope that there was actually some serial killer lurking out there rather than her niece causing havoc. Eva nodded.
“Alright.”