Read Online Night Huntress 03.5 - Devil to Pay by Jeaniene Frost - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jeaniene Frost
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gently, kissed her cheek. “Don’t come apart on me now,” he breathed.
She nodded and forced her legs to move, one step after the other. Somehow, she made it into the car, Blake in the driver’s seat next to her. Mencheres started up the van, and Blake followed him out of the parking lot into the bright morning sunshine.
Chapter Thirteen
B lake glanced at the landscape zoom by along Interstate 80. This was the first he’d been to
Utah
. In fact, it was the first time he’d been out West. He’d stayed mostly on the East Coast during his thirty-seven years. Born in Massachusetts, enlisted in the army after high school, graduated from Penn State, married in New Jersey, divorced in New York City, possessed in New York City, met a vampire in DC, died in Utah, Blake reflected. There was so much he’d wanted to do with his life, but somehow, he’d let most of that be swallowed up under promises of “later.”
Now that there was no more “later,” Blake couldn’t help the sadness washing over him. He wished he’d spent more time with his family. Gotten to know his friends better. Let go of jealousies and resentments a lot quicker. All that time, so much of it wasted, Blake thought. What I wouldn’t give to live it all over again, especially with Elise by me.
Even as the regret filled him, Blake pushed it back. He’d chosen his life, such as it was, and he’d been allowed to meet the most amazing person before the end of it. Plus, what he was doing now was the equivalent of jumping on a grenade to save dozens of people, if not more. Blake harnessed the same mentality that had seen him through a two-year stint in Iraq during the First Gulf War. Complete your mission. Don’t fail your unit. Right now, Elise was his unit. He’d make her proud of him.
“I don’t want you going back to your home in the tunnels,” Blake said.
She looked at him, her eyes wide. “What?”
“I don’t want you going back to your home in the tunnels,” he repeated, emphasizing each word. “I don’t want you spending the next fifty years like the last fifty. I know this is going to be hard on you, but don’t let it push you back to how you were, avoiding everyone so you don’t have to care for anyone. I can stand dying, Elise, but I can’t stand the thought of that.”
Her jaw flexed, and she blinked a few times, but she didn’t reply.
“Promise me,” Blake said, hardening his voice.
“I promise.”
Her words were choked. Blake looked back at the road, something tight inside him easing. Elise would go on. She’d live long enough for both of them, and one day, some lucky bastard would come along and make her happy.
And whoever he was, Blake hated him. Guess he wasn’t finished being jealous after all.
Blake started to whistle to distract himself from that line of thought. Oddly enough, he found himself whistling that same tune Elise had earlier in the week, “Beautiful Dreamer.” After a few minutes, some of the stiffness left her frame.
“I love that song,” she murmured. “It was my favorite as a child.”
“It’s been around that long?” Blake asked, teasing.
She gave him a melancholy look. “Longer. My mother used to sing it to me before I’d fall asleep. Funny, I can’t remember her face, but I remember her voice.”
Blake swallowed hard. In time, she’d forget his face, too.
“How did you become a vampire?”
Elise fixed her gaze on Mencheres’s van in front of them. “I was twenty-one when the Great Depression began. My husband, Richard, lost his job that first year, along with so many other people. After several months, we lost our house, too. My parents were dead, but his mother was alive, so we stayed with her for a while. I gave birth to my daughter, Evangeline, during that time. Two months after she was born, Richard’s mother died. She’d been behind on her house payments, so the bank took it, and there
She nodded and forced her legs to move, one step after the other. Somehow, she made it into the car, Blake in the driver’s seat next to her. Mencheres started up the van, and Blake followed him out of the parking lot into the bright morning sunshine.
Chapter Thirteen
B lake glanced at the landscape zoom by along Interstate 80. This was the first he’d been to
Utah
. In fact, it was the first time he’d been out West. He’d stayed mostly on the East Coast during his thirty-seven years. Born in Massachusetts, enlisted in the army after high school, graduated from Penn State, married in New Jersey, divorced in New York City, possessed in New York City, met a vampire in DC, died in Utah, Blake reflected. There was so much he’d wanted to do with his life, but somehow, he’d let most of that be swallowed up under promises of “later.”
Now that there was no more “later,” Blake couldn’t help the sadness washing over him. He wished he’d spent more time with his family. Gotten to know his friends better. Let go of jealousies and resentments a lot quicker. All that time, so much of it wasted, Blake thought. What I wouldn’t give to live it all over again, especially with Elise by me.
Even as the regret filled him, Blake pushed it back. He’d chosen his life, such as it was, and he’d been allowed to meet the most amazing person before the end of it. Plus, what he was doing now was the equivalent of jumping on a grenade to save dozens of people, if not more. Blake harnessed the same mentality that had seen him through a two-year stint in Iraq during the First Gulf War. Complete your mission. Don’t fail your unit. Right now, Elise was his unit. He’d make her proud of him.
“I don’t want you going back to your home in the tunnels,” Blake said.
She looked at him, her eyes wide. “What?”
“I don’t want you going back to your home in the tunnels,” he repeated, emphasizing each word. “I don’t want you spending the next fifty years like the last fifty. I know this is going to be hard on you, but don’t let it push you back to how you were, avoiding everyone so you don’t have to care for anyone. I can stand dying, Elise, but I can’t stand the thought of that.”
Her jaw flexed, and she blinked a few times, but she didn’t reply.
“Promise me,” Blake said, hardening his voice.
“I promise.”
Her words were choked. Blake looked back at the road, something tight inside him easing. Elise would go on. She’d live long enough for both of them, and one day, some lucky bastard would come along and make her happy.
And whoever he was, Blake hated him. Guess he wasn’t finished being jealous after all.
Blake started to whistle to distract himself from that line of thought. Oddly enough, he found himself whistling that same tune Elise had earlier in the week, “Beautiful Dreamer.” After a few minutes, some of the stiffness left her frame.
“I love that song,” she murmured. “It was my favorite as a child.”
“It’s been around that long?” Blake asked, teasing.
She gave him a melancholy look. “Longer. My mother used to sing it to me before I’d fall asleep. Funny, I can’t remember her face, but I remember her voice.”
Blake swallowed hard. In time, she’d forget his face, too.
“How did you become a vampire?”
Elise fixed her gaze on Mencheres’s van in front of them. “I was twenty-one when the Great Depression began. My husband, Richard, lost his job that first year, along with so many other people. After several months, we lost our house, too. My parents were dead, but his mother was alive, so we stayed with her for a while. I gave birth to my daughter, Evangeline, during that time. Two months after she was born, Richard’s mother died. She’d been behind on her house payments, so the bank took it, and there
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