Light shone through the window and brushed Rachel's face. She moaned and opened one eye. The unfamiliar room caused her to flinch. Then she remembered where and why she was there. 

In Daniel's room. After kissing for what seemed like hours, he'd pulled her into bed and she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

She backed up, expecting to hit his warm body. Feeling nothing, she turned around, only to find the bed empty. She pushed herself up to her elbows, listening for sounds of running water, but none came from the bathroom. Maybe he was downstairs getting breakfast for her.

Invigorated by the thought, she hopped out of bed, shower on her mind. Then she'd pick something nice to wear. It'd been a long time since she felt this giddy. She could almost see herself randomly bursting into song. Rachel was in love!

The door banged open before she was halfway to the bathroom.

"Are you up yet, lazy?" Daniel came in, half a croissant in his hand. He took another bite of it. "You overslept. The buffet is closed."

Rachel stared at him dumbfounded. Was he waving the last bit of food in her face? His slightly unfocused eyes caught her attention as did the dark rings under them. "Daniel, have you been...drinking?" She'd wanted to say sleeping, but a whiff of alcohol reached her nose.

"Who, me?" He shook his head, but flinched as if it hurt.

Rachel's eyes widened. A big, jagged crack spread across her heart. She recognized the signs too well. She'd seen him like this for eight whole months. "Yes, you have." She pointed an accusing finger at him.

Daniel wolfed down the rest of the croissant and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, maybe I did have one drink."

"You promised you wouldn't. And this early in the morning." She stomped toward him, but stopped halfway there. The look on his face said it all. "Not this morning. You got drunk last night." Against her will, her hands shook so she clenched them into fists. The crack on her heart deepened, threatening to turn into a crater. "Why did you do that?" She knew the answer before the question was out. "Tell me you didn't do it because we—" The rest of the words wouldn't come out.

Daniel sighed. "Look, I don't think there's any point—"

The hurt slowly morphed into anger. She'd been so sure he'd meant it when he'd kissed her. It felt as if he meant it. "You got drunk because of what happened last night." Her voice quivered.

He rubbed the stubble on his cheek. "It might've had something to do with it. But, Rach, it's not—"

Rachel let out a cry of rage and threw herself on the bed. The pulse drummed in her temples, all reason flying out the window. She reached out and pulled Daniel's suitcase from under the bed. Her fingers tightened around the handle of his gun. She pulled it out and pointed it.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?" He backed away, his hands raised. "Calm down."

"You complete asshole, Daniel Paxton!" she screamed, the gun shaking in her hand. "I thought...you wouldn't..." She couldn't even form a coherent sentence. All she wanted was to hurt him as much as he'd hurt her.

"Put the gun down, Rachel." Daniel took a step forward. "You could hurt someone."

"Hurt someone? Hurt?" She tossed the pistol at his head.

He dodged. It hit the wall. The clip fell out, and both clattered to the floor.. Rachel whipped around and stalked to the bathroom, slamming the door in her wake. She leaned her back against it and slid to the floor, her head in her hands. Don't cry, he's not worth it. Don't cry. But hot tears flooded down her cheeks. The crack tore her heart to pieces.

"Rachel? Come out of there." Daniel banged his fist against the door.

"Go away!" she yelled. "I don't even know who you are anymore." It wasn't so much the pain, but the disappointment that severed her to bits.

"I'm sorry. I know I've been an idiot." His voice shook.

Rachel sobbed loudly and her stomach gave a jolt.

"I shouldn't have gotten drunk again. I'm just bad at coping with things." His voice was weaker.

Bad at coping with things? This was something he had to cope with? Rachel fought the impulse to tear the door down and beat him over the head with it. How could she have been so stupid? He'd probably imagined she was Cheryl while kissing her.

"Come on, Rach. Come out. Let's talk."

Rachel got to her feet and yanked the door open. "No! That's exactly what I don't want to do."

Daniel took a step back, obviously startled by her sudden reappearance.

"I don't ever want to talk about this again!" She shouted. If she heard him whining about Cheryl one more time, she'd go insane.

His eyes flashed for a fraction of a second, but then his shoulders sagged. "Okay, perfect. We won't talk about it. Let's pretend it never happened, then."

She stared at him, unable to tell if he was relieved or spiteful. She'd been hanging on his words, on his tone for her next move. And he'd given her nothing. Was he pleased to pretend nothing had changed? In her rage, had she given him exactly what he wanted, an excuse to ignore last night?

Anger slipped away, leaving behind bitter disappointment. This wasn't what she wanted. She headed toward the door. She needed to be alone and think.

"Rach, don't go. I know I failed to keep you safe. Believe me, I tried. But there are some things I just can't..."

She threw a glance over her shoulder. He looked miserable, as if he were about to start crying. Did he really think she would leave him?

"I need you here. Honestly. I know it might sound selfish..." He tilted his head. "It's easier to bear with you here. Stay with me."

Rachel squinted. What was wrong with this man? First he wants nothing to do with me, then he asks me to stay in his room. He was right about being selfish. But as the fury induced adrenaline rush faded, she recognized her best friend. Despite the hurt, she'd never deny him help. Not even after he kissed her, made her fall in love with him and then pretended nothing happened. She was such a sap.

"Fine. But you owe me big time!"

*

Rachel tried to make herself comfortable on the edge of the bed. She'd brave it tonight. Even if for the past two days she hadn't been able to fight the temptation to snuggle against Daniel after he fell asleep, tonight would be different. Had to be different. She couldn't keep hoping he loved her.

His hand felt so warm in hers, and his calm, peaceful face made her want to hold him and never let go. You're just doing this to help him sleep. You don't want more. You don't want him to hold you, kiss you, tell you that he loves you. Who was she trying to kid? She felt like beating the crap out of him for turning her into a useless pile of hurt and repressed feelings.

Daniel moaned softly and pulled her to his side of the bed. He wrapped one arm around her waist and nuzzled against her neck. Rachel stiffened. Great! If she pulled away, he'd probably wake up and might think that she came to him. And that's the last thing she wanted.

Tears pricked her eyes. Why did he have to ruin everything? This could've been real. Her heart ached at the thought of what might've been.

"I think we should leave tomorrow," Daniel said.

Rachel's heart jumped into her throat. "You're awake."

"Barely." He twirled a lock of her curly hair around his finger. His voice was groggy with sleep. "We've searched every possible place in this city. There's obviously no more equipment here. I'm thinking Târgovişte. It was Vlad's capital city, after all. Maybe we'll find him there. And we'll face him with those pathetic crossbows and whatever else we have."

"The crossbows aren't so bad. They're small, they have a trigger. We can shoot them with one hand." She tried to concentrate on the business side and ignore the way he caressed her. "And you're right. It does feel like we're stalling here." Now please get your hand out of my hair.

Daniel flinched, but pulled away from her. Damn, she'd forgotten he could hear her inner thoughts when touching her.

"Sorry about that."

Rachel sighed and tried to think of something else. They would leave Bucharest. It was strange, but this city felt like home more than any other place they'd been. Home. "Do you ever miss your life from before you became a Hunter?" She turned over to see his face.

Daniel looked as though she'd asked if he missed a hole in the head. "No. I like being a Hunter more. I don't really remember my life from before being turned, anyway."

"You don't?" Rachel frowned. Would she lose her memories as well, over the next few years? She didn't want to forget her former life.

He sat up and shrugged. "Not really. It's all one big blur. No big deal. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking." She rolled to her back and looked at the ceiling. "If I were normal, I'd probably have a career and a family right now." And be thirty-two. Okay, she didn't want that. She enjoyed being twenty-four forever.

Daniel rested his elbows on his knees and bent his head to see her face. "Do you want that?" His voice was soft.

"Would you give me that?" The question was out before she could stop it. 

He took her hand and squeezed. If it made you happy, I would. 

She tried to ignore the softness of his voice. "What do you want?"

He heaved a deep sigh. "I just want you to be happy."

She sat up. He wasn't teasing. He actually took this conversation seriously. And for the first time since their kiss, he acknowledged something had changed between them. "Daniel, what do you mean when you say you want to protect me from you?"

"Isn't it obvious? Haven't I hurt you enough already? I'm trying not to anymore."

"Why don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

"I—" He looked away. "I can't. I don't want...I..." His voice faded and he rested his chin on his knees.

"Fair enough. Forget I asked." She turned with her back to him, trying to hold her tears in check. He didn't want her. Their kiss had obviously been a mistake. "Let's get some sleep. We have places to go tomorrow."

Daniel shifted next to her as though he wanted to get closer, but instead got out of bed. "You sleep. I've had my fill." He rummaged under the bed and pulled his gun out.

She bolted up." Where are you going?".

"Somewhere I can shoot myself without anyone noticing." He chuckled once he saw the scared look on her face. "Just kidding. I'm going for a walk. This is a precaution. But it's nice to see you still care whether I live or die." He gave her a crooked grin and left the room.

Rachel hugged her knees. "Still care? I love you, you fucking idiot," she said to the closed door.

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Thanks for reading another chapter of Hunters (yes, this chapter was long enough to have two parts, lol). Hope you had fun! Leave a comment or vote in case you enjoyed it. And thank you for your support!