Van

Van glanced down at her phone. Ten minutes had passed since the last time she looked and just like last time, when she opened her mouth to say something, Luca held up his hand and shook his head.

But this time, she pressed on despite his protests. The longer they stayed put, their chances of being caught looking like idiots increased, and after the events of the last week, Van was over drama.

"Let's at least go back upstairs. Feed me while you pout."

Luca growled. She was certain it was supposed to sound menacing, but it made her laugh, which in turn increased the shifter's irritation. His brown eyes flashed when he spun around to face her, but when she laughed harder, he deflated. A weak smile bent the grim, flat line of his lips.

"What did it say?" She pointed to the card Luca held. It was identical to the one he used to gain entrance to the meeting.

He clicked the black-light pen someone had kindly left behind and lit up the back. "Retrieve the file."

Van's heart twisted, and she looked around the empty room. There was no visible exit other than the door they'd entered through, but somehow everyone was gone. A few rickety chairs were pushed against the cinder-block wall, and a wet ring was fading on the concrete floor, like someone had set down a perspiring cup during the meeting. Proof, at least, that people had been down here.

Their steps echoed in the stairwell, each slap punctuating her words as she rushed, "How did they know we were coming down there, and an even better question- how did they get out?"

Luca remained silent until they reached their table. Pulling out her chair, his fingers grazed her shoulders before he returned to his seat. Fresh ice water filled the crystal goblets on the table, and she downed several generous swallows while she waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"Just hear me out, okay?"

"I've been waiting to do just that."

He tilted his head. "You know, I didn't realize how much I missed your snark until just now."

Van was in the middle of slathering butter over bread, but his statement made her pause. "Are you being sarcastic?"

Luca's laugh was rich and warm. "No... well, maybe a little, but really, I think that's what I lo-like about you most, Van. You keep it real with everyone."

"And you're trying to avoid the topic."

"Witches had to be involved. There's no other way. They either cloaked or teleported out of there. The first is unlikely as I could still smell them, but the second option is unsettling. It would take a powerful witch to get that many people out of the room."

"Unless there weren't very many people."

"True... still-" He stopped and looked at her in amazement. "Once again you just take it in stride."

Van licked butter from her lips and shrugged. "I mean, after zombies, nothing really gets me."

Groaning, he replied, "Still with the zombies."

"I don't get how they don't creep you out!"

He leaned across the table, and she swallowed hard as his scent surrounded her. Something sharp and fresh, with hints of mint and rosemary. The flame from the candle burning on their table made his eyes shimmer gold, but it was the two canines protruding from his top lip that stole her attention.

In a flash, they were gone, and he leaned back in his chair. "Why would I be frightened of something I can tear apart?"

Images of Luca biting into rotten flesh filled her mind, those bright white teeth stained with sludge and blood. Bread lodged in her throat, and she took another swig of water to help it down.

"Gross."

"It's not my favorite pastime."

"Do you fight zombies often?" she asked. It was something she still wasn't clear on- the role shifters took in the Holy Asylum of Light. If the Slayers detested the supernatural so much, why did they not just outright destroy them?

"No. They're rare. Vampires are another story, though I've only had one or two run-ins myself. Most vampire hunts take place far away from here, and the Slayers only take shifters over twenty-one when they travel outside of the area."

"So the Slayers make you fight against the vampires?"

"Yes, though..." he scrubbed his hand through his hair, "they wouldn't have to force us to fight against them. Vampires need to be eradicated."

Memories of the man starving in labs beneath asylum flooded Van. He'd wanted to consume her, had begged for a taste, but the Slayers were starving him. Would he have been like that if they had treated him like a person?

"No, Van," he said, as if reading her mind. "What you know of vampires isn't the truth. They aren't turned by other vampires. There are no accidents. They are men and women who choose to walk down the path of darkness."

"You sound like them," she whispered. "Like the Slayers. They say you're no better than the animals you turn into, and that's why you should be controlled."

"Do you believe them?"

"Of course not."

"Why the desire to protect the vampires?"

"I'm not trying to protect them," she answered. "I'm just trying to understand this new world I'm in. Everyone has a different perspective. If I believed what my father told me, then I wouldn't be here right now, but I don't know if I can join a crusade against a group of people based on your opinion anymore than I can join my father's."

Luca exhaled, his tan skin paling. "I won't sit here and tell you that my people are saints. The shifter community has its share of problems, the biggest one being that it's led by a bunch of sexist assholes. They treat women like property. Many people are changing their ways, but the old guard is refusing to stand down. A man in an older family claimed my sister Isabella. He beats her regularly, and we can do nothing. Our laws say it's his right. When I become leader, I'm going to change all of that, but I want to tell you that now so you know I don't see the world as black and white. It's all shades of gray. There are good and bad in every group. Except for one. Vampires. Whatever humanity they had is destroyed in the process to become immortal. In that one thing, I will stand with the Slayers."

"Luca, I'm sorry about Isabella."

"Me too."

The server came to their table, and they hastily chose something from the menu. Their conversation had subdued the worst of her hunger, and she felt guilty ordering something so expensive when she would likely pick at it. But she wasn't ready for the night to be over.

"So, I guess we need to decide how or if you will get the file from your father's computer."

"Yeah, we have to. Now that I know Trixie is involved, I want to know even more. Something big is happening if there are that many people in the organization willing to go against the Slayers."

"We know of two, Van. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Three, actually. Hailey wants to help us."

Luca went rigid. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing she hadn't already guessed, but after Isaiah's stunt, she told me she realized she was fighting on the wrong side."

He looked down at the table as if struggling to keep himself under control. After a count of three, he raised his head, but she could see the panther behind his eyes.

"This is dangerous. I told you we can't trust Slayers."

"Luca, if she wanted to, she could have already told my father. You would be in prison and Abe would ground me for life. What is her purpose in playing the long game?"

"I don't know," he snapped and then jerked his chin toward the kitchen. "Maybe someone tipped her off that this group had contacted us. What if she's trying to infiltrate it?"

"Then we'll know the moment she can't walk into this building."

"I don't like it."

"I don't particularly like the idea of snooping on my father's computer, but I'm going to do it. For you."

Van knew she'd won when he sagged in his chair, but she wasn't happy about the victory. Seeing Luca defeated broke something inside of her, but she was right about Hailey.

"Be careful with giving her any specifics until I can do a little digging, please. This isn't just about me, Van. It's about my family."

Mine, too. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she bit them back. How had she come to think of Abe as family so quickly? Just a few weeks ago, she wanted to escape his home.

"I understand, and I'll say nothing until you're ready."

"Thank you."

Van looked at the phone in her lap as it buzzed. It was her father reminding her of curfew, and she cursed when she looked at the time.

"You have to go?"

"Yeah, I don't want to piss him off."

"My, my how things have changed," he teased, his grin failing to meet his eyes.

You have no idea. "Shut up. I guess you can take my leftovers since I can't exactly go home with a to go box from a restaurant my father has never heard of."

"I wish I could take you home. I don't like the idea of you going alone."

"I'll be okay," she said, taking the flash drive from his hand. He curled his fingers around hers, and for a moment, neither one moved, relishing the touch of the forbidden.

"I'll let you know after it's done."

"No," Luca said, jumping up and dragging her into a tight embrace. His heart thudded against her ear, and she half wondered if he would have kissed her if they hadn't been in public. "You'll tell me before you do it. I want to be ready in case something happens."

"You worry too much." Unable to resist, she rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and from the red spreading across his face, she thought he might have the same thoughts she'd had about the kiss on her hand.

"I don't think I can ever stop worrying about you," he said, releasing her slowly and regretfully. "You're a lot like Livy. You don't do well on the sidelines."

Van tucked her hair behind her ear. "That reminds me of my mom. She used to tell me Anderson women weren't made to sit on the bench. I wish you could have met her. Walker, too. They would have adored you."

"If they're anything like you, I know I already lo-like them." For the second time that night, he stumbled over his words.

"I'll be in touch."

"Tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll try."

"Do more than try."

That earned a giggle and a salute as she headed to the exit. He smiled, but when she took one last look at him, the grin had already faded, replaced by a pinched look. A look she knew her own face mirrored as she hurried into the darkness, the flash drive heavy in her hand.