by Jenn Windrow
Ten shots from a small caliber pistol, like the one Reaper tucked into his pocket before he left. Then more from something larger and far tougher than Reaper’s side-arm.
Shit. I knew this was a bad idea.
More and more gunfire peppered the silence of the surrounding area. I glanced at Julian and the look he gave me broke my heart. A look filled with regret, unhappiness and the words I’m sorry. But right now I couldn’t worry about my shattered love life, I had to get to Reaper and fast because the smell of fresh blood overpowered the smell of the October breeze and burning leaves.
Eddie sprang to life. I could always count on him when it came to a good fisticuffs.
I turned my back on Julian and raced down the sidewalk. Raced to save Reaper. Raced to save the day.
I just hoped I didn’t fail my partner like I failed my parents.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The bushes lining the sidewalk waved in the breeze, their pungent juniper smell over powering, but not strong enough to cover the stench of the supernatural. Eighty-five feet into my rescue mission Eddie slashed my insides for release.
Give me control.
No.
Only I can save your human.
You can only have control when I have no hope.
I meant it. Eddie would never control my body as long as I was still alive to keep him on a tight leash.
I pulled in a deep breath and slowed down to a jog. My eyes searched through the darkness for anything lurking in the bushes. The more vampires I killed getting to the house, the less I had to worry about once I was inside.
Plus, if I let anything get past me, I put Julian and Julia in danger. Although I was pretty sure he could take care of himself, now that I knew what truly lurked under the handsome exterior, and smart guy persona.
Now if only Nathan would make an appearance and help me with some recon work. It would be nice to know what dimension of hell I was walking into.
Where the heck was our ghostly partner anyway?
I spotted the enemy before I found Nathan. Three vampires up ahead, all a shade of white that doesn’t exist on the color spectrum, meaning they weren’t new vampires. They blocked my path. Waiting for me.
Time to play. Eddie’s excitement surged through our bond.
I didn’t want to close the distance between us too quickly, making them feel nice and comfortable confronting a five-foot-six female vampire worked well with my plans. They were carrying guns on their hips, but didn’t pull them out and try to fill me with lead. For that I was thankful.
When I got an arm’s length away I launched myself into a flip over their head and landed behind them. They spun to face me, but when they got around my sword was in my hand. I sliced and one head fell to the ground and rolled into the bushes that lined the sidewalk. The last two charged. The first in line bent over, wrapped his arms around my waist, and took me down. My head hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to render me useless.
The second vampire thought it would be a good idea to try and wrestle Reva out of my hands. He tried to pry my fingers off the hilt, but I just held on tight and used the momentum of his actions to my advantage. He pulled. I pushed. The dagger sliced through his neck and his head rolled to the ground, joining his buddies on the perfectly manicured lawn.
“They never told us you were that strong or fast.” The last vampire’s tone was a mix of awe and fear. Mostly fear.
That’s the problem with my particular skill set—the rumors never make it to the general population because no one is alive long enough to spread them.
I pushed his buddies headless body off of my chest and stood up. The last vampire looked at his fallen comrades, back at me, then backed away, his hands held high. It wouldn’t help, he was in my sights and there was no way I was letting him walk out of here alive.
Three fast steps brought me closer to my target. I pulled my stake out of the loop on my pants and took two more steps. Grabbing him by the shirt, I was ready to plunge my stake into his heart and end him. Wanted to end him. Then a deep masculine scream came from the house and broke through the quiet night. Made my breath catch and I forgot about the vampire in my clutches. He raised his hand and buried his knife in my chest up to the hilt. The silver stung like a scorpion bite, but it wouldn’t render me dead.
Bastard! I removed the blade. Blood dribbled down my shirt for a moment before my body began to heal itself. What he didn’t anticipate was death by his own weapon. I gripped the hilt and sliced a large gaping line over his heart. Then I buried my stake into his now visible blood pumper. His body burst into flame, but I didn’t stick around to see him dissolve to ash.
Nathan appeared at my side. “One more coming your way.”
As much as I wanted to take a moment to ask Nathan what was going on, I didn’t have the time to waste. Hopefully he would stay by my side and guide me along.
I nodded and ran off the concrete and into the bushes, a sneak attack to throw them off. I pushed through the branches and leaves until I was behind the vampire laying in wait. Once settled behind them, I popped out, quiet as a bat.
I stabbed the vampire through the back, but the stake didn’t go in far enough to kill him. He turned around with it stuck in his bone, pulling it out of my hand. Snapping into action, I snatched Reva from her sheath and went for his throat. My dagger sank deep, and while he fought to remove it, I reached around and shoved the stake all the way through, finishing the job. He burst into ash.
“Four coming through the trees,” Nathan advised. “Terrance sent every sodding vampire in the house out to hunt you down when he found out Reaper’s true identity.”
My stomach flip-flopped at the thought of Reaper in the hands of Terrance. The large trunks hid me as I made my way through the oak trees and roots until I came upon the first of the four vampires out hunting for me. No surprise attack this time.
He held his 9mm gun in his hand high, and pulled the trigger. Leaving me just seconds to dodge the Super Man speeding bullet aimed at my heart. It whizzed past my ear and stuck in the tree behind me. Too close, and judging by the look of his gun there were six others waiting to follow their friend.
I let Eddie have a bit more freedom.
Ready?
Always.
The sound of the gun called his friends from out of their hiding places and they all decided to use me as target practice. Bullets flew by and most missed their mark. Most, but not all.
One bullet lodged in my hip, stuck in the bone. The second went straight through my thigh. The pain dulled my vision, causing me to see nothing but black. The ground coming fast at my face.
Eddie pushed past the pain. Forced me to my feet. He bulldozed me forward and made me front and center in a vampire killing frenzy. Tearing off limbs and twisting off heads with my bare hands. Tearing out throats with my fangs. Fighting to survive. Fighting to rescue Reaper.
With the last vampire sent back to hell, I stepped back on the path, determined to get to my partner. The silver bullet lodged in my bone felt like it dug in a little deeper with every step I took. The hole in my leg seeped blood. I was a fucking mess, but Eddie kept me upright.
Nathan floated close, examining my wound. “Alexis, you’ve got to get to Doctor Hottie. I don’t think my healing power is strong enough to remove a bullet, but he can.”
“Later.” I gritted my teeth to move past the pain. “Need to find Reaper first.”
“He’s not there. Terrance threw him in a car and took off.”
I continued on my route to the house, hoping there was something there that would lead me to Reaper. But the only thing I found was a wide open front door and the smell of blood.
I inhaled deeply. Human blood. Damn.
I stepped over the threshold, using the doorjamb for support. I knew before I entered the room that it would be empty, but I still had to check.
Blood splattered the couch, and easy chairs set up in the living room. Three piles of ash decorated the expensive Orien
tal rug. At least Reaper had managed to take a few out before they took him.
“Do you know where they took him?”
“No idea. They piled him in a dark blue car. I tried to follow, but then zapped back to you when they got too far away.”
Worry for Reaper crept through my mind and trampled my heart. I couldn’t leave him in the clutches of the vampires, especially this vampire. Not after everything I had learned about his family. Reaper would rather die than be turned.
There was one person who knew where they might go and I’d beat the information out of her if I had to.
I limped back to the car, losing more blood by the minute. Julian saw me coming back and rushed to my side, leaving his sister fuming against the white striped hood of the car.
He pushed my hand out of the way. “Alexis, let me see.”
My hand fell away and the pain almost rendered me unconscious. Julian inspected the wound. “Why aren’t you healing?”
“Silver bullet.” I stopped and took a deep breath. “Stuck in the hole. Stopping me from healing.” I slipped to the ground, unable to hold my weight up for another second.
“Julia, get your ass over here,” Julian demanded.
“I’m not helping you save her.”
Nathan marched over, grabbed her by the arm and marched her to her brother. At that point I was thankful for his energy stealing power. He pushed her toward Julian. “Help him or I’ll figure out a way to posses you and jump your body in front of an oncoming train.”
Julia didn’t argue, and knelt next to me. “What do you want me to do?” Her voice sullen and pissed off.
“Hold her shoulders down. I’m going to have to dig the bullet out and all I have is a pocket knife.” He leaned forward so I could see his face. “This is going to hurt.”
Nodding, I braced for the pain. He touched the bullet lodged in my bone with the tip of a knife and I immediately cursed the darkness in my life. Cursed Caleb and his deal. Cursed everything hammering its ugliness directly in my path.
Cursed Terrance, promising that once I could stand I’d hunt his bitch ass down and kill him.
Eddie tore at my shields, my control. My fingers wrapped around Julian’s neck, squeezing until the pain stopped.
He used a strength I would never have guessed he possessed, reminding me that he wasn’t human either, and unpeeled my fingers from his skin.
“Sit on her hand. I’ve almost got it.”
He started back at the bullet. I resisted the urge to kill him and allowed him to do his job. Plink. The bullet hit the ground and the pain faded.
My skin tingled as it started to knit back together and I pushed myself into a sitting position.
Julian turned to his sister. “Does your boyfriend have you so messed up that you hesitated to help keep someone alive?”
“With her dead, Terrance’s plan will succeed.”
Her brother opened his mouth for another verbal slap down, but I was feeling better and had had enough with their sibling bickering.
I reached up and grabbed Julia around the upper arm…hard. To her credit she didn’t flinch, and she didn’t pull away, she met my eyes head on. “I’ve got a very limited amount of time to save my partner. Where are they taking him?” I demanded, giving her arm a little shake for emphasis.
“I’m not telling you.”
“You will or you won’t live through the night.”
Julian stepped forward, his eyes focused on the girl in my hands and not on me. “Alexis, let me talk to her.”
I should have been upset with him for his lies by omission, but he’d just saved my life so I owed him some courtesy. I didn’t owe his sister jack shit.
I turned to him and let all my anger seep into my voice. “No. She doesn’t respect you enough to answer you.” I knew I was shooting low, but at the moment bruising his ego was the least of my worries.
“What makes you think I respect you? You’re an abomination, a joke among the Underground.” She spat. “A vampire who is too cowardly to be a true vampire. Too afraid to take the power she was given. Your Sire wasted his blood turning you. You’re a monster. Killing your own kind. That’s what Terrance says.”
“Oh, the opinion of a serial killer. That holds a lot of weight.”
“At least he is honest about who he is.” She tried to pull out of my grip.
“Julia, I’m going to let you get away with what you just said because I am friends with your brother, but know this. If anyone else dared utter those words to me, they would be missing a few vital organs to survive.”
“That’s right, you just kill those who don’t agree with you.”
“I kill those who deserve to die.” I squeezed her arm tighter. “And right now you’re not doing anything to make me feel like you deserve to live.”
I pulled her close. Let my eyes flare red. Watched hers get huge. I unleashed Eddie just enough to scare the piss out of her. I was more honest about who I was, and what I had become than anyone she would ever meet. If who I truly was didn’t scare the information out of her, she was truly gone. Nothing I could do or say would get her back for her brother.
“Tell me where they are taking Reaper,” I demanded.
She turned her head so she didn’t have to look at me. “I won’t.”
Julian reached up and touched my shoulder. To his credit he didn’t even flinch when I looked at him. “Let me.”
I gave up, let my hand fall away, and stepped to the side. Now that the pain was gone, my features returned to their normal non-monster looks, but I turned my back on the twins anyways.
“Julia, this is a human’s life we are talking about. Not another Undergrounder.”
“Who cares about the humans? We’re stronger. We deserve to be in control.”
Her words let me know just how truly brainwashed she was. Poor Julian, he might never get his sister back.
“You don’t mean that.” His voice couldn’t mask his disappointment in her. “What’s happened to you?”
“I learned the truth.”
I couldn’t hold my tongue. Not with Reaper’s life on the line. “The truth according to the vampire you so obviously worship?”
“I love him. I don’t worship him.”
I grabbed the keys to the Chevelle out of my pocket, and marched to the car. After opening the trunk, I searched through Reaper’s papers for the pictures that James had given him of the crime scene and the victims. Slamming the trunk, I walked back to where Julia stood with her arms crossed over her chest, and her chin jutted in the air. Stupid, stubborn girl didn’t have a clue how much of a monster the man she loved really was.
I held up the first picture, the one of the first two girls Reaper and I rescued. The one of a young girl, close to Julia’s age, her throat torn out, blood surrounding her. The other of the girl I didn’t save, the one who ended up in Julian’s morgue, her dead eyes staring at the camera. “This is the monster you are protecting, and this is just two of his victims.”
“He didn’t hurt those girls.” She tried to avert her eyes. I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at what her lover had done.
“He created the monsters that did,” I spat. “It may not have been by his own two hands, but it was by his actions they are dead.”
Julian stepped forward and pointed to the girl he had on his slab just days before. “She was nineteen years old. I stitched up the holes the vampires that fed from her left behind. Hundreds of puncture wounds from fangs. I made her presentable so her parents could have an open casket when they buried their child.” He pushed the pictures into her hands and stepped back.
She studied the photos then handed them back to Julian. “They took him to the Blood Bank.”
I sucked in my breath, hoping to hold the fear inside. If Reaper was headed to a blood bank, I may not be fast enough to save him before they drained him dry.
I pushed her into the car, cranked the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot with a squeal of wheels. “For your
sake, he better be alive when we get there.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
At first, Julia refused to give me the address, insisting she would guide me. Then I reminded her that the option to rip out her throat and drink her dry was still on the table. She finally came clean with the information. I plugged the information into the GPS and followed the twists and turns that got me closer to Reaper.
Her shitty attitude only made me want to replenish my lost blood with hers. Then I remembered that she wasn’t human, but a werewolf. I’d never ingested werewolf blood. Would it have the same effect on me as human blood or would it make me sick? That thought then reminded me that Julian had lied to me. Betrayed me.
Now I understood the fear he felt the day I walked into the morgue. He wasn’t sure if his serum could hold up when confronted with Evil’s Assassin. He’d told me a lie about why he made the serum in the first place. What else had he lied about? I wanted answers, but now wasn’t the time and our current audience didn’t need to be privy to our sexual history.
Instead, I focused my attention on the conversation between brother and sister. “How can you be around her?” I gritted my teeth at Julia’s whiney tone and forced my hand firmly on the steering wheel to keep from reaching back and strangling her.
“Alexis is just doing her job.” Julian defended me. I was still pissed at him, but it brought a smile to my face.
“Told you he understood your true nature.” Nathan piped up from the passenger seat.
“Her job involves killing our kind for a living. For her own selfish purpose.”
“She is no different than Kolb. Remember him, the man who murdered our parents for his own agenda,” he shot back.
I took offence at being compared to Kolb, not that I knew him, but I didn’t kill for joy or agenda, I killed to survive. One more problem for another day.
“Kolb had his reasons for killing our parents.” She turned in her seat and faced her brother. “She kills because she wants to.”
