“I’m not!” I shook my head, realizing how pointless this argument was. “What’s it to you, anyway? Aren’t you gonna kill me in like ten minutes?”

“What?” He narrowed his eyes in surprise and confusion. “Why would I kill you?”

His genuine shock startled me. Even after he had tasted my bitter blood, it hadn’t occurred to him to kill me. He’d known about it for days, and as far as I knew, he hadn’t killed Jack yet either. In fact, the only thing he’d done was save my life. This wasn’t exactly the picture everyone had painted for me.

“You did already try once.” I crossed my arms on my chest, trying not to let on that I was just as bewildered as he was.

“I already told you that would never happen again,” he brushed me off.

There was something almost endearingly matter-of-fact about him. Sure, he had tried to kill me, but he said he wasn’t going to again, so what was I worried about?

“What about Jack?” I ventured, and my voice gave away how much that made me nervous.

Peter tensed up at the mention of his name and stared off into the night. He bit his lip, thinking of something. There was an agonizingly long span where he didn’t even move.

“We need to go home and get things in order,” Peter sighed at length.

“What?”

“There’s no other way about it.” He reached out so I would take his hand, and I did, but hesitantly.

I got the same electric surge I always did, and I hated the warmth of pleasure that flooded over me. His hand, the one gripping mine, could very well be the death of Jack.

I let Peter lead me through the fog towards his Audi, parked down the street by my apartment. I tried really hard not to think about how wonderful it felt when he bit me. Maybe I could have Peter bite me again. That would at least give Jack some time to… I don’t know what. That wasn’t really a plan.

Once inside the car, I came up with the only idea I could think of. After Peter started the car, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I thought about trying to hide it from him, but he’d figure it out anyway. He didn’t say anything until after I’d hit send and we were already soaring down the road.

“Who did you text?” Peter asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Jack and Mae.”

“What did it say?”

“That I was with you and we were on the way to your house,” I said honestly.

He nodded once, and then noncommittally, he said, “That’s probably for the best.”

I almost asked him if he planned to kill Jack, but decided that I didn’t want to know. If he said yes, there wouldn’t be any hope for this turning out okay. At least this way, I could sink down in the seat and think that maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Peter obviously didn’t have any intention of hurting me. In fact, he’d been kinder to me than he ever had been before.

Then again, maybe that was a rouse. As the old saying goes, he’d catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

- 27 -

When the Audi pulled into the garage, I noticed with some relief that the Lamborghini was gone. Meaning Jack probably wasn’t here. I had no idea where he might be, but as long as he wasn’t here, that was fine by me.

Peter rested his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me into the house, and I tried to pretend like I didn’t notice the tingles it sent through me. My heart beat that funny way again, the one that drove everyone mad, and I hoped that Milo wasn’t home.

No one greeted us at the door, which surprised me since I had given Mae a heads up. Matilda barked and scratched at the basement door, which led me to believe that Mae had stepped in. If Jack and Peter were going to start battling it out, Matilda would probably get hurt, so Mae put her in the basement to protect her.

“Hello?” Peter announced, his silken voice resonating through the entryway. He sighed when Mae didn’t rush in to greet us, the way she would’ve any other time. “She did always like Jack better than me. She needs someone to coddle.”

“That’s why she prefers me,” I added dryly, and he smiled slightly.

“Mae?” Peter ventured out into the kitchen.

He kept his hand on my back to keep me going along with him. Not that I would’ve turned away. Wherever Peter was going, I wanted to be, and not just because my body insisted it. If he was going to stumble across Jack, I had to be there.

“Mae?” Peter repeated, his tone growing irritated.

A scuffling sound came from the living room, and Peter moved his arm so it was in front of me, shielding me from whatever was going on in the other room. His stance had changed, though, like he was ready for an attack, and I tried to think of a way relax to him.

“Mae!” I shouted. I doubted Peter would hurt her, and I needed someone else to break the tension.

“Alice?” Milo tried to hide the nervousness in his voice.

He burst into the kitchen with Mae right behind him, tugging on his arm, and I understood the scuffling sound. Mae tried to keep him in the other room, away from Peter, but Milo had been trying to get to me.

Peter, meanwhile, only deepened his defensive posture, and moved so his body completely blocked mine.

“Is that her blood?” Milo asked, referring to the splatter on Peter’s shirt. He sounded horrified and his eyes widened a split second before he bared his teeth and charged at Peter.

Fortunately, Mae’s arms locked onto him and slowed him down just enough where I could dodge underneath Peter’s arm so Milo could see that I was safe and sound. Peter looped an arm around my waist and pulled me back to him. He was trying to protect me from Milo, who was trying to protect me from Peter.