*
Jackie applied pressure to her thigh. While it seemed like the bleeding had slowed, she wasn't about to chance losing any more blood. She had felt when Liam got close to the house. It had reassured her when he didn't immediately charge into the garden. She couldn't see any threat other than Eve but she had long ago accepted that just because she didn't see it, didn't mean it wasn't there.
“Are you willing to die for this?” she asked, looking up at Eve.
“Not really. Still, it's very unlikely that I will.”
Jackie let all the rage inside her for Izzy's death curl her lips in an unpleasant grin that promised vengeance. “It's only unlikely if I die within the next five minutes. If I don't, I will kill you.” She didn't feel that an eye for an eye was a bad philosophy when it came to murder. If she could empty a gun into a vampire's head, she could shoot the traitor who'd killed her friend. And she would.
There was a rush of movement and suddenly Liam was standing on the patio with them. His eyes narrowed on Eve who was standing across from Jackie. The vampire's secretary didn't bother to look regretful. In fact, she didn't look at him at all. Her eyes were trained on Jackie, along with her gun, and she did not move an inch.
“Hello, Mr. O'Connor. It's nice to see you here, sir. By the way, if I see even a hint of movement, I will put a bullet in your girlfriend's head.”
“I am way too old to be called someone's girlfriend,” Jackie complained, glancing at Liam with an apologetic smile. “How much trouble am I in?”
“Let's just say that by the time Sarah graduates from college, you'll still be making it up to me. Where is the little snack pack, anyway?” he asked with a deceptively mild tone.
“Upstairs with what's left of Gregory Crawley,” she said. She knew she'd heard Jack's voice before, which meant he was there. She just hoped he would go get Sarah and let Sofie take her home.
“I wondered why he wasn't attending this particular garden party.” His eyes swung to Eve, who hadn't once reacted during their conversation. “What is it you're waiting for?”
“Me.”
Liam turned and, after months of cat and mouse, finally met the Left Hand. The scent of decay rolling off the older vampire was pungent. Instinctively Liam bared his fangs. The Left Hand's black eyes were almost warm with amusement at the reaction. “Liam O'Connor. How many Irish names have you gone through these last five centuries? A few dozen? You know, when I heard that, I thought you would be pathetically sentimental. Trying to hold onto the past you can never again touch is just sad, as you well know. Imagine my delight when I found out you were an almost frighteningly efficient businessman. I thought for certain that if I had to kill you we would have quite the battle before I ended your life.”
“Presumptuous,” Liam noted. Despite his attempt at bravado, he wasn't thick. He could feel the power coming off the Left Hand in a way that almost made him ill. If the skeletal bastard were under two thousand years old, Liam would buy a hat just to eat it.
“That's what I like about you, Liam. Even when you're beaten, you don't give up.” The Left Hand smiled. “Well, I like that and your taste in women.”
Jackie made to stand up but Eve beat her to it. She found herself staring at the barrel of a gun that was much too close for her peace of mind. Swallowing hard, she glanced up at Eve's emotionless face.
“Can I kill her now? The longer she's alive, the more likely it is she'll cause trouble.”
The Left Hand met Jackie’s eyes and she could almost see a hint of reluctance in his gaze. “I suppose you're right, Miss Walsch. Such a sha - ”
At that point Liam went for the Left Hand's throat. The elder vampire struck him hard across the face. Liam dropped, a fiery pain that always came with broken bones streaked just below his eye. Then he found himself being lifted high in the air and tossed at least ten yards away from the house. He hit the ground hard and his bones rattled. A shot went off. Fear gripped his heart as he flung himself up to see what had happened.
The instant Eve looked away to see what was happening between the Left Hand and Liam, Jackie lunged for the gun. She managed to point the weapon away from the center of her skull when Eve tried to shoot her. Unfortunately she hadn't been entirely clear and the bullet grazed along her temple. The gunshot deafened her left ear. Dazed as she was, she probably wouldn't dodge a second shot.
“Jacquelyn!” Liam was there, lifting Eve and tossing her away. She flew through the air for one surreal moment before finally crashing into one of the house’s wide bay windows.
Jackie pressed a hand to her head and felt the blood trickling down the side of her face. Dimly she realized Jack was in the yard trying to help Liam fight the Left Hand. They were not doing well. The Left Hand was stronger and faster than both of them combined. He snapped Jack's neck with one hand as he reached for Liam's throat. Her eyes widened when Jack used his hands to snap his neck back into place then jumped on the Left Hand's back before he could plunge his fangs into Liam.
“Jackie, come on!” Gentle arms came around her body and helped her to her feet. Jackie's head began to clear as she saw Sofie's frightened expression. “We have to get out of here.”
“Sarah,” she mumbled, having to fight to get the word out. This was not a good time for her to go into shock, blood loss be damned.
“Jack and I already got her in the car,” Sofie said as she supported most of her friend’s weight and got them both into the house. She stumbled a little in the hall then overcompensated, sending the two of them to the ground just as a bullet plowed into the wall behind Jackie's head. Sofie stared up at Eve, bewildered. “Eve? What are you - ?”
“She's trying to kill me,” Jackie said, cutting off her friend. She used the wall to pull herself up and made sure to put space between Sofie and herself. She didn't want a bullet meant for her to hit her friend. There were cuts all across Eve's face and arms that were dripping blood across her skin, nearly running into her eyes. In one hand, a shard of glass was still wedged into her palm. Eve was glaring at her with murder clear in her eyes. It might not have been personal before but it certainly was now.
“Get away from her!” Sofie shouted, putting herself in front of Jackie.
Eve rolled her eyes before looking at Jackie's face over Sofie's shoulder. “You know I'll shoot her to get at you. How many more people do you need to die before you just give up?”
As it turned out, not many. Jackie didn't take more than half a second after hearing Eve say that to grip Sofie by the arms and throw her to the ground. It seemed like the only way she could protect what she loved in this world was to die. She spread her arms. “Shoot me!”
“Jane!” There was a blur of movement from the direction of the front door. Eve fired and Danny arrived just in time to take a bullet to the chest. Jackie stared down at the bleeding form of her dead child's father, collapsed on top of her dearest friend. The numbness creeping into her limbs was abruptly consumed by rage. She lunged at Eve, knocking the gun away as yet another shot went off and they both hit the floor. She took the woman's bleeding face and slammed it against the marble floors, smearing them with blood.
“I said shoot me, you stupid fucking asshole!” she snarled. The words Eve tried to speak were more like gurgles as blood filled her mouth. Jackie held her skull against the floor as she reached for the gun. She set the muzzle on the back of Eve's head, her chest heaving as she panted for breath. She knew she needed to pull the trigger. As she studied the trembling human body underneath her, Jackie could feel her resolve wavering. Killing a vampire had been one thing. If she hadn't, he would have killed her. But this was different. She would be shooting a defenseless woman in the back of the head. Her grip loosened on the gun.
“I can't stop the bleeding!” Sofie cried out.
Jackie went stiff as the image of Danny practically hemorrhaging blood filled her head. Then she saw Izzy's face, young and filled with hope for the future. “It was sort of like shooting a
kitten.”
She pulled the trigger and blood splattered across her face. The body, for it was just a body now, stopped moving. She let the gun slide out of her hand. Slowly, Jackie backed away and took deep, even breaths. “Not like killing a kitten,” she whispered.
“Jackie, help!” She shoved the image of the woman she murdered into the back of her head as she spun to help Sofie with Danny. She'd been smart, taking off her shirt and pressing it hard against the wound. He had been shot just beneath his collarbone. Jackie didn't know if the bullet had hit his lung but by the way he was coughing up blood, she knew it was likely.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped, covering Sofie's hands with her own as she attempted to stem the flow of blood.
Danny let out a pained chuckle. “Remind me not to save your life again.” He gave several choked coughs, blood staining his teeth. “Charles told me you'd gone to pick up Sarah. I followed the same path your friends did, only I had to get the address from that awful secretary.”
“You shouldn't have left the ranch,” Jackie whispered, staring down at her hands. They were bathed in red as the man beneath her bled out.
“Don’t worry. My dad is at your house making sure your dad is safe. Besides, I owed you.” She met his eyes, confused. Then she felt his fingers brush against the scar across her womb and she knew what he meant. “Don't worry. I'll say hello to our kid for you when I get there.”
Jackie realized the enormous pressure in her throat was a wave of tears. She let out a choked sob. Danny touched her hands on his chest before pressing something cold and thin in between her fingers. Jackie swallowed the tears as best she could as she stared at the long silver chain. “Danny, what is this?”
He gave her a weak smile. “The older the blood, the worse the allergy. Now go save the head of Los Angeles.” With surprisingly force for a dying man, he shoved her hands away. Jackie began to focus on the sounds of pain coming from outside again and she stumbled to her feet. Ignoring the small agony in her leg, she ran back outside with Sofie calling out for her to stop.
Jack was sprawled across the patio, several of his limbs twisted in unnatural positions. He was clearly trying to correct them through the pain he was suffering. Her first instinct was to stop and help him. Then she saw the Left Hand with Liam out on the grass. He had the second man she'd managed to love in her lifetime locked in his arms as he drained the blood from his neck. She gripped both ends of the silver chain then made a running leap onto the Left Hand's back, looping the chain around his neck then pulling tight. The smell of burning flesh hit her nose immediately as the Left Hand let out animalistic snarls.
“This is what you saw, isn’t it?” she hissed into his ear. “This was the future you killed so many people to prevent. You have no idea just how glad it makes me that I’m the one to make your vision come true after all.” He reached for the chain but the silver burned his fingers. Then he started reaching around for her. He gripped her knee and crushed it in his fist. She screamed. It took all her will not to let up on the chain as it slowly burned through his neck.
The Left Hand threw himself backwards as hard as he could, hitting the ground and pinning Jackie beneath him. Her fingers stayed locked around the chain only because the pain of one or more ribs breaking made it necessary for her to grip something. She’d heard them snap and there was a sharp burning in her hip. The crushed pulp of what was once her knee continued to throb. Even if she survived this, the chances of her walking again were low. The silver continued to move through the Left Hand's neck. Blood started pouring down over her face and as she gasped for breath it seeped into her mouth. Jackie choked, trying to spit it out. It didn't taste like blood should taste. It was steaming hot and almost unbearably spicy.
“Jacquelyn,” a voice rasped. Liam's face entered her field of vision. He covered the Left Hand's body, restraining him so he couldn't hurt her anymore. She had never seen him look worse. It was as if most of the life had been drained out of him. The wound on his neck wept. “Drink his blood. Drink as much as you can before he dies.”
He sank his fangs into the writhing vampire's shoulder. She stared at his throat as it worked, gulping down some of the blood that was filled her mouth. Against her better judgment, she kept swallowing. After a few mouthfuls, what felt like lightning streaked through her body. Suddenly she wanted the blood more than she’d wanted anything in her life. She drank faster.
The Left Hand's struggles ceased and his body stilled. Soon they would take his head and burn his corpse. But first, Liam had to know. He lifted his head, the open wound on his neck healing. His eyes went to Jacquelyn's knee. Her body had already begun to reconstruct itself. He studied the nearly severed head of his rival before turning to the woman beneath him. Any moment now she would discover what he'd asked her to do.
“Ow!” Jackie let out a hiss as the silver burned her fingers. She let go of the chain before it could do any more harm. Then she stared at her fingertips, realizing just what that burning meant. Her eyes met Liam's.
He gave her a shy smile. “Welcome to my world.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
IF JACKIE HAD LEARNED anything during her last thirty-seven years on earth, it was that choices dictated the quality of one's life. She knew her choice to stand and be strong after the most devastating experience of her life had shaped the woman she had become - a woman who knew how to make wise decisions. For the most part, Jackie felt she had made good choices in regards to her overall happiness. Her stubbornness might have gotten in the way at times but, luckily, she'd met a man who was just as stubborn. He was also clever enough to make her happy despite herself.
In the middle of murdering an ancient vampire and dealing with the pain wracking her body, she hadn't known exactly what she was doing when she drank blood for the first time. She figured it out when the pain vanished and she suddenly developed a severe allergy to silver. A blood exchange made a vampire. Of course, being partially emptied of blood during battle then replacing it with vampire blood would obviously do the trick as well. She hadn't liked the idea of swallowing the vile red liquid that had been pouring into her mouth. Regardless, she'd done it. She had trusted Liam with her future and swallowed.
Jackie knew very well that she didn't want to be a vampire. She believed in the natural cycle of life. Humans were born, aged and died. There was a beauty in the process that she respected. However, she also hadn’t felt like bowing out just yet.
“Could you help me?” she asked, glancing down at the dead Left Hand covering her body and then back up into his eyes. Jackie wasn't just talking about moving dead bodies, though. She was talking about the rest of her life.
“Yes.” Liam finished the job she’d started and pulled the Left Hand’s head off. He pushed the body away before putting his arms around Jackie and helping her up. “You feel all right? The pain is gone?”
“I'm a little cold. A little dead, too, if I'm not mistaken. But the pain is gone,” she added. The shock would hit her later when she saw her fangs for the first time. She would cry for a good half hour, clinging to Liam all the while. But just then Jackie had other priorities.
“Jacquelyn, you were functioning on pure adrenaline. I could smell it.” Liam's arms were tight around her as she leaned against him more for emotional support than physical. “I didn't know what would happen when you ran out. The blood was already flowing into your mouth - ”
“Liam,” she murmured, pressing a finger to his lips. “It's done and I'm not feeling too awful about it. I'm alive. The Left Hand is dead. We're going to be all right as soon as I figure out what is letting off that stench.” She had inhaled through her nose and immediately a thousand different scents hit her. One in particular, though, was truly putrid.
“That would be the Left Hand. The older a vampire gets, the greater the smell of decay. Animals can smell it. That's why they tend to be skittish around us.” Liam steered her away from the corpse and towards the house.
The heightened senses were always the most difficult part of transitioning from human to vampire. Smell was first and he could see how disoriented Jacquelyn felt. He wanted to have her somewhere dark before the sight kicked in and gave her the worst migraine of her life.
“How many thousands of years old do you think he was?” she asked, allowing him to move her but still looking over her shoulder at the dead thing in the grass.
“At least three. He’d have been there when they turned the Fount to ash. I wouldn't be surprised if he had slept through the last thousand, though. After a certain amount of time, the world becomes exhausting. He belonged in the pages of a history book, not the modern world.”
“That vampire urban legend you told me about was probably real,” Jackie said. “The Left Hand told me he had visions. He saw someone kill him. It was like you said. He knew where he would find what he wanted, he just didn’t know who.”
“He was playing bloody fucking whack-a-mole with the people in this city,” he growled, almost wishing the Left Hand were alive so he could punish him for that.
Jackie nudged his shoulder. “We’ll agonize over it later, okay? I want to get Sarah and Sofie out of this place.”
Liam nodded, keeping her close against his body as they walked up onto the patio. He frowned at the sheer amount of blood he could smell from inside the house. There was a dead body, Sofie and a body that was close to dead. The subtle perfume of vampire blood hit him and he ran the last few feet into the hall. He arrived in time to see Jack standing over a vampire he was unfamiliar with feeding his blood to a human. Sofie looked up at them with reddened eyes.
“Thank God,” she whispered before launching herself into Jacquelyn's arms. “You're okay. I was sure you wouldn't come back but you're okay.”
“About that...”
Liam left the two of them alone so he could ask what in the hell was going on. Jack shook his head as he approached. “Don't start, Liam.”
Animal Instinct Page 32
