by Gwen Knight
“Few more seconds,” I murmured into the phone before pocketing it.
With the gate shut, there seemed to be only one option to escape. Here was hoping I could swing it. I curled my fingers around the wrought-iron fence and heaved myself into the air before launching myself over the top barbs. My feet hit the ground on the other side, then I was off, racing down the street as though something demonic hounded my every step.
At the next street light, I dug my phone out of my pocket and pressed it against my ear. “Tessa?”
“I’m here, Winter. I’m inside.” Evident by her quiet voice.
“And where is the vamp? What’s he look like? Do you know him?”
“No! I’ve never met him before in my life. I assume Alexei sent him along. He has long, dark hair, dark eyes, and average height. A bit of a pitted face.”
“Sounds hot,” I muttered dryly, all the while wondering if this was because of last night. “Did you call the police?”
“I—I…”
“Got it,” I snapped, my jaw tight. Of course, she hadn’t. After this entire fiasco had been settled, Tessa and I needed to have a little heart-to-heart. Seemed someone’s priorities were a touch skewed.
I forced myself to move faster, wincing when a pinch gripped my side and wouldn’t let go. Hell, I was barely awake and already running a quarter marathon. I couldn’t blame my body for rebelling.
“Winter, I just saw him!” Tessa whimpered. “Outside the window. He’s on the street.”
“Did he see you?”
“I don’t think so.”
I said a silent prayer. If the vamp lost Tessa’s scent somehow, perhaps I could get her out and onto the subway. No way he could scent her out down there, not with the filth and waste that lined the cement tubes.
I banked a hard right and shot down Dearborn. “You need to lose him. Go deeper into the library. We’ll wait him out.”
The moment the library loomed into sight, I released a relieved breath. All that remained was getting Tessa the hell out of here. Seeing as the vamp had tracked her this far, I couldn’t send her home. He’d find her there as well.
This was one of those moments I wished I’d called my family. My brothers could have put her under lock and key and protected her from anything that came a-knocking until the deed was done. But calling them meant explaining our plan, including Madam da Silva and me becoming a blood courtesan.
My mind flashed to Ethen, and I stole a quick glance through the buildings. The sun stood on its last leg, a sliver of light highlighting the horizon. Any moment now it would be dark enough for all the vamps to come out and play. Soon Ethen would wake, and he’d be pissed to find me gone. Cursing under my breath, I forced him out of my thoughts and whipped into the library.
“I’m here,” I said into the phone. “Where are you?”
“Periodicals.”
I glanced up at the signage hanging above the desk, then followed the arrows to the left. A few more aisles and I spotted her blonde ponytail darting around another corner.
“I’m here,” I muttered, then ended the call.
Tessa turned toward me, relief blooming across her face, likely mirrored within my own. She was safe. Right now that was all that mattered. Though still furious with her, I took her into my arms the moment she was within reach.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her body trembling against mine.
“Shh.” I wanted to tell her I’d get her through this, but we were both so out of our league here. “Tell me who you were meeting.”
“His name is Jax,” she whispered. “He’s nothing like Alexei. He…well…we’ve recently begun seeing each other.”
I paused, my narrowed eyes scouring her face. When it came to her type of life, I had no idea what that meant. “As in…?”
“As in, he’s my boyfriend.”
Her boyfriend. A vampire. How very Twilight of her. “Does he know about any of this?”
Eyes downcast, she nodded. “We met at one of Alexei’s events. He knows who I am.”
Rage tightened my stomach. “You begged me not to tell my family, and I didn’t. I became a courtesan for you, to help you with this! And you mean to say that another vampire knows all about Alexei? Why can’t he help you? At least he would be on equal footing with this bastard.”
“He can’t help me. He belongs to Alexei.”
My eyes fluttered shut, and I counted ten. Holy crickets, I’d never known such fury as what tore through me right now. “Let me get this straight. You’re currently diddling another vampire who has some sort of tie to the vampire who is trying to kill you?” Could someone truly be so stupid?
“Jax would never hurt me.”
“But would he protect you?”
Indecision crossed her face. I was stricken with the temptation to shake some sense into her. This was insane. “How could you be such an idiot?”
Anger burned through Tessa’s cheeks. “You don’t know what it’s like, so don’t stand there and—”
“Ladies!” A harsh whisper cut through her tirade.
Together, we spun to find the elder librarian bearing down on us, his dark expression almost comical. He was correct, though. This wasn’t the place for this discussion. No, for that, I was thinking a psychiatrist’s couch.
Sighing, I latched onto Tessa’s wrist and dragged her through the library. Maybe we’d waited long enough to convince her stalker that we’d left. I pulled her into the bathroom, and after a cursory glance to ensure we were alone, I wrenched off my shirt and thrust it at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Hurry up.” I tugged off my jeans. “Switch clothes with me.”
“What? Why?”
I refrained from rolling my eyes and snatched the ball cap off her head. “Hopefully, it’ll confuse his senses enough that he’ll track me instead of you.”
“Winter! He’ll kill you!”
“Gee, you think?” I couldn’t help the sarcasm. I gathered my hair and tucked it up under the cap. “Maybe then you’ll understand that this is a dangerous game you’re playing. Hurry up!”
Once she handed her T-shirt over to me, I slipped it on and made sure my dagger was sufficiently hidden. Then I led her back out of the bathroom and toward the exit. “When I say go, you haul ass to the subway station. Hopefully, the stench down there will mask you.” Thankfully, the station was around the corner from the library. “You get home, pack a bag, and go stay somewhere safe.”
She nodded. “And you?”
I brushed the weapon tucked against the small of my back, determined to do whatever it took to protect both of us. “Wish me luck.”
About to leave, I paused when she brushed my hand. “Thanks, Winter. I mean it. I know I’m screwing up a lot lately, but I want you to know I’ll fix this. I want to be the friend you remember…”
Her words chipped away at the anger festering within. Nodding, I gave her a hard hug, then shoved her out the door. Not five seconds later, I followed suit, all the while hoping that we saw each other again so I could wring her neck myself.
Hands tucked into my unfamiliar jeans’ pockets, I kept my head down and made my way through the streets. Dusk had fallen quickly, as it tended to do here in Chicago. Had I been outrunning a human, it might have helped me, but for vampires, this was prime hunting time.
I’d only made it a block when an unrelenting hand gripped my shoulder and pitched me headlong into the nearest alley.
Chapter 13
I hit the ground hard, my lungs compressing painfully when I landed on my chest. Pain rippled under my ribs, and my eyes teared up as I struggled to suck in a full breath. I choked down a lungful of air before scrambling to my feet and darting toward the end of the alley. The longer I dragged this out, the better chance Tessa had to make her escape.
“Evening, poppet!” the vamp mocked in a lowbrow accent. “Boss sent me to remind you of your impending deadline.”
Though wracked with pain, relief flooded me. My
plan had worked. This leech thought I was Tessa. Unfortunately, that meant I was now the target for one trumped-up vamp.
“You can run…” He laughed as I limped across the pavement.
Please don’t finish that sentence. It was bad enough he’d herded me into a dark alleyway; I really didn’t need to listen to any B-movie lines.
A flurry of wind brushed the back of my neck seconds before the vampire cupped my head and introduced my face to the brick wall. In the same breath, he wrenched my arm up high behind my back and kicked my legs apart. I’d never known pain like this. The only thing that kept me standing was the sharp knee drilling into my back, right next to my dagger.
“There, now. That’s much better, wouldn’t you say? No need to run, poppet.”
“What do you want?” I whimpered.
A subtle chuckle lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. “Don’t play coy, luv. It isn’t attractive.”
Well. There went that bit of advice Ashley had given me.
“Alexei wants his money.”
“I have two more nights still!”
“You had two more nights,” he countered. “Until that little roommate of yours went and stabbed Calix. Consider this payment. Rebellion is so costly, you know. So, he’s decided to deduct a night from you. You now have until tomorrow evening.” His fangs clicked together at my ear. “I’m here to remind you of what happens should you fail.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I shook my head, the brick scraping against my cheek. “That’s not enough time.”
“Not his problem,” he murmured. Chilled fingers ran down the length of my throat, then froze. “What the hell? Who’s been feeding off you?”
I barely managed to hold back a scream when he shook me like a dog.
“Who the bloody hell has been feeding off you?”
He gripped my arm and spun me around before slamming me back against the wall. A shrill cry ripped past my lips as pain rippled down my spine.
“You’re not Tessa,” he growled as he tore the hat from my head and freed my bunched hair. “You’re that bitch…the roommate!”
I held my tongue, terrified to speak lest it set him off. But that hardly stopped me from reaching for my blade. Distracted by our ruse, he missed me slipping one hand behind my back.
“You stabbed Calix,” he whispered, his eyes wide. “How? You’re barely more than a kid.”
While he stood there dumbfounded, I curled my fingers around the hilt and gripped it tight. “I’ll be sure to give Tessa your message.”
His mouth curled and he leaned in close. “Better yet…how ’bout we send her a little message. Alexei mentioned you to me. The roommate who’s all bravado and ego. I don’t think he’d mind if you were removed from the equation.”
A glint shimmered in his dark eyes, one that promised death and pain. Screw that! I clenched the dagger and forced myself to swallow. The timing needed to be right. I waited for him to lean forward, his fangs shimmering in the moonlight, before lashing out. Fear spurred me forward, and, without a sound, I freed my dagger from its sheath and drove the blade right into his side.
The vampire unleashed a wretched howl and reared away from me before I could press down on the button that would have expelled the holy water. I clapped my hands over my ears and staggered away, the blade still buried in his ribs. I turned, prepared to bolt out of the alley when his clawed hand clamped down on my shoulder. The pressure brought immediate tears to my eyes and a cry to my lips. Not a moment later, the ground rushed up to meet me, and he stomped his foot down onto my sternum.
“Bitch!” he shouted. He stared down at the blade clutched in his hand with wide eyes. “A slayer?”
Fear turned my blood to ice. I was so screwed. I grasped his foot and struggled beneath his weight, only to cry out when he applied an ounce more pressure.
“I can break you right here and now,” he snarled, his fangs lengthening in his mouth. “Tell me where you got this!” He dropped the blade to the ground as though it meant nothing.
Desperate, I reached toward it and whimpered when my fingertips grazed the rounded hilt. Just a little bit more…
“Tell me!” he bellowed.
“I…I found it,” I choked out. No way in hell would I ever betray my family.
“Lies,” he hissed, eyes flashing.
He pressed harder, the toe of his boot grinding into my torso. Agony tore through me until another shriek peeled through the alley. He reached down and fisted a hand in my hair, only to wrench me to my feet. He threw me against the wall again and clamped a hand over my mouth.
“You don’t want to know the things I can do to you, poppet.” A long nail scraped along the soft skin of my belly. “I can make you hurt in ways you’ve never imagined…introduce you to torment unlike anything you’ve ever known. So make this easier on yourself and tell me where the bloody hell you got the knife.”
I stared up at this monster with wide eyes. The promise of pain twisted his face, and his mouth curled as though he took great pleasure in the idea.
He cocked his head and studied my throat. “Bet that bite felt good, eh?” His long fingers traced the two puncture wounds courtesy of Ethen. “Bet it made you writhe in pleasure. How ’bout I show you what a real vampire bite feels like? Show you how it feels to have your throat ripped out, to feel your very life slipping away?”
A violent shiver coursed through my body, his words echoing in my head. I struggled against his hand, desperate to free my head of his rigid hold. But this damned vamp knew what he was doing, and somehow he managed to keep his meaty fingers far enough from my mouth that I couldn’t bite him. I was effectively trapped.
And just like that, my life started to flash before my eyes.
Tired of my antics, the vampire gave me a rough shake and slammed me into the wall once more. “Last chance, poppet. Tell me where you got the knife and this can all be over.” He paused for breath. “No?”
I gave a muffled whimper and clawed at his hand.
“So be it. I’m going to enjoy this…”
His teeth pierced my throat. Hot, stabbing pain lit up my neck. I screamed behind his palm, my wide gaze darting up to the sky as I kicked the air. With a savage growl, he pressed deeper, his fangs ripping my flesh. This bite was nothing like Ethen’s. This was predatory and hungry, and a touch deranged.
Blood spilled down the column of my throat, and he paused to lick it up. “Oh…aren’t you delicious.”
He bit down again, harder. Deeper. Grey dots stole my vision, and my eyes had closed when the pressure at my neck and mouth suddenly vanished. I sucked in a lungful of air and slid to the ground, my boneless knees incapable of holding me up. The sound of an intense battle echoed through the alley, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the river of blood running down my chest.
A shadow passed over me. “Winter?”
Dazed, I lifted my head and winced at the sight of Ethen crouched before me, his eyes alight with liquid fury, and his hands stained with blood. Behind him, my attacker’s dismembered body lay strewn about the alley. A piece here, a piece there…but it was the sight of his head rolling across the ground that twisted my stomach.
“Ethen…” I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think beyond the relief that I was alive.
“Shh,” he crooned.
Exhaustion weakened my balance, and I toppled into him. He slung an arm beneath my legs and lifted me in one swift movement. I was too weak and terrified to argue, so I settled into the hard swell of his chest and allowed him to carry me back to his house.
***
My dagger was gone.
That was my first rational thought while Ethen attended to my wounds. Thankfully, they weren’t anywhere near as devastating as they could have been. The bastard from the alley had been more concerned with terrifying me into squealing than actually injuring me. A couple minor scratches on my face and two new punctures on my throat. Other than that, I was sore, but lucky to be alive.
Ethen, on the ot
her hand, was furious. His expression was terse, and his tapered gaze kept darting to my newly punctured throat. Each time he growled, I suspected it was a territorial vampire thing…caring about whose bites were most evident.
Ethen gripped my waist, heaved me off the side of the tub, and plopped me down on the sink counter. His hands parted my legs, and he stepped between my thighs. Heat washed through my cheeks as I remembered last night. It might have been seductive were it not for the circumstances.
“The bite is deep,” he snarled. “Hold this here.”
I reached for the gauze, then offered him a wan smile when our fingers brushed.
“Apply pressure.”
“I’m all right, Ethen,” I croaked in a hoarse voice.
“You sound perfectly fine,” he countered, sarcasm dripping. “Ms. Doyle, a towel, please.”
I shot a glance over Ethen’s shoulder and watched as his housekeeper’s head dipped in acknowledgment, and she disappeared from the room. At least Mr. Bishop remained, offering me a reprieve from the questions I knew he was dying to ask.
Ethen taped the gauze to my throat, then strode across the room to where Mr. Bishop hovered in the doorway. They spoke quietly to one another, too quiet for me to hear, but Mr. Bishop nodded and slipped out of the bathroom.
Ah. So it was just us, then. My heart fluttered, but my stomach twisted with trepidation.
Ethen rounded on me, his eyes fierce. “Come with me.”
This time, he offered no hand or comfort. He simply marched out of the bathroom and hung a right toward the drawing room. Sighing, I eased off the counter, coddling my body every step of the way. Every inch of me ached. But it could have been much worse.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it seemed wise to anticipate the worst. If Ethen threw me out, I was screwed. No money meant no way to pay off Alexei, which meant I’d have to turn to my family to protect Tessa. And they would learn everything. The thought made me sick.