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“Have you seen my brother?”

“Not a trace.” His grin widened. “Good thing for us. You disappeared so fast, Sam. I was hoping we’d have a chance to get to know each other.”

“I think you know enough women.” My words came out pointy, like tiny, ineffective daggers.

“Aww, that’s just Amy. She likes to tease me a little. It’s nothing.”

“I don’t care,” I said sincerely. “I just think it’s a little strange to act the way you do when you’re with her.”

“Don’t be jealous, Sam.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, pushing me slightly so I had to look at him.I barely hid my flinch. “I’d much rather get to know you than talk to her.”

“That wasn’t talking.” I tried to shrug his hand off, but it only drifted lower. I squirmed slightly.

“Thought I’d have the chance to get to know you better last night, but you disappeared on me,” he chastised, ignoring my correction the same way he ignored the fact I definitely didn’t want him touching me.

The accusation in his voice rankled, but he had a point. Ihadbeen rude. He’d fed me, given me a special dessert which I hadn’t gotten to drink because of Raphael, and I’d left.

“We’ll be leaving soon anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” And really, it didn’t. I didn’t like that Thomas was two-faced about women, but I didn’t want him. “I’m just going to get Alphonse ready while I wait for him.” Never mind the fact I didn’t know how to set up a horse’s tack. I just wanted the boy gone.

“Oh, he’s probably going to be a while. I bet he went for his own roll in the hay, if you know what I mean. Gives us some time.” He winked.

My stomach twisted. Could Thomas have been right? Without his red eyes, he certainly passed for gorgeous, and could’ve had his pick of women at any stray tavern he’d gone off to.

Then again, he’d probably just enthrall them and steal their blood rather than go for a “roll in the hay” as Thomas put it.

Or both.

Somehow both was worse.

“He’ll be back soon,” I said with false confidence.

“Then we should make the best of the time we have.”

He leaned in. I leaned away. My back immediately landed against a wooden post, trapping me. I felt all at once too trapped, too claustrophobic, but the words to explain why Thomas should back away wouldn’t find their way off my tongue.

His palms were on my hips, pinning me.

Trapped.

A flash of darkness and Raphael was there, powerful hands on either side of Thomas’s head.

A twist. Acrack! And Thomas fell to the floor.

His eyes looked up at me, unseeing, accusing.

Dead.

I raised my gaze to stare at Raphael in open-mouthed shock.

“How could you?” My words wobbled off my tongue.

His eyes may have been blue, but there was nothing human in them. “It’s not all that hard, given my superior strength.”

“He was just a boy!” I was close to screaming, but the words came out hollow.

“He was an irritating nuisance. He had no value.”

“He was human.”