Blood ran down his chest from his latest injury, his neck still gleaming with fresh blood.
Ella’s brow knotted together and then a big grin spread across her face. Dad might just be human, but he was no fool.
His kitchen knives were silver.
Rok ran at her once more and she braced herself, aiming the blade straight for his heart. But Rok was smarter than the vampire in the deli and grabbed her knife with one hand; the other punched her in the gut.
She grunted as the blow seemed to reverberate through all her limbs, sending her sprawling on the floor.
Her eyes only saw the hardwood below her, but she felt Rok’s smugness above her. Gloating over his victory.
Every time she started to feel better, he managed to break her in some new way. How had Cade endured this for three years? Judging from the state he was in, the answer was “not well.”
She had no doubt Rok would kill her now. He wanted to know why she was special and now he knew about Clara.
He had new game to hunt. The thought of Clara having to be on the run broke her heart, but at least she had Lucian to look after her now. He would keep her safe, just as he had tonight.
Something poked into her side, and Ella shifted, trying to avoid at least some pain before she was killed.
Rok grabbed her shoulder and flipped her over, straddling her just like he had three years ago. “You were right,” he hissed. “I did enjoy that. Foreplay’s over now, babe.”
He shot forward, sinking his fangs into her neck, and moaned in pleasure.
Right when he relaxed and started to take long draws from her neck, she twisted, giving herself just enough room between his chest and hers to slam the smaller steak knife through his heart.
He went still, withdrawing from her neck to stare down at her in confusion.
“Word of advice. Next time you pull a knife out of your neck, don’t just throw it on the ground all willy-nilly. It’s rude.”
Rok’s body went limp above her, and she twisted under his weight. It was harder than she thought to get two hundred fifty pounds of dead vampire muscle off her.
She let her head fall back and laughed. Of all the problems to have, this was one of the best.
She turned her head at the sound of shuffling feet.
“Ella! Oh my goodness, are you okay?” Dad knelt next to her as he helped to roll Rok over.
“I’ll live,” she muttered. “How about you? Still feel like you want to serve me up to the vampires?”
He sat down next to her and leaned against the wall. “I don’t even know what I was thinking. I mean, I wasn’t thinking at all. Everything he said just seemed to make so much sense. He could’ve ordered me to drink bleach and I would’ve thought he was the smartest being I’d ever met.
“How can something have that kind of power over us?”
Ella belatedly remembered she was bleeding and held up a hand to her neck. How did someone forget about that? “I’ve been bitten by vampires too many times. They get less painful the more you do it,” she muttered
Her father scanned her face, brows drawn together. “Let me see your neck.”
She moved her hand.
Dad frowned. “It’s not bleeding.”
Ella stared down at her hand in horror. Just like he said, there was no wet blood on her hand. “What do you mean it’s not bleeding? How is it not bleeding?”
The sound of wood being split into pieces had both her and Dad looking to the front of the hallway. Loud footsteps pounded in the entryway right before Lucian bounded into sight.
“Ella!” His shout died out as he looked down and saw her, Dad, and the dead Rok.
He fell to his knees at Ella’s side, cupping her face and examining her injuries.
Cade walked in stoically behind him, eyeing the scene.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve been here.”
Dad shook his head. “No, this is my fault. She is my daughter and I should’ve been able to resist if her safety was at stake.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “Crazy idea. Maybe it’s the dead guy’s fault.”
Cade kicked Rok over, getting a good look at his face. “I’m impressed.”
“Not to brag or anything, but it is my second vampire kill in a week.”
“Then I’m twice as impressed.” It sounded like the old Cade, but not a hint of a smile covered his face. Maybe once his beard was gone and he got some muscle back, he’d be better.
Lucian’s eyes raked over her once more. “You don’t look injured.”
“Well, I can take care of myself.”
“No. I mean you look perfect. Your neck...your arm.”
Ella held her hands up, examining her wrists. Sure enough, the purple bruising in her wrist was gone and there was no sign of swelling. “What the—?”
Lucian whipped around to face Dad. “What did you do?”
“It’s not his fault. The vampire made him do it. He had no control over himself.”
Lucian shook his head. “You didn’t heal this fast three years ago. Something changed.”
Dad stood up straighter. “How dare you accuse me! This is all your fault.”
Lucian’s narrowed gaze told Dad exactly what he thought of this blame game. “How could I have done this?”
“It’s your people who wanted me to do these experiments in the first place. You know she had some of your vile DNA to begin with.”
“But she’s different. Something changed her.”
Ella couldn’t stand their arguing, literally, over her. She pushed herself up and stood between the two men in her life. “Lucian, I think, changed me.”
His brow furrowed as he looked at her.
She continued, “It was probably Clara...the pregnancy. Did you know about this, Dad?”
“I suspected. But it didn’t matter. I promised I would never look at you as a test subject again, and it makes no difference to me if you are super or sub-human. You’re my daughter and I was just happy you and Clara made it out alive.” He took a pensive breath. “For all I know, it was Lucian coming back into your life that worked as a catalyst.”
“So what else is different?” asked Lucian. “Are you immortal? Can you teleport? Are you going to start changing forms?”
.
“Are you sure you want to see this?” asked Lucian.
Ella took a nervous gulp. To be honest, she wasn’t sure at all, but it was too late now. She was here and would face her fears head on. “Yeah.”
He interlaced his fingers with hers and they stepped into the building. Sunlight streamed through broken windows, shining on the glass and debris that littered the floor.
Rust-colored patches colored the floor and Ella averted her gaze. “It looks so different.”
“By the time we’re done, there won’t be anything left.”
“Are you going to burn it down?” Ella carefully stepped over a pile of broken brick and rubble; Lucian rushed to her side to make sure she didn’t fall.
“Fire will draw too much attention. By next Friday, we’ll have the inside completely gutted. No trace that anyone was ever here.”
Ella approached the first of the cells, laying a hand on the cold concrete. “Cade was just a lab rat to them. Poking and prodding him...developing chemical weapons. Who knows how much they’ve discovered.”
Lucian set a comforting arm around her waist, pulling her from the cell. “We stopped it, though. The best computer technicians in the world are combing through the hard drives we recovered even as we speak, looking for anything we can use. This was an important victory.”
Cade’s gaunt face popped up in Ella’s mind. “It doesn’t feel like a win.”
Lucian tipped Ella’s face back and stared deeply into her eyes. “I got you back safe and sound. My best friend is alive. And I found out I’m in love with an indestructible woman and have a multi-talented daughter. I might be the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Ella smiled up at him. His words pushed away all the doom
and gloom from her mind. “When you put it that way...” She leaned forward, laying a gentle kiss on his lips.
Check out all of Mallory Crowe's Books!
Billionaires In The City Series
Teaching The Boss
Teasing The Boss
Tempting The Boss
Devereaux Billionaires Series
Touching Jace
Trusting Michael
Testing Luke
Taming Rourke
Fractured Farrells; A Damaged Billionaire Series
Ruthless
Reckless
Remorseless
Restless
Relentless
Bad Boys of the Underworld (A Paranormal series)
Finding Fire
Daring Fire
Binding Fire
Ruling Fire
Stealing Fire
Stealing Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 5) Page 24
