Relentless (Vampire Awakenings #11) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,20

not the place to do it. Dante slid two hundred-dollar bills across the counter to Opal, and she snatched them up. She hit a button on the register, and it popped open. Lifting the cash drawer out, she slipped the money underneath and pulled out a red envelope.

“Here’s the address. Have fun, but if you cause any problems, you’ll be removed, I’ll be notified, and you and Kyle will be barred for life.”

Cassidy didn’t consider it much of a threat, but her brother would be pissed.

Dante took the red envelope from Opal. “Understood, and thank you.”

He followed Cassidy out the door. On the sidewalk, he led her away from the entrance and leaned against the brick wall of a small convenience store.

“I’ll pay you back,” Cassidy told him.

“No, you won’t. Julie’s mother gave me money to cover my expenses while I’m searching for her daughter.”

“She shouldn’t have to pay mine.”

“Consider yourself a hired associate.”

“But that’s not fair. The woman has lost her daughter and—”

“And it’s okay,” Dante assured her with a smile. “I give back most of the money people pay me, especially to those who can’t afford it. Whatever I don’t use to cover my expenses and to pay a couple of bills will go back to Mrs. Abbott.”

“You give the money back?”

“As much as I can. Some of the people who hire me have nothing, but they also don’t trust someone willing to do something for nothing. I can’t say I blame them.”

So, he definitely wasn’t an asshole. In fact, he was nicer than she initially believed. She could almost feel her heart melting as he opened the envelope.

Dante removed a white sheet of paper and read the address and sentence neatly printed on it. “It looks like we’re going to Quincy.”

Chapter Ten

Cassidy had no idea what to make of the solid iron door directly across from them. Dante’s chest brushed her arm as he stood close to her. From the second they exited the taxi, he’d stayed within inches of her as his gaze continuously took in their surroundings. He vibrated with tension as he scanned the streets.

This run-down business district of Quincy wasn’t as quiet as she would have expected for a weeknight. Most of the businesses on the street were already closed for the night… or maybe for the decade. Though they were the only ones on this street, groups of people walked past on the cross street a couple of hundred feet away from them.

There were only two dim streetlights on either end of their street, but they did little to illuminate the area. None of the people who passed glanced their way as they rushed home or toward more populated areas where the fun was just getting started.

Here, it looked as if the fun died with King Tut.

“I don’t like this,” Dante said. “I should get you out of here.”

“We’ve come this far, and there hasn’t been anything dangerous yet.”

Still, she couldn’t help feeling apprehensive about what lay beyond the door. Had Opal set them up? Would the door open to reveal a dozen Savages waiting to pounce on them?

Cassidy restrained a shudder. If he believed she was scared, he would take her away, and she refused to let him do this alone. However, for the first time, she was scared by what they might discover.

“Do you know why Opal said there’s only one party in town now?” he asked.

“I’m assuming it’s because of the growing number of Savages and the threat they pose.”

“What threat is that?”

“The Savages have been working for years to grow their numbers by capturing humans and vampires, turning them, and starving them until they turn into Savages. They were quiet for a while, and we believed things might stay that way with only the occasional Savage attack, but last year, they started amping up their game again.”

She’d nearly lost her sister Willow last year because of it. “My sister Willow is a member of the Alliance, and my sister Vicky is mated to a hunter.”

“She’s mated to a hunter?” Clora had told him about hunters. “I thought they were determined to kill us.”

Cassidy gave him a small smile. “They were once, but things have changed.”

“So, they’re on our side now?”

“Some of them.”

“Interesting. And what do you mean by mated? Is that something vampires or hunters do?”

“Vampires have soul mates. When they find the person or vamp they’re meant to spend forever with, they form a bond with them through blood and sex. The bond is unbreakable. If a