Chapter 72

Joseph’s POV

It took everything I had to keep myself under control while at the headquarters. I thought I was going to rip out Jordan’s heart for suggesting this stupid plan.

The amount of rage I felt was lethal.

Tessa was afraid of what I might do, and I didn’t blame her.

After what happened with Noah, I didn’t want to chance anything like that happening to Tessa. I couldn’t live with myself.

I could tell that Tessa was the kind of girl who would run into the eye of danger.

This mission was going to be different than Noah’s mission. This time, I wasn’t going to take my eyes off her. The first sign of danger and I will be there. I was determined to make sure she was safe during this mission.

In the car ride home, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the potential dangers we could be facing. Right now, we only think there are two vampires, but there could be more. We need to be prepared for any possible ambushes.

Which meant I needed to set guards in certain areas. I wanted every corner of Tessa’s temporary apartment watched while she was there.

If anything happens to her…

“I’m sorry about your friend.”

Tessa’s voice cut through my thoughts. My stomach clenched at the mention of Noah. The memory of what happened still haunts my brain to this day. It happened years ago, and I would never stop blaming myself.

I should have never agreed to use my friend as human bait. I would never stop hating myself for not being able to turn him and save his life. It was an incredibly painful memory.

“Do you want to tell me about him? she asked when I didn’t say anything.

I almost told her no, but the remorse mixed with curiosity in her eyes, almost made talking about it easier.

I told her the entire story from start to finish and I watched the different emotions cross her features. Sadness, anger, fear, worry, and then back to sadness. My heart hurt as I spoke about it, and once I finished, I felt exhausted.

When she touched my arm, my heart stopped. Her blood began to lure me in as the scent only grew stronger. It was a battle I was losing. More than anything, I wanted to drink from her, to taste that sweet elixir on my tongue.

I pulled away and went inside. Anymore of being in there with her and I would have lost control for sure.

I sat in my study, staring at the map and pinpointing every corner of the apartment exterior. Nothing was going to get by me. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

It was close to 1 am and I hadn’t slept all day. Typically, I would have been more than awake now, but I found my head nodding and my eyes growing heavy.

It was a battle I was losing.

Knock Knock.

I jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Looking at the clock, I had only been asleep for ten minutes.

I stood from my desk and went toward the door but stopped when I saw an envelope on the ground. I furrowed my brows together and reached to pick it up. It had the scent of Tessa all over it. I had to refrain from lifting it to my nose and taking a longer and steadier whiff of it, satisfying the hunger pains in my stomach, because I knew she was standing at my window.

It was dark out, so my curtains were open slightly to allow the strengthening rays of the moon to light the room. Tessa could see inside the study clearly, but I couldn’t see her outside. I could feel her though. She didn’t want me to know she was there, so I pretended I didn’t notice and kept my eyes from finding hers.

She must have wanted to see my reaction towards whatever was in my hands.

The envelope had my name on it, handwritten, and I smirked.

I went back to my desk, taking my time, knowing that it was driving her crazy. I opened the envelope to uncover the letter she had written.

The first line made my heart fall into my stomach.

It started with, “Hello, old friend.”

What followed after that was the most heartfelt letter I had ever read. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest as Noah told me not to blame myself and what happened wasn’t my fault. It was unexpected and not something I knew I needed until that moment.

Ever since I read Tessa’s first assignment, I would notice where she needed to improve, but I also realized that she had that special power to make every character alive. No matter how special that character is supposed to be, she can convince people the character is real with her writing.

It was the first time I had a reaction that was foreign to me, but my eyes began to well up. I quickly wiped a stray tear away and put the letter down.

How did she know I blamed myself for what happened to Noah?

Standing to my feet, I quickly walked toward the window and opened it.

“You can come in now,” I said into the shadows as I walked away and walked toward my desk.

“How did you know I was there?” Tessa asked as she climbed through the window.

“There isn’t a place you can hide from me.”

I knew her face was probably red without even looking at her.

“Did you like the letter?” She asked.

I turned to face her, leaning my back against my desk, half sitting, and folding my arms across my chest.

“I did,” I answered. She smiled and her face reddened. “Thank you…” I said after a pause.

She beamed and nodded slowly, meeting my eyes.

“Though, it was poorly written,” I teased, looking away from her and fighting the smile on my lips.

She stared at me for a moment longer before marching over to me and hitting my arm.

“Hey!” She exclaimed. “You cried!”

This time, I couldn’t fight the laugh.

“I cried because it was so bad,” I joked.

“Joseph!” She gasped, hitting me again.

But then she let out a laugh and her laugh was like a musical for my ears alone. When I looked at her, her face was flushed, and she had amusement in her eyes. I liked seeing her like this and I don’t know if it was her blood that was causing this strange attraction.

Tessa was an interesting girl. She was someone I liked studying. She’s piqued my interest in more ways than I could count. She wasn’t like a normal human, and I couldn’t figure out why. But at that moment, her face lit up the room.

Her laughter died down and all that was left was the movement her chest made as she took in each breath and released it. She stood close to me, and her blood was radiating the room.

“I just wanted you to know that it was okay and not to blame yourself,” she said in a low tone. “I thought a letter could help.”

“It did,” I said, in an equally low tone.

I stared down at her lips. They were plump and begging to be bitten. I wanted to take her bottom lip between my teeth and chew on it like she does so often. Her lips parted slightly, drawing me in.

I just wanted one taste.

“I should finish getting packed,” she said, stepping away from me. “I’ll see you in the morning, Joseph.”

I watched her as she went toward the door, my heart pounding violently in my chest.

“See you in the morning, Tessa.”