Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“I’m not attracted to humans,” he says gruffly. There’s a defensiveness to his tone that makes me certain I’m right.
Abe pulls up in front of a sprawling mansion with iron gates. He rolls his window down to speak to the camera, but the gates swing open before he does.
My sense of misgiving amplifies a hundred times. “Where are we? Is this the drug dealer? Abe, what’s happening?”
It’s pitch black outside when Abe pulls up in the circle drive and parks the car. His expression is set in a grim line, and his shoulders are tense, like he’s bracing against something. He’s worried too. Or he has a distaste for whatever he’s about to do.
I panic. “Abe, don’t do this. I won’t tell your secret, I swear. Just take me home. This doesn’t feel right.”
Abe reaches for a pair of mirrored sunglasses in the center console and, even though it’s dark out, puts them on. “It doesn’t feel right to me either, to be honest. And yeah, I guess I can tell you now since you won’t remember, I’m definitely attracted to you.”
He swings his door open and climbs out.
The momentary flicker of triumph at his admission of attraction immediately dies when the other part sinks in. I won’t remember this? I won’t remember getting to know what’s under the school bully’s assholery.
How he went out to search for my mom’s letter. Or how he held me when I cried. I won’t remember that Abe isn’t as big of a dick as he pretends to be.
Or that what they say about boys who pick on girls is true—he likes me.
He opens my door.
“I don’t like this.” My throat is clogged. “What’s happening?”
He rips the duct tape off my ankles and picks me up by the waist to lift me out of the SUV and onto my feet. “It’s about to get a whole lot more like Twilight.”
“What do you mean?”
“Werewolves may not exist, but vampires do.”
Chapter Seven
Abe
I’m sick to my stomach as I take Lauren’s elbow.
She resists me, yanking out of my grasp.
“No. You’re not bringing me there. No fucking way.”
I’ll say one thing about the ice princess—she has good instincts. She’s right to balk at this. I’m wrecked over it.
“I’m sorry, Pearls.” I swing her up into my arms. She kicks her feet and hits me with her taped hands, but she’s no match for me.
“Abe, no! Put me down! Take me home!” She attempts to turn her body and twist out of my arms. The scent of her fear makes my wolf snarl with the need to defend her.
“You’re not—” Her words die when the door swings open, and a slender kid in a 1920’s blue velvet smoking jacket opens the door.
He looks like he can't be older than Lauren and I, but I’m not deceived. Based on his fashion choices he’s probably over 100 years.
“Thomas?” I ask. The scent of the undead makes my skin crawl. I’ve never seen a leech in person before.
It’s scary as fuck.
The vampire barely spares me a glance, but he takes a slow lecherous perusal of Lauren’s body, lingering on the soft exposed flesh beneath her breasts. I can’t believe I didn’t give her a different shirt to wear. What in the fuck is wrong with me?
I lower her feet to the ground, whip my shirt off, and pull it over her head and shoulders. With her wrists bound in front of her, the sleeves hang empty like she’s an armless mannequin. I keep my body angled, so the leech can’t see the pistol in the waistband of my jeans. The bullets in it are made of silver.
“A wolf pup and a mortal teen on my doorstep. How uninteresting.” His gaze snaps to me like a weapon. Of course, it is a weapon. “Take off your sunglasses, wolf child.”
“No.” I say it firmly. I’m wearing mirrored sunglasses. He shouldn’t be able to catch my gaze through these and glamour me into doing what he wants.
I don’t say No, sir, like I would if he were a wolf elder. I’m just here for a transaction. I can’t trust this leech. But I don’t want to antagonize him–he’s dangerous and only out for himself and his kind. The sooner I complete business and get out of here, the better.
My hand itches to reach for my weapon, but I don’t. I need to stay cool.
The vampire gives me a chilling smile. “Where is the money?”
I fork over the two thousand bucks I took from my dad’s floor safe. That’s how much Austin’s contact said it would be. I’ll have to figure out a way to pay it back before my dad finds out.
Lauren must remember she was trying to escape because she turns to run. I catch her around the waist and spin her back to face Thomas.