Page 31 of A Hunter Turned
Archer let out a bark of laughter. “I admit, with the toilet seat, it took having a little one around and a cell phone in the bowl for me to finally learn that lesson. Seat and lid both down. Always.”
“Good man,” Jamie said with a grin before she continued on her Kane rant. “Not to mention,youare still listening to me. By this point in the conversation, Kane’s eyes would be wandering, or he’d be playing a game on his phone if not cutting you off with a completely different topic.” She shook her head. “Talk about a short attention span.”
“So, the way to your heart is by picking up after myself, making sure the toilet seat’s down and paying attention? Got it.”
Jamie felt a blush creep up her neck and she ducked her head slightly, so pleased by his words that she nearly broke out into a happy dance in her seat. Archer wanted her heart? She was pretty sure she had already given it to him. Bubbling over with joy, she commented with mock-sternness, “And you can’t eat my Pop-Tarts.”
Archer let out another crack of laughter just as the waiter approached. Composing himself long enough for their table to be cleared and to place their request for coffee, he leaned forward once they were alone again and prompted, “There has to be a story behind that one.”
Jamie’s lips were twitching with amusement as she leaned forward as well. “We were on a hunt and I was craving frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts. The store nearby only had the unfrosted kind,” she said with a look of disgust.
Archer nodded, “The frosting is important.”
“Absolutely,” Jamie concurred with a nod. “Finally, I found a box and I was looking forward to those Pop-Tarts more than you would believe.”
Archer leaned back with a grin. “Let me guess. Kane ate them?”
“Every single one. I even labeled the box as a warning and still – gone!”
“Bastard.”
She was being teased, but Jamie was too happy to care, grinning like a loon as the waiter reappeared with their coffee.
After the coffee was drunk and the bill was paid, neither one of them was yet ready to call an end to the evening, so they strolled down by the water. A single bump of Jamie’s hand against Archer’s was all it took for them to lace their fingers together and Jamie let out a contented sigh.
“So, how did you end up becoming a Hunter, anyway?” he asked curiously.
Nervous at what she was about to disclose, Jamie cleared her throat and sheepishly admitted, “I, ah, was arrested for cyber terrorism.”
Archer’s eyes widened with surprise and she nodded. “I know, right? Sounds way harsher than it actually was.”
“What did you do?”
“Let’s just say I got cocky and hacked into the wrong database.” She sighed. “Anyway. I was facing a steep prison sentence when I got a visit from Morgan. The arrest had made national news and she’d been looking for someone with computer expertise to add to her team. She offered me a chance to start over, wipe the slate clean. New life, new identity, all while doing what I was good at.”
“As a vampire.”
Jamie flashed him a smile that revealed a hint of fang. “As a vampire.” She shrugged, “Compared to the future I was facing, her offer sounded like the answer to my prayers.”
“So you took it.”
Jamie snorted. “Took it? I jumped on it and never looked back.”
Archer was nodding thoughtfully as he told her, “Given the circumstances, I probably would have done the same.”
They were quiet for a moment as they passed a group of laughing teenagers having a good time and then Archer asked, “What about those you left behind? Your family?”
Jamie grimaced, her free hand absently rising to rub over her heart. “My death was better for them than a daughter facing incarceration.”
Archer’s look of surprise was genuine. “How is that possible?”
“I had publicly embarrassed them in front of their peers, their names splashed alongside mine in every newspaper, on every news site and television station…” Jamie let her voice trail off, swallowing hard. “The death of a daughter could be mourned, something to be commiserated over, trumping any past scandals that daughter may have been involved with but a criminal for a daughter serving time in a federal prison is a continual humiliation that calls into question their parenting skills.”
Hating the way the conversation had turned so bleak, Jamie cleared her throat and brightly announced, “Hey, I’m not bitter. I get it. Totally. But I still keep tabs on them. Right now they’re vacationing in Cancun,” and then with hopes of changing the subject, “How about your parents?”
“My folks live here in the city.”
That was a surprise. “I thought pack stuck together?”
