The werewolf shook his head. "Not sure. He went face to face with the demon, from what little I could see. And then I didn't see him again. I… I think he's gone."
Quinn nodded. If he was a betting man, he'd say that Gideon had finally found a challenge worth his talents. But it had been his last one. Even though he knew Gideon was a murderous scumbag, it still hurt a little to know that he'd died to save them all.
It would be only a short time before someone else rose to lead the hunters. Gideon's death would mean nothing in the long run. The world kept turning. Vampires kept being sired. Hunters kept hunting.
He turned to look at Janie again, but he couldn't catch her eye. He heard her say to her sister than she wanted to go back to Florida with her. To their home. To a normal life. Now that Janie was free of her boss, she could do anything she wanted. Find somewhere safe to adjust to her new life as a vampire. It made sense.
He was far from being completely okay about being a vampire, himself. He was a mess. Not something that he wanted to inflict on somebody he cared deeply for.
It started to make sense to him that now that their short time together had come to an end. Now that the
Eye was destroyed, her new life was one that he might not be a part of. Maybe it would be better that way.
He let her celebrate with Lenny and her sister. She didn't even notice when he slipped away into the shadows.
Janie paced back and forth at the airport the next day. She'd tried to get a message to Quinn that she was leaving to go home to Florida. He'd left the night before without saying anything to her—he'd just disappeared. After everything that had happened between them.
That said a hell of a lot to her.
He didn't want her in his life.
Did she blame him? Not really. She had a long way to go before she would be the sort of a woman that any man would want to spend more than a couple of days with. Plus, now that she was a vampire, she needed to devote a lot of time to adjusting to that fact. Her first goal upon getting to Florida would be to find an apartment for her and her sister to share. Then she'd source the local vampire bars and find out where she was going to get her blood supply from.
Blood, she thought.I'm going to have to drink blood if I want to live .
So strange.
Oddly enough, the thought didn't fill her with dread. It filled her with an odd sense of excitement. The next stage of her life would be an interesting one. Plus, she wouldn't have to worry about the whole aging process. She'd be eternally twenty-five, with—as Barkley had so enthusiastically put it when she'd met him—the body of a Hooters waitress. A high compliment, she'd come to realize.
Angela and Lenny had left on an earlier flight. They wanted to spend some time alone to get to know each other better. Since they couldn't keep their hands off each other, Janie was happy to allow them as much time as they needed. The last thing she needed right then was to feel like a third wheel. She was happy for them, especially for Lenny. As long as she'd known him, she'd never seen him with another woman. She'd been afraid that his crush on her had damaged his chances of being happy with somebody else, but now she'd been proven wrong.
He was in love with Angela. Who knew?
She was sorry that his notebook full of poetry had been destroyed but fully confident that it wouldn't be long before it was replenished with sonnets inspired by her pretty redheaded sister.
Janie had broken the news to him that she was now a vampire. She'd expected that he wouldn't take it well, since he didn't have much love for the fanged members of society.
He'd taken it remarkably well. In fact, he composed a new poem, "Vampires Rock," right on the spot.
She looked around again. It wasn't long before her flight left. Where was Quinn?
And what would she say to him if he did show up?
The time to tell him she loved him had passed. It would seem odd and awkward to make such an admittance now. And if he didn't feel the same way, she'd just look foolish. The Boss had said that he hired based on lack of emotion—and that had been very true. At one time, anyhow. Janie had been a coldhearted woman, with her eyes on the prize and not much else. Being a hiredMerc had given her a purpose in her otherwise empty life, filled her time but not her heart.
But shewasn't emotionless. She was one big ball of raw emotion at the moment. And it was best that
Quinn didn't see her this way.
She adjusted her dark sunglasses, just purchased at an airport kiosk. She'd already noticed that everything seemed brighter to her now that she was a vampire. She wondered what would be the next side effect to take hold. The loss of her reflection, or her fangs.
She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the small bag of new clothes she'd purchased earlier at a casino shop. It was carry-on. She didn't have any luggage to check. She could wait a couple of minutes more. And hope.
When those minutes expired, she turned around, swallowing past the thick lump in her throat.
Good-bye, Quinn, she thought with an ache in her heart. She started walking toward the door leading to her gate.
"Janie!"
She turned around to see Quinn rapidly moving toward her.
I'm not going to cry, she commanded herself.
She forced a smile to her face and felt her nails dig into her palms as he approached.
"You almost missed me," she said evenly.
He glanced at his watch. "Sorry. But I'm here now."
"Yes, you are."
"You're okay?"
She nodded. "Better than okay."
He looked up at the flight screen. "You're going back to Florida?"
"Home, sweet home. Hard to believe after all these years."
"So what are your plans?" He crossed his arms.
"I have absolutely no idea." She gave him a small smile. "I am a woman at loose ends."
"I'm sure you'll find your way."
"Maybe I'll start a detective agency."
"You'd be a great detective."
"Or I could keep being a hired assassin. Totally better money than detective work."
He raised an eyebrow.
She laughed. "I'm kidding."
"Oh." He smiled. "Good to hear it."