6.

We make it to Petersburg by noon, and instead us trying to get any farther, Jace checks us into a motel. If it's possible, he's been even more quiet since we ran into the other vampires.

But after he locks the door and closes the curtains over the windows, he says, "We can't travel during the day until this is done."

I hesitate. "Until what is done?"

He takes off his sunglasses, setting them on the table. "Until they're both dead. The sun will make me too weak to fight them both together. I need an advantage."

"You have to kill them?" Even though they're vampires, I still become cold thinking about it.

"You don't understand," he says. "Finding you is like winning the lottery. They'll want to claim you for themselves, and they won't stop until they have you, even if that means killing me first." He walks over to the window and makes the smallest crack to look out. "I'll have to go out tonight. It'll be my only chance to have the upper hand."

"What do you mean?"

"Because they'll know you'll be here. Alone."

Then I finally understand. "You're going to use me as bait?"

"It won't be as bad as you think," he assures me. "I'll get to them long before they come through that door."

Jace sits down on the opposite bed, resting his arms on his knees as he stares at the floor. I still can't get used to his dark eyes. They're too unnatural. "You should try to get some sleep," he says, not moving or looking up.

He's like a statue.

I slip under the blankets of my own bed, not sure if I'll be able to sleep with him so close to me, just sitting there. I was only able to last night because of how exhausted I was. But I know I should try. I stare at Jace from where I lay, wondering what he's thinking about and how he's going to try to kill two vampires tonight.

"What did you do?" I ask. "You said you were doing this to clear your name of something. What kind of vampire laws are there that you could break?"

He finally looks up at me, looking tired. "There's only one law, aside from the obvious rules of exposing vampire-kind and becoming too bloodlust to control yourself. It's against the law to kill other vampires, unless it's self-defense."

"And you have?"

"Yes." He looks away but doesn't stop explaining, for which I'm glad. "It was years ago and I've been on the run since."

I don't want to ask, but I'm curious why he broke the law to kill someone. "Why did you kill them?"

He looks over his shoulder at me, hair covering one eye. "Does it matter?"

"Sometimes it can."

His eyes shift and come back to mine. "I'm not sure it does."

"Do you regret it?" I whisper, knowing he can hear me.

His coal-colored eyes meet mine, and there's no hesitation. "No. If I had the chance to do it again, I would."

I don't know when or how, but I fall asleep. And when I wake, what feels like hours later, the blankets are hot and I only want to escape them. I fling them off and sit up, not seeing Jace anywhere. The curtains are still closed, but the sun has gone down, showing only black between the cracks. I quickly turn and see a phone sitting on the nightstand, just there for me to use. I could call the police in a matter a seconds. I could be saved.

Before I have the chance to think another word, the door opens and Jace comes inside, eyeing me as he locks the door behind him. He has two grocery bags with him, one of them he gives to me.

"You need to eat something, and try to be quick about it." He flicks on the television, which is showing reruns of Friends. At any other time, I would have liked eating junk food while watching a sitcom. With Jace here, it couldn't feel any different.

I open the container of pasta he probably got at a deli, and my stomach growls to remind me how hungry I am. I eat everything with a plastic fork, and then I move onto the pack of croissants he bought.

I wash everything down with a bottle of water, feeling better with food in me. All the while, Jace watches me from the end of his bed. I put the garbage back into the bag and say, "Thanks for the food."

"Do you need to use the bathroom again? This might be the last chance before the night is over."

I don't know what he means by that but I say, "Yeah."

He doesn't try to follow me, probably already knowing there's no window in the small bathroom. I splash some water on my face, wishing I could use the shower, but not missing the small opportunity. Even though I slept for the last few hours, I'm still exhausted, and there's no way of knowing if I'll ever be able to have a full night's sleep again.

When I come out of the bathroom, the television is off and Jace is standing by a chair in the middle of the room. I stop short with an uneasy feeling growing in my stomach, and I don't realize what he intends until I see rope in his hand.

It's the first time I feel my strength dwindling. "Please," I say.

"It'll be better for you if you don't fight me on this." Jace steps forward, kicking my heart into gear. I back up against the wall, wishing he would stay away from me. "You have nothing to fear from Peter or Drake. They'll want you alive and unhurt."

Jace stops a foot from me, and I admit, "They aren't the ones I'm afraid of."

His hand curls around my wrist and says, "As they shouldn't be." He gently pulls me forward and I comply, my legs weak. I'm barely able to hold in the tears when he sits me down in the chair, drawing my arms behind me.

I take a sharp breath when he tightens the rope around my wrists. He ties tight knots and then moves down to my ankles. He doesn't tie them as tight, knowing it won't matter as long as I'm anchored to the chair.

I don't look at him when he's finished, determined not to give him the satisfaction of anything. I tell myself to hold it together and I'm proud that I do.

I almost hope Peter or Drake kills him tonight.

"I don't know when I'll be back," he says.

Jace walks up to me again and gags my mouth with a piece of cloth, his skin never touching mine. His eyes give nothing away.

Then he turns off the light and walks out the door, leaving me in darkness.