Blood & Tears (Jane #3) Read Online Free

States."
    "Oh, right. I heard you had stuff
there."
    I nodded, not sure how or even if
I should continue the conversation. Every time we spoke in the
hall, it was awkward and weird. But she seemed to be interested in
talking, and I didn't want to let the chance to get on her good
side disappear like smoke in the wind, so I determined to press
on.
    "Yeah. Steven and I left a bunch
of stuff in storage when we went traveling. Which is probably a
good thing, considering I would have lost everything when I got
chased out of Russia..."
    She opened her mouth to respond,
then shut it immediately. Her eyes probed mine, as if searching for
the answer to a question. I could see her lips move very slightly,
forming words that I couldn't read. After a few strange moments,
she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath through her nose, then
looked me directly in the face, her eyes intense.
    "How did he die?"
    The question startled me. I
assumed everyone in the sanctuary knew that. News travels fast
among vampires and secrets are extremely hard to keep. Hence the
reason everyone assumed Felipe and I were dating, even though we
weren't.
    "You don't know?" The words flew
from my mouth before I could stop them. I flinched when I realized
they sounded almost nasty.
    She shrugged, looking almost
ashamed. "Someone in the hall said something about a mob, but I
haven't heard anything else."
    I frowned, a sort of half pout
kind of thing. Annie was a very important person in the vampire
sanctuary. She was in charge of the dormitory, which was one of the
most vital parts of the sanctuary. Was Father Bellini keeping
something from her? I narrowed my eyes, examining Annie's face. If
he didn't trust her, he would never have put her in the position
she was in.
    "Yeah, it was a mob. We were
living in a little town in Russia and they decided they didn't like
us. When they found out he was a vampire, they freaked out. I was
working at the local pub and he was at home when they decided the
time had come for us to, uh, leave. Some men chased me and beat me.
Before he could get there, one pulled a knife and slit my throat. I
kind of passed out at that point, but Olga told me that he turned
me. It left him so weak, he couldn't fight off the mob. They
dragged him to the square, keeping him drugged up with coffee, and
tied him to a post. When the sun came up..."
    My voice wavered before completely
failing me. Tears were forming at the corners of my eyes as I
relived the experience. My eyes were on the book in my hands,
though the page was too blurred to read. I felt Annie kneel beside
me and her warm fingers encircled mine. I gripped them gently and
forced a smile. She had found a tissue somewhere and dabbed my
eyes. After I'd composed myself, I turned to face her.
    "Did you know Steven
well?"
    She shrugged again, a small, jerky
movement. "Not really..."
    "But?" I could tell she wanted to
say more. Though she didn't say it or show it on her face, there
was a vibe around her that was begging for someone to let her
speak.
    "I..." She looked at me,
pleadingly. It was a baffling moment. I didn't know what she was
asking for, but I nodded and made sure she knew I wanted to hear
what she had to say. She took a deep breath, and continued,
clutching at my fingers, her words rushed and desperate as if
they'd been cooped up in solitary confinement for way too long and
were finally allowed the chance to run free.
    "I saw him whenever he came here.
Before he met you, that was quite a lot. We didn't talk much, but
when we did... He had a way of making me feel like I was the only
girl in the world, you know? Like I mattered and he cared what I
had to say. No one ever does that. Not even Joe. Steven would sit
with me in here and we would just talk. Though, I guess I did most
of the talking. He knew more about me than anyone else. I don't
know why it was so easy to talk to him. Maybe it was because he
never made me feel stupid for anything I said or acted like I was
wasting his