“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Perry asked for the third time.
“Yes, yes, yes,” John said. “It was his Piqua address. Besides, I haven’t gotten anything else to go by. She has to be there, Perry. She just has to.” Why did it seem his SUV drove slower than usual? Didn’t this thing go faster than one-forty?
He’d visited the Piqua house once, when he’d first gone looking for Ray. When the address had appeared in his vision, it made sense—it was the closest. Still, the twenty-five-plus miles were farther than he liked.
“Listen, Johnny, I know you don’t want me around. So after we capture this bastard, I’ll leave you alone.”
John didn’t want to deal with Perry right now, but couldn’t leave him hanging, either. Perry might be a pain in the ass, but he’d come through and helped when needed. “I can’t forget what you did, but I can forgive you. Now that I know how to control her allure…”
The words died on his mouth as an image of Sarah lying dead came to mind. No! She can’t be dead. He’d feel it, wouldn’t he?
Perry placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “We’ll find her, Johnny. Have faith.” He plucked at a piece of foil they’d missed when tearing the stuff off the windows. “I can’t believe you actually went out into the sun. What was it like?”
Good ole’ Perry, changing the subject. Right now, John was happy to think of anything other than the unthinkable. “Hot. And bright.”
“According to Abe, it’s bright only because you’re not used to it. He has those UV windows at his house and said that after the first week, he didn’t need the sunglasses anymore.”
Abe was one of the Committee members and Perry seemed to know them all rather intimately. Whether because he was always in trouble or because he liked to be in the know, John wasn’t sure. Most likely a little of both.
“How long has he had them?”
“About a year. The Committee is looking to install them on all their vehicles now just in case they ever have to venture out into the sun.”
A year? Damn. Barnet was right. John had been foolish not sticking around at the meetings. He might have discovered this sooner. To bring sunshine back into his house intrigued him. Wouldn’t Sarah love that, too? Of course, if she didn’t survive… No! He must stop thinking like that.
The street appeared up ahead. Finally. He slowed, but still took the turn on two tires, which squealed on the pavement. Perry was wise to keep his mouth shut.
John had pulled to the side of the curb across from Ray’s house and reached for the door handle when Perry grabbed his arm.
“Slow down. If we barge in, Ray might… Well, do you really want to surprise him?”
No, he didn’t. But he was so damn close to her, it made it hard for him to think straight. He just wanted her back in his arms.
“Fine,” John said. “First one who sees him takes control.”
The old neighborhood was quiet. John and Perry walked up to the house as if they belonged, but instead of knocking, John quietly turned the knob. The door was unlocked.
Perry grabbed his hand and said telepathically, “I’ll go around and check the windows. If I see him, I’ll stop him.”
John nodded. Slow and steady. No sudden movements. He wasn’t about to startle the killer. But when he stepped inside the house, he was hit with the stench of death.
All bets were off.
* * * *
Sarah backed down the staircase and into the basement as the vampire headed her way. Shit. Now what? Ray she could kill. Danielle was more like…invincible.
“Sarah!”
John was here? He was alive? Free? Danielle covered her mouth and pushed her against the wall before she could call out.
“I swear you two will be the death of me,” Danielle said.
Sarah still held the knife in her hand. Stabbing a vampire wouldn’t kill them, but it had incapacitated John. Maybe a poke in the stomach would be enough to escape, or at least warn John. Sarah shot her hand out, hoping to catch Danielle off guard, but Danielle was quicker and grabbed Sarah’s wrist.
“Nice try.” Danielle jabbed the knife into Sarah’s belly and sliced. “Sorry it has to end this way, dear. You had rather impressed me with your escape techniques, but I can’t have you live.” She dropped the knife and backed away with a smile.
Sarah slid down the wall holding her stomach. What the hell? The knife wound burned something fierce—though not as bad as she might have assumed it would—and drained her of energy, but she still had her wits. And her lungs. “John! Danielle’s down here.”
Danielle’s eyes widened. Was she wondering why Sarah hadn’t died? Well, Sarah was wondering the same thing. Sure, it had taken Ray several minutes to die, but he didn’t have a twelve-inch gash in his gut, either. John appeared at the top of the stairs and Danielle headed for a window.
“Don’t let her get away,” Sarah said. No way was that bitch escaping again and if John saw her wound, he might let Danielle go.
A small window exploded, glass flying inside as Perry flew through the opening feet first. Danielle backtracked toward the stairs. John blocked her way.
Danielle spun around and pointed toward Sarah. “You’re not going to save your bitch? She’s dying as you stand there.”
“I’m okay, John.” And damn, if she didn’t sound okay. But feeling? Well, she was a bit winded and her stomach hurt, and maybe she felt a little woozy, like she could sleep. Was that shock? The outside of her coat showed no signs of her bleeding, the zipper had kept the knife from slicing the coat along with her, but it was plenty wet inside.
Perry grabbed Danielle by the arms and pinned them behind her back. “I got her.”
John turned toward Sarah and stopped. His nose flared as he stared at her. Crap. Maybe he couldn’t see her blood, but he smelled it. Anger flashed in his eyes. He ripped the leg off the workbench. Splinters flew and Ray’s apple tumbled to the floor. John rushed Danielle, impaling her with the wood. Blood sprayed. Danielle screamed. Perry dropped her and she lay in an unmoving heap.
“I still win,” Danielle said. “When she dies.”
“Shut up or I’ll chop your head off,” John said.
Sarah hadn’t witnessed John’s staking, but the violent act caused her to gag. And man, if that didn’t hurt her stomach more.
“It’s okay. It’s over.” John’s appearance and words soothed her. She only hoped they were true. He reached for her zipper. “How bad?”
“I don’t know, but…” She put her hand over his, keeping him from unzipping, and glanced at Perry. “I don’t have a blouse on.”
Perry turned his back. “I’ll just call Barnet and let him know what’s going on.”
John unzipped the coat. “Oh my God.”
Blood had soaked her pants and covered her belly. How the hell was she still alive? Or even conscious? Something didn’t look right, though. Where was Ray’s bite mark? Where was the cut Ray had made?
“I think I’m okay,” she said.
“The hell you are.” Gently, he ran his hands over her stomach, and then licked the wound. His tongue created a link to his conflicted emotions. While he enjoyed the taste, he hated himself for doing so and feared for her life. Getting a powerful rush from her blood only compounded his issues.
He’d had a similar reaction when he fed with that stake in him. Something had changed between them. Something good.
He closed her coat. “I don’t understand. There’s more blood here than from the little cut I found. Are you hurt somewhere else?”
Sarah shook her head. Little cut? Danielle had sliced her open. And how had Ray’s cut healed so quickly and not even left a scar? Could it be? “John, could taking your blood heal me? I also had this cut—”
“What are you talking about? I never gave you my blood.”
“No, but I took it.” She pointed to the smudges on her coat where she had sucked it off. “And since then we were able to talk though our touch.” She took his hand. “Like now, right?”
“Right…” He furrowed his forehead as if he was trying to make sense of it all. She was trying to do the same.
“I’m healing fast. Does that mean I’m a vampire now?”
He shook his head. “You’re not a vampire. Your blood is too strong.”
“But I’m…different.”
“That you are, Sweetie.” He kissed her long and deep. “That you are.”