“You infected me with your blood, but not enough to change me.” She met his gaze. “You’ve known all along.”
“So, this is your plan? To go back to your mafia organization so they can study you? Is that really your choice?”
“What other options do I have? I bear the mark of a tracker. If another Dresdan were to find me, they’d kill me. Isn’t that why you didn’t come for me before? You’d be labeled as a traitor once again to your kind for helping me.” Elaina swallowed the fear rising in her throat. “I pose a danger to you both ways. I can’t stand to think of what will happen to you if you’re caught. Do you know what District 5 does to Dresdan these days?”
District 5 followed a set of procedures she knew all too well...
Capture. Torture. Observe. Execute. Salvage. The mission ensured depletion of the Dresdan...and the enhancement of a new human race.
Vicq grabbed her hand and snatched her into his body. He circled around to stand behind her, her back pressed up against his chest. She couldn’t deny that she needed him, craved touching him. His hand brushed the hair away from the nape of her neck. He breathed cold and heavy against the top of her spine.
She knew the symbol was there, emblazoned into her flesh, the mark... The five.
The palms of his hands smoothed down her bare arms. His fingers, cold at the tips, soothed her heated skin. The edge of his nose nudged the sensitive area behind her ear.
His lips grazed the cartilage. “There is an option.”
Yes, she knew about that option, the one that would turn her completely. It was why they hunted her in the first place. She’d given up the protection of District 5 to save the one vampire she couldn’t live without. If they aided each other now, and if she took the Dresdan bite, they would both be hunted for eternity.
“I don’t want to be what I am anymore. I never should have signed on with District 5,” She didn’t want to be hunted anymore. Why not just give District 5 what they wanted? Maybe, just maybe—
“You’re on the verge of transformation. You can let it happen, or go back to your organization, or wait and do nothing and see what happens.”
“I’ve waited for months as you can see. You were watching me. You and I both know I’m something other than human. If I accept change, what will I become? A human killer?”
“You forget, some of us aren’t human killers.” His breath blew against her hair. “Have you forgotten about your Vicq? Who I am?”
“Only a small percentage of your kind values human life. You feed on innocents.”
“By innocents, do you mean the weak and helpless or the unruly and murderous?” His tone was calm and patient as he challenged her conclusion. “I feed only to stay alive, as my promise to you. Do you forget?”
“Once the bite is delivered, there is no guarantee that I will live through the rest of the change.”
“You will live. Didn’t you already say it? My blood lives within you. You’re strong enough to withstand the change. Even your mafia knows it now.”
“They aren’t the mafia! There’s a mission, Vicq. The current leadership of the District has forgotten those values, but there are some of us that live by the initial mission. Human survival. Scientists estimate that if we don’t do what we can to preserve the human race, then we risk extinction, just as dinosaurs and so many other species have.” She shrugged from his grasp. “You think I will accept your bite and become reliant on human blood as the only food source?”
“Once we are bound, and you are turned, you can live by feeding off of me.”
“How? The District’s research shows that Dresdan need human blood to stay healthy and strong.”
“Not always. They misunderstand us. Some of us, anyway.”
Vicq swallowed, and the red disappeared from his eyes as his normal color returned. Elaina didn’t need to ask him if she’d offended him. The pain in his expression said it all. She slid her palm up the side of his face. “Vicq, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say those things to hurt you.”
“You can talk to me about anything on your mind. I promised that I could keep you safe and if you plan to do anything drastic, I think I should know.”
“I’m not your responsibility.” She kissed the dimple on his left cheek. “You’ve never seemed to understand that I gave my life to District 5 when I signed up. It’s my problem to bear.”
“No...”
Vicq’s head dipped low so that their lips leveled with each other’s. Butterflies swooped low in her belly as he took her into his arms. He beckoned her lips open and meshed his tongue with hers. Passion ignited in her chest and she forgot everything, even the fact that her life was in danger. Time floated just above them as Elaina let her needs overcome her doubts. They delved deeper into the kiss.
This was peace, and she wanted this feeling forever. It was too late to shut her thoughts off from him now. She’d left her mind open too long. Open to seeing visions and dreams that both of them knew could never be.
A hard thud sounded on the roof of the houseboat.
They jumped and tore apart from the kiss.
Running footsteps pounded the dock just outside her door. Shock lodged in Elaina’s throat. Without a doubt, she knew that District 5 trackers had found her again.
Vicq jerked her to the farthest corner of the room just as a spray of bullets shot down from the roof.
Her pistol lay just beyond reach, but if she could make it...
Elaina jerked away from Vicq, but not before he gripped her again and urged her toward the side near the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” He demanded over the thumping at the door. He kept a firmer hold on her arm as he scooped up the bathtub and held it perpendicular to the floor.
The door rattled violently as the would-be intruders tried to jostle it loose. Bullets continued to penetrate from above, and one ricocheted off the porcelain tub and pierced his side.
“Argh...fuck!” He flinched slightly, but held a steady grip on the bathtub. “Hide here.”
“Vicq...” She reached out to his wound, but the padlocks on the door faltered as the attackers barreled it down.
“Now!”
Elaina knelt on the floor, and the tub descended over her.
“Don’t get out until I tell you!” Vicq strained to speak with fangs dropped in full attack mode.
She sensed his rage. Her own blood rushed through her veins in panic. Was it the frantic heartbeat against her eardrums or the loud pumping of bullets that wracked her nerves the most? Both. She’d given up on that life of a tracker because of this.
There was no way in hell she would emerge from under the tub. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to bust a cap in the asses of the trackers who dared encroach on her home. It was because the damn thing would be too heavy to lift.
Chapter 5
Fresh blood.
Metallic fumes steamed out from the enemies’ pores as the adrenaline ran through their veins. The aura floated up to Vicq’s nostrils and between his slightly parted lips. He inhaled deeply as his empty stomach clenched and his taste buds swelled.
Four hearts pulsed at a frenzied pace. One tracker noisily climbed down from the rooftop to meet the other two at the entrance to the boat. Their eyes focused in the dark behind their night-vision goggles. The last heartbeat belonged to the woman Vicq had pledged to protect.
“Why, hello...” Vicq grinned as the trackers’ gazes froze on the corner of the room where he stood. “You never even gave me a chance to open the door.”
“Dresdan!” One tracker shouted to the others in warning.
They lifted their revolvers. Aimed. Fired.
Vicq teleported from one side of the room to the other as the bullets tore through everything that couldn’t move from their path. Dishes shattered and crashed. Metal tore through the walls. A large jug busted open and water splashed over the sides of the countertop to spread out onto the tiles. A shelf toppled over, sending Elaina’s collection of books to a heap on the
floor. All that ruckus just to shoot one vampire. How amateurish.
It confused Vicq that the District would open-fire among civilians. Then again, they were always sloppy in their execution. They were desperate, and resorted to outrageous measures, but Vicq would be damned if they’d leave here with Elaina.
The gunfire continued. They would have to stop and reload soon. Oh, yes. One of these motherfuckers would pay for the bullet still lodged in his gut.
Vicq flashed himself to the outside of the door. “Are we done yet?”
The trackers swung around in the direction of his voice, frantically reloading their weapons.
Vicq rushed one of them and grabbed him by the throat, lifting his feet off the ground. The redhead’s eyes threatened to burst from his sockets and he opened fire.
Several more bullets joined the one already in Vicq’s side. Blood leaked from his midsection and his cells worked to dispel the bullets and close the wounds. Vicq clutched his fingers tighter around the shooter’s voice box. The tracker’s neck snapped and his head lolled forward. Vicq tossed the lifeless body over the rails behind him into the dark, murky waters below.
He stepped over the threshold into the home again. “Anyone else care for a swim?”
His rage intensified. The lights flickered, dimmed, and then went out. He lunged at the men and jerked one of their weapons by the barrel of the gun. Shots fired and missed his toes by a hair. He tossed the gun across the room where it skidded out of reach.
He positioned the shivering male’s body in front of his own and glared at the other man, who pointed the gun toward Vicq and his hostage. “Go ahead. Pump him with bullets. He’ll die tonight anyway.”
“Where is she?” The gunman’s finger shook on the trigger.
“Why should that concern you?” Vicq squeezed the back of his captive’s head for a firmer grip.
“Shoot him,” the captive yelled through clenched teeth.
“I can’t!” The gunman leveled his weapon and then shook his head in frustration. “I don’t have a clear shot!”
“Pitiful.” Vicq laughed. “You have ten seconds to tell me why you came here. “Diez…”
He clawed the captive’s neck with a fingernail. A scream curdled in the man’s throat as the blood dripped down Vicq’s fingers. “Nueve…ocho…”
“Shoot him, you idiot!” The tracker writhed in Vicq’s grasp.
Vicq bent his head, eyeing the gushing blood and the open wound in the man’s neck. “Lots of memories reside in the blood, you know. I can take information willingly—,” his eyes shot to the gunman, “—or unwillingly.”
The gunman began to back away and leveled his weapon again. “I’m sorry, John. I can’t let him do that.” He blinked. “You know the rules.”
The gunman opened fire.
The captive never got what would have been his last words past his lips. No.
The bastard had killed his colleague to keep his memories hidden. Protocol. How clever. How stupid.
The shooter turned and hightailed it down the docks.
Vicq allowed the bullet-riddled and lifeless body to drop from his hand to the ground. He teleported in front of the escaping gunman and stopped him in his tracks. After grabbing him, Vicq carried the struggling male back to the cabin of the boat.
He bashed the human male’s head against the metal frame of the door on the way inside. “That was a dirty thing you did, traitor. You killed your partner in crime.”
“Vicq!”
At the sound of her call, Vicq’s head jerked to the tub where Elaina hid.
The traitor turned his head in her direction, too, but Vicq grabbed the gunman’s chin, forcing his attention away from Elaina.
“Please. They only want her. Just hand her over and you are free to go.”
“You’re telling me what I am free to do?” Vicq laughed. “Idiota. What do they want with her?”
“We know about her infection. They won’t hurt her.” The male held up his hands. “Please…”
“Mentiroso!” He shook the male hard. “You lie! What will they do with her after they have the specimen?”
“K-keep her. What do you care? You need human blood. She is of no use to you now.”
“You’re wrong,” he growled.
The gunman’s heart beat in panic. His breath labored and his body quivered. District 5 had come for her. Probably knew all along that her blood was infused with the vampire agent and that she was on the verge of transformation. Now that they knew where to find her, they’d be back, but Vicq wasn’t going to give them the head start they needed.
The gunman’s eyes widened in realization only moments before Vicq’s teeth sank into the thick jugular pulsing with life. He feasted on the gunman’s blood. The memories of his meal repulsed him. District 5 was a grimy organization, now hiring scum of the earth to do their dirty work. This man—a rapist, and murderer—would die tonight.
Before the criminal’s last breath exited his body, Vicq extracted his fangs. The gunman’s eyelids fell shut. The body slumped over. The pulse within the neck ceased. The sound of the heartbeat became slower until it finally stopped altogether.
“Get me out from under here!” The little tiny voice belonged to Elaina.
Vicq used his telekinesis to raise the tub from over her without moving. “Grab your shit. Let’s go!”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. Elaina’s gaze swept over what was left of her home only once before she grabbed the duffle bags and stuffed them with the rest her things.
Vicq tossed the bodies into the river while she worked. Some of her neighbors peeked outside with terror in their eyes, cell phones gripped in their palms. It would only be a matter of time before the cops swarmed this place.
“We gotta go.” Elaina darted past him with her bags in tow.
They rushed from the houseboat, never looking back.
Chapter 6
The sirens blared from all directions as they threw baggage in the back seat of the Tahoe. They made haste to the main highway, away from the authorities. Elaina drove with Vicq grimacing next to her in the passenger seat.
She would never be able to return, to the houseboat or the new life she’d started for herself. She’d made one call, District 5 had caught on, and now they were on her tail. They wouldn’t let her rest until the odds were in their favor. She’d heard the tracker—they wanted her blood.
Not only that, but the cops would be after her made-up alias. What had gone down back at the houseboat would be dubbed a crime scene. Concrete evidence could be at the bottom of the lake. It wouldn’t take long for the bodies to float to the surface and be discovered. Then she’d be wanted for questioning...or murder. Or maybe they’d see the vampire bite on one of the victim’s necks. And to keep the findings from the public, the cops would sweep the details under the rug. District 5 would paint the Dresdan as animals, further proving their claim that they needed to be destroyed. The government would continue to fund their immoral research and experiments in the name of protecting humans. As a result, the case would be handed over to the District.
District 5 had their own way of covering up the mess they’d made. Their involvement would never make it to national headlines. That included paying off investigators with inside connections to ensure evidence and files were promptly destroyed. That’s how it had all unfolded in the past. Before. When she’d been a tracker.
Minutes passed before Elaina’s pulse slowed and her erratic breathing subsided. “I’m running on a quarter tank of gas. We’ll need to stop.” She glanced into her rearview mirror and saw nothing but darkness. That was a relief. No cops or District trackers were after them—yet. They would be though—soon.
“How long should that last us? An hour?”
She nodded. “We’ll need to get rid of the Tahoe soon.”
Vicq slipped his hand inside his leather cloak. “Yes, but keep driving.”
Elaina turned her head just in time to see another painful flinch etched ont
o his face. Usually, it only took him seconds to heal, but one of the bullets must have hit a major artery. “You’re still hurt?” The SUV swerved off the road as she focused on him instead of it.
“Watch the road. You’re driving.”
“You need more blood, don’t you?” Her fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. She’d stop and feed him if she had to. “The bullet’s lodged inside, isn’t it?”
“Elaina, just drive.” Vicq’s fingers dug into the seat. “I can endure this for at least an hour until we reach cover.”
She looked ahead in the darkness at the interstate signs. “No, you can’t. I’m gonna stop at the next rest station.”
“Go thirty more miles. We’ll ditch the SUV and catch a ride to a hotel.”
Dresdan were difficult to kill. Similar to humans, but with more effort, they could be destroyed one of two ways—shoot them in the head or destroy a major artery. One ensured instant death. The other was slow and torturous, draining whatever life force they had from their veins.
“Look at you, Vicq. Why don’t you just teleport and get help from your coven and then tell me where to meet you. I’ll follow. I promise.”
“I’m not leaving you!”
His lips were set in a grim line against his teeth. There was no mistaking that he was in pain. The familiar smell of singed vampire flesh filled her nostrils with each breath.
After tugging on her seatbelt, Elaina pressed the gas pedal harder and kept her eyes on the dark path before them.
“You’re trying to get yourself killed one way or the other, aren’t you?”
“I should’ve been dead months ago, Vicq.” She squeezed the steering wheel hard, her palm on fire against the leather.
“I’m trying to keep you alive. Isn’t that what you want now? To remain human?”
“You won’t succeed if you become a dead vampire carcass in my passenger seat.”
The grin disappeared from Vicq’s face. “Just drive and don’t stop until you see the eighty-ninth mile marker.”
A dead Dresdan was what she had thought Vicq had become. Was he so invincible that he could escape death, once, twice...three times? Damn! He’d told her more than once that he had been bitten and made by an old, powerful vampire, but she’d had no idea that he was this resistant to death.
Renegade (Shadow Realms): An Urban Fantasy Dragon Shifter Romance Page 21