MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

26. EVA: A LITTLE WHITE LIE

The rest of the drive was spent in awkward silence that held and undercurrent of tension.

***

"Are you sure that it's the right address?" Grayson asked from the front as the car slowed.

"Yes." Dad shifted in the seat and then leaned forward. "Pull in and park behind that van."

Where the hell were we?

I almost voiced the question out loud but stopped myself just in time when I remembered Dad's words from earlier.

My brows dipped down into a frown. How the hell had he found her? Was it the man who had called him? It could be since we left shortly after that.

"Something's not right," Granddad muttered.

One by one we climbed from the car after Grayson parked it. My shoes sunk into the mud, making me wince. I'd just cleaned them! I should be happy that it stopped raining about an hour ago otherwise I'd have to deal with fizzy hair too.

Shaking my head, I forced my mind away from my problems and focused on the men around me instead.

Dad stood a few feet to my right, glancing around. Granddad was at the van, peeking through the windows.

Everything around us was deadly silent.

A low hiss had my eyes snapping towards Grayson who somehow managed to open the back door of the van.

"Hunters," he sneered.

Dad cursed. "We need to get to the house."

"Are they here for Ari?" I wondered out loud but nobody answered.

Dad suddenly gripped my arm and spun me around. With his other hand, he reached out and opened the back door.

"Get in," he ordered.

"I'm going with you."

"You are going to do as I tell you," he growled. "I'm telling you to stay in the—"

"She will be safer with us," Grayson interrupted him. "We are all safer if we stick together."

"Splitting up will give us a better chance at finding Ariana," Granddad said.

"Splitting up will either get you killed or captured."

Dad's hold on my arm tightened. "She's my daughter," he told Grayson, "and she will do exactly as I tell her. I know what's best for her."

"Have you ever had an encounter with a Hunter?" Grayson questioned.

"Once," Dad answered him.

Grayson stormed over to us and slammed the car door closed. He stepped forward until they stood nose to nose.

"They are not like us. They evolve. They are constantly searching for new ways to kill our kind." His lips parted a few more inches to reveal his sharp fangs. "Eva will come with us because your constant need to protect her will get her killed."

I bit my lip as my eyes darted between them. So, I might have made things worse by telling the little white lie.

Dad had always been protective but he had never acted the way he was acting now.

The stare off was interrupted when someone suddenly darted around the corner of the big building. It was a man dressed in all black from head to toe.

He came to a stumbling halt when his eyes fell on us, but it only took him a few seconds to snap out of his shock. The man reached back, pulled a gun from somewhere on his body and aimed it at Dad.

Grayson was the first to react.

It was the first time I saw him in action. I wasn't sure what to make of it.

He moved at the speed of light.

The sound of bones snapping echoed around us as Grayson snapped the man's neck from behind.

"Where's the house?" Grayson growled.

Dad swallowed loudly and with a shake of his head, he pointed in the direction the man came from.

"Eva comes with us."

Dad didn't argue with him.

With Dad in the lead and Granddad making up the rear, we silently made our way towards the house.

Darkness surrounded us but apparently Dad knew exactly where we were headed. It made me wonder whether he had been here before. A few minutes later we stopped at the front door that was wide open.

The first thing that hit me was the stench of blood. Fresh blood.

My heartbeat increased as we moved further into the house. The silence was another sign that something terrible had happened.

Were we too late? Had they gotten to Ariana before us?

I might not be able to see clearly but I could hear perfectly well. Dad stepped over something and froze.

There was a thump and then something was flying through the air towards us. Grayson's hand shot up to catch it only inches from Dad's chest.