Read Vampire's Hunger for Free Online Page B

she’d asked him several times over the last six months. He’d dodged it each time. How could he tell her that he needed her to make contact with the Unseen? That he was desperate for a spiritual connection of some kind, any kind, so he could feel alive again? Feel human again. For her, or anyone else for that matter, to know that about him would paint him as weak. And he couldn’t have that.
    It was better for him that everyone assumed he had the hots for Kimber. And that conclusion wasn’t too far from the truth. It just wasn’t all of the truth.
    The truth was, she was his second chance at life. To be a better man. And he was going to take that chance.

Chapter Three
    I ’ve told you. You’re important to Maddalene.” Duncan stretched his legs out in front of him.
    Kimber studied him. “And she’s important to you,” she finally murmured.
    “She is.” He slouched down until he could rest his head against the back of the sofa and still be able to see her. “She saved my life. A couple of times.”
    “You’ve never told me this.” She leaned forward and draped her hands over her ankles. “What happened?”
    He clasped his hands across his belly and thought back over his past. He wouldn’t tell her the whole story, because there was too much of it that was unsavory. He hadn’t been a very good man when he’d been human, and the first few decades of his life as a vampire hadn’t done anything to improve his character. He wasn’t going to share what he was ashamed of. That shit needed to stay buried in his memories.
    “I’m originally from Chicago; did you know that?” At the shake of her head, he went on. “I grew up on the north side, in a predominantly Irish neighborhood. The area had the highest crime rate in the city. Not joining a gang wasn’t an option for boys, especially if you were Irish.” He paused to gather his thoughts.
    “So you were part of a gang?”
    Duncan gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Part of the mob, actually. One of my best friends was Dean O’Banion. We started out as sluggers for the Tribune , then later the Examiner .”
    “I’m sorry, sluggers?”
    “Hired thugs who beat up newspaper vendors who didn’t sell our newspaper.” It wasn’t something he was proud of, but it had happened. By way of explanation he said, “Chicago before 1910 was rough, and it only got worse with Prohibition.”
    “I see.” Kimber’s tone was noncommittal, giving away nothing of what she felt. “Go on, please.”
    “Our little group of thugs became known as the North Side Mob, and as Prohibition continued, we were direct rivals of The Outfit, Al Capone’s gang.”
    Her eyes widened. “You were part of all that?” She blew out a quiet whistle from between pursed lips. “I had no idea. Is that when you met Maddalene?” A wide grin broke out on her face. “She was a gangster’s moll, wasn’t she?” She gave a quick nod and tapped a finger against her chin. “I bet she was a gangster’s moll. She probably went by the moniker Maddy the Moll. Or Long Maddy. Or Mad Maddy. Any of those would’ve worked, though I think maybe Mad Maddy is the best one. It’s the truest descriptor.”
    “She wasn’t a gangster’s moll.” He shook his head at her silliness. “Do you want to hear my story, or would you rather keep ragging on Maddalene?”
    “I can do both,” she responded with a smirk. “I’m an excellent multi-tasker.”
    Duncan scrubbed a hand over his chin.
    “Okay, okay, I recognize that sign. Go ahead with your story. I’ll try to behave.”
    He sincerely doubted that was possible. “Capone had Dean murdered in 1924. A few years later Bugs Moran became the leader.” He paused and stared at his hands. He’d never particularly liked Moran. O’Banion had been tough, even cruel, but in those days that was what was needed. Weiss had been just as tough. Moran, on the other hand, had been cruel not out of necessity but out of desire. He’d thrived on the misery he could