Free Unseen by Yolanda Sfetsos Page A

watching him, curious to see what would happen when he saw the Allure Urn. But he didn’t say a word about it; didn’t even seem to notice it.
    That’s strange. Why didn’t he say something about it? The urn certainly was an eyesore, with its strange organic exterior and the blood-colored etchings. A shiver raced down her spine. The urn seemed to be pushing some sort of reaction her way, which made no sense, so she chose to ignore it. Still, she held onto the stake. Maybe Doug was right and the vamp was nearby, waiting to charge.
    “Listen, before I go anywhere with you, I need a name. You know mine, and it seems unfair that I have to call you Vigilante.” His hair had a little extra curl today, caught up in the collar of his jacket, while his eyes glowed in the dimness of the room. His dull clothes fit his lean body perfectly. Too bad he wasn’t an eyesore. It would make this so much easier if he was, because she actually enjoyed looking at him.
    “Is that what you’ve been calling me?” he asked, raising a dark eyebrow. “Maybe I prefer that to my real and much more boring name.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “Just spill it . . .”
    “Okay, okay. I’m Doug.”
    “Doug, I wish I could say that it’s nice to meet you, but you’re turning out to be a total pain in the ass. I mean, you’ve admitted you like to follow me around , and now your turn up at my place unannounced. I don’t think I like your style. It’s smacks of cockiness, and that’s certainly one thing I don’t like in guys.” She wasn’t sure what made her tack that onto the end, but ending it the way she had smacked of flirting. And just as she’d expected, Doug took a step towards her, bringing him a little too close for comfort.
    “Maybe I just like you. Would you have any objections to that, Trina?”
    Her pulse quickened as she thought: No, because as stupid as it sounds, I think I like you too.
    “Well?” he prodded when she didn’t answer.
    She swallowed the lump in her throat. “We have a job to do. I don’t think now’s the right time to discuss anything else.”
    Doug took another step. “Oh, so later, after we’ve polished off the vampire, maybe we can talk about this?”
    She shrugged, looking away. “Maybe.” Was there really anything to discuss?
    “I like the sound of that, and I might just hold you to it.”
    Before he could step even closer, Trina turned away and headed for the bedroom. She needed some breathing space, a chance to sort through all the strange things she was feeling right now. As attracted as she was to this guy, something about him bothered her. She just couldn’t put her finger on what it was, and it wasn’t just his blatant stalker ways.
    Attraction was something she’d ignored for so long that it had become a strange, foreign emotion. She didn’t trust easily, so trusting her own feelings about a man she barely knew seemed wrong. And taking into account who and what she was, things would never end well between her and any man. It was easier to flirt and lead a vamp on just before killing him than allowing herself to actually get involved with a man.
    She carried stakes around so much, half the time she forgot she had one in her hand. At least Doug hadn’t seemed to notice. She tucked the wooden stake into the space between her jeans and the small of her back, added a few wooden spikes to her jacket pocket, and headed back into the living room. She’d decided to dress the same way she would if she were heading out to hunt on her own—black jeans, black fitted top, heeled boots, and since her denim jacket was still soaking in the laundry room, a black sweatshirt jacket.
    Doug whistled when she strolled back into the room, but she ignored him. No point in paying attention since it might just fuel the fire within her a little more than she was comfortable with.
    “Are you ready?” she asked.
    “Whenever you are.”
    “Let’s go then.” She headed for the