want to have to close down my establishment on the account of a huntress’s death here.” Basil stalked out of the room.
After removing a plaid blanket from the arm of one of the other couches, Atreides covered the huntress. “Did you see the vampire who targeted you?” he asked, not expecting a reply. Her hands were ice cold, and he took them in his and attempted to warm them. “Why did you leave the car, Selena? You would have been safe inside your vehicle.”
Twilight poked her head inside. “The word’s out that she was bitten. Can I see her?”
“I don’t think she would appreciate being viewed as a curiosity,” Atreides said too harshly.
Twilight shrugged. “I saw the two of you dancing. It didn’t look to me like she was too uncomfortable being on show.”
The Goth was a strange woman, and there was no figuring her motives, but Atreides sensed she was more than just curious about the huntress.
Twilight moved into the room and crouched beside the huntress. “Some of the guys are saying she asked for it.”
His gut clenched. No woman deserved to be abused. “She was preyed upon.”
The slight woman nodded. “I didn’t say I agreed. It’s just what I heard. And some of them, well those who were speaking out because I can’t hear their telepathic conversations, said you were more than intrigued by the huntress.”
“Don’t you have someone to dance with?”
“The music has stopped.”
Atreides turned and listened. All he could hear were people talking.
“Basil’s questioning everyone concerning who left the club about the time the huntress was gone. No more dancing tonight.”
“So why don’t you go home?”
She shrugged. “Nothing to do there for me. It’s more interesting here. Iconia’s pretty pissed. I would have figured she did it.”
“The bite marks are too deep. Too vicious. It had to be a male.”
“Well, I only meant she had the best motive.”
“A rogue doesn’t need a motive.”
Reaching over to Selena, Twilight touched her dark hair. “Iconia was here the whole time dancing with that berserker, Ragnar. I might have thought she sent him after the huntress, but he hadn’t left either.”
“You were keeping pretty good tabs on everyone?”
“My life is dull. I find your world fascinating. So, yeah, I watch people a lot.”
Atreides had never noticed. The woman was an oddity, and yet she faded in the background. Every once in a while, she would catch his eye, and the way she smiled at him, he assumed she was interested in snagging his attention. He wondered if she was afraid of Iconia’s wrath. Only other vampiresses dared to entertain hope that he would show any interest in them.
Twilight sighed heavily. “I thought you didn’t care anything about humans or huntresses. In fact, a lot of people were surprised tonight. You’d better believe that you and your huntress are the talk of your kind this evening.”
Atreides gave her a harsh look and addressed the real concern. “Who left the club after the huntress left?”
“Three male vampires I didn’t know but I gave a description to Basil. Some of the others probably know them.”
Selena groaned but she didn’t open her eyes. Twilight touched her cheek. “I’m Twilight, if you ever want to talk.” She winked at Atreides and stood. “Where are you taking her after you give her blood?”
Hell if he knew. He didn’t want to return her to her family looking like this. In a couple of days, the vampire’s marks would have faded because the hunter genetics, just like a vampire’s, meant they healed from their injuries faster than humans.
The woman smiled. “Your place. Has to be because you wouldn’t trust anyone else to protect her. Maybe I can drop by tomorrow. See how she’s doing? She might want to talk to someone other than just a bunch of vampires.”
“The hunter kind don’t associate with humans either.”
“Maybe—being that she came to a vampires’ lair in the first place unlike others of her kind—she does. You’d better watch out for Iconia though. She has already told some of her friends if you take the huntress home with you, you’ll both live to regret it.”
Basil walked into the room to see what else he could do.
Atreides studied Twilight and then forced her to tell him what she knew about the huntress because he knew something more was going on with her—especially when they’d found her skulking around the parking lot.
“Okay, okay, the truth is a human named Tara Green told me to speak with Selena,” Twilight said.
"Why would a human tell you