Page 97 of Bite of Sin

“Nothing,” I muttered, pushing his hand away when he reached for my face. “I was training with someone and they got a hit on me.”

“Training?” he repeated skeptically. “You haven’t trained since we got here.”

“I know,” I answered with a forced laugh. “That’s why I needed to do it. I can’t let myself go.”

He was still studying me, and I turned away to head back to the house. Warner could read me better than anyone, and he probably knew I was lying, but I couldn’t admit anything to him. Like everyone else here, Warner hated vampires. After what Zan had done to him, he had a special loathing for him. He would never understand why I let Zan feed. I still didn’t fucking understand it. But Warner would see it as a betrayal, and I couldn’t even blame him for that.

“They’re planning a mission in the next couple of days,” Warner informed me. “I know you’ve been busy with the vampire, but I was thinking we could volunteer to go.”

I thought for a moment. “Yeah. I want to go.”

It would give me a chance to get to know the area. If things went south because of what Garrett had found out, I’d need to find a way to leave. Although once the bite mark healed, I wouldn’t be as worried. He’d have no proof of anything, and Tim trusted me. I just needed to play along for a while until I could find a way to fix it.

“I’ll let Tim know,” Warner replied as he opened the back door for me. “Do you like it here?”

I grabbed a plastic cup and poured some water from the huge jug on the kitchen counter before facing Warner.

“It doesn’t feel like home,” I admitted. “And I’m not a fan of some of the people here.”

“Garrett,” Warner stated. “I don’t like him either.”

My eyes darted around, making sure we were alone. Talking about someone high up in the Clovers like this wasn’t the smartest.

“We can talk to Tim,” Warner said in a low voice. “There are other places around here we can stay. I know another small faction that’s about three hours from here.”

Zan’s face was the first thing to enter my mind at Warner’s words, and I scrubbed my hands down my face. If I left here, then I wouldn’t see him. That shouldn’t have any bearing on my decisions. Yet here I was.

“Come on,” Warner grabbed my hand, pulling me back toward the door. “I found an amazing spot in the woods that you’ll love. It doesn’t have a river like back home, but there’s a small creek.”

I glanced over my shoulder toward the basement door. If they wouldn’t let me talk to Zan today, then spending the day outside the house was the smartest thing. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with Garrett.

I followed Warner back into the heat, pushing all my worries out of my head.

Chapter36

Kali

Ihad always been a light sleeper, but the threat from Garrett had me even more on edge. Which was why I was instantly awake when the floorboard creaked. My eyes snapped open, and I was met with nothing but darkness. It was still the middle of the night, and I didn’t move a muscle, waiting to hear another sound. Maybe it was Warner. But he would have alerted me instead of sneaking into my room.

“I know you’re awake, Kali. Your heartbeat gave you away.”

Zan’s voice knocked shock into me, and I rushed to sit up, only for the bed to dip, and a second later, a hand clamped over my mouth. He pushed me back down until my spine pressed into the mattress before his hand left my mouth just long enough for him to trap both of my arms above my head. Keeping one hand around my wrists, he brought his other back over my mouth, smothering my yell. He was straddling me, with most of his weight on my stomach.

I writhed under him, my screams muffled as I tried bucking him off. He chuckled, and I raised my glare upward, where I guessed his face was. I couldn’t see anything, but I was sure he could see me. Everyone knew vampires had great eyesight in the dark, but I didn’t know how good.

“I’m going to move my hand,” he murmured quietly. “But if you scream, it’s going back over your mouth. I’m not ready for anyone to interrupt us yet. Understand?”

I jerked a curt nod, anger and panic clinging to me. How did he get out of the basement? The house was still silent. Did they even know he’d escaped? My stomach dropped. Had he killed everyone?

He slowly pulled his hand away, making sure to keep a tight hold on my wrists.

“How the hell did you—”

My whispered question was cut off when his fingers suddenly grazed the side of my face where Garrett had hit me. When I flinched, he snarled a curse under his breath. Apparently his sight in the dark was much better than I guessed.

“Who did this?” he growled, returning his fingers to my face and gently touching the bruise again. “Give me a fucking name, Kali. Right now.”

I really didn’t give a shit about my injury. The fact that he was here instead of in the basement was still making my head spin.

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