Nikolas’s brows rose. “How indeed?”

“What do you mean? What’s going on here?” I’d have to be blind and deaf not to notice the thinly veiled animosity between my friends and Nikolas. When no one answered I turned to Roland. “Roland? Do you know this guy?”

Behind me Nikolas made a sound that told me he did not like being referred to as ‘this guy’. I ignored him and glared at Roland until he shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“But you know something about him? What does Mohiri mean?”

“I am Mohiri,” Nikolas said. All traces of mockery were gone from his expression.

I faced him again. “And you hunt vampires.” That much was kind of obvious when you figured in his attire and the headless vampire in the alley, but I wanted to hear him say it.

“Among other things.” He had the same expression he had worn on the deck like he was trying to figure me out. God, was it really only an hour ago?

“What about your friend from the club? Is he a hunter too? Why didn’t he help you?”

“Chris scouted the area for more hostiles while I handled the situation here.”

The situation. That’s what he called battling two bloodthirsty vampires in a dark alley? I shook my head. “So what happened? Did you get the short straw or something?”

“Or something,” he drawled as his gaze burned into mine. Warmth curled in my stomach and I dropped my eyes in confusion.

“What about the other vampire. Did you get him?” Peter asked.

“Chris is tracking him.”

“He got away?” Roland’s voice echoed my alarm. Eli had vowed to have me. Was he going to come after me again?

“He’s injured so he won’t get too far. Don’t worry. He won’t stick around here now that he’s being hunted.”

“We should put some distance between us and this place all the same,” Roland said and I silently agreed with him.

“You live in Portland?” Nikolas asked and we shook our heads. “Good. The farther you get from the city the better. It’s not safe here right now.”

“No shit.” Roland took my arm. “We need to get out of here.”

We made it ten feet before it hit me. I haven’t even thanked him. I spun back to face Nikolas and found him watching me with that same impassive expression. “Thank you… for what you did. If you hadn’t come when you did…” My voice cracked. After the night I’d had, the last thing I needed was to start blubbering in front of a complete stranger.

Nikolas’s expression softened for a moment and I saw a flicker of something raw and turbulent in his eyes. It pulled at me like it was an invisible cord attached to my chest and I almost started walking toward him. But in the next moment it was gone and I was left wondering if I had imagined it.

“Just doing my job.”

“Oh…okay, well thanks anyway.” His clipped words stung after what we’d just been through. It was the second time tonight he had suddenly gone cold toward me for no apparent reason. It shouldn’t have bothered me because it wasn’t like I’d ever see him again. But for some reason it did.

I didn’t look back this time as I walked to the car. I got into the front seat again and laid my head wearily against the headrest while I waited for Roland to get in and start the engine. When I felt the car move I looked up but the street was empty.

“Oh God, I need to call Nate.” Eli had shown up before I could call Nate when we left the club. “What am I going to tell him?”

“Well I don’t think you want to tell him the truth,” Roland said and I shook my head. He thought for a minute. “Just tell him we are going to hang at my house for a while. It’s what we would have done anyway.”

Nate, not surprisingly, was still up working on his book. I told him I was going to Roland’s and he just said to not stay out too late. It weighed on me after I hung up how easily the lie had flowed from my lips. Nate was good to me and all I did was deceive him. But I honestly could not see any way to tell him the truth.

No one spoke as Roland drove us through downtown Portland. We passed a few bars with people lined up to get in, as taxis of more people arrived for a night of partying. It was Friday night and the night life was in full swing. At one stop light I watched a group of laughing young women crossing in front of us and I couldn’t help but think how that had been me a few hours ago. Was there another Eli watching them right now, selecting one to meet the fate that could have been mine tonight?

God, I’m nothing more than a statistic now. I read stories online all the time about vampire sightings and people disappearing. I’d always felt bad for the unsuspecting victims who had no idea what was out there. Until tonight I believed I was smarter than them, more prepared because of what I knew. It was scary and humbling to know that I was just as vulnerable as everyone else.

As soon as we hit the interstate I heard Roland let out a sigh of relief. None of us were sorry to put Portland behind us. Roland fiddled with the radio until he found a classic rock station and an Eagles song filled the car. We all relaxed a little after that, but none of us seemed inclined to speak. I knew they were keeping something from me but my brain was too tired to process anything else right now.

A little more than an hour later, Roland took the exit ramp to New Hastings but instead of heading into town, he drove toward the rolling farmland on the outskirts called the Knolls. He and Peter lived in the Knolls and when we were kids I used to come out here all the time. I couldn’t count the hours I’d spent on their Uncle Brendan’s farm. As we passed the sign for the Knolls, it hit me that I hadn’t been out here in almost a year. Had it really been that long? Up until two years ago, not a weekend passed when I wasn’t with Roland and Peter. It was around that time that they began doing some ‘male bonding’ thing with their cousins, going off on their outdoor excursions. I was hurt at first that they excluded me from their fun until I started spending more time with Remy. Eventually, I stopped coming out here at all.