“I’m not one of his trainees, and I’m not a Defender; he doesn’t have any say about my life.”
“He lets you travel freely back and forth from his home?” Nathan didn’t think that was likely. He’d been to Ronan’s mansion, but the blindfold he wore to get there ensured he didn’t know where it was.
“No. I’m not sure where he lives. Saxon blindfolded me and brought me into the city yesterday. I’m supposed to call him when I’m ready to return.”
“They let you go off on your own in the city?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but I can cross the street without holding my mom’s hand too,” she retorted. “I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”
“I saw that tonight.”
A ring of fire raced around her emerald eyes. Nathan’s breath sucked in at this evidence of her vampirism and the brief loss of control over her emotions. He’d assumed such a sight would dim his lust for her. Instead, he nearly groaned as he imagined seeing her out of control in his bed.
She was the exact opposite of what he’d been raised to want from a woman, but damn, he wanted her.
“I know you hunters think all women are weak little things you have to keep locked away, but I assure you, I could kick your ass if it became necessary,” Vicky said through her teeth.
He quirked an eyebrow at her proud declaration while she gazed at him with her round chin raised in haughty disdain. “Or maybe I’ll take you down,” he murmured.
Those words sounded more like a promise than a threat, which made them far more unsettling to her. Before she could reply, she caught a whiff of garbage and metal squeaked outside the window.
CHAPTER 4
Nathan set his stake down and stalked over to the wall to retrieve an ax from the pile of weapons. The honed edge of the blade gleamed in the light when he hefted it against his shoulder.
Vicky slid her stake back into her pocket and lifted the crossbow from her side. Removing a bolt from inside her coat, she loaded the weapon.
The garbage stench increased when Nathan stopped before the window. Lowering the ax from his shoulder, he used the tip of it to push the blind aside. Blood red eyes clashed with his through the pane of glass. Whereas Vicky’s red eyes charmed him, these made his lips pull back in a sneer, and he twisted the ax on his shoulder.
The Savage scampered out of view, but metal clinked and clattered as more of them jumped onto the escape.
“They’ve started hunting in packs,” she murmured, the realization opening a pit of dread in her stomach. “Probably Joseph’s doing.”
“Yes,” Nathan agreed.
“Duke knew I was in the Garden tonight. He called his friends. He lured me in.” The realization pissed her off. She’d walked right into his trap.
“Who is this Duke to you?” he inquired.
“What does it matter?”
“Because he and his cohorts seem extremely eager to get at you. Give me the crossbow.” He held his palm out to her.
Vicky glared at him, but she gave him the weapon and took the ax when he handed it over to her.
“So?” he prodded when she didn’t answer.
“Ex-boyfriend,” she replied.
It wasn’t the answer he’d anticipated, but then he didn’t know what he expected from her. His future wife would be a virgin, but many of his past bedmates were more experienced than him. Of course, Vicky would have a history, but the idea of her with another man caused jealousy to burn through him.
“So you’re trying to kill him because he dumped you, or cheated on you, or something?” he asked, unable to keep the ire from his voice.
“Yes, that’s exactly why!” she retorted. “I’m such a spiteful bitch that I plan to kill my ex, who has become a Savage since we parted ways, simply because he cheated on and dumped me.”
Nathan noted the way she hefted the ax as if she were contemplating braining him with it. “So, he wasn’t a Savage while you were dating?”
“I’m not in the habit of boning guys who smell like landfills. It’s a turnoff, you know?”
Nathan resisted driving his fist through the wall as her words conjured a picture of her with another man. He almost told her she shouldn’t speak like that, but she might smash him with the ax if he did, and he had to admit, as much as her words provoked jealousy, he enjoyed her candor. He didn’t get that from the women in the stronghold, and he hadn’t been with his sexual partners long enough to know them better.
His first time had been with a widowed hunter. Despite the woman’s willingness to have sex outside the bonds of marriage, and with a blundering nineteen-year-old, she was still reserved and respectful in her speech.
Vicky’s gaze flickered to the window as something on the escape clattered. She didn’t want to show any fear of Duke or those bastards out there, but knowing they were there, stalking her, brought forth memories of her time in the warehouse.
The warmth of the apartment vanished as her skin chilled like she was locked in a tomb with thousands of spiders. Breathing became laborious when the pressure in her chest grew to the point where she felt she was being buried alive. She tugged at the collar of her sweater as she struggled to remain focused on the now while one of the Savages tapped their finger on the window.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Squeeeee.
Vicky’s nerves frayed further when the finger stopped ticking to slide down the glass in one protracted swipe.
She was prepared to fight a Savage. She wasn’t as trained as Ronan’s Defenders or some of the other Defender trainees, but she was far more prepared than last October when the vampires Duke sold her to took her away. Physically, she was better prepared, but she wasn’t as emotionally ready as she’d believed.
She hadn’t loved Duke, far from. She’d liked him; they had fun together. The sex, though okay, was better than she’d experienced with anyone else. She always knew their relationship would end and been fine with it. But his betrayal had struck deep, and seeing him again was bringing that back as well as the memories of her captivity.
“What did he do to you?” Nathan bit out. The devastated look on her face pushed him toward a murderous rage.
“There are no words for what he did to me,” she murmured, and her eyelid twitched when the ticking started again. “Duke wasn’t a Savage when we were together. At least not in the way he is now, but he was definitely savage.”
“Did he hurt you?” Nathan demanded.
Vicky’s annoyance with him eased when she saw the concern on his face. “He didn’t beat me, if that’s what you’re thinking. Even before I started training with Ronan’s men, Duke wasn’t strong enough to beat me, and he didn’t break my heart or cheat on me.”
Despite her words, the sorrow in her eyes and the tremor in her hands caused Nathan’s fury to simmer toward a boiling point. He pulled the blind back again to reveal the Savage outside the pane. It wasn’t the same one as before.
The monster leered at him as it tapped the window. Knowing the Savage would most likely move before he could kill it, Nathan lifted his crossbow and fired. The Savage darted to the side as the impact of the bolt left a perfect hole in the center of the window.