Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

be on her shoulders.
    As Kevin continued watching Erica’s face, he contemplated the horrible situation she was in. He could read every bit of misery in her eyes. To make matters worse, she didn’t know the truth about him. After what Shawn had put her through, Kevin had his doubts she would ever be able to fully trust a man again. Let alone another vampire. The entire situation just sucked! He swore under his breath vehemently. It wasn’t fair. Erica was one of those rare, beautiful gems that deserved to be nurtured and loved every day of her life. As he continued watching the misery in her eyes, he made a silent vow to himself. Not if, but when, he got his hands on that bastard, alcoholic vampire husband of hers, Shawn Harper would pay for the torture he had inflicted upon her. Kevin knew that he would have no peace of mind until he was absolutely certain that Shawn Harper could never touch this beautiful woman sitting across from him again. He just had to convince Erica to allow him to help her get safely away, first.
    He thought about telling her about himself. It was a risky thing, no matter what he decided. Normally, telling a human about vampires was forbidden, except for those few vampires who fell in love with a human. They still had to receive permission from the vampire judicial board before doing so. And if said love affair didn’t work out, all information about vampires was to be erased from the human’s mind immediately. They would reenter human society, with a false memory to take up the time span.
    But with Erica, Kevin didn’t need to worry about that. She already knew about vampires. And, she was his mate. His soul cried out for her every time he said good-bye. Unfortunately, she had seen nothing but the worst of his kind, and he was quite sure if he were to tell her about himself and his family, she would run screaming in the opposite direction. No, he couldn’t afford to take that chance. He would need to woe her until he gained her trust completely, and then hope she would accept him for what he was. The animal in him growled in displeasure. It had waited long enough to claim her, it roared. But Kevin knew if he didn’t go slow and cautious with his mate, he may very well lose her before he ever claimed her.
    Kevin kept Erica in the garden most of the afternoon. She had no ambition to return home anyhow. As it was, it was late afternoon when the two walked out to the parking lot. As he closed her door for her, he leaned down into the open window. “Remember, I am only a phone call away. Day or night, call me if you need help.”
    “Thanks, I will,” she replied quietly, and he easily read the fear of returning home in her mind as he reached through the window and gave her a gentle hug.
    As Erica pulled her car onto the main road, she was forced to deal with her fear. She felt as if she were a criminal, heading to her execution. What would tonight bring? How much longer was she going to continue watching her life spiral down to nothing? How much longer was she going to put up with the agonizing pain that followed almost every drinking binge Shawn went on? And was there a place on earth that was safe, once she did leave?
    Pulling into her driveway, the first thing Erica noticed was Shawn’s car missing. Thank heavens! Of course, this probably meant he just started his drinking earlier today, which would mean more trouble tonight when he returned home. With the amount of pain she was still suffering from last night, she wondered if she could really go through another episode tonight.
    But, if she was home alone, and hopefully would be for a few hours, why not take advantage of the situation? Did she have the courage to truly walk away and not look back? Or was she going to chicken out and wait at home like a good little lap dog for him to come home and abuse her? If she left within the next hour or so, she would have a chance to get away from him. She felt sure she could stay hidden for the night. Shawn would probably track her down at the college tomorrow, but there would be enough people around to keep him from doing too much damage.
    Was that the key? To keep plenty of people around her at all times? Shawn would not dare to make a scene in front of an audience, would he? He hadn’t yet, and Erica was fairly confident he wouldn’t. As a vampire, secrecy was everything. Could she really use this to her advantage? This was probably her best chance of getting away from him, and living