by Мишель Роуэн
"I promise. Well, wait. I do want to go back to Florida. I miss home so much. As long as the two of us are together again, then nothing else matters."
Janie hugged her tightly. "Florida sounds really good. I would so appreciate getting my life back to some sort of normal. Whatever that is. And Lenny's coming, too?"
Angela nodded and reached out a hand to the big guy, then transferred her hug to him. "My two favorite people in the world are safe. My big sister and my true love."
"I love you, Angela." Lenny leaned over and kissed her passionately.
Quinn felt very envious watching Lenny. Not of kissing Angela. But of kissing Janie. He reached out to her.
"Quinn!" a voice caught his attention, and he turned toward the burning casino. It was Barkley, who was covered in soot from head to toe. "We did it!"
Quinn grinned and slapped the werewolf on the back, causing a puff of black ash to appear. "Of course you did."
"Don't sound so confident. It was crazy in there. I could hardly see anything. All I could hear was yelling and screaming. But we did it. At least I'm pretty sure we did."
"You did. You should be proud."
"I am." White teeth showed through the darkness of the ash. "And the best thing is, even though I was really scared, I didn't turn wolf to protect myself. I'm not a coward."
"Of course you're not. So are you going back to your pack and fight to become alpha?"
"Hell, no. I'm going to start my own pack. Start from scratch. I don't need to revisit the past. I never felt at home there. Maybe I'm an open-road kind of werewolf. I'm going to prowl around until I find somewhere that feels right. How about you?"
Quinn glanced at Janie, who was still celebrating with her sister and Lenny. "I… I don't know what my plans are yet." He turned back to Barkley. "Where's Gideon?"
The werewolf shook his head. "Not sure. He went face to face with the demon, from what little I could see. And then I didn't see him again. I… I think he's gone."
Quinn nodded. If he was a betting man, he'd say that Gideon had finally found a challenge worth his talents. But it had been his last one. Even though he knew Gideon was a murderous scumbag, it still hurt a little to know that he'd died to save them all.
It would be only a short time before someone else rose to lead the hunters. Gideon's death would mean nothing in the long run. The world kept turning. Vampires kept being sired. Hunters kept hunting.
He turned to look at Janie again, but he couldn't catch her eye. He heard her say to her sister than she wanted to go back to Florida with her. To their home. To a normal life. Now that Janie was free of her boss, she could do anything she wanted. Find somewhere safe to adjust to her new life as a vampire. It made sense.
He was far from being completely okay about being a vampire, himself. He was a mess. Not something that he wanted to inflict on somebody he cared deeply for.
It started to make sense to him that now that their short time together had come to an end. Now that the
Eye was destroyed, her new life was one that he might not be a part of. Maybe it would be better that way.
He let her celebrate with Lenny and her sister. She didn't even notice when he slipped away into the shadows.
Janie paced back and forth at the airport the next day. She'd tried to get a message to Quinn that she was leaving to go home to Florida. He'd left the night before without saying anything to her—he'd just disappeared. After everything that had happened between them.
That said a hell of a lot to her.
He didn't want her in his life.
Did she blame him? Not really. She had a long way to go before she would be the sort of a woman that any man would want to spend more than a couple of days with. Plus, now that she was a vampire, she needed to devote a lot of time to adjusting to that fact. Her first goal upon getting to Florida would be to find an apartment for her and her sister to share. Then she'd source the local vampire bars and find out where she was going to get her blood supply from.
Blood, she thought.I'm going to have to drink blood if I want to live .
So strange.
Oddly enough, the thought didn't fill her with dread. It filled her with an odd sense of excitement. The next stage of her life would be an interesting one. Plus, she wouldn't have to worry about the whole aging process. She'd be eternally twenty-five, with—as Barkley had so enthusiastically put it when she'd met him—the body of a Hooters waitress. A high compliment, she'd come to realize.
Angela and Lenny had left on an earlier flight. They wanted to spend some time alone to get to know each other better. Since they couldn't keep their hands off each other, Janie was happy to allow them as much time as they needed. The last thing she needed right then was to feel like a third wheel. She was happy for them, especially for Lenny. As long as she'd known him, she'd never seen him with another woman. She'd been afraid that his crush on her had damaged his chances of being happy with somebody else, but now she'd been proven wrong.
He was in love with Angela. Who knew?
She was sorry that his notebook full of poetry had been destroyed but fully confident that it wouldn't be long before it was replenished with sonnets inspired by her pretty redheaded sister.
Janie had broken the news to him that she was now a vampire. She'd expected that he wouldn't take it well, since he didn't have much love for the fanged members of society.
He'd taken it remarkably well. In fact, he composed a new poem, "Vampires Rock," right on the spot.
She looked around again. It wasn't long before her flight left. Where was Quinn?
And what would she say to him if he did show up?
The time to tell him she loved him had passed. It would seem odd and awkward to make such an admittance now. And if he didn't feel the same way, she'd just look foolish. The Boss had said that he hired based on lack of emotion—and that had been very true. At one time, anyhow. Janie had been a coldhearted woman, with her eyes on the prize and not much else. Being a hiredMerc had given her a purpose in her otherwise empty life, filled her time but not her heart.
But shewasn't emotionless. She was one big ball of raw emotion at the moment. And it was best that
Quinn didn't see her this way.
She adjusted her dark sunglasses, just purchased at an airport kiosk. She'd already noticed that everything seemed brighter to her now that she was a vampire. She wondered what would be the next side effect to take hold. The loss of her reflection, or her fangs.
She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the small bag of new clothes she'd purchased earlier at a casino shop. It was carry-on. She didn't have any luggage to check. She could wait a couple of minutes more. And hope.
When those minutes expired, she turned around, swallowing past the thick lump in her throat.
Good-bye, Quinn, she thought with an ache in her heart. She started walking toward the door leading to her gate.
"Janie!"
She turned around to see Quinn rapidly moving toward her.
I'm not going to cry, she commanded herself.
She forced a smile to her face and felt her nails dig into her palms as he approached.
"You almost missed me," she said evenly.
He glanced at his watch. "Sorry. But I'm here now."
"Yes, you are."
"You're okay?"
She nodded. "Better than okay."
He looked up at the flight screen. "You're going back to Florida?"
"Home, sweet home. Hard to believe after all these years."
"So what are your plans?" He crossed his arms.
"I have absolutely no idea." She gave him a small smile. "I am a woman at loose ends."
"I'm sure you'll find your way."
"Maybe I'll start a detective agency."
"You'd be a great detective."
"Or I could keep being a hired assassin. Totally better money than detective work."
He raised an eyebrow.
She laughed. "I'm kidding."
; "Oh." He smiled. "Good to hear it."
"And what about you? What are your plans now that you're stuck as a vampire for the next billion years?"
"You really think it's going to be that long?" He shrugged. "I'm just settling in, I guess. I'll travel. I have money, so I don't need to look for work right away. Maybe I'll take a little while off and relax. Do some exploring."
"So you're not planning on going back to Toronto?"
He shook his head. "Maybe for a visit, but not as a permanent residence. I'll probably end up in New
York. That's where I was born and raised, after all. Sometimes I even miss it."
She licked her lips. Her mouth was very dry.
She'd hoped for a sign that he felt something more for her than a passing fancy, but she sensed nothing.
Saw nothing in his eyes that told her he wanted her to stay.
Also, even after wracking her mind, she couldn't think of any excuse to stay with him if he didn't say something to her to give her a reason.
So be it.
She hoped her love for him would fade with time. She doubted it would, but she did hope.
He watched her, waiting for some sort of signal that would give him permission to fall at her feet. To take her into his arms and beg her to stay. But she was completely expressionless.
After he'd left the burning casino last night, he'd ended up at a low-end motel that didn't even have a slot machine. Barkley was the only one who knew where he went. He was the one who got the message to him about Janie's departure. And it had almost been to late to get to the airport in time.
The whole night he'd tossed and turned, running though the past couple of days in his head over and over and over again.
They'd been two of the worst days of his life.
Absolutely. No question about it.
Then how did they also become two of the best days of his life?
Only one reason for that. And it was the beautiful woman standing in front of him right now, only moments away from getting on a plane and leaving him forever.
Say something, he commanded himself.Tell her to stay. Ask her. Beg her. Whatever it takes .
But he said nothing, fighting hard to ignore the big knot of emotion tightening in his stomach until he felt ill from it. The pain was a great deal similar to not having enough blood. He was starving. He was dying inside.
"Okay, I guess this is good-bye, then," Janie said suddenly. She turned to look at him. "Good luck, Quinn. With everything."
"You, too." How could his voice sound so neutral and emotionless when he was a total wreck? He searched her face for some sign that she didn't want to leave him but found nothing. Her job was done.
She was finally free from her boss. She might be a vampire now, but she was strong enough to find her own way, wherever that would lead her.
Without him.
His jaw clenched.Suck it up . This was for the best.
A smile played at the edge of her beautiful mouth, and she closed the distance between them to kiss him lightly on the lips, her fingers tracing the edge of his jaw. "Take care of yourself."
He just nodded. She squeezed his hand once and then let him go, turning and walking away from him.
Don't go. Please. Stay with me.
He swallowed so hard it hurt, tears stinging the back of his eyes, and he watched her until she disappeared through a set of opaque glass doors. She didn't look back at him.
He stood in place for five full minutes.
Maybe someday he'd look her up again. When he had his life under control. Although when that was going to be was anybody's guess.
You should have stopped her, his subconscious scolded.
To do what? See if she wanted to spend her time with someone like him? She had better things to do with her life.
But you're in love with her.
Yeah. Well. Maybe this was part of his repentance. Give up what he wanted most in the world to even the scales of what he'd done in the past. His punishment.
He rolled his eyes at himself. Christ. No wonder she didn't even look back over her shoulder at him. He was such a whiner.
He'd get himself straightened out. Find his true purpose in life. Help those who needed his help. Show her that he deserved her.
It was a lousy plan, but it was the only one he had at the moment.
He made his way to a bank of windows and watched the planes taxi away from the airport before heading toward the runway. Finally, he saw the plane he knew Janie was on. He bit the inside of his mouth so hard that he tasted blood.
And then he turned away.
There was a slot machine right next to where he stood and he fished in his pocket for a quarter, slid it into the slot and pulled the handle.
He didn't win.
This amused him greatly for some reason.
He sighed heavily, trying to ignore the big empty place in his chest that felt like somebody had very recently ripped out his heart, and turned around.
Janie stood there with her hand on her hip. She looked pissed.
His eyebrows raised.
"Nice try," she said.
He was so shocked all he could say was, "What?"
"Thought I'd forget, didn't you?"
"Forget about what?"
"Honestly. Men are so devious. You were going to let me get on that plane and leave. Luckily, I remembered just in time."
His mouth was dry. "What are you talking about?"
She shook her head. "Sure. Try to renege on the deal we made. I still expect to be paid in full."
He frowned as she waited for a reply he didn't have.
"The dress?" she prompted. "The one you ruined?"
"The… the dress," he repeated.
"Don't try to play stupid with me. That was a very, very expensive designer dress. We had a deal. You were going to pay me back in sex… and hello? Not even close to being done yet. And you were just going to let me leave without saying a word to remind me. Like I said, nice try." A slight smile betrayed her serious tone.
He felt something flutter in his chest as his heart sped up. "Oh, right. I almost forgot about that."
"Yeah, obviously."
"Uh, how much do I still owe?"
"A lot. It's going to take a really,really long time for us to be square on this."
He nodded. "I understand."
"I mean, I'm immortal now. We could be talking about decades. Possibly centuries."
"How much was that dress, again?"
"It was expensive. That's all I'm saying." She approached him and twisted her hands into the material of his shirt.
"I don't turn away from a deal."
"You're sure about that?"
He nodded gravely. "Very sure. But what about Florida? Your sister?"
"I know where she is. She's safe with Lenny. She'll understand that we have a serious matter to take care of between us."
"Serious."
"Very serious."
"It probably shouldn't wait much longer, then. Like you said, I have a lot to pay back." He stroked her long blond hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.
"You're okay with this burden, right? I mean, you can always write me a check if you'd rather."
"Well…" he said quickly. "I have no idea where my checkbook is. Do you take Visa?"
"Sorry, no."
"Then it's going to have to be a great deal of sex, then."
"So be it."
He met her gaze. "I shouldn't have let you get on that plane."
"No, you shouldn't have. I suppose we have a problem that we're two very stubborn people. Every now and then, one of us is going to have to compromise."
He swallowed hard. "I thought that you were—"
She covered his mouth. "I love you, Quinn. There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you right now."
Her words filled him with a deep, coursing warmth. "I love you, too. So much." His voice broke.
"This is very good to know." She smiled and pulled him to her. He
didn't resist, not in the slightest. Their lips met, and she ran her hands over his chest, feeling his heart beat.
He was alive.He felt alive. Even if he was a vampire, it didn't matter anymore. He was in control of his future as long as it contained her. This woman whom he had quickly grown to love more than anyone else he'd ever known in his life. His heart wasn't as cold as he thought it was, and if it was, then she'd managed to melt it in record time.
They were together. The thought filled him with some strange sensations—hope, joy, bliss. Emotions he thought he'd never feel again. But he did. And he didn't hate himself for being a vampire anymore. He didn't hate himself for his past as a hunter, because it was just that—his past. There was nothing he could do about it now except do his very best to make the most of his present and his future.
He had fangs, and he needed blood to survive, and he'd live the rest of his days as the very thing he'd always considered a monster. But he wasn't a monster. He was certain of that now.
He didn't have a reflection, but he didn't need one anymore. His gaze locked with Janie's as they stood together in the middle of the airport, people milling about on every side, rushing to catch their flights.
Janie was his reflection now.
She looked at Quinn with love in her beautiful blue eyes.
He really liked what he saw there.
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