Recovering from the surprise of Julian’s attack, Gerald lunged for Aida as Julian raced toward them. She squeaked and scrambled to get out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid him grabbing her ankle.
Flipping over, she drew back her foot and kicked him in the face. Bone crunched, and blood poured from his broken nose. When the hand on her ankle clamped down, she couldn’t suppress a cry at the bone-crushing grip. Despite the pain, Aida tried to kick him again, but he caught her leg and pulled her toward him.
Julian released a sound that was half roar and half snarl and all murderous savagery, causing the hair on her nape to stand on end. She hoped that noise wasn’t directed at her. He hadn’t contacted her in over four years, but she’d done nothing to warrant such hatred.
He lurched toward Gerald as the vamp dragged her beneath him and spun to the side. Aida bit back a cry when her head bounced off the floor, and stars burst before her eyes. She had to get away from this monster, but he’d decided to use her as a human shield as he kept her on top of him.
Julian dodged to the side to get at Gerald, but when Gerald moved Aida, he made it impossible for Julian to reach the asshole. He went to grasp her arm to pull her away, but Gerald grabbed her hair and pulled it back.
“I’ll break her neck,” Gerald spat.
Julian yanked his hands back as he bared his fangs. The helplessness filling him at seeing his mate abused in such a way was pushing him toward a snapping point from which he wasn’t sure he could return.
Aida slid her hand into her pocket for her pepper spray, but as she was pulling it free, Gerald jerked her to the side. Her hand was knocked from her pocket, and she fumbled to keep hold of the can, but when his hand entangled in her hair and he yanked her head back, the can slipped from her fingers.
It clattered against the floor as frustration burned through her. But the loss of her pepper spray was the least of her problems as Gerald’s hot breath warmed her neck.
Vampire! Her mind screamed at her. And he was going to bite her. No! No! No!
She tried slapping him over her back as muffled noises issued from her. She recalled every bite she endured on the island, every indignity suffered, and most of all, the excruciating agony accompanying a vampire’s bite.
But instead of sinking his fangs into her throat, Gerald rose in a movement so swift she barely felt it before she was upright and pressed against his chest. She squirmed against his hold, but when he released her hair to snake his arm around her neck and jerked upward, she choked and went limp.
Her toes scraped against the ground as involuntary tears slid from her eyes. Her breaths wheezed in and out as her lungs strained for air. She drove an elbow into his stomach, but it was like hitting a wall, and her breath was cut off completely when he tightened his hold.
Her fingers dug into his flesh until he finally eased his hold, and she wheezed air into her burning lungs again. Her vision cleared, and she almost squeaked when she spotted Julian only a few feet away. At least she thought it was Julian; it was practically impossible to tell through the red and black color covering his hands and face.
What the fuck? She’d seen a lot of things when it came to vampires, but she’d never seen anything like that. What was he? Was he okay? What was happening, and why did she feel like she should understand all of this when she didn’t understand anything?
But it was Julian. She hadn’t seen him in four years, but he was once her best friend. She had to believe he wouldn’t leave her to this monster and that he wasn’t becoming some sort of monster himself.
“Come near me again, and I’ll kill her,” Gerald said as he pulled her back a few more feet.
Julian stopped stalking them and held his hands up as Gerald choked her until she couldn’t breathe again. “Stop hurting her.”
Gerald grinned at him as he eased his grip. Aida choked in a breath, and despite not remembering their relationship, her eyes were pleading when they met his. She was counting on him to get her out of this; he would not let her down.
Julian ignored the stench of rot wafting off Gerald as he circled him, looking for a weakness. He couldn’t find one yet, but he would. There was no way this asshole was getting out of here with her.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
Gerald laughed, but there was no humor in it as his gaze ran over the color staining Julian’s skin. “What are you?”
“Not your typical vampire.”
With his strength, supporting her weight wasn’t a big deal, but she still wasn’t going to make it easy for this guy. She gripped his forearm to help keep her chin up and her windpipe from being crushed as she went limp in Gerald’s hold. He didn’t hesitate while he continued to drag her toward the back door.
“I can see that,” Gerald said. “But what kind of vampire are you?”
“I’m the kind that’s going to tear you apart for touching her.”
Gerald’s smile remained in place, but he couldn’t hide the unease in his eyes as he glanced at the back door only ten feet away from him. Then, the vamp laughed. “You stopped her from killing you, but you won’t stop me from killing her.”
Julian’s throat went dry as his pulse thundered in his temples. Everything in him screamed to tear this man apart, but he couldn’t go after Gerald without putting Aida at risk. “You kill her, and you won’t make it out of here alive.”
“I didn’t say I planned to kill her now. I’m going to take her somewhere else so we can have a little fun first. There’s no way I’m not going to enjoy this tempting morsel before I finish with her.”
Aida remained unmoving as she tried to make sense of all this. She hadn’t seen Julian in years, yet somehow he’d succeeded in stopping her from killing him? That made no sense. She wasn’t exactly thrilled he’d decided to ignore her all these years, and his rejection of their friendship hurt like hell, but she would never try to kill him.
However, he didn't deny Gerald’s words, and she felt like she was missing something vital.
“Why didn’t she kill you?” Gerald demanded. “I ordered her to do it.”
He’d ordered her to do it! Nausea churned in her stomach as she realized this prick had messed with her head, and she had no recollection of it. The vampires on the island had violated her by imprisoning her and stealing her blood, but at least they left her mind alone.
Now, this asshole had come in and violated her in a whole new way and planned to do more to her! Every beat of her heart sent more fury through her until she could barely think beyond seeing this monster dead.
“She tried to kill me,” Julian said.
“I did?” Aida squeaked.
Gerald’s laughter sent a chill down her spine before he spoke. “It seems I’m not the only one who’s messed with your mind lately.”
It took a minute for his words to penetrate, and when they did, her sense of betrayal intensified. “What is he talking about?” she demanded of Julian.
“I’ll explain later,” he replied. “But you agreed to this.”
“I would never agree to let a vampire mess with my mind!”
“Not most vampires, but you would agree to let me do it.”
“I haven’t seen you in years!”
Gerald laughed as he hugged Aida closer to him. “You’re fucking a very tricky vampire.”
His words brought forth an outpouring of emotion that rolled through her. She didn’t know if she wanted to scream, cry, or vomit more. What had she forgotten? What had Julian made her forget? Bile rushed up her throat as the worst thought of all occurred to her. Had she been aware she was having sex with him?
“No,” she whimpered. “I’m, ah…”
Her voice trailed off as she held back the words. Neither of these d-bags needed to know she was still a virgin, but apparently, she wasn’t. “No,” she whispered.
Julian recognized the signs of the impending spiral she experienced last night. “Aida, it’s okay. I promise you when this is all over, it will all make sense again”—or at least he hoped it would—“but you have to trust me like you did when we were younger. Please, give me that.”
It was the plea in his voice and the anguish in his eyes that swayed her far more than his words. He’d left her, but before then, he was her best friend. Mollie was a member of their family, and Kyle and Cassidy were his siblings, but they would never allow him to rape her.
She didn’t know what was happening, but she had faith in the Byrnes. However, she would deal with Julian later; she had to survive this shitshow first.
The door from the main room silently opened, and Cassidy slipped inside.
“Stop!” Julian commanded his sister when Gerald jerked Aida’s head up until she stood on her tiptoes and those horrible choking sounds came from her again.
Cassidy froze and held up her hands in a disarming manner. Gerald crept toward the back door, and Julian stalked him, but Cassidy didn’t move.
When Gerald’s grip on her eased again, Aida gasped in air as she blinked to clear her eyes of the tears forming every time he choked her. When she could see again, she studied Cassidy as Gerald maneuvered her around some crates and toward the door. Cassidy wasn’t shocked to see Julian here, and she didn’t seem surprised to discover Gerald with her either.
Cassidy knew someone had messed with Aida’s mind and allowed it to happen. She would never agree to that unless Aida did too, or unless it was the only option, would she? Cassidy was Julian’s sister, and if Aida tried to kill him, wouldn’t she want Aida punished?
Maybe she had agreed to let Julian mess with her mind, but why would she do such a thing when she barely knew Julian anymore? Was she sleeping with him? How could she have sex with someone and not remember it?
She felt like Alice spiraling down the rabbit hole, except she was bashing against the sides, spinning around, and flipping upside down until everything in her felt battered and broken.
Something in the gloomy recesses of her mind told her she could trust him and they would get through this together. She didn’t know where the certainty came from, but she trusted her instincts.
Julian followed Gerald around the crates as the niggling in the back of his mind increased. If the man had longer hair and a beard…