Mia’s eyes focused on the figure that knocked her over. “Oh, thank God. What took you so long, Kev? Are the others here?”
Kevin’s new fangs protruded out, making him look like a magnificent beast. “They’ll be here. Let me get my woman out, and I’ll come back for you.” Kevin’s voice was strong. He was a vision of strength, and Cynthia’s expression indicated she was seeing her man in a completely new way.
“Don’t worry about me. Take her to safety, and then stay away. This is my fault. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to either of you.” She smiled, touching Cynthia’s face.
Kevin nodded, which convinced Mia it was a mannerism embedded in the vampire re-birthing process. He bent down, lovingly scooping Cynthia in his arms, and in a flash, he was gone. Mia immediately continued her work on the chain wrapped around Cole’s legs.
“I should be able to free my own arms.” He looked concerned. “I need more blood. If you loosen my arms, I can get the silver chain off, and then I’ll go feed again.”
Mia stood, wiping her palms on her pants as the familiar nervous tug rolled in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was because she knew he would kill one of the girls if he fed on them again, or the feeling that something unseen was in the room with them.
He held her with his eyes, trapping her in his dark pools, pulling her into him. “Kiss me—set me on fire with your touch. Let me feel the heat from your lips.”
Mia couldn’t resist his plea, leaning forward she slid her hand around to the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers. This could be their last kiss, and she put everything she had into it. A deep moan escaped his throat. He pulled on the chains, and the cement wall began to crumble around the hooks holding them.
“I must have you.” His teeth clenched, and she could see the pain and bloodlust emerging in his eyes.
Mia felt a sudden wetness on her arm. Following the drops of blood up to Cole’s arm, her lips parted in awe. He pulled so hard on the chains, they cut into his skin again.
Evet reappeared in the open area and walked toward them, breaking their enthrallment. Her pulse raced. With Cole still chained by silver, Evet had the upper hand.
“I have to go. If he gets any closer, he’ll see that Cyn is gone, and I don’t want him to see your chains have been switched.”
Cole pulled on the chains, causing them to cut deeper into his arms. The silver on his legs started to smoke as it cut into his flesh.
“Cole, stop. Please, try to heal. You know if I don’t go, he’ll come over here and kill us both.”
With his jaw clenched and lips tight, he nodded. “Okay, but I don’t like this at all. I feel helpless and I need to protect you.”
“You have protected me, Cole. You saved my life.” She smiled, “Now It’s time for me to return the favor.” Mia turned and walked to Evet.
“Mmm… Marshal Barnett, that kiss looked good. Now, I’ll taste what’s yours—again.” Evet grabbed the back of her head, spinning her toward Cole. Pulling her head back, he stared at Cole as he brought his lips roughly over Mia’s. She knew better than to fight him. It’d only excite him more.
She could hear Cole pulling on the chains as she bit down on Evet’s lip. When he threw her to the ground, she spat his taste out of her mouth.
Mia looked up. Locking eyes with Cole, she wiped Evet’s kiss from her lips. Cole’s eyes illuminated, and she saw the rage flowing through his body. She noticed one of the chains was embedded so deeply in his arm, it would soon reach bone.
“I thought you were a smart girl. I guess not.” Evet’s hand slammed against her cheek, knocking her to the side. Her hands fisted in the dirt as the feeling in the pit of her stomach began. Something was coming, and it filled the air with a strong emotional energy—angry energy.
“Now, I’m going to do you like I did your lawman’s family. But this time, I do it as a vampire. I’ll take your blood, too, and that’s going to make it so much better.” Evet grabbed her hair, pulling her to her knees.
Cole’s growl rattled the air as he pulled on the chains with renewed strength. Mia became delirious with visions as they flashed through her mind. Energy pelted her from every direction. Laughter billowed up from her throat as she straightened her spine. Evet’s eyes went wide, her laughter taking him off guard.
“You’re a fraud, Evet. The famous outlaw Evet Bass... Is. A. Fraud.” Mia could see Evet’s rage building with each word. The feeling in her stomach was more than she could take. She leaned over and threw up.
“How dare you speak to me like that?” Evet pulled her head backward, flinging her to her back. With a bent knee, she quickly stuck her leg up as he came at her. The item in her boot caught her eyes.
Forgot about those! She was suddenly very thankful for her blacksmith friend who had made her such wonderful things out of her grandmother’s old silver. At that moment, she felt like Batman with her wonderful toys. Her laughter increased.
“Stop laughing!”
Being that Evet was a vampire, and they’re supposed to keep their cool, his frustration amused Mia. He’s nothing like Cole. In fact, he was the complete opposite. Maybe if you’re an asshole as a human, then you’re an asshole as a vampire.
“I’m sorry, Evet, I can’t… You see… It’s the irony of this revenge thing. I have a couple people here with me, Evet, and they’ve been showing me such sights.” For the first time in her life, she reveled in the visions.
Evet’s expression held confusion. He straightened, stood in front of her and narrowed his eyes.
Mia turned toward Cole, her gaze brushed over his before she focused on the chains around his legs.
Concentrating on the metal, she began bending it back and forth. “Cole, honey, you’ve been lied to. And you’ve carried guilt and shame all of these years because of it. Evet didn’t kill your brother in a shootout. Your brother challenged him like a man, but Evet had his gang distract him. Once your brother turned toward the distraction, Evet shot him in the back.” As she spoke, she watched the metal give on one side of the chain link, and she began to focus on the other side.
Cole let out a thunderous growl, pulling harder on the chains.
Evet reached down, pulling at her shirt. “I don’t know how you know that, but I’ve had enough. I’m taking you right now.” He ripped her shirt open. The silver-mesh teddy that her friend had made shined in the light. Evet’s hand burned as it touched the metal. With a scream, he yanked it back, rubbing the burned skin. She relished his expression. Chainmail teddy, complements of World of Warcraft—warrior geekdom. Now, all I need are some rage points, and I’ll have this vamp defeated.
“You bitch! Take it off.”
“Why? Oh, yeah. You want to do to me what you did to the women in Cole’s life,” she mocked.
“Shut your mouth. I don’t need to touch the top of your body, anyway.” Evet clawed at her pants.
Mia kicked her legs, dropping the silver weapon from her boot. She scurried forward, concealing it under her hand. Her fingers rubbed the beautiful, smooth metal of the sterling silver asp. The design, similar to what the police have, had two special additions.
Evet ripped the front pocket of her jeans, exposing more of the metal mesh. He rocked back on his knees, roaring in anger, and brought his hand down, delivering a blow to the side of her face.
A scream ripped from her chest, and then with a fierce concentration, she focused on the chain around Cole’s legs. Her mind bending the other half of the link, back and forth, as Evet pulled her toward him, sliding her through the dirt.
“Take it off!” he shouted. Clawing at her jean covered legs, she could hear the cement crumbling from Cole’s power.
“Cole, you know why Evet is so pissed right now? It’s because he doesn’t want me to tell you that he couldn’t get it up before he was a vampire. He never raped your mother, your sister, or Emma. He took them all into a room and made his men think he did. He’s a fake.” Mia took her eyes off the chain and looked up at Cole—the predator had taken over. His eyes were as black as night with a glow set behind them, like an eclipse of the moon. She returned her focus to the chain.
“Woman, you die, now! Look at me. Come to me,” Evet commanded.
Mia brought herself to her feet, glaring at Evet as she concealed the weapon behind her and concentrated on the chain.
“Come to me.” A wicked grin surfaced as Mia walked toward him. With his arm protected from the silver by her shirt, Evet leaned her back. Mia’s arm dangled, and she palmed the asp. Evet turned her face toward Cole whose head tilted down, glaring at him with his fangs fully extended.
Once more, she grabbed Cole’s chain with her mind, and after two bends, the chain dropped. She smiled at Cole’s wide-eyed expression. Thankfully, Evet was lost in his rage and didn’t realize what she had done.
“You ready, lawman? Now I take what is yours.” A perverted smirk smeared across his face.
“Why don’t you take this instead?” Evet’s eyes went wide as she pushed the button on the asp and impaled the stake through his stomach, bringing him to his knees. His flesh sizzled as the silver rod began to burn his skin.
“You missed my heart.” He chuckled. “Take it out, and try again.” His hands burned as they wrapped around the silver shaft, attempting to remove the stake, and it was then Mia saw the realization in his eyes that he was weakening.
“Let me get that for you.” Mia smiled down at him, her voice calm and smooth with her demon awake and controlled. She was careful not to hit the second button, which would spike the end of the asp and lacerate his insides.
“You don’t have it in you to drive a stake through my heart, human.” His eyes challenged her.
“Oh, I have it in me, Evet, but there’s someone else that’s been waiting a long time to kill you, and it’s his day of reckoning. He’s not a coward like you. He likes a fair fight.” Mia pulled the stake out the instant Cole grabbed the back of Evet’s head.
Blood dripped from Cole’s arms as his wounds started to close. His fangs extended longer than she’d ever seen them.
“Turn away from me. Don’t look. Go. Now!” His demanding tone was rough, laced with pain and rage.
She lowered her eyes. Turning away from him, she walked toward the woods, squeezing her eyes shut at the horrifying sounds behind her—gruesome sounds, like a den of lions feeding on a fresh animal. Regret washed over her as soon as she looked back. Cole had ripped Evet’s head off with his bare hands. She quickly looked away and fell to her knees.
“Hey, Mia, isn’t this exciting?” Nancy appeared without warning. “I’m so riled up right now. There are people running everywhere screaming, and we have permission to use deadly force. Damn, I love this job.” Nancy patted her on the shoulder, and then tackled one of the guys off in the distance.
Mia surveyed her surroundings. Vampires and humans were being chased from the front toward where she stood in the back. Mia spotted Vincent staring at her from the private viewing box above the hunting area.
She looked toward Cole and the pile of carnage. There wasn’t one piece of Evet still attached to his torso. Cole had ripped him to shreds, literally. He stood above the pile, a vision of power, covered in blood. He looked like a king claiming victory over a battle. His eyes scanned the area looking for more prey and settled on Mia. As fast as lightning strikes, he was in front of her, forcing her back into a tree with nothing but predator shining in his eyes.
“I’ll eat you next, and I’m sure you’ll taste much better than he did.” Cole opened his mouth, extending his fangs, and Mia pushed on his chest. He pressed her harder against the tree. “Yes… fight. I like that.”
“Cole, please. It’s me. Cole!” Ignoring her pleas, his hands went to her breasts. Hissing, he shook his head and jumped back as the silver singed his flesh. “I frightened you. I-I lost control. I’m sorry.” His eyes softened as he tried to shake the frenzy he was in.
“You would have just killed me had the silver not been there!” Mia had never been more freaked out in her life, and the realization of what Cole was came full circle. She felt a strong surge of energy pull at her. She looked past him. “Vincent.”
Cole turned, following her line of sight, and in an instant, Vincent was gone. “I’m going to have some more fun. You stay here.” Cole headed toward Vincent.
Mia momentarily stilled after he left, convinced an indentation of her body would be embedded in the tree when she moved.
“Mia, you had better find somewhere, and stay put before you get hurt,” Nancy yelled, perched in a tree to the right of her, with blood trickling down the sides of her mouth.
“How come you’re not all sexed up like the rest of them?” Mia asked.
“I am, but I’m still a woman. I’m a little more… selective than most male vamps.” Nancy jumped from the tree as two men appeared in front of them. Mia recognized them as part of the gang that had jumped them on the road. “Well, hello boys. Want to play?” Nancy licked her lips and bared her fangs.
“Oh, shit. She’s one of them!” one of them yelled, and the men ran with Nancy in hot pursuit.
Mia stepped back into the woods, slowly backing herself inside the safety of darkness. She kept her eyes forward on the bloodbath in front of her. The dirt in the open area had turned red, and everyone seemed out of control. She guided herself backward until she felt a tree.
Reaching her hand back, she felt a sharp sting in her palm, followed by pain. The pain grew as her skin separated from something slicing it open. She released the object and was yanked backward, a heavy object slammed down onto her left shoulder, hitting her face. She sucked in a breath as something sharp jabbed into her lower back.
“Hallo, hallo, love.” In a whisper, hot breath blew against her ear. She arched her back, trying to pull away from the pain poking at her.
“Leo…” Her heart raced at the realization.
“Aww, you remembered me? Now, let’s have some fun. You see this high-powered rifle resting on your shoulder? There’s a big, silver bullet in the chamber, and it’s pointed right at your boyfriend’s heart.” She felt his smile against her cheek. “First, I’m going to slowly penetrate your skin with my knife, and when I’m half way in, I’m going to blow your boyfriend into a million pieces. Have you ever seen a vampire explode? It is quite amazing.” Leo pulled his lips away from her ear, licking her cheek.
She fought her fear. Leo frightened her more than Vincent did. And the images of Cole blown to pieces made her sick.
No time for fear. Her thoughts went blank as Leo pushed his thick knife past the soft metal of the silver chainmail, breaking the skin. Mia flinched from the pain of the cold steal sliding into her flesh. Images of Leo’s past flooded her mind. He was sick, and she had no doubt he would do everything he’d threatened. His finger tightened on the trigger.
Mia bit into her bottom lip, trying hard to hold her emotions in. Don’t scream. “Wait. You can’t see my face. Isn’t that what you want?” She quickly picked through his mind. “Don’t you want to see my face while you slide the knife through my body? You got so much joy watching that girl’s face the other night. You liked it when her eyes went wide, and she begged you to stop.”
Leo’s body stiffened. He lowered the gun to his side and grabbed her arm. “Bloody hell, how do you know that?” He shoved his knife deeper inside her.
Mia fought to keep herself from fainting. She felt the blood draining from her body, tasted the iron on her tongue. If she could just keep it together, keep her mind sharp. “What I want to know, Leo, is how do you know how it feels? You can only assume what the blade feels like—don’t you want to feel it? Only then will you truly know what the others felt when you killed them.”
Leo withdrew his blade. She almost collapsed as he spun her in his arms, glaring into her eyes.
The blood dripped from her back. I have to hold on. When their eyes locked, she remembered what her mother had told her. You can drive a person mad. She wrapped her hand around him to balance herself, and he gasped from her touch. “Bring the knife up here. I want to watch your face as you slide it into your skin. You can stab me again, and then we will both know for sure how it feels.” Mia reached down, grabbing Leo’s hand. She placed the tip of the knife to his skin, right at his heart.
“I want you. I’ve never been this excited before. Bloody hell, my cock is so rigid I could…” His psychotic eyes became glossy.
“Shh… don’t speak. Do you feel the tip on your skin?” Mia pushed, and he gasped, falling back into the tree, taking her with him. She could feel his sick arousal on her leg. Her knees were about to buckle. Stay focused. She began to lose her grasp on his mind, his energy was slipping out of her control. “Look at me, Leo. Tell me—is it what you thought?” Mia pushed again, knowing the thrust she just delivered had met with his heart.
He began taking short breaths, staring into her eyes. “Yes, it’s everything I thought it would be. Tell me—how did it feel for, you?” he asked with fading breaths as he pulled another knife from behind and shoved it into Mia’s side.
She gasped, praying the knife didn’t hit any major organs. In less than a minute, the front of her pants became saturated, matching the back. She knew she lost a lot of blood, and it was only a matter of time. Unable to sustain her own weight, her knees gave in, and she leaned against Leo, her breaths matched his. “It felt great, Leo. You know why? You didn’t shoot Cole, and I’m dying. I don’t have to live with the horrible images of the only man I’ve ever loved ripping people apart like an animal.”