Page 22 of V for Vindictive

Still, Cash insisted that if I wanted to know the origin of her blood, I’d need to get information in return—the location of a known Fae portal and the only place where a creature like him could pass from this plane to the next. The information was only privy to those at the top, and it would mean I made an instant target of myself; a rogue agent deserving of immediate execution, which the Organization would likely send their best to do. Their best included Sloan and V.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

Most of all, it would mean I could no longer be by V’s side, not with the entire Organization out to claim my head and our association would be met with a similar fate for the two.

Looking down at the small USB in my hand containing the location of the portal, I tightened my grip on the disposable phone I held against my ear. “Sloan,” I said, voice bottoming out, “keep her safe. When I have the information, I’ll reach out.”

“I doubt V will be appeased with such a lame excuse, Phillip,” he argued in a tone that suggested he thought I was in the wrong for keeping my distance. “She’ll want to go after you. She’s been in danger this entire time, and that’s hardly stopped her from doing what she wants.”

“This is different.”

“Because it’s the Organization? Hasn’t it been all along, though?”

I sighed loudly, getting a chuckle out of Sloan. “Are you determined to drive me mad tonight?”

“I miss you too, mate.”

Sloan was insufferable when he got all holier than thou on me.

“You know I can’t come back,” I finally growled, clutching the USB. “You’re just as capable of training and protecting her as I am. Hell, maybe even more so. You actually give a shit.”

“Oh, like you don’t give a shit? How long have I known you? Long enough to know when you’re lying to yourself to convince the world around you.”

“Didn’t stop you from capitalizing on it,” I spat out, unable to contain my venom.

It was long seconds of dense silence before Sloan responded, “So, itdidbother you.”

“V is free to do what she wants. Our arrangement waspurely physical.”

“Was it, really?”

The rage went straight to my head with the condescending tone the other Hunter took.

He would never understand the torture of leaving V after I promised never to abandon her. Never know how my heart was torn to shreds at the mere thought of anyone who wasn’t me being made privy to the gorgeous flush of her skin when she was turned on. Or how she discarded her modesty for the sake of chasing pleasure. Sloan would never truly comprehend how much I’d miss V’s raspy laughter and infuriatingly sassy banter. No one would ever compare to the way she burrowed into my heart, taking up all the space left.

“Are you implying something, Sloan?”

Sloan’s voice rumbled deeply in my ear. “Dunno, mate. It just all sounds like a convenient excuse to me. But I can’t force you to come back if you’re determined to distance yourself.” I could hear his end rustling, probably because he was running fingers through his hair in frustration. “It’s going to be hell dealing with her if she refuses to let you go.”

It took all my patience not to yell at the other Hunter. He’d been given the go-ahead to pursue her without interference. He’d never know how close I’d come to damning the consequences and returning to her side.

But V deserved better.

“What, afraid to take on our feisty little V? Can’t win against a Hunter who’s half your size and a hundred times less experienced?” I chuckled devilishly. “Who would’ve thought the great Sloan would be overcome by a mere teenager?”

His answering laugh was rich with amusement. “That’s quite ironic of you to be taunting me when you surrendered plenty of times to that little half the size and a hundred times less experienced Hunter.”

“You’re an arse,” I complained, smiling against my will. “I have to go. Just do what you’re told, you smarmy bastard.”

His sigh was loud in my ear. “Right. Do me a favor, though.”

“I thought I already was,” I countered childishly.

Sloan chuckled softly. “I’d win her heart in a fair fight, mate. You just never gave me the chance to show you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I sassed back, no longer smiling.

“Don’t die. And don’t stay away forever. I never pegged you as a bloke who’d run away with his tail tucked up between his legs.”

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