Hunting Haven

Gabriel

Getting out of bed the following afternoon was anything but easy. After the night we’d had before, I was exhausted. Unfortunately, when you’re hiding out from a murderous vampire, sleeping away daylight wasn’t an option.

Will had the house stocked with non-perishables, but we still needed groceries and other necessities.

I sat up, groaning as I opened my eyes against the bright sunlight streaming into the bedroom. Reaching over, I shook Haven gently.

“Hey, babe. Wake up.”

“No,” she whined as she buried her face deeper into her pillow.

“We have to run some errands before sunset.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“I’ll buy waffles,” I offered, trying to bribe her.

“I’m too tired for waffles. You should have thought of that before you kept me up all night.”

I grinned, my eyes roaming over her naked body. The sun had already risen by the time we called it a night, but I wasn’t complaining.

I leaned over, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Fine. I’ll go by myself as long as you promise to stay in the house until I get back.”

She snorted. “I’m not getting out of this bed, Gabe. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

I chuckled softly. “Lazy bones.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

She rolled over slightly, lifting her head from the pillow and peering at me through one partially opened eye. “Why don’t you just lay back down? We can go shopping tomorrow.”

“I’d rather not have another meal that comes out of a box.”

“A second night of mac and cheese isn’t going to kill you, Macias.”

“I’m going shopping.”

She stuck out her bottom lip. “Don’t you want to snuggle?”

“Hey, no pouting. That’s cheating.”

“It’s only cheating if it doesn’t work.”

I grabbed my pillow and hit her gently in the head. “It doesn’t. Go back to bed. I won’t be gone long.”

She collapsed back on the bed, not bothering to remove the pillow from her face. “Thanks for the sun blocker.”

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed.

An hour later, I was freshly showered and on my way to the local grocery store. And, by local, I meant a twenty minute drive away. DeMotte was truly the middle of nowhere Indiana. You were more likely to run into a farmers’ market than an actual store. Hell, a cart on the side of the road selling fruits and veggies was commonplace.

As I drove down the single-lane highway, I noticed a car in the distance. I didn’t think much of it at the time. When the interstate only had one lane in either direction, it was impossible not to follow someone. I didn’t even think twice when the car took the same exit and arrived at the same grocery store. Options were limited here, after all.

But, when the car parked next to me and a familiar face stared into my car, I groaned. I got out of the car, slamming the door as I glared over the roof at my ex-wife.

“Why are you here, Julie?”

“Because I don’t trust you,” she snapped as she shut her own car door. She stood with her hands on her hips, stance wide as if she were ready for a fight.

“That’s really rich coming from you of all people.”

She flinched as if the words were a physical blow. But I knew it was just for show because Julie didn’t regret shit. “What happened to Rebecca was ordered. I didn’t want to.”

“What happened to Rebecca? You happened to Rebecca. That’s a great way to minimize the fact that you killed my sister.”

She scanned the parking lot as she pursed her lips, eyes bugging out angrily. “Can you keep your voice down?!”

I ignored her demanding hiss, keeping my volume the same as I powered on.

“Let’s not forget you fucking my best friend. You’re the last person who should be preaching to me about trust. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some groceries to buy.”

I turned on my heel and strode toward the entrance of the market. Grabbing a shopping cart, I made my way through the aisle. All I’d manage to grab was a loaf of bread before she popped up again.

“Why did you call my dad? Why are you shacking up in his house with your little girlfriend?”

Haven and I hadn’t really had a talk about dating or exclusivity, but I didn’t refute her assumptions. I walked further down the aisle, tossing a package of bagels into the cart.

“Like I told you yesterday, that’s none of your business. Nothing I do is your business, and it hasn’t been for a long time. Go away.”

It would be a cold day in hell before I told her or any other hunter about the vampire stalking Haven. The association would swoop in and kill the vamp off, sure, but they’d also ruin her life in the process.

There were only two paths a survivor would take. Either you joined the hunters, trained to fight and kill beasts, or you went to re-education. They’d use magic and brainwashing techniques to remove this entire experience from her mind—force amnesia.

Haven didn’t deserve either of those options. The vampire wasn’t the only thing I had to protect her from.

“You involved my dad, so it does involve me.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Julie.”

I started to push the cart, continuing on with my shopping, when she stepped in front of it.

“Quit being an asshole, Gabe. First, the association sends me to check on you. Then, they send me with an offer to get you to rejoin us. And now you’re staying in my dad’s safe house all of a sudden? What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t fucking know,” I snapped.

Pinching the bridge of my nose to release the tension headache that had begun to form, I heaved a sigh.

“Look, I don’t know why Gibbons was having me watched or why he wants me back. You were there when I tried to kill him. He’s trying to use David as leverage to convince me to return and get re-educated. He wants me as a hunter, he wants my skill, but he also wants me as a brainless servant.”

I ran my hands through my hair in agitation. “His offer makes no sense. He’s obviously up to something, but I don’t have the time nor inclination to figure it out. I just want to be left alone to live my life in peace.”

She scoffed disbelievingly. “If you wanted to live in peace, then why the hell do you need a safe house? I call bullshit.”

“I don’t particularly care what you think. The reason I’m staying at your dad’s has nothing to do with you or the hunters.”

“I don’t believe you. There is no way in hell that you’re that naive. If the hunters want you, they’re going to get you.”

“Because they all follow orders just like you, right? Because no one questions Gibbons’ utilitarian authority? Let me make this abundantly clear. I will never join the association again. I’d rather die than work for him. Same goes for working alongside you. Now, go away.”

“I’m going to figure out why you’re here with that civilian. It’s only a matter of time.”

I pushed the cart around her, ignoring the threat she issued. There were a lot of things in life that scared me, but Julie was not one of them.

Still, the encounter had been emotionally exhausting. Thinking and talking about Becca was never easy.

I fervently wished I listened to Haven and stayed to cuddle. It would have been an infinitely better experience. Even if I’d have to eat the boxed macaroni and neon-colored, faux-cheese for the second day in a row.