Page 68 of Bloodhunter

“Thanks, Sinclair.” He cut the connection.

I slid my phone back into my pocket. It wasn’t likely Shanewas going to be up for a little tracking so soon, even if he were so inclinedto give me another chance. It didn’t matter. I’d feel better going alone. Lessrisky that way.

At least for my partner.

“I’ll be with you,” Clayton said, as though he knew exactlywhat I was thinking.

I only nodded. He had his orders, and if I refused to lethim go along, he’d simply follow me. No sense wasting my time or breath arguingabout it.

“Clayton,” I said. “If the demon stays in Red Valley, deadhuman bodies will start piling up. Can we blame it on the vampires?”

“We can try.”

If the humans believed the vampires were responsible, theheat would be taken off the supernats. The vampires were hated and persecutedanyway, and they deserved their hard lives. They ate humans. They becameinfected and went nuts and tore people up. I could understand the hatred.

But the supernaturals of a city played by the rules.

I shuddered, imagining Angus’s children hauled in,separated, and imprisoned if things started going sideways. Their freedom was tenuous,and they lived with an insidious, creeping fear and insecurity I could barelycomprehend or imagine. Every single day of their lives.

The supernaturals just wanted to live their lives. For themost part, they hurt no one, and I would do everything I could to help funnelthe blame from them to the vampires.

We could tell the humans an incubus was on the loose, butthey’d want someone they could catch. Someone they could see, and someone theycould hurt—so until we contained the demon, the humans were getting thevampires.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Crawford wants me to bring Gray to him,” I told Clayton. Herode shotgun as I drove us through the city, searching for the familiar mistytrails that belonged to Gordon Gray. “He and his family want to face hisniece’s murderer.”

“They want to torture him,” Clayton said.

I nodded. “True enough. But I can’t bring myself to care.”

He looked at me, and his eyes held a grim smile. “If youbecome close with one vampire, you’ll begin to care about all of them. Yourindiscriminate killing and torture of vampires will come back to haunt you.”

I frowned, angry that he would make me consider somethingthat should have been an impossibility given my history.

But I’d protected Amias, and things had changed.

I had changed, and we both knew it.

Still, I wasn’t ready to admit it. “Not going to happen,” Imuttered. Then, “Your feelings for Miriam don’t make you hate all women. Or allsupernats.”

“I don’t hate Miriam.”

“You’dhaveto,” I scoffed.

He kept his silence, and I didn’t press. How could he nothate Miriam? She enslaved him. Humiliated him. Hurt him. Of course he’d hateher.

Reluctantly, I turned the car in the direction of Raeven’sRoad. I didn’t want to go back there, but that was where I’d pick up his scent.Somewhere in the woods off that road, Gordon Gray was hiding out.

I just had to find him.

Then I had to try capturing him without killing him so thecaptain and his family could get some revenge. It wouldn’t bring back Lucy, butit’d give them a little satisfaction. Maybe.

“Best case scenario,” I said, more to myself than Clayton,“I’ll find his den, then go back when he’s sleeping to silver him. When the sungoes down, I’ll take him to the captain.”

My cell rang and I dug it out of my pocket. Clayton grabbedthe dashboard when I glanced down at my phone and nearly ran us off the road,but I pretended not to notice.

“Captain?” I put the phone on speaker.