Jonas was back within moments, with Ritz box in one hand, peanut butter in the other and pie crust tucked under one arm. He kicked the single chair from the corner of the room into a perfect position in front of the bed and took a seat.
Ginny sat up, ignoring Jonas’s amusement when her stomach growled. “Is it against the rules to use your speed to your advantage?”
“It’s implied, since it could lead to discovery.”
“Has anyone ever gone blurry and gotten caught?”
“Gone blurry.” Chuckling, he took a knife out of his pocket and set it on his thigh, going to work on opening the peanut butter. “You should always be suspicious when you hear about a string of nighttime bank robberies or a major natural disaster that only claims one life. Oftentimes, someone has broken the rules and…gone blurry.” He spread peanut butter on a cracker and handed it to her, watching closely as she chewed. “The High Order treats the offense the same, whether it’s used for good or bad.”
“Even if lives were saved and no one saw?”
“We’re not meant to be heroes, Ginny. Sometimes, we’re the opposite.”
Deep in thought, she ate her cracker. “You said you help new vampires—the Silenced. Do some of them turn out to be…the opposite of a hero?”
“Frequently.” He paused in the act of making a sandwich out of two crackers with peanut butter layered in between. “That’s where I plan to start asking questions about who’s hunting you. Among the vampires I’ve helped. If there’s a malignant being nearby, it would be hard for them to completely avoid detection. Someone has to know something.”
Her dry mouth had nothing to do with the snack she was eating. “Will you be safe, Dreamboat?”
A crease formed between his brows. “Someone’s put you in danger. They should be worried about being safe from me.”
“You’re the tiniest bit arrogant, aren’t you?” She tried to hide her fangirl-esque reaction behind a smile. “That’s why they call you the prince.”
“That’s one of the reasons,” he muttered.
Ginny wanted to prod that statement, but he put a Ritz in her mouth and gave her a pointed look. In other words, don’t go there. She wrinkled her nose at him while she chewed. “How often are people…Silenced? It must be a lot if you’re continually having to train new vampires.”
“It is. And that’s my main objection with the High Order—they enjoy loopholes just as much as your human government.” A beat passed. “You see, killing a human outright is not permitted. It’s one of the rules. But Silencing them is allowed.” Every line of his hard body vibrated with irritation. Yes, she’d definitely found a sore spot. “There is no guidance for the freshly Silenced. No resources or education. They’re just thrown into the streets and expected to acclimate to an entirely new lifestyle on their own.”
“Do you think vampires should be allowed to Silence humans?”
“Never.” He held her gaze. “It’s tantamount to murder.”
Ginny said nothing.
Slowly, he went back to being relaxed. “You want any more?”
“Whatever keeps you sitting next to me.” She covered her face with her hands, but not before she watched the emerald kindle in his eyes. “That was supposed to be inside my head.”
His laugh made her heart boom so severely, she had to clutch her chest. And he obviously heard it, because he quieted, his expression at once sad and pleased.
“I’ll leave everything here,” Jonas said, standing and setting the food on the chair he’d vacated. “Sleep now, Ginny. You’ll be safe here tonight.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I know.”
Jonas started to back toward the door, but detoured to his closet instead, taking out an armful of jackets. He returned to Ginny and set them on the mattress, scratching at his jaw with a frown. “Tucker forgot a blanket, a fact which surprises no one. Will you be warm beneath my clothes?”
She forced herself not to dive nose first into the pile. “I suppose.”
Lips twitching, he leaned down and spoke beside her head. “Remember, I can hear your pulse.”
“Highly inconvenient.”
“Not for me,” he said, on his way out the door. “Good night, Ginny.”
“Good night, Jonas.”
Perhaps it was the utter feeling of safety. Or maybe it was the fact that she ate an entire pie crust without taking a breath. But Ginny dropped into sleep like a boulder into a river. She couldn’t say for certain what woke her hours later on high alert. She also couldn’t stop herself from getting up to investigate.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Open the door.” Still in shock to find herself locked into Jonas’s bedroom, Ginny jiggled the door handle. “I have to use the restroom.”
Tucker groaned. “Come on, Ginny. Jonas is going to be back in fifteen minutes. I was told I could only open this door in the event of an apocalypse. Can it wait?”
“I’m afraid not. Where did Jonas go?”