The Vampire Diaries: Trust In Betrayal (Kindle Worlds) (In Time We Trust Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

little…chirpy.” I stifle a laugh, and Cali looks pained. “But she took all her clothes out and refolded them into the dresser. Even though we’re only staying for a few hours. And she laid out our toiletries.”
     
    Matt looks puzzled. “So?”
     
    “All either parallel or at protractor-perfect ninety degree angles.” Cali quirks an eyebrow. “I think she’s walked about four miles around our hotel room so far, just organizing, and it’s giving me hypertension. Besides, after all that shit with vampires today? I could use a little quiet.”
     
    Matt gives her a sympathetic look. “Caroline’s got sort of a control thing. And with everything that’s going on, it’s probably even more over the top than usual.” He glances toward the door, then shrugs his bag on over his shoulder. “I’ll go stay with her. See if I can’t knock her out of the tailspin.” He shoots a casual wink my way, and then pops the door open and takes off.
     
    As soon as the door drops back into the frame, I realize I’m alone with Cali Jameson. In a hotel room. A weird kind of prickling heat zings up my body, and my hands flex uncertainly.
     
    Cali narrows her eyes and hooks a thumb toward the door with a curious little tilt to her head. “Did I just— Are they going to…?”
     
    It takes me a second to catch on, and then I blink with surprise. “Oh!” I shake my head quickly. “Nah. They used to be together. Didn’t work out.”
     
    “Huh.” Her eyes dodge around the room, and snag on my unopened bag, discarded in the corner. A little smile tugs at the edges of her mouth. “Aaand I just invited myself to stay the night in your room. I am just the queen of awkward today, aren’t I?”
     
    I smile. “It’s no big deal.”
     
    She clears her throat, tucking her knees up onto the bed with her. “So, blood bags, huh?”
     
    I nod. “For the most part, yeah. That’s how they make it work.”
     
    She blows out a long breath. “Look, I don’t have the energy to think about all this vampire/werewolf/witch/Augustine super vampire business tonight but…the compulsion thing?” she ventures uncertainly. “Caroline said there was an herb you had to take to block it but we don’t have any?”
     
    “Or you avoid eye contact with vampires, which is kinda tough to pull off,” I say, feeling guilty that I brought her on a trip with a bunch of vampires and no vervain, because I know how bad it feels to be totally vulnerable to them, even the good ones. Matt has his bracelet, but I don’t feel right asking him to give it up.
     
    “Okay, eyes submissively downward. Check.” She smiles ruefully. “And on the upside, apparently your friends really can guarantee I’ll get my job back when I finally go home.”
     
    “Maybe we can find you some vervain along the way somehow,” I offer. “But no matter what, no one here is going to compel you.”
     
    She laughs and looks down, her fingers twisting together. “Or at least I won’t know if they do, right?”
     
    “I’ll know,” I promise her, taking a step closer to the bed. “They can’t compel me, even without vervain.”
     
    She tilts her head, studying me. “Why? Something to do with your sister being a vampire?”
     
    “It’s…complicated.”
     
    It’s not that I’m ashamed of being a Hunter. It just seems like too much work right now, with having to explain about Connor and the convict Stefan turned for me to kill, and Klaus’s hybrid. It’s a pretty messy story on the best of days, and this is far from the best of days.
     
    “Of course it is.” She sighs, but her eyes are thoughtful when she looks at me. “Better stick close to you, then, huh?”
     
    “Sure,” I say, shrugging as my eyes flick to the carpet. I hope she doesn’t think that was some kind of ploy to force her to room with me. “Not that they would compel you anyway.”
     
    “Right.” Cali rolls onto her back and closes her eyes. “Let’s just not talk about it,