“I am, but as for any form of defining that meaning, I’ll leave that to Eli.”
“Monster hunter,” I repeat, trying to get my head around what Eli said and what I saw back there. I almost want to laugh at myself for even saying the words. “Are you a monster hunter?”
“I am,” he confirms.
“Are you a monster?”
He laughs. “It depends on how you define monster. If you ask Betsy, the chick I was with last week and didn’t call back, she’d tell you I’m most definitely a monster.”
“Why didn’t you call her back?”
“She was a bitch.”
Now I surprise myself by laughing, too. “But you still slept with her?”
He shrugs. “Shit happens.”
We approach the hotel and I’m thankful that I don’t know anyone at the door. I’m in the police jacket and I can’t imagine it’s covering up all the blood. We bypass the lobby quickly and head to the elevators.
“Why don’t you pack a bag to stay the night with Eli?” Cam asks, punching in my floor without me telling him which one to choose. I don’t ask how he knows where my room is located. I assume Eli told him.
“Is that really a question?”
“No,” he concedes. “I need you to stay with Eli tonight.”
“Because of that man named Grayson?”
“Yes,” he confirms. “Because of Grayson.”
I draw in a breath and face forward. I’m being hunted by a monster. I know this. I know this for a fact. And yet, monsters don’t exist. They’re fiction, like my books. I have a flash of the beast that towered over me and Jacob, of its red eyes and claws, and I’m sick to my stomach.
Monsters exist.
And there is no question Grayson is a monster.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Eli
Grayson is hunting Ivy.
And now, I’m hunting Grayson.
He will die. She will not, ever. Not if I have a say in the matter.
I’m forced to stay with the police and ensure, by whatever means necessary, that everyone believes Jacob’s attack to be a bear attack. There are so many other places I’d prefer to be right now. Killing Grayson ranks almost as high as being with Ivy. Because killing Grayson represents Ivy’s safety. Once I know Ivy is on her way to my place with Cam by her side, guarding her with his life, as I know he will, I step away from the heat of the investigation. That means down an alleyway, behind a dumpster. Not the nicest smelling location, but it’s private. And then I do what humans do to communicate. I pull out my phone and I dial Marcus. He doesn’t answer. I leave a message that I know will get his attention. “Elijah came to see me today. He says Grayson killed Ivy over a card game and hates me enough to keep killing her every time she lives. Yes, I’m aware that he could be playing me, trying to start a civil war. But know this, Marcus, I don’t care. If he’s in this city, I’ll assume he’s here for her, and I’m going to kill him.” I hang up.
I’ve walked all of three blocks when Marcus appears. “Elijah says?” he asks, arching a brow.
“That’s more than you’ve said.”
“I’ve said too much,” he replies. “And know this,” he adds, repeating my phrase from the message, “it doesn’t matter whether Grayson is killed or not, Elijah will use his murder to justify his thirst for war.”
“And you expect me to let him live to spare a war?”
“No,” he says. “Hell no. Kill that prick.”
My brows dip. “Then why are you telling me this?”
“If you choose to turn Ivy, you need to know what you’re bringing her into.”
“If what Elijah said is true, she’s already in this.”
“But she doesn’t have to be. You know that.”
“Are you telling me I shouldn’t turn her?”
“I don’t pretend to make your decisions for you,” he says. “Never have. Never will.”
He’s right, of course. The night he saved me and Cam from the vampire attack, he stood above me as I cradled Ivy’s body, and offered me a choice. Die or fight. I chose to fight.
“Just remember this,” Marcus adds, “every action has a reaction. Every choice has a consequence. Her choice has a consequence, as does yours.”
He says nothing else.
The asshole disappears.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ivy
The elevator dings to announce my floor and shortly after, Cam and I are at my door. I enter my room, and proper as he can be, Cam stays in the hallway. I grab a few items and quickly wash the blood off my face. Once I have everything I need for a shower and change, I’m eager to get somewhere safe. Eli’s place feels like it will be that place, though in reality, he’s a stranger and so is Cam. I just know my gut says to stay with them.
I join Cam in the hallway and it’s not long before we’re on the residential floor and then at the door of a penthouse suite.