“Head for the supply closet to our right,” Evangeline said. “One room at a time. Cover me.”
Bullets peppered the concrete walls as she headed for the closet. But as she hit the door, the wood resisted, locked. “Nic!” she cried, shoving her shoulder against the door. She tried again. Pain radiated down her left arm and across her back. Still nothing. When she reared back a third time, a bullet slashed across her hip. The pain stole her breath, but when she impacted the wood for the final time, the door jamb splintered, and she fell inside.
Nic hauled her to her feet and pulled her against him. “How bad?” he hissed.
“Just a scrape. I’m fine.” Adrenaline had already dulled the pain.
Nic frowned at the blood. “Let me seal the wound,” he said, stooping, but she stopped him.
“Those bullets are all covered in serum. I heal quickly. We’re going to have some seriously pissed off company in a few minutes. What I wouldn’t give for—”
Her words died in her throat when a silver ball rattled towards them.
“Grenade!” Nic shouted as he reached for her. But Evangeline rose to her knees, grabbed the grenade, and threw the device back down the hall. Nic pulled her down and slammed the thin wooden door. The explosion rocked the hallway, and more screams and groans came from the private offices and the bio lab. Smoke seeped under the ruined door.
“Stay behind me!” Nic made a beeline for the server room. The empty hall didn’t reassure her, and as they passed Henry’s private office, shots rang out. Another bullet grazed her back, but she ignored the sting and the warm gush of blood.
“Die, vampire scum!” Cassie launched herself at them from the epidemiology lab, a silver knife held high in her hand. She landed on top of Nic and sliced towards his abdomen. Evangeline grabbed Cassie’s collar, dragging her down as Nic caught her behind her knees. She fell back, and the knife clattered to the floor. With Cassie’s ankle held tight in his hand, Nic dove for the server room with Evangeline behind him.
Shoving Cassie to the floor, Nic dropped to his knees. Evangeline blinked through the smoke. “Oh God. Nic.” Pietro lay bloody and still against the large humming machines.
“Pietro, Dio. Say something,” Nic begged.
“Fucking serum,” Pietro grunted. “Leave me.”
Nic tore the pack from Pietro’s shoulders, but the bag of blood had been pierced in a dozen locations. Only drops remained. Holding the pack over Pietro’s lips, Nic looked to Evangeline. “I…”
“Use her. Just don’t kill her.”
Nic nodded and grabbed Cassie. He bent her head and shoved her down towards Pietro’s mouth. The bald vampire’s eyes darkened, and he attacked Cassie with the last of his remaining strength, but rather than scream or protest, Cassie grinned. “Pietro! No!” Evangeline screamed.
Pietro’s dark amethyst eyes dilated as a seizure wracked his body. Nic threw Cassie against the rack of servers, and she cackled with laughter as she hit the ground, blood spurting from her forehead.
“Pietro, per favore, stay with us,” Nic pleaded.
“Nic, take over,” Evangeline said as she dropped down next to the dying vampire. “I can save him.”
Another grenade rolled towards them, and Nic kicked the ordinance violently and sent the device back down the hall. More shouts of fear and alarm sounded as the grenade detonated. “Evangeline, no!”
“Drink.” Pietro’s body stilled, but undaunted, Evangeline jammed her wrist against Pietro’s fangs. Her stomach revolted at the wrongness of feeding another vampire, but she ignored the pain as she pleaded with him. “Pietro, please. Don’t die.”
Silence descended. Pietro’s heartbeat under her hand slowed, then stopped completely. The gunfire died down. Only curling smoke and crackling flames remained. Nic helped Evangeline up, laved his tongue over the wounds on her wrist, and whispered in her ear. “He is gone. We need the hard drives, and then we will try to get Vittoria and run.”
Cassie struggled to her feet. “You’re dead, vampire. You’re both dead. Eva, I’m sorry. You deserve better than that fucking abomination.”
Evangeline grabbed her rifle and slammed the butt of the stock into Cassie’s head. “No, I’m sorry. Nic, let’s go.”
They rushed into the lab, and Evangeline’s gut clenched at the sight that greeted them. Vittoria panted on the floor of the silver cell with a long silver rod impaling her through her stomach. Blood matted her blond hair. “Go,” she croaked.
Evangeline dug deep into her pocket for the set of keys she’d used to free Nic and fumbled for the lock. Nic hurried to a small fridge in the corner of the lab where Henry used to store fresh, clean blood. He tore through one bag, sniffed, and nodded, satisfied. As he turned towards Evangeline, she screamed.
“Nic!”
Henry held a syringe to Nic’s neck. Stumbling back, her life mate pinned Henry to the lab bench behind them, but he was too slow. His eyes dulled as Henry depressed the plunger.
The serum. His pain washed over Evangeline, and the keys fell from her hand as she raised the pistol. Her father’s arm banded around Nic’s chest, holding him upright.
“Eva. Drop the gun. Be quick enough, and I’ll see your vampire here dies a relatively painless death. Otherwise…” Henry raised his other hand and pressed a knife to Nic’s throat. A trickle of blood raced down his neck, and he moaned.
“Evangeline, cara, please run.” Tears lined Nic’s eyes. “The knife is coated with serum. Even if you surrender, I am dead. I go willingly if it will save you.”
Evangeline’s eyes flicked back and forth between the man who had raised her and the one who had saved her. She’d lost. They’d all lost.
32
Nic slumped against Henry, his skin pale, his legs trembling. If he moved an inch, the knife would slice through his carotid artery.
Her mind raced. As her life mate died by seconds in front of her, she rejected three different plans in a heartbeat.
“Nic, I don’t have a shot. Give me an opening.”
“I will try. I am sorry, cara. I will not survive this. I love you. I will wait for your signal.”
Fighting her panic, Evangeline straightened her shoulders. “Henry, don’t make me kill you.”
He laughed. “I thought you were an intelligent woman, Eva. Clearly, I was wrong.”
The radio at Henry’s belt squawked. “Two minutes.”
“Jake, Freddie, and Don are almost here,” Henry said. “That grenade pinned them inside the bioengineering lab. Surrender now, and not only will I kill this abomination quickly, but I’ll make sure you live. You’ll spend the rest of your life in that cage there, but you’ll live.”
Henry pressed the knife harder against Nic’s neck, and blood spurted over the blade. “He’s getting weaker. Decide. Now.”
“Nic,” she cried as her life mate shuddered, forcing the knife even deeper into his neck. “I’m so sorry. I love you.” With a deep breath, she centered herself and met his gaze.
“I love you, sposa.”
He let his legs fold underneath him, the blade slicing into his windpipe. Evangeline only needed a moment. The shot hit Henry in the face, tearing through his lower jaw. The knife clattered to the floor, and Henry slid down next to Nic, making helpless gurgling noises as blood pooled in his throat.
Nic didn’t say a word; he couldn’t even breathe. Evangeline flipped him over, thrusting her wrist at him. “Drink!” She slapped his face and shoved her wrist against his teeth, but his fangs hadn’t descended.
“Goddammit. Do I have to do everything here?” Snatching the knife out of Henry’s limp hand, she wiped the blade on her pants, hoping to clean off enough of the serum so Nic wouldn’t suffer more. She sliced at her wrist, ignoring the pain.
Blood spurted, and Evangeline pressed her wrist to her life mate’s lips. Long seconds passed as she sobbed. “Nic, please. Don’t leave me. Mio sposo. Come back to me.”
With a snarl, Nic sat up, his fangs digging into her slender wr
ist and his hands pressing her arm against his lips. The strength of his pull sent her blood flooding down his throat. His skin knit as she watched, and his color improved, but too soon, the room started to spin. “Nic,” she whimpered. “Enough.”
His gaze locked on hers, and realization stilled his desperate feeding. She relished the feel of his tongue against the wounds, and he pulled her down on top of him, crushing her to his chest. “Deep breaths, cara. I am sorry I took too much.” Slowly, he drew her up with him and let her get her bearings.
“You lived. That’s all I care about.” She forced a smile, still feeling the effects of the blood loss, but a crash came from down the hall, and she shook her head. “We have to get out of here.”
“Help Vittoria. I must get more blood for her.”
Once she’d unlocked the cell, she knelt next to the bloodied vampire and gently pulled the silver rod from her belly. Vittoria whimpered and tried to rise.
“Shhh, Nic is bringing blood.” Evangeline draped Vittoria’s arm around her shoulders, helped her sit up, and accepted the bag of blood from Nic.
Vittoria sank her fangs into the plastic and sucked the bag dry.
“Evangeline, we have to move. Now.”
She ran back to her father and grabbed the portal generator from his belt. His head lolled to one side, but his eyes focused on her. He couldn’t speak with half of his jaw gone, but amazingly, he was still alive.
The uninjured side of his jaw curved into a smile as he pulled a small remote control from his pocket and depressed the button.
Self-Destruct Sequence Activated. Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight…
“Nic!” Evangeline grabbed the remote control and pressed the button again. Nothing happened. The portal generator wouldn’t work, and Evangeline didn’t know how to override Henry’s lock code. “We can’t use the portals!”
Vittoria sprang to her feet. Evangeline only saw a blur as the blond vampire raced out of the lab and down the hall. They heard screams and thudding bodies as she presumably pummeled everyone in sight.
“Come now!” Vittoria yelled.
Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen.
They reached the secured door of the lab and pushed through. Chaos reigned. Men, women, and children screamed and pounded on doors, hoping to find someone with a portal generator to allow them to escape.
Fifteen. Fourteen.
“Everyone, follow me!” Evangeline said. She tossed the portal generator to a shocked Daren. “Get this working!”
Nic led Vittoria into the armory. “Up. Follow the tunnel to the surface. Take the drives!” He shoved the pack at her, and she scrambled into the vent. Moving with all of her immense speed, she was up and out of sight in two seconds.
Eleven. Ten.
“Evangeline!”
“They’re innocent! I can’t leave them.” Her heart broke at the thought of her friends—the men and women she’d grown up with, worked with, and even laughed with—dying because of Henry’s madness.
“Got it,” Daren yelled. “Everyone, four at a time, kids first. Go, go, go!”
Nic leapt up and grabbed the lip of the access tunnel. His legs dangled down. “Evangeline, hold on to my knees. Do not let go.”
Evangeline held on for her life as Nic used his arms to pull himself along the tunnel. The lips of the seams thudded against Evangeline’s hipbones, bruising her entire torso and her thighs. She gritted her teeth against the pain.
Three. Two.
The barest hint of light up ahead haloed her vampire. Twenty feet. She had no idea how far away they needed to be. Ten feet. They were going to die. “Nic, I love you.”
She flew. Unaware of anything but the air around her, the intense fear, and the scent of the forest, she closed her eyes.
Detonation.
The ground rumbled. Trees shook. An immense fireball rushed up the air tunnel, shooting twenty feet high. Arms grabbed her as she fell. She hit hard, the air leaving her lungs in a whoosh, and her head pounding.
Burnt flesh, wood, and the harsh scent of ozone flowed over them. Time seemed to stand still. Ash floated in front of Evangeline’s eyes. She lay on her side, on something firm and warm. Her body ached. A hard, unyielding band held her still. Disoriented, she struggled to free herself but failed. Panic filled her, tightening her throat. “No, no, no, no,” she moaned.
“No? I rather thought you liked my arms around you, cara.”
“Nic? Oh God.” Evangeline turned her head. Her life mate’s bright amethyst eyes met hers. “You’re mad, you know that?”
He laughed, wincing as he clutched his chest. “Si, my sweet sposa. I know. I also know we are both alive. If that required madness, then I am glad for it.”
Evangeline framed his face with her hands. When her lips met his, her world righted.
Someone cleared a throat, and a blush heated Evangeline’s cheeks. Carlo stood over them, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I realize you are newly bonded, but can you not keep your hands off each other for even a moment?”
Evangeline slid off Nic as he groaned. “Oh shit, you’re hurt.”
Pain twisted his features. “Not seriously. Broken ribs. Give me a few minutes.”
“A few minutes? I am never going to get used to that.” But Evangeline knelt next to him and held his hand while he tried to relax. Vittoria dropped to his other side and pressed her hands to his torso. Evangeline stifled her growl.
“Calm yourself, woman,” Vittoria said. “I am not interested in your life mate other than to ensure he does not need me to set the bones.”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “Can’t help it.”
“Kiss me again, cara,” Nic whispered. As Vittoria’s hands probed, lifted his shirt, and moved a piece of bone back in place, Evangeline kissed him. The stress of barely surviving, yet again, overwhelmed her, and she let her tears flow.
33
Nic held Evangeline’s hand tightly as they jogged back to the bikes. Carlo and Vittoria had gone ahead, and they sat under one of the trees, talking quietly. The faint blush of sunrise ghosted on the horizon. Soon, they would see the ocean from his villa in Italy.
“You spoke to the Conclave?” Nic couldn’t let go of his life mate’s hand if his life depended on the action.
“Si. I had to tell them of Pietro’s death.”
“They will blame me,” he said quietly.
“Nicola, Vittoria and I both spoke of your loyalty. When we tried to enter the server room, Pietro took a dozen shots trying to protect me. He shoved me back through the portal a second before it closed. We all knew the risks of this plan. I do not believe they will blame you.” Carlo rose and rested his hand on Nic’s shoulder. “Pietro went into battle willingly. He died a warrior’s death. Now let us go.”
Nic straddled the bike, and Evangeline clung to him tightly as they raced along the old dirt logging road.
“Tesoro, are you all right?”
“Just tired.”
He didn’t believe her, but he could do little at eighty kilometers per hour. As they turned onto the interstate and he let out the throttle, she tightened her arms. Her body shook against him. Dio. He couldn’t soothe her tears now.
They paused at the service station to gather their things. Nic glanced up at the bright morning sky—so many sunrises he’d lost to that bastard, but now, he’d see as many as he could—with Evangeline at his side.
Evangeline ran for the convenience store as he secured the bike. Three days. He had three days of freedom left before the Conclave would force him to submit to the interrogation. Even with that threat looming over him, he wanted to go home, with his life mate.
As he entered the store, he scanned the room. Carlo and Vittoria chatted excitedly over Carlo’s tablet, but he could not find his Evangeline. “Where is she?”
Carlo gestured towards the women’s bathroom, and the faint sound of crying reached his ears. He knocked, and she choked back her sobs. “I just need a minute.”
“
Open the door.”
“In a minute,” she replied, more forcefully this time.
The doorknob snapped off in his hand. Huddled on the floor of the bathroom, Evangeline hugged her knees to her chest. He joined her before she could look up and lifted her into his lap. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask her what was wrong, didn’t chide her for her tears. Merely held her as she cried. When her sobs quieted to the occasional soft mewl, he shifted her so he could look into her eyes.
“I killed him,” she whispered.
“I know. I am sorry.” His heart ached for his sposa. He had long dreamed of Henry’s death, wished he could snap the man’s neck like a twig in his hands, but never would he have wanted his sweet Evangeline to do the deed.
“He was a monster. I hated him. But…” She buried her face against his chest again.
“He was still your father.”
Soon, she fell asleep in his arms. He carried her into the small office and settled her on the makeshift bed before returning to Carlo and Vittoria.
A twist of wires ran from one of the drives to Carlo’s tablet. Vittoria scrolled through data while Carlo fashioned another twist of wires, crimping and stripping to form a connector for the second drive.
“Are we not leaving?” Nic asked.
“An hour or so.” Carlo checked his watch. “The pilot is waiting on us, but I fear once we land in Italy, the Conclave will insist I turn these drives over to them. I want to know what Pietro died for.
Vittoria’s perfectly manicured nails tapped on the counter. Tat-tat-tat-tat. Again and again. “Merda,” she murmured. “I knew her blood smelled special.”
“Che cosa?”
“Come look at this, Nicola. And you may want to wake your sposa.”
Vittoria passed him the tablet. One of Henry’s diary entries filled the screen.
January 2, 2026 - I have discovered an interesting side effect of Eva’s treatments. Her cells are no longer degenerating. The telomeres that protect the cell chromosomes do not decay with each reproductive cycle as they do in untreated blood. I plan on harvesting six pints of her blood over the next few weeks. Once I have enough blood in reserve, I will stop all treatments for six months to see if the lack of degeneration continues. It is possible Eva may have either inherited or developed a form of the vampires’ immunity to degeneration. I believe this is also why she heals so quickly and does not seem to ever get sick.
Secrets in Blood Page 28
