he stood. I took a deep breath and exhaled.
Then I raced as fast I could, jumping against the brick wall, before propelling myself toward the bottom of the ladder. I caught it with both hands and swung myself up, then climbed quickly until I reached the rooftop.
When I clambered up next to him, he watched me appraisingly. There was nothing friendly in the way he narrowed his eyes, studying me with intensity that sent a prickle down my spine. But now I was close enough to get a good look at his face.
He was unreasonably handsome. His cheekbones were high, his cheeks hollow beneath them. His eyes were an eerie light blue, lushly lashed, in contrast with the black hair that fell to his shoulders. His skin was almost unnaturally perfect, as if he was airbrushed, and intricate tattoos that must spread across that powerful chest peeked from the torn collar of his shirt. Either that shirt was a fashion statement, or the vamp had tried to put up a fight.
“I don’t know you.” And I would remember him, if I’d met him in the last five years.
He cocked his head to one side, studying me. “You don’t remember anything, do you? Not your childhood, not your home, not your misspent youth.”
“Was my youth misspent?” I rubbed my hand across my head, which was beginning to pound. “I’ve been trying to misspend my twenties. Good to know I’ve got some practice.”
He looked me over just as curiously as I was looking at him. “At first, this Hunting business made me assume you were trying to help the humans as penance for your sins. But I suppose you would find your way into any career field that involved death and destruction.”
“You’ve been following me?” I demanded.
I should probably just kill him now. But he didn’t give me that creepy vibe up the back of my neck; I felt safe enough with him. Just… irritated.
And I also felt a flutter of nerves, an odd reeling in my stomach and a flush of desire that heated my skin. I bit my lip. I spent a lot of time around good-looking, well-built Hunters and I never felt these stirrings. This man was too damned pretty.
His brows rose as if that were ridiculous. “No. I’ve been trying to track you. You’ve been missing for a long time.”
I couldn’t stop staring at him, and I wanted to know what the hell he was talking about, both of which made me feel hot and self-conscious. I forced myself to meet that mocking gaze. “Last chance before I get bored and wander off. Who the hell are you?”
“You’re not going to just wander off.” He crossed his arms over that broad chest, still holding my gaze. I tried not to notice the way the movement pulled what was left of his shirt lower, revealing the dark lines of hounds and runes tattooed across his chiseled pecs. A perfectly shaped brown nipple winked at me before it was covered by his thick bicep, not that I was looking. “You’ve never had any control over your curiosity.”
God, what a twit. He wanted me to think he knew something I didn’t. My desire to uncover my past was a vulnerability, and I wasn’t about to let some random jerk—no matter how beautiful—control me.
I cocked my head, staring at him. “Are you a vampire?”
“No…” He frowned impatiently.
I could tell he was about to say something else, so I beat him to the punch. “Shifter?”
He was so big, I could peg him as a shifter easily.
“No,” he scoffed.
“Witch?” I asked brightly.
“No.”
“Evil?” That was the part that mattered most. I never hurt anyone who didn’t hurt someone else first.
His brows arched over those icy eyes. “No.”
Must be a Hunter then, to have caught my stray vamp as soon as he broke away. He was an unusually reckless, confident, sexy man, even by Hunter standards. But he was just another human.
“Then I don’t give a damn about you,” I told him, heading toward the far edge of the roof. “You’re cute, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Mysterious, but you seem like trouble, and I find enough of that on my own.”
His lips parted, and he seemed to stumble over what to say to that. Since it was always nice to leave a man speechless, it was the perfect time for me to walk away.
“You need answers, Alisa,” he called after me. “I can give you answers.”
I started to run, picking up speed. I jumped nimbly onto the ledge of