Page 42 of Shadow Bound

Ransom’s eyes shine with lust. “You mean I won’t have to make out with you while I let you dry hump me to get you back under control?” His tongue wets his bottom lip. “Shame. I found that quite enjoyable and was shamelessly hoping it’d happen again after I brought you that.” He points at the cup in my hand.

My cheeks heat at his words.Holy shit, am I blushing? Idon’tblush. I clear my throat. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Nah, sweetheart, you could never disappoint me.” He gives me a wicked grin before backing out of the room. “Grab your bag, we’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, grabbing the strap of my backpack. Every possession I own is in this bag and it’s not much. “Do you even know where to start looking for the rogue?”

“I want to go back up to where we last saw him and hopefully, we can pick up his scent. Then we’ll just follow that as far as we can go.” He gives me a look. “I’m kinda hoping if I give you enough blood and get you back to your full strength, we’ll be able to use that super powerful nose of yours. My sense of smell is good, but we both know yours is better.”

I bring the coffee cup to my lips and swallow a mouthful of blood. I prefer warm blood fresh from humans. When it’s been bagged, I can taste the faintest bit of plastic and it’s cold. But it’s better than nothing at this point, and at least this way I don’t have to worry about killing someone. “This won’t be enough to get me to full strength,” I tell him after swallowing and leaving the room with him. The only vehicle in the parking lot is his silver truck.

“I figured.” He points at the back door of his vehicle. “There’s a full cooler in there with more. Drink what you need, Dr. V said she could get you more.”

I want to ask why she would be willing to do something like that for a stranger, or for me in general, but I don’t, rememberingthe whole‘not everyone is a selfish prick, there are good people out there’thing. “Tell her thank you for me?”

Ransom’s lips lift and he nods. “Sure, Tink.” Pointing at my cup he wrinkles his nose. “I almost put the blood in coffee like it was some kind of iron-rich creamer, but that sounded revolting even to me, so I thought better of it.”

It happens before I can stop it. It’s a foreign feeling and catches me off guard, but it isn’t as horrible as I thought it’d be. I slap my hand over my mouth to hide it, but Ransom misses nothing when it comes to me.

“Holy shit,” he breathes. “Thatlaugh… I’ve never wanted to kiss you more.”

I laughed. It wasn’t a big, drawn-out belly laugh, but it was a laugh, nonetheless. I can’t remember the last time I did that. I was probably young, before my first kill without a doubt.

I force my face to go back to its normal expressionless state. “Don’t.”

“Icouldpromise you I won’t, but that’d make me a liar.” He tugs on a lock of my hair that was hanging in my face. “That’s more your thing anyway. Get in the truck, Beau, we’ve got a rogue to find.”

* * *

Ransom ispissed.

We went back up to the ridge Nessa and the rogue were standing on when they set off the avalanche. We followed their scent for miles, but it eventually just died out. I figured that was what was going to happen, but I didn’t tell Ransom that, didn’t want to discourage him. He’s used to hunting rogues, who are messy and disorganized killers. He’s dealing with Nessa now, who has been a killer for centuries.Yes. Centuries. Ransom has no idea exactly who he’s dealing with because I haven’t divulged that information to him yet.

I’m not ready to admit to him who Nessa is. I hardly admit it to myself.

Ransom storms ahead of me, making the same trek down the mountain we made yesterday, but this time we move faster since we don’t have to drag Sawyer with us. I bite my tongue, not sure how to make him feel better about the situation. Comforting someone isn’t exactly in my repertoire.

I stay silent the entire walk back to his truck, watching the way his back muscles tense and his hands ball into angry fists as he stomps down the rocky path. His jaw is held so tight, I’m worried he might break his teeth. Reaching his driver’s side door, he opens it with such force I’m surprised he doesn’t rip it off the hinges.

“Ransom,” I open my door calmly. “He’s working with Nessa now, he’s going to be using her tricks of the trade to evade you. He’s not like a normal rogue who leaves a blatant trail behind him to follow. Nessa has been doing this a long time and knows how to not be tracked.”

His face, pinched with anger, turns to look at me as I climb into the truck. “That’s her name? The woman you’re looking for—her name is Nessa?”

“Yes, Nessa Clermont.” I nod once.

“What is she? She another one of Sterling’s experiments?”

I glare at him. “Thanks, I love being called an experiment. Makes me feel really good about my existence.” Not that I feel good about it in general.

“Beau…” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine,” I snap before he can finish. “Nessa’s been around much longer than Sterling—than any of us actually. She’s centuries old.”

“Centuries? She’s a vampire?”

“Yes, one of the oldest.” I don’t know her origin story, she was never forthcoming with that information during our years of training. The only reason I know her last name is because Sterling let it slip once in my presence. “I don’t know her exact age, but it’s well over five hundred.”

“Holy shit, I can’t imagine being alive that long.” His eyebrows pull as he scans me. “How old areyou?”

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