Cars lined the road looking to pick up concertgoers, and more vehicles were gridlocked in the street. Horns blared uselessly as no one could go anywhere. Lights and music spilled out of the bars and restaurants, and revelers gathered outside them, smoking cigarettes or trying to get inside the establishments.
Vicky fell back when Duke turned onto a side road where fewer humans and businesses were around to keep her hidden. The couple’s idle chatter floated on the air as they turned onto another side road and then another. Her heart hammered in anticipation of getting them somewhere she could go in for the kill.
When they slipped around a corner ahead of her, she hurried to catch up, unwilling to let them out of her sight for long. When they came into view again, she discovered the couple leaning against a building a hundred feet ahead, kissing. Judging by the way they were groping each other, the kiss was heading toward a public screwing.
Vicky paused to take in her surroundings. The scent of garbage was a little stronger here, but tomorrow must be trash day as cans lined the sidewalk. In the distance, a dog barked, and overhead, the barren branches of the trees lining the road clicked together in the small, spring breeze.
Cars were parked against the curb, but no humans walked the street. The only sign of life came from the house to her left; it had a couple of lamps on in a second-floor window. At this time of night, most of the residents of the brownstone homes were in bed.
Perfect.
Duke’s hand slid down to the woman’s thigh; he pushed her skirt up as Vicky stalked toward them. She was removing the stake from her coat when movement came from the parked car on her right, and the stench of garbage flooded her nostrils. A Savage vampire burst out from where it had been hiding behind the vehicle.
Unprepared for the sudden attack, she swung out with her stake and cursed when it plunged into the Savage’s shoulder instead of his heart. The vampire hit her with the force of a wrecking ball, lifted her off her feet, and flung her into the side of a van. Metal crunched, and the shattering glass spilled onto the pavement in a crashing wave as her body indented the vehicle.
Air burst from her battered lungs, and she fell to the ground. Struggling to breathe, her eyes widened on the vamp when he turned to charge at her again. On her hands and knees, Vicky scrambled under the van and lay on her belly as she took stock of herself and the situation. Her ribs ached, her back was bruised, but there weren’t any broken bones. Three against one wasn't the best odds, but she could take these bastards down.
Wincing, she inhaled a deep breath before removing the crossbow secured to her side. Duke’s feet, and those of his date, ran toward her as she rolled across the pavement and out the other side of the vehicle. Scrambling forward, she ran in a half crouch to the front of the van and leaned against the bumper as the Savages stopped next to the door her body had rearranged.
“This bitch is mine,” Duke snarled.
You have no idea how much of a bitch I can be, asshole.
Vicky crept forward and poked her head out from around the bumper. The larger vamp was bent down to peer under the van. The woman stood beside Duke as he surveyed the sidewalk. She didn’t have a shot at Duke, but she had one at the woman.
Vicky lifted the crossbow, aimed it at the woman’s chest, and fired. She released a guttural cry when the bolt slammed into her heart. The woman hit the ground, her heels kicking against the sidewalk as she tried to pull the weapon from her chest, but it was already too late for her.
Vicky released her crossbow to let it dangle from the tie keeping it attached to her belt as she pulled another stake free and grinned at Duke. When it came time to kill him, she would be up close and personal for it.
Duke gawked at the body beside him before turning his attention to Vicky. She didn’t see any regret in his eyes for his dead date, but she hadn’t expected any. The only thing Duke cared about was Duke.
“This bitch is more than ready for you,” Vicky promised.
Then, behind Duke, figures emerged from between the homes and loped down the street toward them. Vicky’s nose wrinkled when the increased scent of garbage filled the air. A flicker of apprehension raced through her as those figures came together in a swelling group of Savages.
“You think I didn’t smell you too,” Duke hissed. “You think you’re not still worth a fortune? Joseph has big plans for you and your kind.”
A cold knot of dread formed in her stomach as the group grew to five—no, nine more vampires. And she sensed there were more, somewhere.
Some sixth sense made her look up as two shadows leapt across the rooftops.
Why are there so many of them? She suspected the answer to her question was not good.
Behind her, she heard the increased, panting breaths of the Savage who had thrown her into the van. His feet thudded on the concrete as he raced toward her from the other side of the vehicle. Torn between killing Duke, even if it resulted in her death, and fleeing, Vicky hesitated.
She wanted him dead.
Then, a grunt followed by a thud sounded from behind her. She turned to find the wrecking ball vampire face planting onto the sidewalk with a stake protruding from his back—a killing blow, but from who?
Lifting her gaze, she froze when she spotted the man standing in the shadows behind the Savage. Eyes the color of the sky on a cloudless spring day met hers as he held his hand out over the body to her.
“Come on!” he commanded.
Vicky almost turned and bolted straight at Duke. She was willing to take on dozens of Savages rather than go with this one hunter who unnerved her far more than the prospect of death.
However, instead of running, she found her hand stretching toward his as if a magnet pulled her toward him. When he clasped it, prickles of electricity swept over her, and she knew she’d made the choice that would save her now… but would ultimately destroy her.
CHAPTER 2
“This way,” Nathan said as he led Vicky down a side street, through an alley, and back onto a busier street.
They fled through the shadows, staying close to the buildings to keep their sides protected. Nathan didn’t realize he still held her hand until Vicky tugged it away.
Glancing back at her, he discovered her emerald eyes surveying him like she’d made a deal with the devil. His attention was pulled away from her when he detected the faint hint of garbage and the squeak of a single footstep behind them.
Never before had he run from a vampire, but this wasn’t one or two or even ten Savages. He would have battled those numbers, he might not have survived it, but he would have faced them.
There’d been more than that back there though, and they’d been going for her. If Nathan took them on now, he didn’t know if he could keep her safe against so many.
He’d only ever seen Vicky twice before, and despite having first glimpsed her with her identical twin, Abby, he knew it was Vicky he led and not her twin. He couldn’t detect a difference in their appearances when he saw them together, but Abby wouldn’t be wandering the streets alone. She would be with her mate, Brian.
Also, from their first encounter, something about Vicky inexplicably drew him to her. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but since the day he’d agreed to ally his hunters with Ronan’s vampires and first seen Vicky, she’d intrigued him. Vicky had scowled at him during that brief encounter.