CHAPTER EIGHT
Eva woke up with a blank mind and the feeling that she’d just been brutally beaten. It didn’t take long for all her memories to come rushing back, bombarding her with image after image of the vampire who attacked her—then, the vampire who asked to be let in to save the children. She didn’t remember much after that, which was why Eva found herself sitting straight up in bed and practically flying out of it as she rushed towards the children’s bedroom.
It was empty…and clean. Almost by instinct, she rushed to the third bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief when she found Peter there. He was buried under the blankets and sleeping soundly, and he stirred and blinked his eyes at her when he saw her standing in the doorway.
Beside him, Ana was still fast asleep.
“We’re glad you’re okay,” he mumbled sleepily before he closed his eyes again.
Eva breathed a sigh of relief, putting her palm over her madly beating heart. Belatedly, she looked down at her torn clothes and found that there were bandages all over her—clean-cut ones that looked like they were placed there with care, and she was pretty sure neither of the kids could do that.
She prepared herself, bringing out her shotgun from the hidden closet. Then she was trudging down as quietly as she could, preparing herself for some kind of trap. But there was none, and the whole first floor was empty and just as clean as the second one. Eva went to the backyard and found it spotless. Then she went to the front, where she finally found the second vampire, the one named Raz, sitting on the porch swing and drinking what smelled like a strong cup of coffee. He was wearing a maroon sweater and black trousers that looked good on him and made him seem almost human.
Almost. Those eyes…
“Good morning,” he greeted once she was in sight, his eyes straying towards her weapon. “You can put that away.”
“Why?”
Raz shrugged. “Had I wanted you or the children dead, we wouldn’t be here talking.”
That made sense, and Eva found herself lowering her weapon before she could think about it. Then she sent him a grudging look.
“Thank you for patching me up.”
“Not a problem,” he responded.
His voice had a soothing quality to it, something that surprised her as most of her encounters with vampires had her feeling all cold and shaky. In fact, she still couldn’t detect his presence, and that was absurd because she was pretty sure this guy was more powerful than Sam and—
“What are you?”
The question interrupted her trail of thoughts, and Eva found those piercing blue eyes watching her in concentration.
“I’m human.”
“Really?” he asked softly.
She was still trying to figure out what he meant when things happened too fast for her to comprehend. One second, he was sitting on the swing—and the next, he was standing right in front of her, snatching her weapon from her hand and yanking the bandage patch off her stomach. She yelped and looked down at the smooth skin, riddled only with faint scars.
“Humans don’t heal this fast,” he intoned casually.
It was stupid of her to try to fool a vampire, but Eva glared at him, anyway. Then she shrugged. “I’m Michael’s half-sister. I’m half-shifter. Fox.”
“But you didn’t shift last night.”
“I can’t,” she almost snapped, then tried to calm herself. “Some shifters just can’t. I only have a shifter’s sharp sense.”
She thought he would ask more questions, but Raz surprised her when he nodded and went back to the swing.
She wanted to ask him to leave but was quite sure that she needed him at the moment. She wasn’t sure why. Possibly for safety. He wasn’t watching her anymore, instead watching the driveway and sipping his coffee again. Finally, Eva decided to hell with it and threw caution out the window.
“Want to come in for breakfast?”
“I don’t usually do breakfast,” he replied, “But thanks for the invitation.”
She tilted her head. Considered it. “Then do you want to leave?”
“Not really,” he replied again smoothly. “I want to discuss your brother’s kids.”
Almost immediately, her back stiffened. She took a few steps back, backing herself until she was plastered to the front door but still facing him.
“What about them?” she asked cautiously.
Raz turned his gaze in her direction and tilted his head. The way he did it was much more elegant than her, and she realized that he radiated grace in waves and had a feeling it would translate well into battle. She wasn’t sure why that entered her mind, though.
“They’re not what they seem, especially the girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“You already know they’re half-vampires. Do you know how rare they are in our world?”
“Do tell.”
She was stringing him along, but she realized she was actually interested in the answer.
“Vampire kids don’t know how to control their urge, and it’s a miracle in itself that those two can,” Raz explained. “But the girl…I assume she’s the one who killed the dog?”
Eva’s eyes widened as she remembered the dead dog all over again. How could she have forgotten? Reluctantly, she nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then you’d best watch over her. Better yet, I’d best watch over her. We can’t have her killing humans and exposing our kind to the clueless. They’re the most dangerous kind.”
It was uncanny how her witch friend warned her of the exact same thing, only worded differently. But Eva shook her head incredulously.
“Humans are dangerous? You have got to be kidding me,” she scoffed.
“Those who use their power to hurt what they don’t understand are dangerous,” he intoned softly. There was something in his tone that spoke of a very deep memory, but it was gone as soon as it came. “And I’m sure once people find out what Ana and Peter are, they’ll hurt first and think later.”
Despite the fact that Ana killed a dog, the thought of someone hurting her—and Peter—had Eva’s heart constricting. She opened her mouth to speak, but Raz was standing up again and indicating for her to follow him. She stared at his back for a few seconds before finally doing so, walking behind him as he led her to the backyard, then the forest beyond it.
She’d have thought it was some kind of trap, except she was pretty sure he didn’t intend to kill her. He was right—he could have done so already last night. So she kept following as they trudged along deeper into the woods, then stopped at a certain spot.
Raz pointed with his finger, and Eva had to squint in the dim light to see what he was referring to. When she finally did see it, her eyes widened as she realized that it was a boy, and that said boy had been dead for a long while.
Not only dead, but cannibalized.
The sight had bile rising up her throat, and Eva found herself walking out of the forest as fast as her feet could carry her. She felt lightheaded, and it was only when she reached her backyard and took in huge gulps of air that she felt any semblance of her old self. She watched as Raz followed her out of the corner of her eye, then turned to him and gave him an accusing stare.
“You could have warned me,” she muttered under her breath, knowing he could hear her perfectly well.
The vampire shrugged. “It’s best you see it with your own eyes.”
Eva remained silent for a while before finally speaking again. “How old was that body?”
“Almost a week now,” Raz replied.
Eva counted it in her head, recalling back the days and remembering that Ana and Peter had been in the forest on that particular day. Actually, they were in the forest every single night. Dread filled her stomach.
“Ana,” she whispered.
Raz nodded. “We have the same thought, then.”
She looked at him, watching no judgment in his eyes. There was only patience there, which puzzled her and had her back going up again. She’d always thought of vampires as selfish, bloodthirsty creatures and nothing more, but he was proving her wrong with every step he took. The kids did the same, retaining a certain innocence despite their nature.
“You don’t need to worry,” she told him as calmly as she could. “I’ll watch over them. They won’t hurt anyone, and no one will hurt them.”
She made a move to walk away but paused when a hand firmly held her wrist. She looked down at his hand, noting that it was large, with the longest fingers she’d ever seen on a guy. But what was surprising was how warm it felt, almost like he was human.
How many times was this vampire going to surprise her?
“We are watching over them,” he said. This time, a hint of stubbornness entered his tone. “I’m not leaving, Eva, until I’m sure they’re well-adjusted. You’re just going to have to get used to that.”
She frowned. Then she realized that she had no say in the matter because she had a feeling he was just as stubborn as she was.
And there was something larger at play here.