Hunter's Heritage (Sterling Hunter Series Book 2)

Chapter One

Tabitha ducked behind the corner of the building, her hand squeezing the hilt of her sword. A full moon loomed over her, filling the alley with light. This was the one. He had to be the one. Four months of hunting and interrogation and still nothing. No sign of Alistair.

She glanced over her shoulder where her best friend stood, eyes wide as she glanced from Tabitha's face to the sword.

Tabitha forced a smile to hide her frustration. "Just stay here Chelse and watch how I take this one. Alive."

Chelsea nodded, her own hands fisted around two silver tipped daggers. Tabitha was teaching her how to use silver and what happened when something sharp and silver was jabbed into the heart of a vampire: they didn't turn to dust like with wooden stakes. The silver made them rapidly desiccate. Not Tabitha's favorite form of killing them since it left a body and made things messier, but Chelsea needed to learn the difference.

Tabitha patted her best friend's shoulder reassuringly and glanced around the corner. There he was: Lawson Reynolds. It had taken Tabitha two months to find him and a whole week to track him down to a small town one state over. Tabitha had convinced Sebastian to stay at the hotel and let her and Chelsea go it alone this time. It would draw too much attention to have all three of them stalking the streets.

Lawson had just staggered out of a local bar with an arm looped around a girl's shoulders. Tabitha watched as he pushed her up against a wall and they embraced in a sloppy kiss. His lips trailed down to her neck and his fangs gleamed as he craned his head to get a good bite at her carotid artery. That was her cue.

The familiar rush of adrenaline surged through her. Tabitha sprinted out and slashed, her sword cutting a clean line across his back. He let out a howl and stumbled away from his prey, hitting the wall next to her. The blond gaped at Tabitha, eyes wide. Tabitha pointed toward the exit of the alley. "Get out of here," she ordered.

The girl didn't waste any time. She bolted, leaving Tabitha alone with Lawson. The vampire seethed, and red eyes flashed up to glower at her. "What was that for?" he snarled. "I wasn't doing anything wrong."

Tabitha snorted and drew her second sword from its sheath on her back, yellow gloves wrapped around the metal hilt. "Oh really? You were just about to make a meal out of that innocent girl. I'd hardly call that saintly."

Before he could reply, she swiped again. He didn't try to move, and her silver blade sliced into his shoulder. He seethed and grabbed hold of the wound where his skin sizzled and smoked at the silver's contact. In the back of Tabitha's mind, she wondered why he wasn't fighting back or running but at the forefront all she could think about was getting information and how much she enjoyed hurting this vampire. Getting all her frustration out by cutting him up and making him bleed. Blood dribbled down his shoulder and pooled down his back, drip-dropping onto the ground.

"You don't understand. I wasn't doing anything wrong. I wasn't going to kill her. Just take a sip. I have a deal with the owner of this bar. He lets me take a bite out of his customers as long as I heal them up and erase their memories," he explained, scowling as if Tabitha were the one doing wrong instead of him.

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. She knew some people made deals with the vampires. Let them feed on people but... those sorts of deals weren't allowed in Rosewood or anywhere near her small town. A deal didn't make feeding off people okay but... it also didn't make Lawson as malicious and evil as other vampires Tabitha knew. As bad as the vampire she was currently hunting. Grimacing, she sheathed her swords and took a step back. His body relaxed, and he dropped his hand from his already healing shoulder.

"What is it that you want?" he asked, his voice thick with an old Western accent Tabitha had only ever heard in Western movies. He wore a button-down shirt, jeans and black cowboy boots. Tabitha had heard tell of Lawson from her previous lead who she had dusted a month ago. How he was a vampire who made it his business to know everything about everything, including the whereabouts of some of the more prominent vampires out there. A vampire wearing cowboy boots and talking in a Western accent wasn't what Tabitha had been expecting.