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of her. Whenever someone did that, it just made the conversation feel like an interrogation. He wanted Galena to feel comfortable.
     
    He reached for her hand and she flinched but didn’t run. Halston had a soothing effect. He took her hand and cradled it in his own. Somehow, that relaxed her.
     
    Galena took a deep breath. “It was last Monday.” A tear fell from her eye. Halston gently brushed it away. He pulled her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I found the man you had me look for. Bund. I was surprised that he was a young guy, but that also made me feel a little more comfortable around him,” she said and looked to Halston. “You know what I mean?”
     
    He nodded.
     
    “But once he got me inside, he changed on me.” She hugged her arms and shifted her weight. Her brows furrowed. “There were so many of them, Halston. I told them, I would only sell my blood to the one you sent me for.” She closed her eyes. “But they didn’t listen.” Her voice lowered. “They locked me in there. Somehow, Bund knew I was coming. He knew you had sent me. He punished me.”
     
    Halston clenched his jaw. He should have never sent her alone. He couldn’t understand how Bund could have known that Halston had sent Galena. Halston had to remember, Bund was smarter than he appeared. Like Halston, Bund was a great deal more than he appeared.
     
    He didn’t say anything. He waited for Galena to go on. He knew it was hard for her, but he needed to know what they were dealing with.
     
    She took a while to continue. She kept looking at the portal to make sure no one was going to step through.
     
    “I might as well spit it out, right?” Galena asked the question, but Halston could tell that she was speaking to herself.
     
    He nodded anyway. “Go on. It’s just the two of us. Whatever you tell me will stay between the two of us. I won’t tell a soul.”
     
    Galena gave him a look. Her pale gray eyes narrowed. She pursed her lips and examined his face. “Not even Koa?”
     
    Halston’s eye twitched, not because he was lying, but because Galena seemed to have suspicions about his relationship with the young vampire. He knew that would be a problem if people suspected that he and Koa were more than professional associates. He would have to find a way to eliminate such suspicions.
     
    He swallowed and shook his head. “Not even Koa.”
     
    Galena looked unsure. She watched him for a while longer and sighed. She looked down at her feet. “You know…it’s all right if you like her. We all like Koa.”
     
    Halston pulled away from Galena.
     
    She watched him. “You don’t have to go all pale on me. We all see it.”
     
    He didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.
     
    Galena slumped against the wall and stared at the portal again. “Well, there were so many of them that I lost count, but they raped me, fed from me, and kept me locked in a cage.”
     
    There was a long stretch of silence. Halston held her head to his shoulder and she started to weep again. It was unnerving to hear that woman cry. She was always so strong, even cold. She had been broken.
     
    She looked up and rubbed her face. She threw her hands up. “Bund didn’t even feed from me! You know what he said to me? He said that I was too old. What the hell?”
     
    Halston shook his head. He knew Bund’s preferences. He was a sick creature.
     
    “Bund just watched the others with a stupid grin on his face!” She slammed her fist into her thigh so hard that Halston feared she’d bruise herself. “I hate that man more than anything in this world,” she said through clenched teeth. “Please, tell me how to kill him.”
     
    Halston took her fist and gently opened it. He took her hand into both of his. “You don’t worry about it, Galena. I’m terribly sorry that I put you in that situation, but I can’t even kill him.”
     
    Galena’s shoulders slumped. She looked defeated.
     
    He tilted her chin up. “But, I