Page 48 of After Darkness Falls

Oh shit.

Chloe started to run before turning back to ask her bodyguard's name. But he'd disappeared.

She groaned. Damn vampires and their dramatic exits.

* * *

Tris won the five hundred pounds, although Gwen didn't do half bad, arriving fourth this time. Apart from Chloe, she was the only racer to finish without any paint on her clothes. She'd been smart enough to cast a protection spell, so the paint bounced right off her.

Someone managed to get Jack behind the shoulder blades, and although no one was admitting to the shot, Chloe would have bet her money on Tris, who looked far too smug.

They ended up at the pub again, and this time, Gwen stuck to beer.

Chloe thought about her promise to tell Blair the next time they were having a drink with the huntsmen, so, with a fresh beer in hand, she excused herself to use her phone outside of the crowded establishment. She wasn't sure whether Blair had left to see her family for the whole weekend, but she tried to call just in case.

The call went to her voicemail after the tenth ring.

Chloe hesitated as she turned back toward the pub, her eyes darting to the edge of the forest. After debating for a moment, she crossed the road and zigzagged between detached houses to reach the Wolvswoods.

"I have a beer," she announced.

She felt rather foolish upon hearing nothing but silence at first, but after a moment, the vampire stepped into view, his booted feet muffled on the forest floor.

"So I see."

She lifted her hand to give it to him.

"Not my drink of choice."

Oh well, it was worth a try.

"You're on a blood-only diet?"

He flashed her a toothy smile. "If you must bribe me for intel, I'd recommend wine and coffee."

Apparently, her intent had been obvious.

"Come on. You're following me. That means I'm in more danger here than Charles has told me. Can't blame a girl for wanting to know where she stands."

He made no reply.

"Did Charles find the source of the bounty on me?"

"I have no idea."

Chloe frowned. "Could you ask him? I mean, he sent you, right?"

She was grasping at straws.

“I’ll try not to be offended by the assumption that someone like your Charles could order me around.”

Chloe lifted a brow.

“He couldn't?”

“No.”

He wasn't going to make her interrogation easy, was he?

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