Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

Maniac

He blinked at me in confusion and then seemed to decide on something.

"Stop worrying," he said forcefully his now dark green eyes boring into mine. I felt something twitch in my brain like there was a small switch trying to flip. He smiled at me charmingly and my mind began to fill with a pleasant fog. "C'mon, just chill out. I know what I'm doing," he insisted.

"You do?" My words sounded slightly slurred. He nodded once then cocked his head to one side.

"You think this is the first time your boy's gone off the deep end? He was half mad before he even became a vampire; afterwards he would just go deeper and deeper into his own head, going days even weeks without blood and when he came back he'd be nearly incoherent. The hunger has a grip on him worse than any I've seen."

He sighed and opened the door. "Perhaps you should've gotten to know him a little better before you two got so involved. You should've dug deeper before he cracked maybe then you would've been a little more prepared for it," he mumbled. 

He was right. I had always sensed that something was a little off about Zane even before I broke the stupid hex and disregarding the whole vampire thing. He was a bit unintentionally sociopathic but I excused it as eccentricities and vampirism.

"Hold on," I said, reeling slightly as the fog in my mind cleared. He glanced at me before he stepped outside. He stood on the other side of the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I briefly thought about slamming the door in his face but decided against it. 

"I need to get my cell phone." I ran back through the house, up the stairs and retrieved my cell phone from the pocket of the jeans I wore yesterday. I came back down and saw Phoebe conversing casually with Keegan while standing a safe distance away from the doorway.

"I was afraid you might not come back," Keegan said as I came up beside Phoebe. I ignored his statement and checked the battery on my cell phone. It was nearly full.

"If you need me call, okay Pheebs," I said. She nodded. I looked up at Keegan and he grinned at me revealing sharp white teeth.

"You ready, girly?" he asked. I gnashed my teeth at his use of the word 'girly' and joined him outside.

"Don't forget to lock the door," I told Phoebe. She nodded and shut the door. I heard the click of the locks and I let out a sigh. I walked down the drive way towards Keegan's car. God Almighty it was so freaking gorgeous! 

Keegan stooped and picked up the carton of cigarettes I had tossed into the yard. He wiped the box off on his pant leg then took a cigarette from it and placed the pack inside his jacket. He caught me staring at his car and laughed.

"You got an eye for automobiles?" he asked, sticking the cigarette between his lips and lighting it with his silver Zippo. I glanced at my Camaro and felt his gaze follow. "How'd you ever afford a car like that? You live alone, no job," he wondered as the smell of smoke spread through the air. I shrugged.

"I got a rich grandma in New York City who sends me five thousand dollar checks every month until I turn eighteen," I replied. He gave me a disbelieving look. I nodded slowly and said, "I'm not even kidding. I'm emancipated but I would die without my Grandma Moneybags." He shook his head amused and crossed over to the driver's side of his car. I could see nothing through the darkly tinted window. Keegan got in the car and suddenly the passenger door opened and a tired looking Jamie untangled her long legs. She got out and wordlessly got into the back seat. Well as least she was awake now. I heard Keegan's door shut.

"Get in," he said. I sighed and then decided that he was right; I needed to stop worrying so much. I internally smacked myself and sat myself down in the passenger seat. He started the engine and I gaped at the purr of his lovely Audi. He backed out of my driveway and spun the car around with a practiced hand and a narrow margin for error. We began speeding down the street and I watched the speedometer rapidly climb ten then fifteen then twenty-five miles over the speed limit. Jesus Christ! Did all vampires drive like maniacs?