Devon stared at Earl for a minute before giving a brisk nod. “Done.”
Julian didn’t look at Earl as he stepped over him and joined Devon at the bottom of the stairs. Devon turned and climbed the steps ahead of him.
CHAPTER 3
“What are we going to do with the vampires we took from the hotel?” Devon inquired as he settled the panel back into the floor, effectively hiding the room below.
Before they’d fled the abandoned hotel, Julian had asked Devon to take control of the minds of two vampires within the room. He was fairly certain the man and woman were a couple, and he had plans for them.
“Chris and I will take a good look at them to see what they’re really like, but I hope to be able to set them free.” Devon’s jaw clenched at Julian’s response. “With no memory of Cassie, of course. I’d wipe Quinn from their minds too if I could, but they need to remember her, and what she can do, for what I intend to do next.”
Devon’s eyes slid toward him. “And what is that?”
“The vampires must be organized. They’re far more dangerous to us, to humans, and to the Hunters while they continue to remain scattered like they are.”
“You have a plan for that?”
“I do.”
“Quinn has caused you to grow a heart and a brain.” Devon laughed. “Never thought either was possible.”
Julian gave him the finger as they left the garage. He paused to close the door before walking beside Devon to the bar. Stepping into the kitchen, they made their way past all of the stainless steel equipment before pushing open the doors and striding into the main barroom.
Chris, Melissa, Dani, Cassie, and Luther sat huddled around a table, their heads bent close together as they talked. Lou also sat at the table, but his chin was on his chest, and his eyes were closed as he breathed slowly in and out. Devon moved to stand behind Cassie. She turned to look up at him when he rested his hands on her shoulders.
Behind the bar, glass clinked as Quinn held the dustpan while Clint swept up the broken bottles and shelves that had fallen. The mess had been created when Earl used Quinn’s friend, Jeb, to attack Quinn and her friends. When Jeb shot Clint’s longtime girlfriend, Hawtie, Quinn had used her ability to heal Hawtie. Using so much of her power to save Hawtie’s life had left Quinn weakened and vulnerable to Earl when he came for her.
Julian used the sight of Quinn to help cage the monster lurking so close to his surface at the fresh reminder of what Earl had put her through.
Quinn paused in the act of emptying the dustbin into the trash. Her head came up and her honey-colored eyes latched onto him. If he still breathed, the air would have rushed out of him at the love radiating in her gaze. Never had he thought a woman would look at him like that. He wasn’t sure he deserved her love after the countless horrific things he’d done over the years, but he would never let her go.
Looking at the scar running across her right eyebrow up to her temple and the one down the center of her chin reawakened his urge to kill. All he could think about was tearing the throat out of Earl before beating him into a bloody pulp. Then, he’d let Earl heal before going at him again.
Quinn’s pointed chin jutted out as if she’d read his mind. Pretty, in a proud, willful way, with her high cheekbones and pert nose, she’d become his everything in such a short amount of time.
She tossed the glass into the trashcan and placed the dustpan on the bar. Her chocolate-colored hair swayed with each of her steps as she came toward him. Despite her five-nine height, she looked unbelievably small in the T-shirt he’d given her to wear. The shirt had belonged to someone else and had been too big for him. A set of baggy jeans he’d never seen before were cinched at her waist with a rope. The bottoms of the jeans barely touched her ankles, leading him to believe they belonged to Clint. He spotted the skimpy dress Helena had made her wear in the trashcan.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she stopped before him.
“Yes.”
Her eyes scanned over him. “Julian—”
“I’m fine.” He pulled her into his arms. The bloodlust slithering through him eased immediately at the feel of her. “You can always bring me back from the darkness,” he whispered in her ear.