Night Kissed (Chosen Vampire Slayer #1) - Mila Young Page 0,52

you doing here, Logan?” she asked now. “To answer your question, no. I don’t think you really belong here. If you did, you’d be upstairs slugging it out with Beavis and Butthead.”

“I could be.” I caught her uncertain gaze and held it.

“But…?” I asked. Her tenacious personality shone through in every exchange. Veronica thought I had secrets she might want or need to know which explained why she hadn’t turned and walked out of the house. And she was determined to get answers out of me, I saw it in her narrowing gaze. That was annoying, but for reasons I didn’t quite understand, I decided to indulge her. To push her away would be to stunt the growth of a tempting connection.

“Not worth my time.” I frowned and glanced at the ceiling. Another rattling blow shook the building to its foundation. A hint of brimstone smoke filtered down to us through the staircase. Apparently Seth had doubled down, as he often did.

Veronica noticed the smoke as well. “Is everything okay up there?” For a brief moment, nervousness flashed across her face. “He’s not going to send this place up, is he?” She laid a hand on the wall, feeling for heat.

I shook my head. “There’s too much at stake for that.”

“Good to know, I think.” She stepped toward me until we were less than a few feet apart. Her presence had a tangible warmth, in stark contrast to mine. She was the sun on the surface of a frozen lake too deep and cold to melt. But she was trying. And I had to admit it was making more difference than none at all. “Tell me what Orion’s got on you. Maybe I can help. Why else would you be working with him, right?”

I frowned once more. “No, and no. You can’t.”

She folded her arms. Stubbornness radiated off of her in waves. Veronica wasn’t going anywhere. “Try me,” she declared flatly. “Really. I dare you. I’m stronger than you all seem to think.”

“Are you?” I rounded on her then. Not to hurt or scare her so much as to teach her a lesson. She was correct about her strength; that much I could feel. But for all her potential, all her current capability, the girl was stunningly naïve. There were occasions in which her forthright, persistent manner might get her somewhere.

More often than not, it would come back to bite her. Hard.

“You’re mistaken to think there’s always going to be a place for you in these conflicts.” My voice was calm, but dark. “We don’t have the patience to entertain the meaningless designs of mortals.” Quick as a flash, I reached out and grasped her slender wrist.

She tensed.

I turned her arm over, tracing the blue lines of her veins with my finger and pressing down until her pulse thrummed beneath my touch. “Do you know what this is?” I asked her.

She stared at me in silence. Her large, luminous eyes stayed impressively inscrutable. Eventually, she moved her head the tiniest amount left and right.

I didn’t let her look away. “It’s a timer. And it’s counting down.”

Chapter 17

Veronica

Logan’s hands were cold, but his touch was softer than I expected. His silver-blue eyes, eerily light, bored into mine, his ash-gray hair sitting on his shoulders. Part of me wanted to back away and free myself from the otherworldly grip he had on me, but another, larger part remained a somewhat willing captive. Besides, I didn’t think he really meant to hurt me—not in the moment, at least. No doubt he could have removed himself from service with Orion and Seth just as he claimed. And he’d even caught me off guard.

I knew I was being reckless as hell, trying to coax him into opening up. And I knew it was cliché to think he wasn’t like the other supernaturals I had seen. The voice of reason inside my head did her best to persuade me otherwise. Are you nuts, Veronica? Can you hear yourself thinking right now? This guy is not a neglected puppy locked up in a back room. He’s strong, and he’s smart, and he’s definitely more dangerous than he looks!

All true. I understood it in my heart. Still, Logan was the only one I had found myself able to talk to as if we were almost equals. He was moody, sure, and obviously capable of great cruelty. But he lacked the arrogance of his compatriots. He spoke without their repulsive smugness. I nearly believed he thought he might not