Free Hunter Of The Dead by Katee Robert

sent ice cascading through Eden’s blood, holding her in place as the child struggled upright and reached for her.
    Alejandro grabbed the girl by her upper arms, lifting her off her feet. The child snapped at him like a rabid dog, moaning and grunting as he carried her out of the cottage and kicked the door shut behind him.
    They’d cut off that little girl’s arm for no reason. No reason .
    Eden forced herself into motion. She wiped the tears from her face and walked to the door, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. She opened it in time to meet Alejandro coming back from the jungle.
    “It’s done,” she said.
    It wasn’t a question, but he nodded once and moved into the cottage, herding her in front of him. Once they were both inside, he shut the door.
    Something drove her to speak, even though he was the last person she wanted to confide in. “I had to try, even if it was a lost cause.”
    “I know.” He paused. “There is no cure, querida .”
    Hearing the words took the last of the strength from her body. She sank onto the bed and dropped her head into her hands. Eden didn’t know why this kill—a kill she wasn’t even part of—affected her so much. She’d finished off hundreds of infected over the years and never felt more than mild despair when children were the ones in her scope. What had changed?
    A wave of nothingness swamped her, cutting Eden off from her despair and rage. No . She couldn’t afford to not feel anything. Crappy emotions were better than apathy. If she didn’t care then she might as well lie down and ask Alejandro to cut her throat.
    Alejandro.
    Eden’s head came up and she zeroed in on him where he leaned against the wall next to the table. The newly lit flame of a candle played along the sharp contours of his face. It should have made him ghastly, but he only looked more beautiful. He’d always been a bastard like that. Something beyond her emotionless barrier stirred at the sight of him watching her through those dark, hooded eyes. Of course she would be affected by him , even now, when nothing else could touch her. He could make her feel again, could break through this wall around her emotions. Better to focus on the distant past rather than what they’d just done. “Why?”
    “Why is there no cure?”
    “No, asshole. Why did you leave me?” It was a question Eden had obsessed over for more hours than she’d ever admit to. She never would have voiced it, but the numbness protected her. Mostly.
    His mouth opened and closed, doing a damn good impression of a fish. “I, ah... Dios .” Alejandro rubbed his eyes. “You truly wish to speak of this now?”
    “What better time? I mean, I thought we had a good thing going. Then you take off, only to show up a fucking year later—conveniently just in time to save my ass. I think I deserve to know why.” Something wet dripped onto Eden’s chest and she ran a hand over her face. She looked down, staring at her tears. They were just salt water from her eyes, biology at its best. But the sight shattered something deep inside her. The wall broke before a tidal wave of emotions, chief among them despair.
    Eden fell to her knees, a sob tearing itself from her. Then Alejandro was there, scooping her into his arms and walking to the bed. She wanted to tell him to let her go, that she could barely stand the sight of him, didn’t want him touching her, but she couldn’t get the words past the grief clogging her throat.
    He laid her down, and she curled on her side, as far away from him as she could get. Alejandro rubbed her back, stopping when she flinched at his touch. “I am so sorry, querida . I never meant to cause you such pain. I—” He broke off, cursing. “There is nothing I can say to make this right, no ?”
    Eden buried her face in her hands and tried to stifle her sobs. How many times had she imagined facing him down and telling him exactly how little she thought of him, how much she didn’t care? And what did she