Read Damned if I Don't (The Harker Trilogy Book 2) for Free Online

whines. Not the best thing for a vampire’s image.
    Reiko and Ryoko raise their eyebrows as we leave the Hive. How many times have they seen vampires forcibly removed from there? I’m thinking this isn’t the first time. I give them a curt nod and continue walking, pulling Dean along with me.
    “Come back soon, Jude,” Ryoko says with a snicker behind me.
    I don’t think much of it as I continue pushing Dean toward the exit and the night air. I want to get away from the Hive and get to a private space.
    I smell Edie’s tainted blood the closer we get. With a sinking feeling, I realize that it’s stronger than it was fifteen minutes ago.
    She’s had an attack from the virus.
    I quicken my pace, and dash around the corner to see my car. Edie is balled up on one side of the car, while Carl kneels in front of her. At first, I think he’s done something to her, in which case, I won’t hesitate to kill him. Then I see his hand is extended and pushing strands of her red and black hair behind her ears.
    “Edie!” escapes my lips as I rush up to her.
    Carl gets to his feet as we approach, as if he knows what I’d just been thinking.
    “I’m fine,” she hisses through her clenched teeth.
    “What happened?” I demand, turning my gaze up to Carl.
    The teenager shrinks under my hard gaze. “I…I…”
    Edie answers for him. “I was having a smoke,” she says, between heavy wheezes. “And I saw a ghost.” She snickers. “Aunt Tessa wanted to let me know she wasn’t happy with recent events. Carl saved me.”
    “I just said a banishing spell,” Carl mumbles. “Ma taught me that spell a few years ago.”
    “You saved me,” Edie insists. “Thank you.” She winces as she reaches out to take his hand. He crosses his arms, avoiding her touch, and refuses to look her way.
    “So it wasn’t from your virus?” I ask Edie pointedly.
    She scoffs. “It didn’t start with an attack, but my scar didn’t want to be left out.” She groans as she rolls her shoulders. “I’m okay.”
    She gets to her feet, wheezing slightly. “I’m okay,” she repeats again, as if she’s trying to convince herself as much as she’s trying to reassure me. Her hazel-eyed gaze flicks to Dean and she frowns. “Is that him?”
    Dean gulps with an audible snap.
    “Yeah,” I answer.
    “Harker,” Dean says. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
    She chuckles mirthlessly at that. “No it’s not,” she says tiredly, turning around to lean against the car, putting all of her weight against it.
    Dean rubs his hands together. “I always thought I’d meet the Harker when she was trying to kill me.”
    “And I always thought the Harker would be my sister,” Edie answers sarcastically. “But life’s been funny lately.”
    Dean shifts from foot to foot, as if he doesn’t know exactly what to say next. Then he says something so bluntly, I flinch: “What happened to your arm?”
    This is the first time someone has asked her about her arm. I’m sure it won’t be the last, but man, it felt brutal.
    To Edie’s credit, her face is still carefully composed, the only indication that she was hurt by his question is her tongue licking her lips.
    “Anthony,” she answers truthfully. “He tore it off. And now he has it. And my blood. All he needs is the Progenitor to become the big man himself.”
    “Shit,” Dean whispers. He’s gone white as a sheet.
    “So you know what would happen,” she says evenly, “if Anthony ever found the Progenitor?”
    Dean looks stricken. Terrified . He knows.
    “It’s Dean, right?” Edie asks. “Can you tell us what you know? Please?”

Chapter 6
    Edie
     
    I’m not sure I like this Dean guy. I believe Jude when he says this vampire has contacts and further information about the vampire underworld. But looking at his sniveling face, his sweatiness, and his darting eyes, I’m not sure how much we can trust his sorry ass.
    I’m not in the mood for the fake pleasantries. I know that given any other