Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Holding the gun out over his body, she aimed for the darkness of the driveway. Her heart lodged in her throat, but her hand held steady.
Three hulking shapes stepped into the dim light behind the building.
“Jesus, we found him,” one of them said.
“Fuck. The human’s armed,” another called.
Before she’d even blinked, they’d disappeared. “Drop your weapon,” a deep male voice barked.
As if. She whispered, “You have to wake up now, vampire. There are others here. And I don’t know if they’re friend or foe. Please. Wake up.”
“Drop your weapon,” the unseen man barked again. “Last chance.”
“No way. Leave us alone. We’re not your business,” she said with more bravado than she felt.
“The hell you’re not—”
“Enough,” someone commanded. “I’m coming out,” the same voice continued. “And I’m unarmed.” Hands raised, a figure stepped where she could see him.
The man—the vampire, she assumed—was huge. Same dark paramilitary dress and black cap as her vampire wore. Didn’t mean they were on the same side, though.
He pointed with his chin. “He’s hurt.”
Kate glared at him, refusing to be distracted. Her shooting hand remained ready. She had no idea how she was going to get them out of this.
“I’m Mikhail.”
“I don’t want to shoot you, but I will.” Her voice had none of the shakiness she felt in her gut.
He nodded. “Won’t you put the gun down so we can talk about how to help him?” he asked in accented English.
Her vampire’s sucking pulls slowed against her wrist. He groaned and his mouth went slack.
Kate wanted nothing more than to divert her gaze and check on him, assure herself he was still breathing. For the first time, her hand trembled around the gun. Over her frozen cheek, a single tear trickled, leaving a hot saline trail that burned against the cold air.
“His neck,” she whispered in English, forcing her eyes to hold Mikhail’s gaze.
He nodded. “We will help him.”
She shook her head, not daring to believe he was a friend. If she was wrong…
A thought came to mind and she gasped. “What color are his eyes?” she asked. Her plan wasn’t foolproof, but it was better than nothing.
Mikhail cocked his head to the side. “Blue.”
Kate scoffed, her gaze narrowing. They were hardly any old blue.
“Bright, like a sapphire,” he continued.
Kate sucked in a breath to respond, but before she could, a hand clamped over her mouth. Another grabbed her wrist. Her finger squeezed and a single gunshot rang out into the night.
“Get him!” a male voice ordered as she was dragged backward. Commotion erupted around her. Growling. Cursing. Barked commands and replies.
Her own muffled screams added to the fray. “No! No! Don’t hurt him!” Fighting the hold that wrapped around her, she kicked and flailed and squirmed to get free.
“Clear!” someone called. “Oh, shit, Mikhail. It’s bad.”
Kate’s body screamed at the separation from her vampire. The palm of her hand burst into pins and needles. Her throat went tight and dry. She had to get to him.
He was hers. Hers!
“Damnit, Leo! Get control of her. I hear sirens,” a voice demanded.
“Stop fighting,” came a gruff voice at her ear. “Damn it. Be still, human.”
She slammed to the ground and the weight of a knee fell on her chest. Big hands pinned her arms to her sides. Barely able to breathe and her eyesight blurred from the blow to her head, Kate went limp.
A harsh masculine face appeared right before her, his gray eyes—good-guy eyes—boring into hers. “Calm. Sleep. Now,” he intoned.
Her mind went foggy. Darkness closed in around her.
Deep sorrow surrounded her. She’d lost him. That old feeling of foreboding and looming tragedy returned. Now she knew why she’d been feeling that way.
She’d had a purpose. Find her vampire. Protect him. Save him. But she’d failed.
And that devastating thought was the last thing she knew.
Nikolai floated on the edge of consciousness, not wanting to wake from the dream. In it, he was no longer alone, but had a mate who walked at his side. He didn’t know what she looked like, but the sound of her voice, the smell of her skin, the taste of her blood.
Those he would never forget.
Sated by the sacred crimson nectar that flowed from her veins, Nikolai covered her body with his. Entered her. Howled his masculine satisfaction. Moving in her was a revelation of ecstasy and belonging. She clutched at his shoulders and murmured in his ear, You’re gonna be all right. You’re gonna be all right.
His angel, always taking care of him.
“My lord? Wake up. You are safe,” came a deep, familiar voice.
He didn’t want to leave her, to leave that place where he wasn’t alone.
“Come on, brother. Wake up.”
Nikolai surfaced as if he’d been trapped under water for days. Brain sluggish, eyes bleary, mouth full of cotton. He gasped and choked as he tried to make use of his thick tongue.