I shook my head. “You can’t be serious.”

“You haven’t seen your face, Hunter,” he said coldly.

No, but I could feel it. The bruise was already throbbing under my eye and across my left cheekbone.

“We can’t just kill them in cold blood,” I insisted as the heat of battle faded. “We’re not assassins.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

I stepped between him and the vampires. “Don’t.”

“He has a point,” Jason said quietly.

“Hello? Killing a prisoner of war? Do you know how much detention that would be?” I swung around to stare at him. And now that they were immobilized, we’d have to stake them when they couldn’t fight back. Maybe I was being stupid, but it felt wrong this way. It was different in battle.

“Whatever we do, we have to do it fast,” Jenna interrupted us. “Like in the next three minutes.”

“We have enough rope to tie them up and call the mobile unit. They’ll come get them and lock them up.”

“Your puny knots won’t hold them,” Quinn said as I flipped open my cell phone and hit speed dial.

“Then your vampire ones will.” I gave him a dry glance, waiting for the call to go through. “So get tying.”

Jenna handed him the rope hanging from her belt. Quinn sighed after a moment and took it. “This is a bad idea,” he muttered, yanking hard on the rope.

“I’m with you,” Jason muttered back.

“Chloe needs a medic,” I said after I’d given our coordinates to the agent on the other line. I slipped the phone back in my purse. “So why don’t you guys take her back and I’ll stay here and wait for the unit.”

“It’s just a flesh wound,” she tried to joke. “Ow. Stupid vampire speed. Used my own knife against me.”

“You shouldn’t have snuck off on us,” Spencer said flatly to Chloe. “And you’re not staying here alone,” he told me firmly.

“I’ll stay,” Quinn said quietly.

I turned back to him, surprised. “You don’t have to. This is what we’re trained for, remember?”

“I’m staying.” He raised an eyebrow. “You need me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, just on principle, but Spencer cut in. “He’s right.” He tossed me an extra vial of Hypnos from his belt. “Just in case.”

“Chloe’s starting to bleed on my new shoes,” Jenna interjected. “So let’s go already.”

I bit my lip. “Should I go with you?” I asked her. “Are you okay?”

She was a little pale but she looked more mad than in pain. “I’m fine. I’m sure I just need a couple of stitches.”

“And a smack on the head,” Jenna told her. “You knew the plan.”

“Can you yell at me later?”

“Count on it. We were in position. We almost didn’t get here in time.”

They hurried off, still bickering. The night was silent and a hundred shades of blue and gray. The streetlight made the shattered glass look as if some of the stars had fallen from the sky, littering the pavement. It was almost pretty.

You know, except for the two vampires currently tied up and wanting to kill me, the other vampire scowling at me, and the throbbing of my face.

I shook my head. “Grandpa would just love this.”

Quinn looked at me quizzically.

“The fact that a vampire is helping me babysit two other vampires,” I explained.

“Not a fan of the alliance?” he mocked.

“Um, no.”

“This bunch was hunting tourists all summer,” he said. “The papers were full of animal attacks on hikers, but animals don’t bite throats and drink blood. And now they’ve moved on to high school girls and college students. Not all bad vampires are conveniently blue,” he added, referring to the Hel-Blar.

“I didn’t say I wanted to buy them cake,” I defended myself. “I just don’t want to murder them either.”

“They’d have murdered you.”

“All the more reason to not do what they’d do.”

His grin was crooked. “You must drive your grandfather crazy.”

I half grinned back. “Probably. And, ironically, he’d agree with you. He’d want me to stake them as well.”

“I like him already.”

“He’d want me to stake you too.”

“That’s just because he’s never met me. I can be very charming.”

“I bet you can. The girls at the cafe seemed to think so anyway.” Now why had I said that? He gave me his usual insufferable smirk. I was spared his reply when he tilted his head.

“Two cars, from the north.”

“That’d be the unit. Maybe you should go.”

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“I just meant the League might have questions, might … you know. Vampire. Car full of vampire hunters. You do the math.”

“You’re worried about me,” he said softly, stepping closer. I was suddenly very aware of my short sundress and my bare shoulders.

“It’s only polite,” I replied. “And I want something from you.”

“That sounds promising.” He dipped his head toward mine. “And that kiss wasn’t polite.”

I swallowed. “I was saving you from the Hypnos.”