Love Is Fear Read Online Free

then she wanted it to be with Jack, the man she’d loved forever.
    And just when she’d come back, determined to declare her love, he’d seen her getting groped and grop ing  Lucas.
    Gulp.
    How could she keep Jack and convince him it was over with Lucas? How would she get him to believe it when she didn’t believe it herself? No, it  was  true! Lucas was gone. Down the drain. If she had Jack, she wouldn’t think about him anymore. Would never see him again. Lucas had said he’d wait for her to come back.
    I will never go back.
    She shivered. There was no going back. Her future was with Jack. Since she’d been twelve–years-old, Jack had been her knight in shining armor. Yeah, he was a little tarnished now, but she still loved him. They could make it work, right?
    Chapter  2
     
    The shower gave Val a chance to think, something she hadn't yet had a chance to do. Marion was gone. Her father, Nate, was gone. There was nothing to keep them going. They could walk away from hunting vampires and never look back. She finished her shower, got dressed and she was ready for round two.
    Great.
    “ Jack, it's over. You don't have to fight vampires anymore.”
    “ Really? How'd you get to that conclusion?” he said in a dead tone. He had his cell phone out, and he was flipping it in his hand and catching it again. He didn’t even look at her, just watched the phone jump up into the air before he caught it again.
    “ You can't kill Marion—she's basically dead already. She's locked in a coffin that is wrapped in silver! Lucas is unkillable and he won't be giving us any more information. So, we're free.”
    Jack smirked, a reaction to an unpleasant joke. “No, Val. She's not dead, and Lucas is not dead. The only things that have changed are that Nate  is  dead and they are harder to get to.”
    Val felt the tears welling up again. “Your whole life has been revenge. If your parents were alive, what would they tell you to do now?”
    He shook his head and frowned.
    “ If they were alive, they'd want grandkids and want you to be happy,” she said earnestly.
    His eyes bore into hers. “Are you telling me you want to settle down? Have kids together and pretend the world is better than it actually is?”
    Was she?  That's a big jump, Val.  Settle down. Have kids. When an hour ago, she’d been desperate to climb Lucas like a monkey and screw him blind.
    Which is stupid and dangerous.
    This was Jack. A future that she’d wanted her whole life. She was going to take it. Forget Lucas. Forget the attraction.
    She loved Jack. He was as hot as Lucas, but even better—because he was alive and cared for her.
    But settle down?  That might be excessive. For all I know, you're terrible in the sack, and it won't work out. How about a vacation first, and we can see where it goes? Hawaii!” She sounded a little hysterical. Hysteria, one of the things men never looked for in a woman, according to Cosmo.
    She couldn't even look at him. She felt like a used car salesman trying to convince a mechanic that a Yugo was a sound investment. “People die everywhere. Starvation, disease, bad luck, stupidity—we can't stop that either. We can't fix the world. Your goal in life was to see Marion dead, and she is.”
    “ You said she's in a box.”
    “ Right. A coffin. Where dead people go,” she snapped.
    He was looking at the ceiling. Val crossed her arms over her stomach, like he might try to kick her and she wanted to be braced for impact.
    “ Why did Lucas want  you ?” he asked, words slow and precise.
    Nervous laughter. “Should I be offended?” He didn’t think she was good-looking enough for Lucas?
    “ Offended about what?”
    Wait, what? “ What?”
    She had the distinct feeling that he had all the answers, appearing smug and removed as he prepared to lead her down the garden path. “I was asking why Lucas would have you do his bidding when there are hunters all over the world. Male hunters. Female hunters. If he'd