Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

All Is Soft Inside

He peered into my face and I could feel him digging through my thoughts trying to find a chink in my determination to poke at. He didn't find one. He broke eye contact with me and I saw an amused grin pull at his perfect mouth. I felt like I won a battle of wills against this arrogant lady killer.

"Practice that little speech in front of the mirror first, did you?" he asked. I glared at him and bit down on the inside of my cheek.

"Is there any hope of you shutting your smart ass mouth?" I inquired through gritted teeth. He shook his head slowly.

"No, there really isn't," he replied. I turned away from him but before I could take a step he caught my hand in his.

"But you're right. I do care for him and I don't want to see him suffer. I mean you play big brother to someone for two centuries you can't not care for them right?" he said softly, letting more emotion than I had ever heard from him leak through his words. I nodded definitively.

"Right then," I said, pulling my hand out of his. "What do we do first?" I asked. He sighed loudly and massaged his forehead.

"First," he paused and went to the fridge. He opened it and took the duffle bag filled with the remaining hospital blood out and threw it onto the counter. "We get rid of that."

"Do we return it to the hospital?" Phoebe asked. Keegan shook his head.

"Just throw it out it's got your finger prints all over it," he said sitting down at the counter and reflexively reaching into his jacket in search of a cigarette then letting his hand drop with a sigh and a frown. 

Phoebe nodded, unzipped the duffle bag and upended it letting the blood bags spill out onto the counter top. Keegan glanced at the bags and bit down on his bottom lip. I saw his eyes cloud with black smoke briefly before Phoebe snapped her fingers and all the blood disappeared.

I wondered where all the stuff she conjured came from and where all the things she vanished went. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Second," he dropped his hands from his face and his eyes returned to normal. Phoebe and I looked at him attentively. "If you're not gonna let me smoke or drink your dead daddy's booze I need to get something to eat," he said. Phoebe and I gave him a cautious glance.

"And by 'something' you mean someone, right?" I asked him derisively. A snide smirk lit up his face.

"My, my, you really are smarter than I thought you were," he murmured. I grimaced at him.

"Thanks, now you can go and rip some damsel's throat out and we'll be here when you get back," I said with false cheer. He stood up and in a flash was suddenly so close to me that my bare toes brushed the ends of his shiny black shoes.

"Oh no, Lorelei, you're coming with me," he said, curling his right arm around my lower back and pulling me even closer to him. I tried to back away but his arm was like an iron bar.

"Why do I have to come with you?" I asked angrily, placing my hands on his chest and attempting to push him away.

"Because I don't want to risk not being able to get back into your house," he replied starting towards the front door and dragging me along with him.

"I'll let you back in, I swear," I assured him while still trying to pry myself away from him. He shook his head with a chuckle.

"I don't believe you, no I don't think I'll risk it," he said pleasantly. I glared at him and yanked on his arm as hard as I could. His arm tightened around my waist.

"Calm down, Lor, you're gonna rip my jacket. I paid nearly eighty dollars for this thing," he informed me easily. He came to the door and paused for a moment.

"Pheebs! Help me!" I squealed. She stood at the other end of the hall and I could see the giggles fighting to escape her. How could she be laughing? This vampire freak was practically trying to kidnap me!

"What are you so afraid of, Lorelei?" Keegan asked me and I felt his grip on me slacken. I looked up at him thinking it was pretty obvious what I was scared of. I mean there were so many things. I was afraid that he might forcibly try to take my blood and I wouldn't be able to stop him. I was afraid he would go back on his word and not help us with Zane. But beyond anything I was terrified Zane would be lost for good. Couldn't he see that in my thoughts? On my face? In my heart?