by Sarah Piper
“Um, Dorian?” Charlotte said. “We’ve got a problem.”
Dorian heard the sound of car doors slamming outside, followed by heavy footfalls on the front porch.
“We’ve got two,” he said, as a new text buzzed in from Cole.
We’ll be there in 5 minutes, maybe 10. I can play this part all night, but you & Charles need to get the fuck outta there. NOW.
Dorian’s heart dropped. He would’ve loved to do just that.
If only a half-dozen drunk and disorderly Russians hadn’t just filed into the cabin. Their boisterous laughter and crass commentary assaulted his ears.
Demons. Every last one.
“Stay here,” he whispered urgently. “I’ll lead them back outside, then you can make a run for it. Text Aiden to meet—”
“Are you insane? You can’t take that many demons alone. They’ll fry you!”
Fucking hell, she was right, and Dorian didn’t have time to argue.
Without another thought, he shoved Charlotte into the darkest corner of the basement, positioned himself in front of her, and sent Aiden a series of rapid-fire texts.
Trapped in basement.
Demons inbound.
Give me a distraction—lure them out.
And then, as the first demon stepped into the office overhead and shouted in Russian for his comrades, Dorian sent out his final plea.
15 seconds or you’ll need a bloody Hoover to get us home.
Chapter Nine
Charley had just enough time to suck in a shuddering breath before the night fucking exploded.
Literally.
It lit up the sky through the filthy basement windows, rattling the entire cabin. Upstairs, the demons scattered, shouting orders at one another, running from the back of the cabin to the front.
In the surrounding woods, fire crackled through the trees.
“Thank you, Aiden,” Dorian said, just as the demons returned to the office, undoubtedly heading right for the basement chamber.
A few feet above Charley’s head, one of the windows shattered. Dorian grabbed her and covered her with his body, shielding her from the raining glass as someone smashed out every last shard.
“A Hoover? Really?” Aiden leaned in through the opening and held out his hands, gesturing for Charley to grab hold. “Bloody dramatic, Dori. Even for you.”
“Get her out of here.” Dorian gave Charley a boost, launching her into Aiden’s awaiting embrace. “I’m right behind you.”
Aiden hauled her out through the opening and into the smoke-filled backyard. Still on her hands and knees, she turned around and peered through the window just in time to catch two demons charging down the stairs, heading right for her man.
Dorian and Charley locked eyes, his gaze full of fiery determination.
“Go!” he shouted.
She didn’t get the chance to refuse. She felt Aiden’s firm grip around her midsection, and then the ground tilted, spinning out from under her.
When the vertigo passed, she was standing with Aiden in front of Dorian’s BMW at the park.
Dorian was nowhere in sight.
“We can’t leave him there!” she cried. “The demons—”
“I’m going straight back for him. But you need to leave, Charlotte.” He opened the car door and practically shoved her inside. “Drive back to Ravenswood and wait for us there. Now.”
“Aiden—”
Before she could say another word, Aiden was gone.
Charley gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. As a human, she knew damn well she didn’t stand a chance against demons. She didn’t even know how many they were up against.
But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t about to let Dorian and Aiden die on her watch.
“No vampire left behind, dickheads.” She peeled out of the park, jammed on the gas, and sped off into the night.
Charley came to a stop on the road in front of the cabin, her eyes wide with shock.
In the brief but excruciating minutes since Dorian had shoved her out that window, a war had erupted on Estas’ property.
The backyard and surrounding woods were a disaster zone of flaming trees, roiling smoke, and broken bodies.
Demons fought grays. Grays fought each other. Behind a thick screen of smoke, Charley could just make out the blurred movements of the vampires double-teaming a gray the size of a refrigerator. Lower to the ground, a massive black-and-gray wolf lunged at a charging demon, taking him down on impact.
Cole.
Charley quickly took in the scene, trying to decide what the fuck to do. Charging into the fray on foot was pointless—she’d be killed in a heartbeat. She had no weapons, no protective gear—nothing but the car itself.
With the refrigerator finally down for the count, Dorian and Aiden spun around to face their next foe—a vile red-headed demon glaring at Dorian as if she wanted to set him on fire.
Charley gasped, realizing the demon was about to do just that.
Hellfire.
The demon smirked, and suddenly Dorian dropped to his knees, clutching frantically at his chest.
“I don’t think so, bitch.” Charley hit the gas and headed straight for the backyard. Plowing through a knot of grays, she smashed into the demon head on, sending her flying into a tree.
Charley leaned across the seat and opened the passenger door. “Aiden! Get in!”
Aiden hauled Dorian to his feet and tossed him into the passenger seat, then whistled for Cole. He opened the back door just in time for the wolf to leap in, then jumped in after him.
Dorian coughed, struggling to catch his breath. The scent of smoke and burning flesh filled the car.
Three more demons were heading straight for them.
“Drive!” Aiden shouted.
Charley didn’t need to be told twice. She slammed the Bimmer into reverse and backed out onto the road, then rocketed the fuck out of there.
Seconds later, a pair of headlight beams blasted through the back window.
“We’ve got a tail!” she said.
Aiden turned around to look. “Keep driving. They’ll fuck off eventually.”
Charley nodded and gave the car a little more gas, zooming them up a steep mountain incline. They’d just crested the top of the hill and began their descent down the backside when the next fucking obstacle course came into view.
“What the hell is that?” She downshifted, slowing the engine. In the curve of the road a few hundred feet ahead, a cluster of pale, writhing bodies blocked the way.
“More grays,” Aiden said. “They’re everywhere.”
Behind them, the headlights reappeared, quickly gaining ground.
“Don’t stop,” Aiden said. “We’ll have to go through them.”
But she couldn’t—there were too many. A head-on impact at their current speed would either set off the airbags, flip the car, or worse—send it careening off the side of the narrow mountain road.
But they couldn’t stop either. Not unless they wanted to be hell-roasted by those demons.
“Hold on, boys.” Charley whispered a quick prayer to anyone who might be listening and switched the car to rear-wheel drive mode. As they hit the curve, she cut the wheel and smashed the accelerator, forcing the Bimmer’s back end to drift forward. They slid into the curve sideways, clipping a few of the grays with the rear bumper before Charley jerked the steering wheel back in place and corrected course.
The smell of burning rubber filled the air.
Clear of the worst of them, she hit the gas on the straightaway and blasted the fuck out of there, glancing into the rearview just as the demon car behind them plowed into the grays.
Whether they flipped into a ditch or sailed right off the fucking mountain, Charley wasn’t sticking around to find out.
When they finally cleared the worst of the danger, Cole shifted into his human form—a sight she wouldn’t have believed if she hadn’t caught it in the rearview.
“Cole?” An insane laugh es
caped her lips—the kind that could only come from saving one’s friends from a demon attack, surviving a few near-death experiences, and watching a wolf transform into a naked man, his bare ass gracing Dorian’s fine leather seats.
Cole clapped a rough hand over her shoulder and gave her a shake. “Charles. Ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
“One more minute and you would’ve been a sight for dead eyes,” Aiden said. “Bloody hell, Charlotte. Thank you for completely ignoring my request to return to Ravenswood.”
“What did I tell you?” Charley wriggled her thumbs. “These babies were not made for sticking up my ass.”
The guys laughed, but Dorian only coughed.
She reached over and placed a hand on his thigh, his muscle twitching beneath her touch. After a beat, he covered her hand with his, squeezing tight.
Charley finally let out a breath. It felt like she’d been holding it ever since she’d seen that ginger bitch drop her man with hellfire.
Thank God he’s okay…
“Do you think the demons will come after us again?” she asked, casting another glance in the rearview.
“Not if they want to keep their cocks attached,” Aiden said. “Chasing us off the property is one thing, but none of those demons want to launch an all-out assault against the vampire king. My guess is they’re regrouping, though. Definitely reporting back to Rogozin tonight.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” she said.
“It ain’t,” Cole said. “But we certainly didn’t start that fire.”
“Technically we did,” Aiden said. “Rather I did, when I blew up the propane tank and turned Estas’ little party into a barbecue.”
“You ask me, this fight was a long time comin’,” Cole said. “And we ain’t the ones who let loose all those grays. Hell, even the demons didn’t know what the fuck hit ‘em—that was an outside job. So if Rogozin’s got something to say about the shit that went down back there, he knows just how to find me.”
Charley sighed. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“After tonight?” Cole cracked up. “Pretty sure Rogozin should be worried about you.”
Charley smiled, but she didn’t let herself relax until they’d finally come to a stop in front of Cole’s cabin. Tucked into the woods at the end of a long dirt road, it felt like another world—safe and protected, far removed from the craziness they’d just escaped.
“You’re sure they won’t retaliate?” Charley asked again. “Maybe you should come back to Ravenswood tonight.”
“Your concern is real touching, Charles,” Cole said. “But I got this place surrounded by wolves. Anyone tries to pull any shit—demon, vampire, gray, or human—they’re in for a world of hurt.” He got out of the car and lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag. If he realized he was still buck-ass naked, he didn’t seem to care. “You all comin’ in for a drink? I got just the thing. Special home brew—it’ll put hair on your balls.”
“Yes, but will it put balls on your balls?” Aiden opened the car door and stepped outside, more than a bit unsteady on his feet. “I seem to have left mine back on that mountain. Charlotte, where on earth did you learn to drive like that?”
“That’s… a really long story.”
“You know what’s good for long stories?” Cole blew a plume of smoke into the night sky, then grinned. “My special home brew.”
Charley laughed. “That actually sounds—”
“Charlotte and I are heading back to Ravenswood tonight,” Dorian said sharply. It was the first he’d spoken since she’d picked them up, and though his voice was still hoarse, his tone left no room for argument.
Charley swallowed hard. Why did she get the distinct feeling she was in deep shit?
“You sure?” Cole asked. “I got the green stuff too. Might help get the taste of hellfire out of your lungs, Red.”
Dorian coughed again, shaking his head. “Another time, perhaps.”
“Suit yourself.” Cole leaned in through the driver’s side window and gave Charley a fist bump. “Catch you later, Fast and Furious. And hey—go easy on our boy here. I realize Red’s a grumpy ol’ fuck, but it’s been a while since that antique heart of his saw so much goddamn excitement.”
Charley laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
When the guys were back inside, she finally turned to Dorian, meeting his gaze across the front seat. It was only a couple of feet, but suddenly, it felt like a mile.
“You okay?” she asked softly, reaching for his face. “I don’t like that you’re coughing.”
“And while we’re on the subject of things we don’t like…” He grabbed her wrist and glared at her, his golden-brown eyes igniting with anger. “You’ve got thirty seconds to explain what the fuck you were thinking back there.”
Chapter Ten
“I don’t need thirty seconds, vampire,” Charlotte said. “I can do it in five.”
Dorian seethed. The anger burned through him as readily as the hellfire. “Well?”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes, her pulse thudding beneath his touch, a wild energy buzzing through her veins like electricity. Dorian sensed all of it—every beat, every rush, every richly-layered scent.
It made him dizzy and hungry and desperate to kiss her, but it wasn’t enough to spare her Dorian’s wrath.
She’d bloody near gotten herself killed tonight—more than once. And for what?
“You, Dorian Redthorne,” she snapped, jerking free of his grasp. “You’re why. And I’d do it again in a hot second, no matter how much it pisses you off. So if you’re going to lecture me about—”
“Aiden specifically told you to drive back to Ravenswood and—”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do well with orders. Not outside the bedroom, anyway.”
His own blood flared at the thought, but he was still too mad to do anything about it.
Scratch that. He was furious.
“You never listen, Charlotte. You put yourself in danger at every turn. You risked your life coming back for us tonight, and—”
“And it’s a damn good thing too. If I hadn’t, you, Cole, and Aiden might be dead. ”
“Highly unlikely. Maimed, perhaps. But—”
“That demon bitch tried to incinerate you! She dropped your ass like a hot stone! I saw you fall and all I could think was—”
“You shouldn’t have seen that.” Dorian clenched his jaw, doing his best to hold back the torrent of curses he wanted to unleash. “You shouldn’t have even been there, Charlotte. If anything had happened—”
“Something did happen! You almost died!” She curled her hands into fists and closed her eyes. “God, Dorian! You’re the most obstinate, demanding, pig-headed vampire I’ve ever met! Does it ever get old, acting like you’re untouchable?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who seems to have a death wish. Either that, or you’ve spent so much time at Ravenswood, you suddenly believe you’re immortal.”
She opened her eyes to look at him again, her gaze fiery. “I know I’m not immortal. And contrary to what you might think, I don’t have a death wish. But when someone I love is in danger? You bet your immortal bloodsucking ass I’m going to fight for them.”
“It won’t do anyone a damn bit of good if you’re dead.”
“So I should do nothing? Is that what you would do?”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
Tears of frustration brimmed in her eyes, her copper irises glittering in the darkness as she continued to glare at him. Glare through him.
When she spoke again, her voice trembled with passion.
“My sister was taken, Dorian, and I wasn’t there to protect her. A demon very nearly incinerated you tonight—so yes, I took a risk. I did what I had to do. You can call it reckless or a death wish or batshit crazy if you want to, but that won’t change how I feel. It won’t change the fact that I’d do it a hundred times over if it gave me even a one percent shot at k
eeping you safe.”
“Those are impossible odds.”
“One percent is still a chance, Dorian. One I’ll take over the alternative every damn night of the week.”
The tears finally spilled, streaking down her cheeks and cracking through the last of Dorian’s anger.
Charlotte was only fighting for the people she cared about.
For Sasha. For Cole and Aiden.
For him.
Hadn’t he sworn to do the same? Hadn’t he been doing the same? As a king, as a prince, as a mortal man… Dorian hadn’t always succeeded at keeping his loved ones safe, but he’d damn well tried.
He was still trying.
How could he take that away from Charlotte?
“You’re… right,” he finally managed, letting out a deep sigh. His lungs had finally healed—something he could only appreciate because of her. “I owe you a thank you, Charlotte. And an apology.” He reached out and cupped her face, brushing away her tears with his thumbs. Through a soft smile, he said, “I suppose I’m still getting used to the idea that I can’t keep you in a bubble. With extra padding and a bevy of armed guards, locked away in a castle, surrounded by a moat filled with sharks. And lava. And perhaps a few crocodiles, just to be safe. Oh, and a German Shepherd. I hear they’re fierce protectors.”
This finally got a smile in return—a sight that instantly made up for all the arguing.
“I’d say that makes you a paranoid, overbearing psycho,” she said, “but the truth is, I’d do the same thing for my sister.”
“Sasha would no more allow it than you, but… point taken.”
Charlotte nodded, but her smile was already fading, her eyes clouding with worry. “This night was a complete fucking disaster, and it’s all my fault.”
“We couldn’t have known Estas was planning a party, or that someone would flood the woods with more grays.”
“I should’ve planned for the possibility, though—for all possibilities. That’s how it works.” She shook her head, admonishing herself. “You were so worried about me risking my life, but what about you? You risked your life fighting off those demons. You risked your life just walking in there with me tonight, and what do we have to show for it? The grays might’ve been an outside job, but our little smash-and-grab wasn’t. Estas knows exactly what we’re up to now. How long until he clues Rudy in and we’re totally fucked?”
