Free Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) by Erica Stevens Page B

stop
killing for her. “You would really stop killing?” she
breathed.
    He stared at her for a long moment,
confusion and hurt flickered briefly through his eyes. “I would do
anything for you Cassie.”
    She inhaled sharply, tears burned her
eyes. She ached for his unhappiness. “Julian...”
    He held a hand up, shaking his head. “I
know Cassie. I’ve always known that you would choose him, that he
was where your heart belonged. It doesn’t mean that my feelings for
you will change though.”
    Cassie managed a small nod, her gaze
darted behind him to the covered window. “I never meant to hurt
you.”
    He quirked an eyebrow, the familiar
amusement played over his features again. “Don’t get ahead of
yourself there princess.”
    “Don’t call me princess,” she responded
automatically.
    He grinned at her, flashing his perfect
white teeth. “Your wish is my command.”
    “That’s even more annoying.”
    He laughed softly, a small rumbling
sound that reverberated through his chest and warmed her to the
tips of her toes. She was immensely relieved that he still wanted
to speak with her, that he did not hate her, and that he could stay
her friend. “Thank you Julian.”
    He frowned at her, shifting
uncomfortably. “For what?” he demanded gruffly.
    She smiled over his discomfit, taking
some pleasure in aggravating him as much as he liked to aggravate
her. “For keeping me sane, for being there for me, for being my
friend.” He scowled at her for a moment before turning his
attention back to the window. “And for not ripping my throat out
the first chance you had.”
    He laughed softly as he turned back to
her. “Well, the night is still young.”
    Cassie grinned at him, moving closer to
lean against the wall on the other side of the window. She moved
the curtain aside to peer out at the dark street. Nothing moved but
the street lights, apparently on a timer, had come on. Their light
cast shadows across the road, it spilled into the darkly lit
woods.
    “Thank you also Cassie.”
    She poked her head back out from behind
the curtain to look at him. “For what?”
    He grinned at her, wiggling his
eyebrows comically. “For keeping me sane, for being my friend. For
making Dani come back for me.”
    She looked at him surprise. “How did
you know about that?”
    He shook his head as he rolled his
eyes. “Blondes,” he muttered, though he smiled kindly at her. “You
and Dani did have to touch me to help get me out of
there.”
    “Oh,” she said dully, a small flush
staining her cheeks. “Then you already knew everything that Dani
told us about what was going on in there, and what they wanted with
us before we got here. Why would you threaten to take the knowledge
out of her forcefully?”
    He shook his head, his hand clenching
slightly on the curtain. “I didn’t already know what she knew. I
can’t read two people at once, it’s too overwhelming. And since I
can’t stand that bitch, I concentrated on you instead. You also
kept hold of me for a lot longer than she did.”
    Cassie nodded slowly as she digested
this information. “I see.”
    He was silent for a moment, his eyes
dark and distant. “I’m not sure I can promise anything when it
comes to her either.”
    “She got us out of there,” she reminded
him.
    “She helped to put us in there,” he
retorted.
    Cassie was silent for a moment, torn
between her desire to get even with Dani for her actions, and her
desire not to see her hurt. At one time she had thought of Dani as
a little sister, she had cared for her, and she had been betrayed
because of that trust. But she still could not bring herself to let
the girl get hurt. “No Julian, Dani will get hers in the end, but
we won’t be the ones to give it to her. Besides, we may need her
still.”
    He grunted softly as he folded his arms
over his chest, looking completely disgruntled by her answer. “Are
we staying here all night?” she asked softly.
    “That’s the plan.”
    “If you