I pulled up short. “What the ...?”
He regarded us, his eyes glittery slits of hate. “What sort of ropes are these? I only ask because they appear to be made out of steel.”
His disdain caused a smile to rise to my lips, unbidden. “I made them. I infused them with a bit of magic.”
He cocked his head, his expression unreadable. “You’re a witch ... but more.”
I moved to the counter to grab a can of cat food. “What do you know about more?”
“You would be surprised what I know. As for you, I know nothing specific. You are ... interesting, though. I’ve known plenty of interesting magical types over the years.”
“Like the girl you were with?” Gunner queried, moving to the coffee machine. The fact that the vampire was awake when he should have been dead to the world, had obviously changed our plans. We needed to question him to find the girl.
The vampire straightened in his chair. “Did Sami get away?” He looked legitimately concerned. “She wasn’t ambushed in the woods, was she?”
I didn’t know what to make of him. His concern for a child who obviously wasn’t his was profound. “I couldn’t find her,” I replied. I saw no reason to lie. “She ran into a clearing and it was as if she completely disappeared. I used my magic to try and find her but came up empty. However she managed to hide, she’s good.”
The vampire’s lips curved, showing off a pair of gleaming white teeth. “She’s very good. She’s also safe. You won’t be able to find her.”
He sounded pleased with that outcome, which irked me. “And how is that a good thing?” I grabbed one of the chairs from the table and placed it directly in front of him so he had no place to look but my face. “That girl is out there, all alone. She’s a child and in danger. We want to help her.”
“You would be surprised how many people have wanted to ‘help’ that child and her mother over the years only to turn on them. You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you. Odds are, it’s a lie.”
“What is she?” Gunner asked, padding to my side. He handed me a mug of coffee but kept his attention on the vampire. “She’s part shifter but she’s more. I don’t know how to explain what I felt.”
“That’s none of your concern.” The vampire looked Gunner up and down then asked, “What pack are you?”
“How do you know about the packs?”
“I know a great deal about a great many things.” The vampire was pompous, and yet the way his eyes kept darting to the window told me his mind was elsewhere. If I had to guess, it was on the girl. He was worried about her, which I found interesting.
“Where are her parents?” I asked, shifting the conversation. “If you don’t want to help us with her, tell us who they are. We’ll contact them. Perhaps they’ll be able to find her.”
“That is an intriguing proposal,” the vampire agreed. “Unfortunately, her parents are ... unaccounted for.”
That sounded ominous. “Were you with her parents or something?”
“That’s none of your concern.” The vampire shifted, grimacing when the ropes kept him in place. He was obviously in pain but determined not to show it. “You should let me go.”
I shook my head. “That’s not happening until we find that girl.”
“If you want her found, you’ll let me go.”
“Except we have no idea what your motivations were toward her,” I argued. “For all we know, you’re one of those gross perverts she was talking about. Maybe you enticed her online or something and plan to do absolutely terrible things to her.”
Fury, hot and fast, took over the creature’s features. “Don’t ever say anything like that again!”
If he was acting, he was good at it. I was convinced he loved the girl, and not in a perverted way. He was a protector of sorts, but how? That’s what I needed to know. “How is it that a vampire ends up being the benefactor of a half-shifter child?”
“You’ll have to ask her parents about that.” The vampire’s response was stiff. “I’m sure they’ll be arriving shortly.”
“Yeah?” I tilted my head. “If her parents are so close, why was she with you?”
“It’s ... complicated.”
“Life is complicated.”
“It is indeed.”
That did it. I’d had it with his blasé responses and jumped to my feet. “Do you want that kid to die out there?” My temper exploded in a flurry of magic and the light fixture above shook and flickered.
The vampire’s eyes rolled to the ceiling. “What are you?” he asked. “You’re way more than a simple witch. Your more is …, well, more.”
“And that child is way more than a simple shifter,” Gunner said, earnest. “I swear to you that we don’t want to hurt her. We’ll keep her safe until we can find her parents.”
“I actually believe you.” The vampire was calm. “I still can’t help you. I made a promise to her parents.” He choked at the words and then calmed. “I won’t help you get your hands on her, whether you’re benevolent or not.”
I had to admire his devotion to the kid. He was sincere. That didn’t mean I could simply abandon the girl. “Now you listen here,” I was deadly serious, “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know why you have that girl. All I know is that I feel something very strongly here.” I tapped the spot above my heart. “I feel that I am destined to find that girl and keep her safe. That’s what I feel.”
“I feel the same thing.” The vampire refused to back down. “Whether I believe you’re telling the truth or not doesn’t matter. We’ve been burned before. I will not risk her.”
“Fine.” I strode toward the window and grabbed the curtain, giving him a defiant look. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll open this.”
“Do what you have to
