Blood Lily (Lilith Adams Vampire Series Book 1)

by Jenny Allen

  She pushed away from the unconscious officer like he was infectious and scrambled across the floor. When she finally reached Chance his eyes were floating around unfocusing and the gurgling cough was more violent. Screaming for her to stop took too much out of him. God, he was so pale. Blood was just barely trickling out of the wound in his chest. He’d lost too much blood. Even stopping the bleeding now wasn’t going to save him. He was going to die. Her throat tightened with tears and she pulled him closer as she sobbed. No. Not like this. Not now. She needed him to live.

  Sudden clarity, or perhaps plain old desperation, clicked in her head. Her blood. Cohen’s blood saved her life at the last possible second. Maybe there was enough of whatever healed her left in her blood to help Chance. She felt the unfamiliar pang of pain as her fangs clicked down before she could think about anything else. Without any hesitation she bit into her wrist deep enough that the wound wouldn’t close up right away like the cuts on her knuckles had. She held it to Chance’s mouth and shook him.

  “Drink it, Chance. Please, please, please. I need you. You can’t die on me. Please!” His eyes had trouble focusing, but she could see the muscles in his throat working. “That’s it. Drink.” She smoothed her bloody hand through his auburn flecked hair in soothing strokes as tears kept streaming down her face. This had to work. It just had to.

  Chance coughed a few times, choking on the blood. Lilith pulled his head into her lap, angling his neck to make it easier on him. After several minutes she felt the blood flow stop at her wrist and she bit into it again. She had no idea how much it would take. He could have all of it if it meant it would actually work. She put her wrist to his mouth again and this time his lips closed around the wound. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

  With her free hand she tugged his black T-shirt up. His tan skin looked like it was coated in fine white dust, paled by the loss of blood. Smeared blood covered his chest, but she could see the puffy, angry bullet hole on the upper right side. He wasn’t bleeding anymore. Hopefully that mean that the wound was beginning to heal and not that he just didn’t have any more blood to lose.

  She felt his lips stop moving. No. Sudden panic stole all her breath and her eyes flicked to his face. His eyes were closed, his mouth still open around her wrist, but unmoving. “Chance?” It felt like her lungs were about to implode. “Chance, stay with me.” She shook him, but his eyes stayed closed, he wasn’t moving. “Chance!” She erupted in tears again and shook him harder. “You can’t leave. I love you. I need you here. I can’t lose you. Not now. Not like this.” She buried her face against his neck, completely dissolving into gut-wrenching sobs. It felt just like her nightmare. If Chance was dead, she didn’t care what Ashcroft would do to her. Nothing could be worse than this.

  She felt a tickle of warmth in her hair. A breath? She froze for an instant, completely paralyzed, afraid to believe it but desperately wanting to. There it was again. Lilith slid her hand onto his chest, closed her eyes and waited. His heartbeat was faint but there and he was breathing shallow little breaths. A spark of hope lit her up from the inside. He was still alive. She stayed perfectly still, as if moving would somehow change everything. She kept her eyes closed and just counted, focusing on his heartbeat and his breathing. They were both slowly getting stronger. Lilith let out a relieved sob and said a silent thank you to whatever corner of the universe had been listening to her.

  They stayed that way for a long time, Lilith silently counting his breaths and heartbeats as they slowly got a tiny bit stronger. He wasn’t conscious, but he was alive and that’s about all she could ask for right now. She didn’t think about the creepy, dark hallway lit only by the flashlight on the ground, or Humphries unconscious, possibly dead, body laying a few feet away. She didn’t even think about Gregor, Alvarez or Ashcroft. Her entire universe at this moment only consisted of one, two, three, breathe.

  “Lily?” His voice was thin and weak. In fact, if her face hadn’t still been nuzzled against his neck she may have missed it. It was the best sound she ever remembered hearing and it lit up every inch of her. She slowly pulled back and opened her eyes to look at him. His skin was still pale, but not nearly as pale as it had been. His hazel eyes were still moving around, disorientated, dilated, but he was conscious.

  “Chance? I…I was so scared I lost you.” She dissolved into tears again, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. She wiped at her cheeks and just tried to breathe.

  “You can’t get…rid of me that easy.” When she looked down at him, his soft lips were stretched into a tenuous grin. She half laughed, half cried and bent down to quickly kiss that grin, however tenuous it may be.

  “You seem to be breathing okay.” She was trying to reign in her emotions. He may be alive, but he was still seriously injured. She had to make sure he stayed alive.

  He closed his eyes for a second, his chiseled face drawn with pain and then he let out a small breath. “I hurt like a son of a bitch…but I think I’ll…live.” He was still struggling with his breaths, but a collapsed lung will do that. “Can you help… me sit up…against the wall?”

  Lilith nodded and wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes. Very gently, she scooted out from under his head, and scrambled around him. She hooked her arms under his, locking her wrists behind him and slowly they worked up and back until he was resting against the wall. He was still wincing in pain, but his color was rapidly improving and his eyes were more focused.

  Lilith crouched down in front of him, her eyes studying his handsome, slightly stubbled face, memorizing every line. She had been so close to never seeing it again. The very thought made her chest impossibly tight. Her hand slid softly through his chestnut brown hair before cupping his cheek. Her olive green eyes stared into his hazel ones, and his hand slid over hers. He closed his eyes and leaned against her palm. It was enough to break her heart all over again. She’d almost lost him. He’d almost died. It kept repeating in her brain over and over again.

  “My head is still really mixed up. What happened exactly?”

  “It was Humphries. He shot you.”

  “Humphries?” Chance frowned, completely confused. “Why?”

  “Ashcroft got to him. I found his name badge on the ground. I heard the shot and there he was behind you, gun raised. He said that Ashcroft instructed him to get you out of the way. You weren’t…useful. Just a liability.” She hated saying the words, even if they weren’t hers.

  “Where is he?”

  A cornucopia of fear, anger, guilt, and resentment washed over her and she looked down the hall for the first time. Humphries was still exactly where she’d left him, lying in the middle of the floor.

  Chance followed her eyes and stared for a moment. “Is he…”

  “Dead? I don’t know.” She thought back to Goditha Labs and that hard look Chance had when he shot Spencer in the head. She’d called him all kinds of names for that, even compared him to a soul-less monster. A person can never understand until they’ve actually been in the same situation. Humphries had almost killed Chance and she’d gone into a state of blind rage and beat his face into the linoleum. Hell, she almost had more understanding for her Father now.

  “Well, do me a favor…check on him. If he’s just unconscious, we need to find a way to secure him.”

  Lilith couldn’t bring herself to look Chance in the eye. She stared down at his chest and simply nodded. She’d been so hard on him, certain that she was so much more evolved than him. When it came down to it, however, Chance had simply eliminated the threat. She was the one that acted like some insane animal and just unleashed all her pent up anger on a man’s face.

  Chance crooked a finger under her chin and lifted it, making her face him. There were tiny lines of pain on his face, but she could already tell he was doing much better. Her eyes finally met his and his lips curled into a soft smile. “I’m gonna be okay, Lily. Whatever you did, it’s working.” When that didn’t seem to melt away her hesitation, he glanced back down the
hall. It all seemed to click in place for him and he looked back at her. “You did what you had to…”

  Lilith squeezed her eyes shut and pulled back. “No. I lost control.”

  “Lily.” His hand slipped around the back of her neck and he pulled her closer. “Look at me.” Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and his face was firmly set in determination. “Don’t over analyze yourself based on one situation with overwhelming circumstances. You are okay, I’m going to live. Now let’s make sure everyone else gets to as well, Gregor, Alvarez and Duncan especially. Okay?”

  He was right, of course. She couldn’t fall apart now. She may have saved Chance’s life but there were still people counting on her. “Okay.”

  Very reluctantly, Lilith crawled over to Humphries. Standing and walking over seemed like a bad idea for some reason. His face was covered in bruises, though nothing really seemed to be broken. The puffy skin made it really hard to be sure. Blood was still trickling from the corner of his mouth and his nose. Guilt washed over her for a minute, but then she remembered that this was the bastard that almost killed Chance. He’d shot him in the back like a coward. Thankfully the bullet was a large enough caliber to go straight through, but not large enough to leave a baseball-size wound. Otherwise Chance might not have survived even with her special blood.

  She slowly pressed her fingers to the vein in Humphries neck. She kept her eyes on his face, waiting for any sign that he might be regaining consciousness. His pulse was very weak, but he was still alive. A small part of her was pissed off by that, but the larger part felt relieved that she hadn’t pummeled a man to death with her bare hands.

  The one thing she couldn’t figure out was why he’d shot Chance in the first place. He certainly didn’t seem very interested in either of them when they’d met him on the side of the road or at Miriah’s apartment. What if Ashcroft had just gotten to him? But how? And more importantly, why? Why did he feel the need to enlist the help of humans? Maybe it was all just some sick game to him. Either his pawn would succeed in eliminating a threat or he’d force one of his enemies to kill a human cop. She supposed either way would be a win for Ashcroft.

  She crawled back over to Chance, who was leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed. She had a moment of panic until his face tightened up in pain and he slowly opened his eyes again. “He alive?”

  Lilith just nodded, a million thoughts still racing through her mind. “Do you remember how Cohen said he could push his partner a bit, coerce him to do certain things. He said it was very limited, but…”

  Chance lifted his head from the wall and looked at her closer. “You think Ashcroft might have some type of mind control on top of everything else?” He looked a little paler, but this time it wasn’t from blood loss.

  “Well Cohen doesn’t seem to have the super speed or insane healing that Ashcroft does. It would make sense that his ability to coerce people would be in hyper drive too. I did find Humphries’ name badge on the floor of the hall. What if him and Whitmore went in the building before we got here? Or maybe Ashcroft got to them at the hotel fire. I think he may have turned them into cannon fodder.” Lilith scooted up to the wall next to Chance, leaning back against it. She wanted to be close to him, to feel his warmth, but she didn’t want to jostle him too much and risk reopening the wound.

  “Whitmore must have been in here too then. You should call Cohen. He may be in danger.”

  She hadn’t really thought that far ahead. Dammit. She fished her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the Detective’s number. It went straight to voicemail. An all too familiar panic crawled up her spine, making her stomach flip flop.

  “This whole thing is fucked. If Whitmore’s gotten to Cohen, then I’m the only one left. How the hell am I supposed to take down Ashcroft alone?”

  The real fear started to pull at Chance’s face. He’d been trying not to think of it. “You should just get out, Lily. Ashcroft has everything he wants right here. Take the car, drive straight to the airport and board the first plane out of here.”

  Lilith craned her neck to really stare at him. “No. I’m not leaving you here to die. Not you, not Gregor, not Alvarez, not Cohen and not Duncan. I’ll find a way.” She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. “Maybe if I surprise him…”

  Chance turned and lightly gripped her face, turning her towards him, their faces inches apart. She could see just how painful it was for him to move, but he gritted his teeth and held on, tears stinging his eyes. “Just this once, please. He’s going to tear you apart and I can’t do a thing about it. Please don’t be brave and stubborn, just this one time.”

  A single tear trickled down her cheek as she stared into his green-flecked hazel eyes. He was part of her life now, a life worth fighting for to the last breath for. “I can’t, Chance. I can’t leave you like this, please don’t ask me again. If roles were reversed, would you leave? I know you wouldn’t. You’d fight till there was nothing left. You mean too much to me. I need to get you someplace safe before I go find Gregor and the others, though.”

  Chance gritted his teeth again, his jaw clenching. He knew arguing wouldn’t change her mind. “Just help me into one of those offices. Leave me with the shotgun, but you better promise to come find me in one piece.” He grabbed her hand. “If you find them and you can’t save them. Get out alive. You can even come rescue my sorry ass, but the last thing Gregor would want is you to die trying to save him in a hopeless battle. Okay? If it’s mission impossible, you come back up here, you help me and we’ll get out. We can take care of Ashcroft another day if it comes to it. I know you don’t want to hear it, Lily. But you knew going into this that your dad may not make it out alive, much less anyone else. Getting yourself killed isn’t honor, it’s a waste. Do you understand?”

  He was right, she didn’t want to admit it, but he was. She nodded very slowly, just trying to imagine a world without her father, without her partner.

  “I want to hear you promise me.” He gripped her hand a little tighter, his other still cupping her face. Chance looked her straight in the eye. “Promise me, Lily.”

  “I promise.” She saw the relief wash over him, loosening the tension in his body. “Now let’s get you moved. We’re both sitting ducks out here.”

  It took three attempts before she could help Chance stand up. He had to keep his right arm at his side to keep from pulling on the bullet wound. Chance leaned heavy against her, his left arm draped across her shoulders. His legs were still weak from shock and blood loss, but he was at least able to move. With the flashlight in hand, they staggered down the hall to the first door and slipped inside. Very carefully, she maneuvered him into the corner behind the door and propped him against the wall. Besides a few coughs he didn’t make much noise. The wound didn’t start bleeding again, thankfully, but he did seem exhausted from the short trip. He was panting softly, trying to breathe.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to move Humphries and grab the shotgun.”

  “Be careful, Lily. He may be in bad shape, but he could still wakeup.”

  Lilith nodded and raced out the door back into the hall. She’d start with moving the officer first. She stood over his head, putting the flashlight in the crook of her neck, holding it in place with her chin. She grabbed his wrists and waited for a few seconds, watching for any sign that he was coming to. When nothing happened, she started dragging him. He was definitely heavier than he looked. The slight beer gut had to be full of lead. It seemed to take her forever to get him to an empty room. Finally she pulled him all the way into the vacant office and hurried out, closing the door behind her. After scooping up, Chance’s shotgun, she raced back into the office he was holed up in.

  Lilith crouched down in front of him. He had his head leaned back against the wall again, his eyes closed. He meant so much to her. They had to live through this. She ran her fingers through his hair again and leaned in close, her lips just barely brushing against his. “We’re gonna make it hom
e.” His eyes opened up, a soft smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “After all, you owe me a date.”

  His smile widened. “Yes, Ma’am, I do.” He brushed an auburn curl from her face with his left hand. “Come back to me alive. I can’t have the love of my life up and dying on me before our first date.”

  Chance may have been cracking a joke, but her whole body still blushed. She nudged her lips against his in a kiss so tender it brought tears to her eyes. “Stay safe.”

  “Text me when you find them. I want to know where in the building you are. I’ll feel better knowing exactly where you are. Ok?”

  “I will.” She pushed the shotgun into his hands and rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Lilith snatched up her 9mm from the floor, wiping it off to get a good grip and squared her shoulders. There was no time to be a scared little rabbit anymore. It was kill or be killed.

  She trained the flashlight down the hall, intent on the rusting metal door at the end of it. All the other doorways were just more empty offices. Lilith put her back against the wall, and slowly pushed the metal door open with her foot. Just like the front door, it made sound but not the creepy, high-pitched wail an old rusty door should make. Thank the fictional, higher power for small miracles. If he was intent on miracles though, he could do something a little larger. Smite Ashcroft, for instance. That would be a good place to start.

  The door opened up into a square room with closed doors on all sides. She slowly swung the flashlight over each door, looking for something that might tell her which way to go. The thin light of the xenon bulb traveled over the door to her right and something caught her eye. There was some kind of dark smudge on the handle. Lilith crept closer, keeping the light trained on the handle. Blood. Well it wasn’t the most positive sign, but at least it told her which way to go.

  The ominous door led to a flight of barely lit stairs leading down. The lights had to be emergency flood lights. Either they just didn’t think they were necessary or they just didn’t work on the main floor. The stairs themselves had to lead to the basement floor. Of course. What villain wouldn’t have his torture chamber in a basement? Guess it was a stereotype for a reason. She paused at the top of the stairs and stuffed the 9mm in the waistband of her pants so she could dig out her phone. She sent Chance a quick text message giving her location and tucked her phone back in her pocket.