Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 4 - Stone (Part 1)

Stone didn’t want to leave Aubree, but he needed to take care of business.

He needed to replace and eliminate Carina.

Shortly after Gwen woke up after midnight, he slipped away and left the apartment.

Aubree had fallen asleep next to him, a pillow between them on her bed. She had asked him to stay with her until she fell asleep, which didn’t take too long, but he still couldn’t tear himself away.

He stayed by her side, watching the rise and fall of her chest with each breath, her eyelids fluttering from time to time, and feeling at peace with himself as her scent buried all of his inhibitions and inner demons.

More than once he had to hold himself back from touching her, whether it was to brush a strand of hair away from her face or to trail a finger along the curve of her shoulder.

He tried not to think of Adelaide. Tried not to compare her with Aubree. For all their similarities and differences, he couldn’t help but care for the human female. It hurt to believe he was betraying Adelaide but if they shared the same soul, that meant that the most significant part of Adelaide was also within Aubree. Was with him right now.

More importantly, both of them needed their space away from each other. While Aubree took care of Dan, Stone had to take care of Carina.

That was what he intended to do tonight and every night until it was done.

No more mercy.

He couldn’t risk it any longer.

He headed downtown to the bar and club scenes. Thick clouds rolled lazily across the sky, too heavy to be rushed by with what little wind there was, yet not heavy enough to spill open. The air was thick with moisture and growing denser by the minute. The threat of rain didn’t bother him, but it would prove a challenge in his mission.

Vampires weren’t fond of rain, or water for that matter, but they wouldn’t hesitate to emerge from their hiding places if compelled to. Finding Carina, or any vampire, tonight would prove to be difficult.

If he came across any vampires, he knew he’d have to get information out of them before he could terminate them. He didn’t enjoy torturing the leeches. The stench of their blood made him want to gag and finish the job quickly.

But vampires, like humans, wouldn’t give up information willingly.

Nevertheless, he had to replace Carina. The sooner he did that, the better.

Trudging down one of the main streets downtown, he paused when he recognized where he was.

Across the street was the alley he had found Lillian the other night. If he went down there, perhaps he could replace a clue as to her hiding place in the city?

An unconscious grumble crept up his throat as he stomped across the street and disappeared into the darkness of the alley. Inhaling deeply, he took in the smells, like fingerprints left behind at a crime scene. Unfortunately, the moisture in the air, coupled with the time between yesterday’s encounter and now, left little for him to go by in terms of tracking her down.

There was one thing he was able to pick up that she left behind and that was a trace amount of Lillian’s blood staining the ground where he left her. Bending down, he touched it with his fingers, but it was dry.

A growl seeped from his throat.

He shouldn’t have been so soft on Lillian. He should have killed her while he had her in his grasp. He was no closer to getting to Carina now than he had been yesterday—even if he did need her to be a messenger.

With a groan, he rose up and surveyed the alley. There was nothing unusual about it. A typical alley with garbage cans, folded cardboard boxes, and other miscellaneous trash littering the ground. It opened up in the back, splitting left and right in a T formation. To the left, he could see a street with a car driving by thirty yards off. To the right was darkness; this direction might lead him somewhere.

As he walked, his eyes swept over his surroundings, taking in everything and embedding it into his memory. There was nothing unusual in the scents that lingered—everything was dank, musty, and rusty. A few fat rodents scurried away from his boots but he ignored them.

More alleys opened up to his left and right, one narrow one after the next. Eventually, he reached another T and picked up a familiar scent to his left drawing a sigh from his lips.

A faint murmur whispered down to him, mingled with tobacco in the damp air.

“They won’t come out. Let’s call it a night before the rain comes.”

The slayers’ silhouettes were halfway down the alley, illuminated by the backdrop of the lit city street beyond. Davis was leaning against the wall of the building on the right, his long trench coat hanging open over his broad chest and a cigarette dangling from his lips, while his tall, lanky partner, Thomas, crouched on his hunches picking at something in his hands.

A plume of smoke rose lazily from between Davis’ lips. “Hold onto your panties, bro. Give it another hour or two. Darlene can wait. She’s waited every night for you thus far, anyway.”

Thomas sighed before he let his eyes wander around them. That was when he noticed Stone lingering in the darkness. His facial features hardened in the dim light as his eyes made contact with Stone’s. His scent shifted from relaxed to disgust with a hint of fear, as if he could see trouble heading his way.

“What do you want, Lycan?” He spat onto the asphalt, drawing Davis’ attention finally.