Once Bitten, Twice Burned

by Cynthia Eden

  Sabine could only shake her head. They were all rising, all looking around carefully. A crowd of spectators had come their way, drawn, no doubt, by the smell of smoke and the crackle of flames.

  “I don’t know who he was.” The crowd was closing in. Sabine backed away from them, and her shoulder brushed against Rhett’s chest. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He nodded, but then, he stopped and pulled her against him. Held her in a crushing grip that threatened to break her ribs. She felt his lips brush against the side of her head. “I thought you were dead.”

  I was. But she couldn’t tell him that. No, maybe she just didn’t want to tell him. So she held him, gripping him just as tightly as she inhaled his familiar scent.

  Her eyes had squeezed closed and she forced herself to open her gaze. When her lashes lifted, her stare darted over the growing crowd.

  And her eyes locked on a gleaming, green gaze. Ryder.

  He wasn’t pushing forward like the others. Wasn’t offering to help. Wasn’t moving at all. He stood there, watching her and Rhett. There was so much fury in his eyes.

  “Let’s go,” Sabine whispered again. Rhett’s body felt strong and alive against her. She wasn’t about to do anything to risk that life.

  Vaughn had hidden his gun. Probably tucked it under his shirt. The others had dropped their weapons and were trying to look harmless. They managed to ease their way through the crowd—and away from Ryder—even as a fire truck’s siren blared in the distance.

  Rhett kept a tight hold on her as they rushed down the street. She glanced back, and, sure enough, Ryder was following her. Slow, stalking steps. She shook her head. Stay away. Sabine mouthed the words.

  He kept coming.

  Then she and her band of protectors were crossing the street. Horns blared. They ignored them. Typical. They cut through alleys, slid around old buildings, moving as fast as they could.

  She looked back again.

  Ryder was still there.

  And she knew that ditching him wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it might just be impossible.

  The bar was pretty much as he’d expected. Ryder eased inside of The Rift, following the sound of blues as the other bar patrons swept into the bar. Dim lighting sent shadows chasing over the floor. The wood creaked beneath his feet as Ryder walked. The place smelled of alcohol and perfume. Laughter floated around him, just as the drinks were flowing.

  The humans were in a good mood. Celebrating.

  A circle of men had gathered near the back corner of the bar, a circle that enclosed Sabine.

  The humans really needed to start backing the hell off. For Sabine, he was going to try and keep things civilized.

  At first.

  He could just see the top of Sabine’s head. Some guy with bright blond hair kept hugging her. Kissing her on the cheek.

  That had better be the brother. If it wasn’t, the man was going to be in a whole world of pain soon.

  “Sabe, what happened?”

  Ryder was close enough to hear the blond’s question.

  “Where have you been?” the guy demanded, emotion roughening his voice. “We were so worried. Hell, do you know how many times I checked the morgue?”

  Her hand lifted, and she curled her fingers around his biceps. “I’m sorry.”

  The guy swore and pointed toward a door marked PRIVATE. “You’re telling me what happened.” Then he was marching for that door. Pulling Sabine with him.

  The other men were following him.

  Ryder followed, too. Until his path was blocked by a tall, muscled male with a fuck-off glare. The guy’s blue eyes were a sharp and angry contrast to his dark brown skin. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Ryder lifted a brow. “Trust me, you don’t want to get in my way.”

  The guy laughed. “Looks like that’s just where I am.” His smile faded. “You followed us here.”

  Ryder shrugged. Why deny the truth? “You were easy to follow.”

  The man’s right hand began to lift. Ryder knew the fellow was going for the gun he’d tucked into the back of his waistband.

  “Do you truly want to do that here?” Ryder asked, curious, baiting. “With so many humans around?”

  The man hesitated. “I’m guessing you’re not human.”

  “Good guess.” Then he rushed forward and grabbed the guy’s hand before he could make the mistake of going for the gun. Using his grip, Ryder twisted the man around and forced him toward the “private” door. “Now how about you and I go join the little chat in the back room?” Because he’d been away from Sabine for long enough.

  She left me. Just when he’d thought they were starting to trust each other. They’d gotten out of hell together. Had some pretty fucking amazing sex. Then she’d left the minute he closed his eyes.

  He’d nearly ripped down the mountain trying to find her.

  As it was, he yanked back his captive and kicked in the “private” door. The door flew off its hinges.

  “What the—” a man’s snarling voice began. The blond. The guy had a cracked baseball bat gripped in his hand. He came up swinging.

  Ryder caught the bat in his right hand. “You need a better weapon.” He shattered the wood.

  Then heard the faintest click behind him. A safety, being released. Yes, he knew the sound.

  “You shouldn’t have turned your back on me,” his ex-captive said. “Man, you’re gonna pay for that one.”

  “Vaughn!” Sabine’s frantic cry. “Don’t shoot him!”

  Huh. It sounded like she cared.

  “I’m not shooting him, yet.” Now the guy’s voice was cocky. “Douglas, patch up the door before anyone sees what the hell we’re doing.”

  The redhead ran forward and used his body to shove the door back into semi-place.

  Ryder ignored the redhead. He only focused on the one person who mattered in the room.

  “Stop it,” the blond snarled as he took a protective step in front of Sabine. “Stop looking at my sister like you want to fuckin’ eat her.”

  It was too fitting. Ryder smiled and knew that his fangs would flash.

  It was the wrong move, of course, because the trigger-happy human with the gun shot him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Ryder didn’t flinch when the bullet tore into his chest. The bullet hurt like a bitch, but after his time at Genesis, he’d rather gotten used to pain.

  “You missed my heart,” Ryder muttered. Then he lunged for the shooter. His hand wrapped around the guy’s throat. One snap. Just one. And he’d have a dead human.

  “Let him go, Ryder!”

  He’d missed the way Sabine said his name. Okay, not the way she screamed it—the way she just had—but the way she whispered it. Sighed it.

  He kept his hold on the human. “Others heard the shot.” Even the drunks in the bar wouldn’t be oblivious to a gunshot. His gaze swept to the redhead. “Make sure no one else comes in this room, or I’ll tear off your friend’s head.”

  The guy’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he nodded and made his way out of the room. Then he put the door back in place behind him.

  “Now . . .” Ryder sighed as he felt the blood soak his shirt. “I’m going to need some blood.” He glanced over at Sabine. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. So beautiful that he ached just looking at her.

  Mine.

  “Do you want to volunteer, love?” Ryder asked her softly as his gaze dipped to the elegant column of her throat. “Or shall I take a bite out of your friend?”

  “You’re not supposed to attack humans!” This came from the guy in the back, a thin, wiry fellow with a curly mop of black hair. “You’re supposed to drink fr-from bags or get volunteers—”

  “I’ll volunteer, Louis,” Sabine said, cutting through the man’s words. Her gaze was on Ryder. “But you have to promise me that you won’t hurt any of my friends.”

  She had too many male friends. They were annoying.

  The blond was still
doing guard duty near her, but Ryder now knew that, yes, that was the brother. A brother with a whole lot of fury boiling beneath his surface. Good thing the guy wasn’t a phoenix. With that much rage, he would have set the whole place on fire.

  “Ryder?” Sabine pushed.

  He shrugged and released the human. “I’m not here for them.” He knew she would understand. I’m here for you. He let his nails sharpen to claws, and he shoved those claws into his chest.

  “Oh, the hell, no,” her brother barked. “You don’t do that kind of crazy shit in my bar!”

  Uh, yeah, he just had done that. He tossed the bullet he’d retrieved onto the floor. He wiped the blood on his jeans and offered Sabine his hand.

  There were streaks of blood on his fingers. Fitting. Until he died—an event that might never occur—he’d always have blood on his hands.

  Sabine crept closer to him. Her scent reached him. Wrapped around him. He dropped his hand before his blood could touch her. She stared up at him. “I thought you’d let me go.” Her words were quiet. A little lost.

  Never. “And I thought that Genesis had gotten you again. You . . . scared me, Sabine.” He knew just how valuable she had been to the group. Despite the stories that the media was circulating, Ryder didn’t buy that Genesis was dead. Not by a long shot.

  They’d cut the head off the snake, but the beast still lived.

  Sabine lifted her delicate wrist to his mouth.

  The blond lunged for her. “Sabe, no!”

  Her shoulders tensed. “It’s not like I haven’t done this before, Rhett.”

  Ryder’s lips parted over her wrist. His teeth scraped over the delicate skin.

  “Don’t do it!” Rhett snapped. “You put those teeth in her, buddy, and I’ll put a stake in your heart!”

  A little late for that, considering he’d put his teeth into her several times before. But, right then, for this time, Ryder didn’t let his teeth sink into her skin. He could almost taste her blood . . . that addictive flavor that was only his Sabine. But drinking from her . . . with her brother’s furious stare on them . . .

  No.

  When he drank from Sabine, he wanted to fuck her. His bloodlust and his physical lust were too closely bound with her. And they would save that particular reunion for later.

  When her brother wasn’t glaring at them.

  With an effort, Ryder pulled her wrist away from his mouth. “I’ll feed in private.” Which was code for . . . Get these assholes out of here, Sabine. He wanted to talk with her alone. There was much, much to say.

  Things that didn’t need to be spoken of in front of such an avid audience.

  “You’re not doing anything in private.” Her brother narrowed his gaze on them. “Since when did you start hanging with vampires, Sabine?”

  He heard the soft whisper of her breath, then her voice came, low and tight. “Since I became one.”

  Rhett’s face went white with shock as he rocked back on his heels. “No!”

  But she nodded, rather miserably, and wouldn’t meet her brother’s gaze.

  Rhett turned his fury on Ryder. “You did this to her.”

  Not a question.

  And also, not wrong. So Ryder squared his shoulders and agreed. “Yes.”

  The human could move fairly fast. Rhett spun away. Shattered a nearby chair, and came up with a chunk of the wooden leg held tight in his fist. “I’m killing you!”

  He didn’t want to hurt her brother. Hurting him would only make Sabine angry.

  But Ryder also wasn’t in the mood to get staked.

  “Would you have been happier if I just let her die?” Ryder asked. He didn’t mention the part about Sabine just coming back when she died. Her brother was freaking over a bit of vampirism. Ryder wasn’t sure the man was up to handling the truth of a phoenix’s death. He also didn’t want to be the one to tell her brother about all that Sabine had suffered.

  Rhett loved his sister. That fact was plain to see. It was the reason Ryder hadn’t already taken that stake away from the guy—and shoved it right into Rhett’s own chest.

  I don’t take kindly to the threat of a stake in my heart.

  If the man hadn’t been family to Sabine, well, there would have been plenty of blood flowing. But for her, Ryder held back.

  Sabine raised her hand, stopping her brother’s advance. “I told you on the way here . . . where I’ve been . . . what’s happened to me . . . it’s a very long story.”

  “I’ve got nothing but time,” Rhett threw back. “And I’ve been going insane worrying about you. Hell, Sabe, when you didn’t come home, when the days passed and no one could find you anywhere, Mom had a heart attack.”

  Sabine’s body trembled.

  “She’s fine,” Rhett said quickly as his friends watched the exchange in silence. “But she’s been crying herself to sleep every damn night since you disappeared.” Faint lines bracketed his mouth. “Why didn’t you just call? So you turned into a vamp. Not the choice I would have wanted, but you know I love you. No matter what you are, I love you.”

  Silence. Heavy. Painful.

  Sabine rolled her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have come back.”

  A muscle jerked in Rhett’s jaw. Pain flashed in his eyes.

  Ryder eyed the stake. For the moment, Rhett wasn’t attacking. But the moment he did . . .

  Sabine cleared her throat. “How did you—how did you even know that I was back? How’d you find me in that alley?”

  It was the dark-haired man who answered. The one she’d called Louis. The guy who seemed to be guarding Rhett’s back. “We’ve got eyes all over this city. Everyone has been looking for you. When we got word that you were spotted on the trolley near Canal, we hauled ass down there.”

  Rhett nodded. “We hauled ass, and found you up against the wall, and that crazy bastard with the fire in his eyes was about to attack you.”

  Crazy bastard with the fire in his eyes . . . Ryder’s body tensed. “Sabine?” When he’d seen her in the alley, he’d smelled smoke, but he’d just thought—hell, he hadn’t even thought. He’d reacted. He’d seen her and been damn relieved to have found her.

  But now . . . was her brother saying that another phoenix had been in that alley?

  Sabine glanced at Ryder from the corner of her eye.

  “Was that another friend, Sabine?” Rhett demanded. “Another paranormal buddy that you picked up during your disappearance?”

  Her gaze held Ryder’s. “I’d never seen him before, but, yes . . .” Now she looked back at her brother. “I think he may have been held at the same facility I was at.”

  Rhett blinked. “Held?”

  Behind him, Louis swore.

  She nodded. Her shoulder brushed against Ryder’s. His chest wasn’t hurting anymore. The flesh was already starting to mend.

  I want her blood. Nothing particularly new there. He always wanted her.

  “I didn’t leave willingly,” she whispered. Her hands fisted by her sides. “I was taken, by a group called Genesis.”

  “Those SOBs on the news?” the one who’d been so trigger-happy before demanded.

  She nodded. “Yes, Vaughn. They kept me in their facility. I only escaped a few days ago, thanks to Ryder.”

  Rhett’s gaze drifted between them. Measured.

  “I wouldn’t be here without him,” Sabine said.

  “Hell.” Rhett dropped the stake. It clattered to the floor.

  “Why did they take you?” Vaughn demanded. He pressed closer. “I saw the news—they were experimenting on paranormals. Not humans. Why the hell would they—”

  “It turns out that I wasn’t human. Not exactly.” Sabine’s sigh was soft. “And they knew it.”

  Vaughn shook his head. “Son of a bitch.”

  Exactly.

  Rhett kept a watchful gaze on his sister. “But Genesis is gone now, right? You’re safe?”

  “Yes.” Her chin lifted. “I’m safe.”

  Her brother couldn’t seem to te
ll when Sabine was lying.

  Odd. Ryder could tell instantly. Trying to protect the human, Sabine? If she’d wanted to protect him, she should have stayed the hell away from New Orleans and her brother.

  The scent of smoke drifted into the room. Ryder spun around, following that scent back to the broken door just as that door was tossed aside.

  “Fire!” It was the human he’d sent outside. Douglas? “There’s a fire in the bar!”

  Rhett swore and stormed right toward the growing smoke. Ryder didn’t try to stop him, but he did grab for Sabine when she tried to go after her brother.

  The other humans rushed out, following the cries that had erupted from the bar patrons.

  “Let me go!” Sabine twisted in Ryder’s grasp. “I have to help! This bar . . . it’s everything to Rhett.”

  No, it wasn’t. “You’re a vampire now,” he reminded her, holding her tightly. “That means you burn too easily. Fire can kill you now.”

  She froze. Her eyes widened.

  “And when it kills you, Sabine, you won’t be coming back.” There would be no more do-overs for her.

  The cries grew louder. The scent of the smoke thickened.

  Since she wasn’t fighting him any longer, Ryder let her go.

  She immediately ran for the broken door. “I have to help him!”

  Damn it. He grabbed her and yanked her back—just as flames raced toward them. The bar was turning into an inferno, burning far too fast.

  That’s what happens when you light up a place filled with booze.

  His gaze swept through the smoke and flames. Most of the humans had already gotten out. They’d broken through windows. Crashed through the front doors. Rhett was still there, trying to use an extinguisher to battle the fire that just kept rising.

  “I have to help him,” Sabine whispered.

  No, what she had to do was get her sweet ass out of there. Ryder spun back around. He kept his hold on Sabine, knowing better than to make the same mistake twice. The room they were in was about twenty feet long, and, hell, wouldn’t it figure? No windows. No exit doors.

  And, just his luck, the room was filled with bottles of liquor.