What . . . the hell . . . are . . . you?

“Poison,” Cassie whispered, then her knees buckled.

She didn’t hit the floor, though. Dante was there. There with the fire in his eyes and a touch that should have scorched her, but didn’t. His arms wrapped around her, and he lifted her high into his arms.

“Tell me that you’ll heal,” he ordered, voice thick.

He’d come back for her. She swallowed, but felt the pain of that small movement rock through her whole body. “I’ll . . . heal.” If that was what he wanted to hear, then she’d give him the words.

“You better not be lying to me.”

She tried to smile. Then she realized that the fire was still burning. Seeming to rage out of control, the flames had raced up the walls and were rolling across the ceiling.

The fire surrounded them.

It had pretty much destroyed Trace’s safe house.

“Dante . . .”

His hold tightened on her. “I’ve got you.”

Even though the fire crackled around her and blood dripped down her neck, she felt safe. Her eyes closed. She didn’t want to see the flames. She felt the heat lance over her skin, a hot wind, but there was no more pain.

A few moments later, she could taste fresh air again. They were outside, and Dante was running toward the Jeep. The faint light from dawn lit the sky.

He put her into the Jeep and started to rush around to the driver’s side. “No.” She grabbed his arm. “My blood—”

“When are you going to heal?”

She had no idea. “My blood . . . lured the vampires here. The men who are after me . . . after us . . . can use vampires to track us.” Cassie shook her head. “The blood will lead them to me. As long as I bleed, I’ll make you a target.”

“If anyone comes after you, I’ll turn them to ash.”

Her breath caught.

He leaned in toward her. “Do I look like I’m afraid of vampires?”

“N-no.”

He’d touched them. They’d burned. End of story. Vampires were particularly susceptible to the flames.

He started to walk away.

She grabbed his arm again. Yes, they needed to go. The flames currently stretching high into the sky would attract humans and paranormals, but first she had to know. “Why did you come back?”

Tell me it’s because you needed me. That you couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to me, that—

“Hell if I know.”

She glared at him.

But he didn’t even notice. He’d pulled away. Hurried around the front of the Jeep and jumped into the driver’s seat.

They drove away with a squeal of tires.

Cassie wasn’t bleeding anymore. The woman really could heal at an amazing speed. But Dante didn’t know if he believed that her healing talent came from him.

Or from his tears.

He might not remember his life, but he didn’t exactly think that he was the crying sort.

They’d stopped at a pharmacy earlier. She’d run inside, bought a cheap new T-shirt, changed, and ditched her bloody old one. She came back out with only a faint red mark on her neck.

At the moment, they were driving on the interstate. The wind whipped through the Jeep, the sun beat down on them, and—

She was sleeping.

He slanted a glance toward her. She’d yanked her long hair back into a ponytail, but tendrils had escaped with the wind and they blew lightly around her face.

In sleep, she looked innocent. Delicate.

But then, she’d looked delicate in his dreams, too. Right before she’d killed him.

Did she have dreams? Nightmares? He’d like to know.

“Stay on the interstate,” she said, her voice barely rising over the whipping wind. “We need to head down south.”

Huh. So she wasn’t sleeping. “What’s in the South?”

“People who are counting on me.” She shifted in her seat, stretching a bit. When she stretched, that T-shirt pulled across the round curves of her br**sts in the best way.

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and he forced himself to focus on the road. He had been driving for four hours already. He eased toward the nearest exit, thinking that they’d gas up, and head out again.

“You are coming with me, right? You aren’t planning to ditch me at this exit?”

There was no missing the worried edge in her voice.

He hadn’t thought about, uh, ditching her, but then, he didn’t know why he was still with her. Why he felt the need to stay close to her.