Hit List - Complete

I Never Expected To See You

Raising up onto my elbows I catch my breath, refusing to take my gaze off the person above me. Never in my wildest dreams would they ever kill a Guardian, especially when that said Guardian was avenging the late Monarch. Extending their hand to me, I grip their smaller hand in mine and stand, brushing the dirt off my clothes.

"I never expected to see you here," I say while rubbing my hands together to rid them of dirt.

"Neither did I, but when Abe filled me in, I needed to see you for myself," Janine says bluntly and I nod.

We stand there staring at each other when the quick footfalls advance towards us, and I pull my sleeve over my palm and pick up the discarded stake. Tensing as the footsteps become close, I position myself between them and Janine, and I hear her huff in discontent. Abe rounds the corner with a smirk on his face, putting his hands up and giving a low whistle.

"Easy, I don't plan on turning you in."

I drop the stake and kick it aside, crossing my arms and looking between my parents. "How did you find me?" I ask with arched brows.

"Your passport," Abe says with a chuckle and I groan, moving away from them and back towards the house.

"You're just going to walk away?!" Janine yells and I stop in my tracks, turning to face them again and tossing up hands up in the air.

"What do you think, Mom? It's not really safe out in the open for me lately," I say, gesturing around me with dramatic flair. I turn around and continue walking, listening to their footsteps follow behind me.

Abe moves up to walk beside me, putting his hand gently between my shoulder blades and I look over with a small smile, enjoying the parental contact. Janine hisses at Abe, but he merely chuckles and moves his hand to squeeze my shoulder.

"How much has Old Man told you?" I ask Janine once she moves to my other side, stake tucked into the sleeve of her jacket to conceal it. "He explained that you are more...Dhampir than Strigoi. That you feel emotions and can go in the sunlight," she says, and I nod.

"And I don't need to feed as often," I add.

Janine looks a little taken aback and I laugh at her reaction, bumping my hip to hers and scooting in front of them to unlock the front door.

"Just so you know, I'm not the only Strigoi here, but he is like me so it's-" I begin as we step into the front room and I'm pushed back into the wall. Now I understand why Dimitri's presence in my head was so strong because he was practically on top of me for the last hour. Dimitri looms over me, eyes blazing in flames, his hand plastered in the center of my chest, shaking.

Janine moves to pull him off me, but I raise my hand to stop her. "We should talk privately," I say quietly, my gaze never leaving his. Dimitri moves his hand to the curve of my shoulder and pulls me outside. Catching Ivan over my other shoulder, he has a guilty look on his face and moves my parents into the living room.

I can feel all of Dimitri's emotions bubbling to the surface, and once we are outside, I turn to stand in front of him, crossing my arms and waiting for him to give it to me.

"Comrade," I say softly and watch the red in his eyes diminish.

"You left, Rose! You just up and left without telling me! You left a god damn note, why didn't you tell me what you were going to do?" he exclaims, stepping closer to me and gripping my shoulder in a harsh grip. I wince as his fingers bite into my arms, and he reacts by loosening up.

"You never would have let me leave if I told you. I was trying to protect you," I say reaching up to cup his cheeks. He inhales with a shaky breath, pushing my back into the siding of the house, moulding himself against me and moving his hands to settle on my waist, resting his forehead on mine.