Page 22 of All the Devils are Here

I huff. Yeah, so have I. I haven’t had the chance to broach the topic again with Vlad for months, even though it’s something I really want to do. “I know,” I whine, and Quinn does laugh at that.

“When you get back from your trip, I’ll show you.”

“You’re coming here to drop stuff off tomorrow!”

“And this means you’ll hang out when you come back. You won’t think you’re too cool for us now that you’re a member of the Hunt.”

Even as I shake my head, amused, warmth suffuses my chest. I don’t know that Quinn would call me his friend, but I’d call him mine, and that’s a nice feeling I haven’t experienced for a while.

“Will you be about tomorrow?” Quinn asks. “I mean, to ring you if there’s anything we need to ask about.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll keep my phone close.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

I lie there for a while after Quinn hangs up, letting my thoughts chase themselves around. No one else leaves the house. Maurice and Njáll speak in low murmurs as they make their way up to the second floor, and Jeremiah’s boots stomp up the stairs not long after that.

Paxton will be downstairs for hours yet, but I don’t move again until Vlad’s door opens and shuts further down the hall. I jumpto my feet, then freeze in place, chewing my lower lip. I need to talk to him before we set off to do this thing. I don’t want him mad at me.

Okay. If I’m going to try to seduce this vampire who’s working with the fae, then I need to be brave enough to go and talk to Vlad. I unlock my door and slip into the hall, then knock gently on his door.

It’s a few seconds before I hear his voice. “Come in.”

He’s sitting up in bed when I step inside. His chest is bare and I force my eyes up when I realise I’m looking because I might have spent the last fifteen years with him, but I can count the number of times I’ve seen him in any state of undress on one hand. There’s an embroidery hoop in his lap and he has the needle in one hand.

“Is everything all right?” he asks, faintly puzzled, and I nod once before I shut the door.

“I just wanted… I called Quinn. He’s going to bring me some clothes later today.”

“Good.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Sorry?” Vlad’s brow furrows and he puts the needle into the fabric, then sets the hoop aside. “Why would I be?”

“I know you don’t want me to go with you.”

“Of course I don’t.”

I try not to flinch. I know he doesn’t mean it like that, but every time he says something where I know he means to protect me, it sounds like he thinks I can’t take care of myself.

Fuck, maybe I can’t. How would I know? I haven’t had to.

“Grant, this is going to be dangerous. I do not want you in harm’s way.”

“I might be good at this.” I scowl and cross my arms over my chest. “All I have to do is get him to chat me up. It’s not that dangerous.”

A growl rumbles up from Vlad’s chest, but I don’t back down. “And discover the identity of the high fae he is working with,” he says. “This is not about the vampire. It is about her.”

“I know that.”

“Are you certain?” Vlad raises an eyebrow. “I need you to understand the gravity of this, Grant. There is a chance that, once you do this, you will never have another life.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Huntsman may want to keep you close. What if that is not what you want?”