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“It could have.”

“That’s the curse talking. Or do you really want to sit here and argue about how stubborn I am? Because you know I’ll win.”

James snorted. “You’re right.”

Deciding I was fed up with all of the hunter nonsense, I threaded my fingers through James’s hair and pulled him in for a deep kiss. “Let's get rid of these suckers.”

Chapter 26

There wasno way those conduits were emitting physical heat. At least, I thought so—I was ninety-nine percent sure.

Though with each mile we traveled on our way to Gabriel’s house, the diamonds burned a hole in my pocket. Maybe James had a point: the power those small gemstones held was heavy, weighing me down with the thoughts of exactly what they’d done to us. I’d always been one to trust my gut, and those stupid little stones had me second-guessing everything. I kicked myself for every single time I pushed James away, especially when all I wanted was to have him nearby. All the bad luck and the clumsiness—I’dneverbeen clumsy.

James squirmed in the passenger seat, gritting out a direction every so often. Being so close to the high-purity silver in my jacket was taking a toll on him. Then something clicked. “Take your chain off,” I told him.

“What?”

“You said the combination of the silver on the conduit and the chain you already wear makes you almost human. If you take yours off, your powers might give you a fighting chance. At the very least it might keep you from throwing up in my car, which you look dangerously close to doing.”

James chuckled, removing his chain. “I don’t remember the last time I felt this sick.” When the metal clattered into the cupholder next to him, he let out a sigh of relief. “Good idea, love. That helped. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

“It’s okay, baby.” I placed my hand on this thigh. “You can admit that I’m smarter than you.”

“Asshole,” he snickered. He attempted to knock my hand away, but I tightened my grip. “Take a left here.”

I felt better when he laced our fingers together. “Canyou throw up?” I asked. “As a vampire?”

“We have tough stomachs, but we can. And given what our diet consists of, it’s not very pretty.”

I grimaced, my own gut twisting at the mental image. “Is vomit ever pretty?”

James didn’t need to tell me when we reached Gabriel’s house—I just knew. The large house sprawled across a vast plot of land on the outskirts of Boston. Close enough to still be considered the city, but skirting the edge of city limits. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but it was near enough. After I parked in the driveway, I expected James to move first like he always did. Then I realized why he didn’t: he needed me to get farther away from him with the silver.

The front door opened, pulling my focus back to the house. Gabriel stood on the front porch with his hands in slacks that were, no doubt, designer. Even from this distance, the red in his eyes was visible, and I gulped against the bubble rising in my throat. What I truly wanted to do was stay in the car and hide, but my man needed me. And after the asshole I’d been lately, the least I could do was face my fears and destroy the silver so that he could tolerate being around me again.

So, I ducked across the center console to stamp a kiss to his cheekand got out of the car. As a defensive instinct, I stuck my hands in my pockets but flinched when my fingers contacted the gems there. Gabriel tried to remain stoic, but as I approached I could see how the silver affected him. He was just a bit better at hiding it.

“If you’re wearing any silver to keep your powers in check, take it off,” I told him. “It helped James. It might help you too.”

Gabriel tilted his head, a look of what seemed to be admiration crossing his eyes. “Good call, human.” He pulled his hands from his pockets and removed a silver ring from his right middle finger. I glanced back toward the car, worried when James hadn’t gotten out. “James will be more comfortable coming in once we submerge the pendant in the acid. He knows that.”

Still I hesitated. I peeked around Gabriel into the interior of the house, and from the pristine white walls and the expensive hardwood flooring, nothing about it screamed, “Big scary vampire lives here!”

“Ryder, I know I make you nervous, but I promise I want those things destroyed just as much as you do. You barely have to come inside alone. All I’m going to do is lead you through the house and out to the back patio. There, we have the open space you’ll need to submerge the chain without harming yourself. Once it’s in the container, you can hightail it back to the safety of your mate. I promise.”

I bit my lip. God, I hated how these stupid vampires could practically read my mind—so much for not being telepathic. I guess interacting with humans for hundreds of years gave them an edge. “Fine. Let’s get it over with.”

Gabriel stepped aside to clear the doorway, but when I didn’t move he sighed and entered the house ahead of me. He didn’t pause to take his shoes off, so I continued after him. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the house in natural light from the setting sun. Gabriel dropped his silver ring on a nearby table and led me from the entryway, down the hall, and past the open living room on the left. I followed him through the kitchen to where he’d opened a door off to the side. “There’s a plastic container there, on the table,” he told me, pointing. “You can put both conduits in, but you don’t have to. The acid will only destroy the silver. Don’t drop it in from a distance;carefullylower it into the liquid so it doesn’t splash back. Sulfuric acid is highly corrosive, and it wouldn’t take much on your skin to hurt you. Don’t linger. Those fumes will be dangerous. Once it’s dissolved, I’ll take care of things from there.”

Gabriel stood to the side of the door, clearly intending for me to step onto the patio alone.

“Yes, sir,” I muttered, throat tight.

I stepped over the threshold, removing the conduits from my pocket. The gems sat heavy in my clammy palm, the silver chain trailing over my fingers. I approached the container sitting on the table, expecting to feel something. Well, something more than the anxiety crawling under my skin. “Why isn’t the acid corroding the container?” I asked.

“It’s made of high-density polyethylene,” Gabriel explained from inside. “One of the few materials resistant to it.”

I picked out the chainless diamond, setting it to the side; I didn’t want to accidentally drop it into the container and get a chemical burn. I sure as hell wasn’t getting close enough to the stuff to drop in something that small. With the other stone in my hand, I held it by the end of its chain, suspended over the substance. The diamond hit the acid first—and nothing happened. I continued and could tell the exact second the silver met the acid. The liquid sizzled like hot oil, and it became difficult to breathe.