Page 48 of Bloodhunter

I cleared my throat. “Thanks for waiting for me.”

“Absolutely my pleasure, Trinity.”

Was he flirting? I had no idea. I wasn’t exactly an expertwhen it came to men and their weird ways.

“How do you feel?” he asked. “Have the effects of the lotiongone completely?”

“Um,” I said. Smooth, that was me. “I think so.”

“Wilder was quite the gentleman when describing the events,but I know what the Foam of Aphrodite can do.”

My face heated, and I said nothing.

He studied me, his expression serious. “Miriam gave him hellfor his part in the attack.”

I frowned. “What do you mean? She hurt him becauseI...because the foam made me lose control?”

“She does whatever she wants to do to him. He’s hers to fuckwith, Trinity. You need to remember that.”

“I don’t understand any of it. Why does he stay with her?Why does he let her treat him like that?”

“He doesn’t have a choice, kid.”

“But why not?” I hesitated, then rushed on. “Is he really agolem?”

“Sort of. She raised him from the dead.” He shook his head,then straightened and rubbed his arms. “She’s capable of many things, that one.Hardly any of them good. She filled him with something—I don’t know, magical, Isuppose—and it is not possible for him to disobey her. He’s aware. He justcan’t do anything about it. I’m nearly certain he would physically explode ifhe tried to break away from her.” He shuddered. “I feel for the poor bastard.”

“She hates him,” I murmured.

“Or she loves him. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell thedifference.”

“No,” I replied. “There’s no love there. Passion. But notlove.”

He smiled, his full lips curling. “What would you know oflove, Bloodhunter?”

I returned his smile, pleased with the title, if not thequestion. “Next to nothing,” I admitted. “But I know a lot about hate.”

He lost his smile. “Yes. I suppose you would.” Then hepointed his chin at something behind me. “Here comes the maddened bull yousaved from jail. FYI, Trinity, Angus can’t resist a woman in red clothes.” Heshrugged. “You never know when that might come in handy.”

“I’ll file that away in my drawer of useless information,” Iretorted. “Thanks.”

He just grinned.

And Anguswasmad. He strode toward us, past us, thenstopped, turned around, and pointed at me. “Are you okay?” he practicallyshouted.

“I’m fine.” I’d been saying that a lot lately.

He glared at me, then turned that glare on Rhys. “Well?Let’s get out of this godforsaken wart of a place.”

“I have a lot to tell you,” I said, striding along besidehim.

“Oh, I have no doubt of that,” he snarled. “And if you weremine, you’d be telling it to me bent across my knee.”

“Fuck you,” I said calmly, and refused to speak to him allthe way home.

Home to Bay Town.

Chapter Seventeen