Page 52 of Bite of Sin

“If you don’t want to die, then no more questions.” Her voice held firm as she pushed me toward the hall. “Go back to your room and stay there.”

Right before she stepped into the hall behind me, there was a new voice that rang out, and Gia shoved me farther down the shadowed hall.

“Gia, there you are,” a deep voice said. “You running off on me?”

Gia gave me one last look of warning before her cheery smile was back in place and she turned around to answer the newcomer.

“Running off on you?” She let out a laugh. “Never. It’s good to see you, Amaros.”

Chapter21

Kali

Every one of my muscles locked up when Gia said his name. Did she purposely say it to scare me enough to leave? Amaros Kane was here. In the same building as me. The most wanted vampire. The one PARA had been searching for since the war first broke out. There were so many rumors about him that it was impossible to know which were true. But all stories held the same bottom line—Amaros Kane was cutthroat and ruthless. And he detested humans unless they were his meal.

Gia was out of sight by now, and I could hear a couple of the humans yelling insults and curses at Amaros until there was one blood-curdling scream and then a loud thud. I refused to believe that it was Warner because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle that. Not after losing my other closest friends just under a week ago. Had it really only been a week since I’d gotten here? My pulse pounded in my ears from the silence until Zan spoke up.

“We can go upstairs,” he said in a respectful tone I’d never heard from him before.

“No,” Amaros answered, his cruel voice making a shiver run through me. “These humans know where they stand here. They make another sound, and I’ll kill them all.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, slowly counting down from twenty, trying to calm my heart rate. Luckily, with the other humans here, it would be easy to hide myself unless Zan or the others were specifically listening for me. Did heartbeats sound different from each other? I guessed I was about to find out, because there was no way I was leaving. Not when I could learn about Amaros.

I spun around, purposefully dragging my feet a bit as I quietly walked to the exit door. Gia would be listening for me to leave, and most likely Zan too. So I pushed open the door, and left it open for a few seconds before pulling it shut again, hearing a small click. I didn’t move, sucking in the tiniest breaths as I listened to their conversation.

“We weren’t expecting you until next week,” Viggo said, sharing the same tone of respect that Zan had. “Everything okay, Dad?”

Their voices drifted farther, and fear trickled through my veins as I tiptoed silently back down the hall so I could get closer to them without being seen.

“Project Hope is still standing,” Amaros stated, danger lurking in his powerful voice. “It’s been months. What’s the holdup?”

“The security is tighter than any other city we’ve dealt with,” Pax spoke up. “We’re working on it.”

“I know it’s tighter. That’s why we need to get inside. Whatever they’re hiding, I fucking want it,” Amaros snarled. “That’s why all three of my sons are here. Because this is important. You’ve never failed me before.”

“We won’t fail.” Zan’s voice matched the fierceness of his father’s. “We all knew Project Hope would be more difficult than all the others.”

“PARA isn’t completely stupid,” Amaros murmured. “They’re getting antsy. They can tell we’re up to something.”

“All the more reason to be cautious with Project Hope,” Gia interjected. “They can’t know we’re coming until we’re already inside or it won’t work.”

“Fine,” Amaros bit out, sounding anything but happy. “Four more months. If you don’t get in by then, we’re changing the plan. Understood?”

“It’ll be done,” Viggo promised.

“You three never come to visit home anymore. I haven’t seen you in four months,” Amaros said. I frowned. His voice almost sounded…fatherly. Like he truly cared for his sons. Even if I’d never laid eyes on him, Amaros Kane was a monster in my head. Someone incapable of any type of emotion. Did Zan and the twins love him? Did they have the kind of bond with their father that Pax had told me about?

My stomach roiled, reminding me of what I’d done. I’d kissed Zan to play him. But I’d fucking liked it. Not only liked it—it sparked something in me I’d never felt before. It made my body burn in a way that made me crave more. Enthralled me enough that I almost didn’t push the stake to his chest. Because I didn’t want it to end. But I had to remember who he was—what he was. A Kane. A cold-blooded vampire who had probably murdered more humans than I could count. Who would no doubt kill me if he found out I was human.

Dread climbed down my limbs when another thought occurred. Maybe he wouldn’t kill me. He’d use me. They wanted to get into Project Hope, and Pax had guessed that was where I’d come from and that I had another way inside. They knew my connection to Warner, meaning they’d use him too. I forced myself to keep breathing evenly, attempting to keep my heart steady as the thoughts raced. They couldn’t find out.

“We’ve been busy,” Viggo replied. “Your property isn’t close to here.”

That piqued my curiosity. That could be a weakness.

“Not that far. It would only take you a—”

“Want a drink, Dad?” Zan cut in, his voice sounding farther away as footsteps slapped the floor. I clenched my teeth, hoping he hadn’t interrupted Amaros because he thought I was here.

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