“Rachel.”
I turned to face her, immediately regretting the rapid movement. “We have two hours tops until the sun rises. We need to get somewhere where we can hide and figure things out.”
She gestured to Ivan, who was lumbering to his feet. “He needs help. Can he make it to one of those houses?”
“I can make it,” he growled.
If I weren’t hurting so much, I would have laughed.
I started walking, counting each step as it sent a jolt of pain through my body. We slipped between two houses and onto the street.
“There,” I said, pointing to an older car parked in a driveway. “I can hotwire that car and we can take it.”
“No,” Lea said. “You and Ivan both need to rest and we’ll have trouble getting a motel room this early in the morning. That house at the end of the street…the one with the For Sale sign. It looks empty. We can hide out there today and rest, then take off tonight.”
“Fine,” I said.
A privacy fence surrounded the overgrown backyard of said house. When we reached the back door, Ivan held up a hand and pressed the side of his head to the door.
“It’s empty.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“I was listening for heartbeats.”
I groaned. “Of course you were.”
Lea forced the door open and we walked into a kitchen and closed the door behind us. Ivan went straight to the refrigerator and opened the door.
“It’s fucking empty.”
“Then the house really is vacant,” Lea said. “We need to find the basement.”
I opened a door, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness, the pit of hell for all I knew. “Found it. Let’s just hope they don’t have any showings today.”
“Surely we’re about to get a break,” Ivan said as he started down the stairs.
With our luck, I wasn’t betting on it.
CHAPTER 15
LEA
Rachel clutched her injured arm to her chest. She was playing it off well, but the hammering of her heart revealed the extent of her injuries. The truth of it was, both she and Ivan were a hell of a lot more than bruised up.
“There’s a way to speed your healing, Ivan,” I said as I followed him down the stairs.
“I heal plenty fast.”
I stepped off the last stair and into the unfinished basement. Apparently the upstairs was empty because they’d shoved all their belongings into the basement. Everything from piles of clothes, carefully stacked framed pictures, a box labeled “Canned Food,” and a random pile of mismatched mattresses. Perfect. I grabbed the first mattress and pulled it away from the wall. “Ivan, lie down.”
With a pained grin, he went to his knees. “Not exactly soft and sweet, but I’ll take it.”
I pointed at him. “Stay.”
He would go along with what I was planning. Rachel, though...I wasn’t sure she’d like it. I took a breath. “Rachel, I need to put your shoulder back in and that’s going to be nearly impossible with a broken collar bone.”
She closed her eyes and sagged against the bottom of the stairs. “Why am I not surprised?”
“There’s a way around this.” I forged ahead before she could ask questions. “A small amount of my blood will help you heal faster. It’ll make it so we can set the bones without pain—”
“No fucking way. Don’t take this wrong, but I do not want to end up with fangs and a hankering for blood.” Rachel took a step back, moving up the stairs.
“I’m not going to force you.” I twisted my lips. “Mierda, a little blood won’t turn you into a vampire. We’d have to exchange blood at least a couple of times, and then you’d have to be drained by me or another vampire.” I put a hand on Ivan’s shoulder. “Same for you, wolf. Except I’m not giving you a choice.”
He wrapped his hand around my calf. “What about the bullets?”
I shook him off my leg, but not because it didn’t feel good—on the contrary, it felt way too damn nice. “I’m going to dig them out first.”
Ivan grunted. “I always hate this part.” He pulled his shirt over his head, every inch of his upper body flexing like he was one giant muscle. Werewolves, God love them. They were built like brick shithouses for a reason.
The tanks of the supernatural world, they were as dangerous as any vampire, but had less trouble fitting in with the human populace seeing as how they had no light or food restrictions. He stretched out on the mattress. I let my eyes rove his body, looking for bullet holes.
Right.
“How many times were you hit?” Rachel asked. “And where? I’m not sure Lea can find them.”
A frown curved my lips as I turned to face her. “Why would you say that?”
“You’ve been staring at him for a good minute and don’t seem inclined to start. I figured they must be hidden well. You know, since he has no shirt on.”
I whipped around and dropped to my knees, horrified at my own behavior. Time to get this under control in more ways than one.
“I need a knife that isn’t silver.”
Ivan reached around under him, wiggling his hips to get to his knife. He pulled it out and handed it to me. Only a small pocketknife, but it would do. I flicked it open, then looked over my shoulder at Rachel. “I’m giving you until I finish with Ivan to decide. A small amount of my blood and healed in less than an hour, or I heal Ivan and he takes you to the nearest hospital, where you stand a chance of being picked up by very bad men, thereby putting all three of us in unnecessary jeopardy yet again.”
I turned my back to her as she sucked in a sharp breath and then let out a pain-filled groan. “I think I hate you right now.”
I shrugged. “Ivan’s going to join you in that.”
“I doubt it,” he muttered.
I put the knife tip to the first bullet hole. “Let me know if that changes when we’re in the middle of this.” I pushed the blade in, ignoring the quiver of his muscles around it and the way his heart rate picked up. I treated him like I would a vamp I was interrogating. No emotion, no slowing of the knife. A job to be done and done efficiently.
The first bullet popped out in good time. Then the second and third. Blood smeared everywhere, and it was a good thing I’d fed on the train or the smell would have undone me. On the fourth and final bullet hole, he put a hand on mine, stopping me as I put the blade to the edge of the wound.
“Give me a minute. I need to breathe.”
“No.”
“Lea, a minute won’t cost us.” Rachel put a hand on my shoulder, and for the first time I really looked at the scene and allowed it to sink in. Ivan was bleeding profusely despite my tidy work and his skin had turned as white as the mattress below him. Or as white as the parts not covered in blood. My hoodie sleeves were saturated in it. Ivan’s eyes were closed and his breath came in ragged gulps. “Maybe I hate you a little.”
I snorted. “We aren’t done, and the last bullet is deep.”
“Do it. Get it done,” he whispered, his whole body tensing. I put a hand on the left side of his chest and eyed the last wound. It was going to be a bitch; there was no way around it. I dug in, moving quickly—at least I could spare him a little pain by acting quickly.
The bullet popped out with a ting on the floor. He groaned and passed out.
I pulled my hoodie over my head and tossed it aside. I’d changed my mind about giving Rachel a choice. It was going to piss her off, but it would be easier on her in the end. If she was “forced” into taking my blood, the blame was mine. Not hers. I could do that much for her.
“Rachel, I’m going to give him blood. You’re next.”
“You can’t fucking make me drink your blood.”
I found the pulse in my wrist and pierced through to the vein with the tiny knife. The cut welled up and I pressed it to Ivan’s mouth. “I’m not letting you put all three of us in jeopardy because you suddenly want to be a squeamish princess diva.”
“I’m n
ot a fucking princess!” she snapped.
A thud from upstairs whipped my head around before I glanced back at Rachel. Fear and anger warred in her eyes. Calvin would have died before taking blood from me, so I understood her reluctance.
Rachel moved to my side and went to her knees. She took a knife from her belt and jerked my free arm to her. Not a word was said as she jabbed me with the point of her knife. I looked away before she put her mouth to my skin.
Another thump from upstairs, not as loud as the first but closer. Madre de Dios.
I took my hand from Ivan and he sat up, his wounds healed over and his eyes brightened with energy. He grinned and winked at me. Then he pointed at Rachel and laughed silently. She jerked her head up and glared at him.
I grabbed her, spun her around, and put a hand over her mouth. Time for the shoulder. Ivan scooted between us. “I’ve done this lots,” he whispered as he took her arm and jammed it back into place with a quick twist. “Besides, shouldn’t she get to hate us both?”
Rachel lurched to her feet, but I could already see the color improving in her face. She took a step, touched her arm and collarbone and then looked at me. I gave her a quick nod, grabbed a new hoodie from a stack of clothes, and pulled it on. Tight it might be, but I would need it if we were caught in the sun.
Laying a hand on Ivan’s arm, I brought his attention back to me and spoke in a low whisper. “Look for a window. It won’t be big considering how little light there is down here.”
I moved to Rachel’s side and she shrunk from me. Only a little, but it was there. I fought not to let that bother me.
Upstairs doors were being opened and closed in rapid succession. “We don’t have much time. What is the dog doing?” she bit out.
“Smelling for a fresh air source,” I said. I had a great sense of smell, but it was to Ivan’s as mine was to Rachel’s.
He reappeared from around a stack of boxes and crooked a finger. Somewhere in the piles of random shit, he’d found a new shirt, I noticed. Bright yellow with white stripes—hardly incognito. More surprising was that it fit him.
Rachel and I hurried toward him. He flicked the window open. “Ladies first.” He put his hands on my waist and swung me up to the ground-level window. I grabbed the ledge and pulled myself through. Rachel was right behind me. Ivan had to twist to get his broad shoulders through, but he managed. Crouching, we hurried across the front lawn and down the road. “Run,” I said.
Ivan took off, and so did Rachel. I bolted after them, hard pressed to keep up. Of course, they were both tweaked out on my blood, while I had been weakened by my donation.
It was nice not to have to carry anyone for a change. I ran beside Rachel, keeping time with her. She glanced at me once, and her eyes widened as she seemed to realize the significance of what was happening. “Holy shit, I’m keeping up with you.”
“’Bout fucking time,” I threw back. She grinned, her eyes a little wild. That would ease as my blood faded in her.
We ran for another hour before the sun began its inevitable rise. I slowed them down with a wave of my hand. “Let’s arrange for that private jet. I think we can manage to do it without using all our money. Ivan, can you act like an asshole? I need you to pretend to be Victor once we board the flight.”
Rachel snorted. “He’s a man. It’s not an act.”
“Bitter much?” He tipped his head to one side, looking for all the world like a dog begging for a treat.
“Stop it. I can get someone to pick us up and take us to a private airstrip. I can’t make them see someone who isn’t there, but I can make them believe you are Victor.”
They both turned to me and Rachel frowned. “I’m not sure I like it.”
My turn to frown. “It’s Victor’s. And I’m not entirely certain which of his people know I’m the one who killed him. Or if they even know he’s dead.”
Ivan laughed softly. “Well, let’s see if it works.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed the emergency number I had for Victor’s right-hand man. “Who is this guy you’re calling?” Rachel asked.
“He handles all of Victor’s non-business ventures. An assistant of sorts,” I said as I waited for the other end to be picked up.
“So he’s Victor’s Alfred?” Rachel asked. I frowned at her. What the hell was she talking about? And how did she know his name?
Ivan grinned. “That’s totally what it sounds like.”
“Doesn’t look like—”
I turned my back on them.
“Good morning. Is that you, Lea?”
“Alfred. Yes, it’s me.”
My companions burst into laughter that I couldn’t understand. I shook my head. Must be still giddy on my blood.
“What can I do for you, Lea?”
“Alfred—” another burst of giggles I ignored, “—I need a car to pick me up at my current location, then take me and two associates to the airstrip. Victor has asked me to travel with him on his next excursion.” With any luck, he wouldn’t know Victor’s traveling days were over.
“Oh, thank God! You know where he is? You’ve spoken with him?”
“Only by text. He asked me to meet him at the airstrip.” I paused. “I can give him a message if you’d like.”
Alfred was quiet a moment. “No. No, don’t bother. I doubt I’ll be working for him much longer. Give me your address and I’ll send a car ’round for you. We have a new driver, pay him no mind; he’s a bit mouthy from time to time.”
I gave Alfred the address, or more accurately the intersection where we were standing, then handed the phone back to Ivan. He shoved it into his pocket and grinned at me.
“What?”
“Alfred? You really don’t know who that is?”
I shrugged. “Do I care? No, no, I don’t.”
Ivan and Rachel bantered back and forth about Alfred and someone named Batman. They were getting along better than they ever had.
They took blood from you at the same time, you idiot. They bonded through you. The thought hit me like a hammer blow and I took a few steps back. How long would it last? I couldn’t remember. I’d learned the ropes on my own, and this wasn’t the sort of situation I’d found myself in before. I squeezed my eyes shut.
Ten minutes passed in a weird silence. Weird because Rachel and Ivan kept sneaking glances at me, then at each other, then their lips would twist in smiles they suppressed.
Like a couple of kids.
I rolled my eyes as a long black limo pulled up.
A swarthy man in a limo driver’s suit stepped out and tipped his hat at us. Dark eyes and hair. He was handsome in a way that reminded me of home. As in Spain.
He smiled at me, but his eyes never left Rachel.
And hers never left his.
Well, this was interesting.
CHAPTER 16
RACHEL
What the actual fuck?
Should I acknowledge I knew him and tell Lea I’d seen him on the subway? That he was the one who’d given me the silver blade at the small of my back? That he had warned me not to trust her?
But he took the lead, shifting his gaze to Lea. “I’m Antonio and I’ll be your driver today. Per Alfred’s request, the car is suited to your needs.”
Lea gave him a curt nod as he opened the back door and waited for us to get in.
Ivan gave Antonio a quick once-over before sliding into the back. Lea slid in next, cutting in front of me.
As I looked up at Antonio—if that was even his real name—he put his finger in front of his lips, then lowered it slowly, mouthing, “Trust me.”
The sight of his lips sent my pulse into overdrive. What was this hold he had on me? It reminded me I should quiz Lea about other beings in the supernatural world—specifically if any of them could control humans like vampires could. Maybe he was a vampire who had mind-controlled me, but I quickly marked that off the list. His lips and body had been far too warm.
Don’t go there.
He stepped c
loser, as though to usher me into the car, and the musky scent of his shampoo filled my nose, flavored with a scent I knew had to be his alone. Lea’s blood had kicked my sense of smell into overdrive and my body flushed, liking what it was picking up. The thought of screwing him right there and then flooded my brain, and it took everything in me to control myself.
This was not me. My reaction to him was ten times stronger than it had been in the subway the night before.
He studied my eyes, his gaze darkening as it flicked into the car and back. He leaned into my ear and whispered so quietly I shouldn’t have been able to hear him. “The blood will pass out of your system soon enough, and I will be there to watch over you.”
I pulled back and gaped at him in surprise. How did he know I’d taken Lea’s blood? But the thought of screwing him was overwhelming, especially with him so close, and I took a step toward him, fully intending to shove him up against the car.
His fierce gaze turned to agony as he gave me a soft push toward the open car door. There were two seats facing one another. Lea and Ivan sat next to each other in the seat facing the front. I climbed in and reluctantly sat in the rear-facing seat, hating that I was in such close proximity to Antonio. Even before I was seated, I knew Lea sensed something was up. She didn’t look at me, but a slight tensing of her shoulders gave her away.
I took several deep breaths, trying to control my raging libido, smelling my own freaking pheromones.
Ivan must have picked up on them too, because his gaze honed in on me.
“It’s the vampire blood,” Lea said, sounding irritated. “I’d let you do him to get it out of your system faster, but I suspect you would hate me for it later. I’ve heard it would be the best sex of your life, so it would ruin you forever.”
“I’d be willing to give it a go,” Ivan said with a wicked grin.
“I’ll give you a pillow to hump instead,” Lea grumbled.
Antonio soon had us on our way. The small window separating the front and back was cracked open. His smell seeped through, making me want to dive into the front seat, so I reached behind me to shut it. I gripped the leather beneath me as I took several deep breaths through my nose and out my mouth.
Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2) Page 9
