No one had ever said that to her before. No one and she—
She didn’t know how she felt. There was no ready response on her tongue. She could only stare at him and realize that the curve of his lips looked sad.
Because he understood. He knew her better than any of the others ever had.
A rap sounded at their door. “Playtime’s over,” Zane called out.
But Simon’s stare didn’t waver.
She should say something. Anything. Her hands shook as she pressed the snap of her jeans. Her sex—inside, she could still feel him. “The plan…” she cleared her throat and tried again. “The plan’s to attack tonight. We go in under the darkness and we hit them fast and hard. They—they won’t expect us.” Thanks to Erin and some magic strings she’d pulled, the story of their “death” had made the local headlines. “If luck’s on our side, they won’t even know we’re attacking until it’s too late.”
“Grim will know.” Certain.
Her jaw locked. “And he’ll die.” Because this madness was ending. Revenge—hell, why did it seem so empty now? Why, when she looked at Simon, did she just want to run to him and—
To run away with him.
No. Grim wouldn’t stop if they fled. If he found out they were alive, he wouldn’t stop until they were dust.
She couldn’t walk away with a monster like him out there. Because there would be other families. Like hers. Like Nina’s.
Nina.
Was she still alive? Where was she? Dee had thought of her when the pain eased and the bloodlust lessened. Zane had gone out scouting, but he’d found no sign of the woman.
Maybe she hadn’t gone after Grim. Maybe she’d just run.
Couldn’t blame her. Not a bit.
A harder knock shook the door. “If we’re taking Grim out, we need to move.”
Yet Simon stood, as still as a statue before her.
Because he was waiting on her to say something.
I’ll f**king love you forever.
But she didn’t know what to say. Her throat was tight. Her heart nearly ripping through her chest.
And she was afraid.
When she loved, people got hurt.
So Dee swallowed back the words that wanted to rise up and she held his stare, so scared of what he made her feel.
Simon finally turned away, and grabbed the clothes she’d lain out for him.
Her shoulders fell. Emotion. She’d never been good with feelings. Never understood them, not the good ones, anyway.
Rage. Hate. Vengeance. Her life. Those she understood.
Love? That scared her. Love led to pain. She’d had enough pain.
But when Simon had said he loved her…
Her heart had stopped. Her breath had died.
Dee didn’t know what she felt for him. She wanted him, needed him, and if anyone tried to hurt him, she’d kick some ass.
Love—what was it, really?
Spending forever with someone? She glanced at Simon. All she could see was his strong, stiff back.
Her hands still trembled so she balled them into fists. Not now. This wasn’t the time.
But things weren’t going to end like this.
Forever? Dee exhaled. Marriage and a picket fence had never been for her, she knew that, even before her change. Her life was too hard. She was too hard for someone to love.
No, Simon said he loves me.
She turned away and gave him a few minutes to dress. And she gave herself some time to get herself together. Seriously, she had to get a grip.
When he was done, she schooled her features, and they marched to the door. With a jerk of her wrist, she opened the door. Zane waited for her, his hands crossed over his chest. The paleness that had drawn his features before—because of the blood he’d lost—was gone.
His hooded gaze raked her. “You sure you’re up for this?”
Of course not. But there were only two options: Kill or die. Dee cleared her throat, then asked, “Are you?” She’d tried to ditch him once, and, in typical Zane style, he’d come through to save her butt.
She didn’t want to risk him, but knew there was no way he’d let her get in another sucker punch.
“I’m your backup, baby.”
A snarl sounded behind her and one black brow rose. “Guess lover boy’s awake, huh?” Zane asked.
The floor creaked. “Yeah, he is.” Simon came to her side. She glanced back and forth between the two men. Simon’s jaw worked and then he managed, “Thank you.”
A crooked smile twisted Zane’s lips. “Hard, wasn’t it?”
“Fuck yeah.”
“You sound just like Dee.” The smile vanished. “Giving you my blood was harder.”
A grim nod. “I won’t forget.”
“I won’t let you.” A pause. “And believe me, I call in my debts.”
Yes, he did.
Zane’s gaze turned back to Dee. “What are our odds?”
She forced a shrug. “I figure about forty-sixty.”
A low whistle. “That sucks.”
Dead right. Dee squared her shoulders. “Let’s do this.” Before more vamps came hunting for her. She didn’t want to be caught off-guard again. Three recent, brutal attacks. When Grim wanted you dead, the guy just didn’t stop. Now that she was Born, he was desperate to stop that “prophecy” from coming true.
Grim didn’t f**k around.
He was about to learn that neither did she.
Chapter 15
He’d pay his debt to the demon, one way or another. Simon stalked across the barren earth, keeping his head low as he followed the male shifter to Grim’s lair.
Jude Donovan moved easily over the rough terrain, never taking a misstep, and his woman, the deceptively delicate ADA Erin Jerome, kept perfect pace with him. Another shifter. The guy’s mate.
Simon didn’t know much about her, other than that she worked in the Baton Rouge prosecutor’s office and that the tiger was very, very possessive of her.
She hadn’t given him blood, something else he knew. Probably because the tiger wouldn’t allow her to link with a male vampire.
“This is it,” Jude’s nearly soundless voice had the group pausing.
Simon glanced over at Dee. Heavily armed, eyes shining in the darkness, she was one fine sight to behold.
“You sure about this?” Erin asked, casting a quick glance at the ramshackle buildings that waited in the distance. They couldn’t get much closer or the vamps would catch the distinct scent of the shifters. They’d have to hang back for now, with the demon. “Just walking right up to him, um, that doesn’t seem like the best plan.”