Hunter √

Chapter Twenty-One

"But what if it's a bad love?" Devon finally asked after a long, silent moment. "One that brings out the worst in you?"

"Love is love, sugar. It brings out the worst in all of us, and the best. That's the beauty of it."

But there was nothing beautiful about what had happened to Devon's mother. She'd died a broken woman. And all because she'd fallen in love.

Not this girl.

Devon held tight to her resolve, but it did little to calm the anxiety that ate away inside of her as the day wore on.

It was Thursday.

Hunter would face off with the vampire who'd killed his family tomorrow night and then he would leave Skull Creek for good.

If he survived.

Either way, she would never see him again.

Never touch him. Never talk to him.

The notion should have been comforting. Instead, it ate away at her as she headed home and spent another restless night trying to forget the one man who'd turned her wold upside down.

No matter how sure Louise had been of her words, she'd obviously never experienced the bad side of love. She'd never seen the devastation, never felt the pain.

But Devon had seen and felt both. It was a lesson she'd learned early on. One she would never forget.

No matter how much she suddenly wanted to.

HUNTER MEANT TO STAY AWAY from her. He really did.

He managed to do just that, too, but when he opened his eyes Friday evening, he could no longer resist. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, he just knew that staying away was killing him.

His gaze skittered to the window and the faint glow of dusk that outlined the shades before shifting to the vampire stretched out on the chair. Luke was still sound asleep, his entire body deathly still, his cowboy hat tipped low over his forehead, hiding his face.

Awareness zipped up and down Hunter's spine and anxiety

pulsed through him. His gut clenched and he knew it was time.

Garret was back.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a T-shit and jeans. He was just pulling on his boots when he heard his brother's voice.

"Keep it down, would ya?" Luke still had the hat tipped low, his body still sprawled in the chair.

"I've got to go out for a little while. I'll swing by in an hour to pick you up."

"I'll be ready. Now get out before i kick you out. I need my beauty sleep."

"Nice to see that you're still as bossy as ever."

"That's what big brothers are for."

Hunter grinned, the expression fading as he pulled open the door and steeped out onto the front walk. He cast a quick glance around and turned his senses for any sign of Benny James. The man had been invisible for the past few days, but Hunter had known he was there anyway. He'd been asking questions around town. The diner. The local convenience store. While Hunter had managed to keep to himself and hole up in his room most of the time, he knew that someone, somewhere had seen him. And that someone would tell Benny. And the man would stick around even longer.

Hunter listened for the frantic beat of a heart, the sharp intake of breath.

Nothing.

He heard only the sound of the ice machine and the clatter of binoculars as Eldon lowered his Nikon's and shot Hunter a quick salute from the lobby window.

He acknowledged the man and headed for his truck. Climbing behind the wheel, he gunned the engine and pulled out of the drive. Hanging a left toward the senior center, he ignored the warning that went off in his head and told him he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Just leave, already.

But he couldn't.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He just knew he had to see her one more time.

One last time.

"IF EULA KEEPS TWISTING like that, she's liable to throw out her hip." Beula stuffed a pigs-in-the-blanket into her mouth and eyed her sister who stood in the middle of the dance floor wearing a pink poodle skirt and cat's eye glasses. "That or she's liable to give herself a hernia."

"You won't get me out there," Beula huffed. "Not with my arthritis.

"Come on, Miss Mildred." Devon took the old woman's hand. "I'll dance with you."

"Careful, Mildred," Dora Lee's voice followed them. "She'll have you pole-dancing before the night's over."

"Why don't you tell that old biddy where to go?" Mildred asked when they reached the dance floor. "You shouldn't let her be so mean to you."

"It doesn't matter what she says." It didn't, Devon realized as she started to twist. She could feel Dora Lee's eyes on her, yet the disapproval she saw didn't bother her as much as it usually did.

Nothing could make her feel as awful as she'd felt the past few days without Hunter Braddock.

As if her thoughts had conjured him, she saw him filing up the doorway. He looked as handsome as ever in a black T-shirt and faded jeans. His hair was disheveled, as if he'd run his hands through it too many times to count. His mouth was pulled into a tight line. His eyes sparkled, so hot and molten and her breath caught.

"I need to go and check on the refreshments," she told Mildred before leaving the old woman dancing with the others. She headed for the opposite side of the room, determined to keep  as much distance between her and Hunter as possible.

Distance was good. Distance would save her. The twist faded into a slow, soulful song that hollowed out her stomach and made her swallow.

"Can i have this dance?" Hunter's deep voice slid into her ears. Her mouth dried out and her nipples pebbled and every nerve in her body throbbed to full awareness. She knew then that running away wasn't going to solve her problem. It was here, standing behind her, waiting.

She drew in a deep, shaky breath and sent up a silent prayer for strength.

And then she turned.

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