Page 13 of Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29)

“And it wouldn’t bother you?” Peter asked.

“No.”

“Why tell me all that, Ted?”

“I want you to start thinking now about what you will and will not do, what you are willing to do, where you draw your line.”

“I am thinking about that,” Peter said.

“Good, because if you go into the family business you’re going to need to decide what your rules are, so that you won’t waste time wondering when it’s time to act. Hesitation will get you killed if you’re up against vampires and shapeshifters, Peter.”

Peter looked at me, maybe for confirmation or maybe for myopinion. I nodded, and said, “If you decide ahead of time what you’ll do in a given scenario, then if that happens you’ll just act. You won’t waste time debating your options.”

“But you can’t think of every scenario ahead of time,” Peter said.

“No, but you can think of the ones most likely to happen next, like what will you do if Kane jumps you when you’re alone?” I asked.

“Kill him if I can.”

“Good,” Edward and I said together.

“But surely you don’t have to kill him. Could you not incapacitate him as you did just now?” Asher said.

“Not if he gets me alone,” Peter said.

“Explain your answer to Asher,” Edward said.

“I surprised Kane and myself with my speed, strength, and training. I won’t surprise him a second time. He’ll be ready for me now and he’s faster and stronger than I am, plus he can shapeshift into a form that has claws and teeth.” Peter turned to me. “Can Kane do just claws in human form?”

“Not to my knowledge,” I said, and looked at Asher.

“No, he cannot,” the vampire confirmed.

“Okay, but he’s still better than me physically and he knows how good I am now, so he’ll come harder, maybe hard enough to try and kill me. If he gets me alone I’ll have to assume that’s what he’s planning.”

“And if he attacks you in front of us all, as he will likely do?” Asher asked.

“If Anita and Ted are with me, or Nicky and a few others, I’ll try to fight until they can subdue him, but if he catches me alone or without the people I trust with me, then I’ll have to take care of it myself.”

“You do not trust that I can control my own animal to call?”

Peter looked at me as if to ask,What do I say?

“Tell him the truth,” I said.

“No, why should I when you don’t seem to have any control overhim at all. In fact, he bullies and manipulates you and you let him do it. Why would I trust my life to you suddenly standing up to him and saving me? I’m much safer saving myself while you stand around wringing your hands about what to do.”

Asher stared at him, then turned to me. “Is this what you think of me, too?”

“Do you want the truth?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay, I think you’d stand there and watch Peter die at Kane’s hands and do nothing, not because you want Peter dead but because you don’t know what to do in emergencies, especially when Kane is involved.”

“Am I that useless?”

“Where Kane is concerned, yes.” In my head I thought he’d be one of the last people I’d count on in an emergency, but I kept that to myself. One hard truth at a time worked better if you wanted most people to do better, and I didn’t want to hurt him that much. I still loved him, or Jean-Claude loved him enough for both of us; either way it made it hard to be completely honest in that moment.

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