I dug my fingers back into the carpet and pulled with everything I had left. It still only propelled me a few inches.
But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
That wasn’t a fucking option.
Charlotte was injured, and I had to get to her. Now.
“I said, where the fuck is the key?” he roared, loud enough to hurt my ears even through the wall.
“I’m not giving you shit. Just leave. I won’t tell anyone you came here if you just go now.”
Laughter.
High-pitched, crazed laughter.
That was all I heard. There was no warning for what came next.
This strike was to my spine, and I felt something snap at the same time I heard a loud crack ring through my apartment.
That sound was the most horrific thing I’d ever heard.
Panic raced like ice through my veins as all the aches and pains I’d shared with her suddenly vanished. There was nothing left but the terror deep inside my gut that wasn’t just mine.
The fear that I knew was hers tore at my insides like a tornado of razor blades, but I still took comfort in it. As long as I could feel her, that meant I hadn’t lost her yet. There was still time.
I was positive it had been Charlotte’s spine I’d just heard break, and if I didn’t get to her soon and give her some of my blood, she’d die out there while I laid on the floor, useless and inept.
With every ounce of strength and sheer determination I had left in me, I dragged myself the rest of the way across the room. I was out of breath, bloody sweat dripping from my forehead as I reached for the handle and used it to pull myself to my feet.
I felt about as strong as a newborn deer, my knees just as weak and wobbly. My body felt like it was weighed down by thousands of pounds. Like weights hung from my arms and legs, threatening to drag me back down at any moment.
The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that she needed me. The only thing that kept me inching toward her was knowing that if I didn’t, I’d lose her forever.
And that was unacceptable.
I’d just fucking found her, and she wasn’t going anywhere without me.
I unlocked the door and stumbled out of my room. I searched the apartment until I found the bastard standing over Charlotte, his leg cocked back to kick her again.
With a surge of energy I didn’t know I had, I ran across the room and grabbed him by the neck before he could make contact with her again.
“What the fuck?” he sputtered in my grip.
I spun him around and raised him above my head, enjoying the way he was turning a mottled red color.
“Where the fuck did you come from?” he wheezed, his face now purple.
“Your fucking nightmares, asshole.”
I yanked him toward my fangs and bit down hard, making sure it was as painful for him as possible. He screamed and thrashed in my arms, but with every swallow, I grew stronger. With every sip, it was easier to hold him still and feed.
I needed the blood, and he needed to die.
But not that easily.
I squeezed his throat harder, his blood flooding into my mouth under the pressure. With my other hand, I reached out and started breaking his fingers.
One by one, I snapped them backward until I’d gone through all ten.
Then I started on his wrist bones. Then his arms. Then his ribs. Then his legs.
I broke every fucking bone I could reach as I drained him.
I’d ignored his tormented screams, not caring how much he begged. His pleas just made his blood taste sweeter. Made me drink faster.
Finally, his body fell limp, and I sipped the last dregs from his system. I pulled him away from my mouth and twisted his neck between both hands, just to make sure he was dead.
I let him fall to the floor before I reached down to scoop Charlotte into my arms. I laid her gently on the couch before ripping my wrist open with my fangs and pressing it to her mouth.
But nothing happened.
She didn’t drink. She didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe.
I watched her chest carefully, and as the seconds ticked by, dread built in my gut until it felt like I’d be sick.
“No. No, no, no, no, no,” I muttered as I pressed my wrist harder against her mouth.
She still wasn’t moving.
“Charlotte, do not fucking do this to me. Drink. Now.”
Still nothing.
“Charlotte, love, please. Wake up and drink.”
I grabbed her neck and tilted her head back until her mouth fell open. Positioning my bleeding wrist above her lips, I watched as the thick crimson steadily dripped onto her tongue.
I held my breath. I swear, even my heart stopped as I watched and waited for my blood to make a difference. For this burden I’d been cursed with over five hundred years ago to do some good for a change.
I closed my eyes and prayed to every god I’d ever heard of, hoping that one would listen. That one would have some kind of mercy. If not for me, then for her. The world needed Charlotte in it.
I needed Charlotte in it.
My eyes snapped open when I heard the smallest sound from the back of her throat. I watched intently, waiting for something to happen. Just when I’d convinced myself it had been a hopeful figment of my imagination, it happened again.
Seconds later, her throat bobbed with a swallow and she gasped loudly, her chest inflating with air.
I pushed my wrist harder against her mouth and felt the tiniest sucking sensation.
A stupid chuckle fell from my lips as I ran my fingers through her messy golden curls. “That’s my girl. Drink, my love. Everything’s okay now.”
Charlotte’s eyes were still closed, but the longer she drank, the harder she pulled. When another loud crack rang through the apartment and her body jolted violently, I knew the damage to her spine had been repaired.
And I could finally breathe again.
“See, you’re going to be fine,” I murmured, peppering kisses across her forehead and cheeks. They were covered with bruises, but I knew they’d fade soon too.
She’d be perfect again, and this time, I was going to keep her that way.
I didn’t care what it took. I was making her a vampire as soon as possible. I’d come too close to losing her too many times. I couldn’t go through this again. And worse, I didn’t know if Charlotte could survive the next assault.
Pounding footsteps preceded Ashton by only seconds. He skidded to a stop in the middle of the living room, his eyes wide as he assessed the situation.
“Where the hell were you?” I growled.
I didn’t care that he was looking at the man I’d killed and tossed on the floor.
I didn’t care that he could see me with my wrist against Charlotte’s mouth and blood dripping down her face.
All I’d have to do was glamour him when I got the information I needed, and he’d never remember he even came here.
“I was detained,” he grunted.
It was then I noticed the two black eyes he was sporting and what looked like a broken nose.
“What the fuck happened to you?”
His eyes turned hard, his hands fisting at his sides. “Fuckin’ doorman jumped me.”
“The sixty-year-old man who’s wider than he is tall? That’s who beat the shit out of you?” I asked incredulously.
Ashton narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head. “No. That dude retired last month. It was that douchebag with the neck tattoos that’s been working the desk for the past couple weeks. He tried to keep me down there with some bullshit questions. I finally told him to fuck off and tried to walk away, but he was quicker than I’d imagined. Bastard got me with a baseball bat right to the face before I even knew he’d picked it up.”
He looked away, his fists clenching and unclenching. Finally, he turned back to me. “What the fuck happened here?”
I figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell him the truth. He’d be forgetting this soon anyway.
I jerked my head toward that dead asshole. “Son of a bitch is her father. He came to rob her rich boyfriend and kicked her ass in the process.” I bit down on the next words before they could fall from my lips, but they worked their way out anyway. “Fucking bastard almost killed her this time.”
Ashton nodded, his eyes glancing from the body to me on the couch with Charlotte. Her eyes were still closed, but she’d reached up to hold my wrist to her mouth and it filled me with hope that she really would be all right.
“And what the hell is this?” he asked with a nod toward us.
I shrugged. “My blood is healing her.”
Ashton’s brows furrowed deeply as he watched me, probably searching for the joke in my words. When my expression didn’t change, he finally nodded slowly.
“I knew there was something fucked up about you.”
I laughed. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“So, what do we do? Do you have someone who can take care of this for you?” he asked as he nudged the body with his black dress shoe.
“Yeah, but they won’t be available until sundown.”
The guard rolled his eyes. “Of course they won’t. All right, I can at least move him for you. How about I put him in the front bathroom until you can get him out of here?”
I watched him closely, searching for some sign he was fucking with me. Was this human guard really just okay with hiding a body for me? And did he really not care that I was feeding Charlotte my blood right in front of his face? What the fuck was going on?
“Why are you so calm about this?”
Ashton shrugged. “I’ve heard a lot about this dickhead, and I’m glad he’s dead.” He turned and pointed at me and Charlotte. “That is a little freaky, but I’ve seen worse.”
Maybe this asshole wasn’t so bad after all.
I felt her push my arm away before her soft voice reached my ears. “Alexander?” she croaked.
I slid off the couch onto my knees and cradled her face in my hands. “Yes, love. I’m right here.”
She looked at me, her blue eyes so big and scared before they filled with tears that quickly flowed past her long lashes. “I’m so sorry,” she whimpered. “I don’t know how he found me.”
“Shh, shh, shh, love. Stop crying. Everything’s okay.”
Her eyes darted around the room, as if she was afraid he’d jump out and scare her. I cupped her face again, leaning closer so she couldn’t see anything but me.
“He’s gone now, love. He won’t hurt you again.”
She froze beneath me. She didn’t even breathe as she stared into my eyes. “He’s dead?” she whispered.
My stomach twisted painfully as I realized what I’d done. Despite all the harm he’d caused her, that man had still been her father. Would she hate me when she knew the truth? That I’d broken every bone in his body before I drained him dry.
But I couldn’t lie to her. I’d promised to tell her the whole truth from now on, and I wasn’t breaking that.
I nodded slowly. “Yes. He’s dead.”
Her eyes closed tightly as she started breathing again, slow and steady. “Okay, good,” she said, so quietly I barely heard her.
Ashton walked back into the room from hiding the body and met my eyes. “So, what are we going to do about the asshole downstairs? I’ve got him restrained in the security office.”
I stood up and smiled at Ashton, my fingers curling into fists. “Bring him up here.”
Chapter 4
Charlotte
“Fuck you!”
The distinct sound of flesh hitting flesh met my ears seconds before a long, loud groan. I dragged my heavy eyelids open, squinting at the ceiling of Alexander’s living room. Turning my head, I saw that I was alone, but I could hear there were people nearby.
I struggled to sit up as I tried to remember what happened and why I felt like I’d been run over by a garbage truck. When I was upright, a sharp pain jabbed me right in the spine and the memories suddenly flooded my brain.
The dandelions.
The dirty sneakers in my face right before I blacked out.
The kicks and punches I had to take as I curled in a ball and just tried to protect my face.
The mess my father had made as he raged around Alexander’s penthouse, breaking anything he could get his hands on.
The horror that filled me when he’d finally gone too far.
I’d thought I’d been close to death the last time we’d been in the same room and he’d stabbed me in the stomach, but it was nothing compared to when he broke my spine.
The loud snap had echoed off the walls, taunting me with the horrific sound. All the pain in my limbs had vanished, but that didn’t bring any relief. The pain let me know I was still alive, but once he’d broken my back, I knew I didn’t have much time left.
Worse, I knew Alexander would wake up at sundown and walk out of his room to find me there, dead on his living room floor.
That was if my father didn’t find a way to break into his securely locked bedroom.
Because, despite how scared I was for myself in those moments I was at my father’s mercy, I’d still been more afraid for Alexander. I knew he was in there, asleep and defenseless, while my father tried to break down his door, and I was powerless to do anything about it.
But the blackness had engulfed me for what I knew was the last time before I could do anything to help Alexander. I’d tried my hardest to fight the dark depths of unconsciousness because I knew I’d never wake up again, but I couldn’t.
I was still just a human.
Still small. Still weak. Still at the mercy of my father.
So, when my eyes did reopen, when the darkness receded and I realized I’d survived, the sense of relief had been so great, I’d cried tears of joy. But I must have passed out again shortly after that, because I didn’t remember anything else.
With a groan of my own, I pulled myself to my feet and stumbled through the dark living room, following the bright light several rooms over.
“How much did he fucking pay you?”
That sounded like Ashton, and I wondered when the hell he got there.
“I’m not telling you shit. Go fuck yourself.”
I didn’t recognize that voice, and when I finally made my way into the dining room, I found two men I knew well, and one I didn’t. Alexander and Ashton were standing around the mystery man, who was tied to a chair, his face bruised and bloody.
As I watched, Ashton lunged forward and punched the man in the face, hard enough for his head to whip to the side. I winced as he spit out a mouthful of blood and turned to smile a gap-toothed grin at my guard.
“You hit like a bitch.”
Ashton growled and surged forward again, fist cocked back and ready to fly once more.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
Both Ashton and Alexander turned at my voice, their expressions varying levels of sheepish. Of course, my vampire was the least concerned.
“Charlotte,” he said as he walked over to me, his arms already outstretched. “You should be resting.”
I waved him away and leaned around his big body so I could get another look at the gruesome scene in the middle of the innocuous dining room.
“Who is that?”
Alexander sighed before slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side. “That asshole was working with your father. We’re trying to figure out what else he knows.”
I nodded slowly, my eyes tracing over all the damage to the man’s face and wondering how long this had been going on before I woke up. “Can’t you just glamour him into telling you that information?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I can.” He retracted his arm from around my shoulders and walked back over to the strange man. Alexander bent down until he was eye level with him. “What is your name?” he said, his voice deep and hypnotic.
“Eddie Valentino.”
“Eddie, why did you hit that man with a baseball bat earlie
r?”
“Some guy paid me to keep him occupied.”
“What was that guy’s name?”
“Kevin something.”
My heart stopped because I knew he was talking about my father.
“How did you meet Kevin?”
Eddie’s eyes were vacant as he stared straight ahead and answered every one of Alexander’s questions. “He came up to me on a smoke break once. Asked if I wanted to make some extra money.”
“How much did he offer you?”
“A grand.”
Where the hell would my father have gotten a thousand dollars? My stomach cramped as Eddie revealed more about the plan that had been going on under our noses for longer than I wanted to admit.
“What did he ask you to do for that amount of money?” Alexander asked, his voice still steady.
“I had to tell him all I knew about you and the girl you’re always with. Then I had to keep track of all the people that come and go from your place every day.”
Alexander’s teeth were grinding so hard I heard them from across the room. “And what about today? Why choose today to make contact?”
Eddie shrugged as he continued to stare straight ahead, his face expressionless. “He said his people were getting restless because things were taking too long.”
“And how did he get you to attack my employee?”
“He said he’d pay me another grand if I kept the beefy guy from going upstairs this morning.”
I took a step forward, my heart in my stomach as I tried to put the pieces of this puzzle together. “My father doesn’t have that kind of money,” I said softly.
Alexander turned to me and nodded before looking back at the tied-up doorman. “Where was Kevin getting the money from?”
“Said he had connections. That he was working for powerful people that would kill me if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
My stomach hollowed out before filling with bile that crept up my esophagus. “Alexander,” I whispered. The fear was palpable as my gaze darted around the room, searching for a threat I knew hadn’t presented itself yet.
He turned to me and nodded again before looking back at Eddie. “You’re going to go back downstairs and give notice to your supervisor. You’re going to forget ever running into Kevin Wakefield, you’re going to forget everything you’ve seen this morning, and you’re never going to come near this building again. Got it?”
Blood Lust Page 3