Kisses from Hell

“But this guardian of yours, she was in on it, right?”

“No. She’s…she’s a vampire. There was this group of supernaturals who were concerned about what the Edison Group was doing. They were secretly monitoring the experiments. She was assigned to me. When she saw how I was being treated, she took me.”

“Abducted you?”

“It wasn’t like that.” My voice carried a bit of snap. Time to change the subject. I turned to Neil, who’d been walking silently beside me. “So where’d you learn to shoot?”

“A co-op placement at our local police station. They threw in sessions on the firing range as an incentive. I can point and shoot, but that’s about it.”

“More than I can do,” I said. “Very cool. So—”

“Co-op with the cops?” Chad cut in. “What were you doing there? Fixing their computers?”

“Don’t be a jerk,” I said.

“I’m not. It’s a serious question. Bet I’m right, too. You gotta admit, he’s the type.”

“And what type would that be?” Neil said. “The type who can spell computer?”

“Okay, not cool, guys,” I said, lifting my hands. “You two have fun insulting each other. I’ll be back here.”

I slowed to let them get ahead. They kept walking, shifting farther apart. Neil glanced back, like he was thinking about coming back with me, then settled for falling behind Chad and forming a single line. No one spoke for about five minutes. Then Neil cleared his throat.

“I think we should split up,” he said. “We have no idea if the nearest town is twenty miles this way. Or five miles back the way we came. Or one mile up that road we just crossed.”

“I don’t think—” I began.

Chad cut me short. “You’ve got a point.” He stopped and looked around. “Kat can keep going this way. I’ll head back. You can take the side road.”

I shook my head. “And what do we do when one of us finds a town? We don’t have any way to keep in contact.”

A valid argument. Neither guy listened, so I had them memorize Marguerite’s cell number and walked away.

As I trudged through the forest, I cursed Chad and Neil. Was it just me or was this the stupidest idea ever?

As pissed off as I was, though, I couldn’t help wondering if this separation was my fault. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut when they were sniping at each other. Of course, that would have required industrial- strength duct tape. We’d just escaped bounty hunters. We were running—well, walking—for our lives. And they thought slinging insults was a useful way to pass the time?

No, I couldn’t have kept quiet. If that made them decide to split up, then it was a seriously lame excuse.

Maybe that’s what it had been. An excuse. Not to get away from each other, but from me. Put some distance between themselves and the bloodsucker before she gets hungry.

It didn’t matter. I’d get to a town and I’d call Marguerite, and if the guys were worried about hanging out with vampires, they could call a ride of their own. I’d never see them again. Which was fine. Not like they were my new best buddies or anything.

It had been nice, though, finding other kids from the same experiment. Other vampires. Only they weren’t vampires. Not really. But I guess, in a way, I’d liked the idea of meeting someone who kind of knew what I was going through, who—

I sensed someone close by. Really close by. I wheeled as Neil jogged through the trees. He held up his hands, the gun still tucked in his waistband.

“It’s just me,” he said.

“Did you find something?”

“No.” He waved for me to follow. “Come on. We need to get in deeper before they get here.”

“They’re coming?” I said as I followed him. “Did you tell Chad? We need to—”

“We need to stay as far away from Chad as possible, considering he’s the one who called them.”

I stopped. “What?”

He reached for my elbow and tugged me into the forest. “He’s a plant. I suspected it from the start, but I’m sure now. He’s gone to call them. That’s why he wanted to split up.”

I jerked out of his grasp. “No, you wanted to split up. It was your idea.”

“My thoughts exactly,” said a voice beside us.

Chad lunged from the bushes and charged Neil. He grabbed for the gun, but only managed to hit Neil’s arm. The gun went flying. I dove for it. We all did. I was faster, though, and snatched it up, then backed away, gun wavering between the two. They froze.

I looked down at the gun in my hands, and again, I remembered that fatal shot. But this time the memory passed with only a spark of emotion.

“Who suggested splitting up?” Chad said after a moment. “If there’s a plant here, it’s obviously him.”

“I suggested it to smoke you out,” Neil said. “Splitting up was a stupid idea. Katiana knew that. But you were all for it…because it gave you the excuse to call the bounty hunters.”

“Call with what?” Chad lifted his arms and turned. “Pat me down, Kat. I don’t have a phone.”

“Because you hid it as soon as you overheard me. Katiana, you know he’s not a vampire. Look at how he reacted to you. He showed no interest in the book. He’s shown no interest in what your life is like or what you’re going through. That’s not the reaction of someone who expects to become a vampire.”

“Maybe because I’m scared, okay?” Chad said. “Can I admit that? Or do I have to be all logical about it like you? To me that proves you aren’t one. You’re overcompensating, making sure we know you’re okay with it.”

“He’s a plant, Katiana. He was the first one picked up—”

“Which would be a dumb idea if I was in on it. The smarter move would be to grab me second, to throw off suspicion. And who says there’s a plant at all? Where did this idea come from? What possible reason would the bounty hunters have—”

“First, as a precaution against exactly this scenario—we escape. If one of them is with us, they can make sure we don’t get very far. Who’s the one who didn’t want us flagging down a passing car?”

“But I didn’t suggest splitting—”

“Second, they don’t know where the other subjects are. They assume we do. You’ve been very curious about those other subjects, Chad. We gotta find them. Gotta find them. And, by the way, do we happen to know where they are?”

“Enough,” I said. “Neil has convinced me…that there is a plant. Makes sense. The question is, who?” I stepped forward, gun pointed at Chad. “One way to find out if you’re a vampire, isn’t there?”

“Whoa!” Chad backpedaled. “Vampire or not, I wouldn’t want that. Come on. Obviously, it’s him. He’s the one who wanted to split up.”

I turned the gun on Neil. He paled. Sweat trickled down his temple.

“All right,” he said. “I’d really rather not, but if that’s what it takes, go ahead. I’d only ask that you let me turn around and aim for the base of my skull. It’s the quickest way to kill someone.”

“What the hell kind of freak knows that?” Chad said. “Sure, let him turn around…so he can run away as fast as his scrawny legs will take him.”

Neil turned. I could see the side of his neck throbbing as his heart raced. He didn’t even shake, though. Just stood there, waiting. That took guts. Incredible guts.

I swung the gun back on Chad. He dove at me. I could have shot him. But I wouldn’t, not while I had any other option. So when he came at me, I dropped the gun, grabbed him by the wrist, and threw him.

Before I could pin him, he flipped over, a hard elbow to the jaw sending me flying off my feet. It took me a second to recover. As I did, I heard a grunt and a thump behind me, and when I turned, Chad had the gun—and