Shadows Rising (Darkness Falls Book 2)

Chapter Thirty

As we climbed through the broken window into Caleb's house, I reflected that, technically, we weren't even breaking and entering this time. Leon's entire view on vampires was based on what he'd read in Caleb's journals, and since those journals had been here – until Ava stole them – it was reasonable to assume that this was where Leon had been living. He definitely hadn't been camping out in the lodge, and it didn't make sense for him to pay for a hotel when he could stay in his dad's old house.

Luke dropped Leon onto the sofa a little harder than was necessary. Leon might have attacked Rachel to defend me, but that didn't mean Luke could forget that Leon had threatened his family. I wouldn't forget it either.

With Leon out of the way, Luke turned and swept me into a hug, holding me tightly against him. Usually I loved the feel of his arms around me, but this time he was putting a little too much pressure on my bruised back.

"Luke," I said, my face squashed against his chest. "Hurts."

He immediately let go, his face contrite.

"Hey, I meant don't squeeze so hard, not let go completely," I said, taking his arms and putting them back around me.

He smiled down at me, but his eyes were serious. His fingers very gently traced a pattern up my back. "How badly does it hurt?"

I shrugged and bit back a grimace as a twinge shot down my spine. "I've had worse." That wasn't even a lie to make him feel better. Rachel had only slammed me into a wall. When I was twelve, a vampire had snapped my arm and collarbone, ripped into my shoulder and fed on me like a piece of meat. A bruised back didn't come close to that.

Reaching up, I touched the bloody patch at Luke's hairline.

"It's nothing," Luke said, catching my hand and kissing the palm. "Just a scratch."

"That's such a cheesy macho thing to say."

He grinned. "I know. But you like it when I'm cheesy and macho."

"Whatever you say, Rambo."

Leon groaned and twitched, his good eyelid flickering open. "What happened?" he mumbled.

Luke glanced at me and lifted an eyebrow. Was it wise to tell Leon, whose stance on vampires was still hazy, that a vampire had kicked him in the head and knocked him unconscious? He'd protected me earlier, but that didn't mean he was ready to come over to our side. I still didn't know how he felt about vampires.

Leon's vision cleared, and he sat upright so fast that he clutched his hands to his head and moaned again. "That woman...the vampire..."

"Rachel,' I supplied.

"She kicked me." His fingers gingerly probed the side of his head.

I held my breath. This was it, the point when I found out if all my efforts in trying to reach him had paid off, or if they were about to fall completely to ruin. If he attacked Luke, if he tried to hurt him, then I'd stop him. And I'd kill him if I had to.

Leon's eyes shifted to Luke and an amazed expression crossed his face. "You saved me."

Luke didn't anything, but I recognised the casual tension in his body. He, like me, didn't know what Leon was going to do, and he was readying himself to fight in case this whole thing went wrong.

"Why would you do that?" Leon's voice was full of confusion and something that sounded oddly like hope.

"Because I'm a sucker for my girlfriend," Luke said.

I elbowed him. "Luke saved you because neither of us think you deserve to die." I didn't point out that that hadn't been our view an hour ago. "You're not a bad person, Leon, you're just very confused and very misguided. All I've ever wanted to do is show you the truth – that vampires aren't all evil."