* * *
“Goddamn it, Dorian!” I shouted, lying on top of Aiko’s body once more. Glorious blood and guts covered us, along with an unseemly dose of dirt. “Quit trying to fucking kill him!”
Bel’s twin smirked and disappeared behind a crate of explosives. Definitely not sticking to my “sound plan.” The jackass was thoroughly enjoying himself and almost succeeding in killing his “prey.” Over the jarring explosions rocketing the air, he sang cheerfully, “You’ll miss one time, Gwen. That’s all I need.”
“Belshazzar!” I screamed as loudly as I could, jumping to my feet and yanking an unconscious vampire by his feet behind a busted military vehicle. “You had better find us in a damned hurry, or I swear to fucking God, I will not have sex with you for a hundred years!” I bent down and started slapping Aiko’s face. “Wake up! Your head didn’t hit the ground that hard.”
He moaned softly, and his forehead pinched in discomfort.
I sent my hand flying again. Whack!
Aiko’s eyes flew open, and his fangs bared.
“If you try to bite me, I’ll let him kill you next time.” I stared pointedly. “Now, get your ass up. We need to move.”
One blink. Two. “He’s still hunting me?”
“And gaining.” I pulled him up to his feet. “Run. I’ll follow and cover your back this time. And try to find humans to kill again. That is one of the reasons for being here, not this twisted game Dorian is playing.”
“He is a very complicated man.”
I merely stared.
Aiko took off in a blur, me, hot on his tracks, our vampire speed taking us far away from Dorian for the fifth time since this killing party began. The wind rushed by us, whipping my blood-dried hair back from my face and throwing body chunks from my clothing. He came to an abrupt stop and flicked a finger at a large group of humans cowering inside one open door.
Together, we stepped inside the room.
Twenty humans’ heads turned in our direction.
Fumbling with their weapons as fast as they could, they raised their guns right at us, just as the gem in my necklace warmed against my skin under my shirt.
Aiko covered his eyes like he was shading them from the sun, and I hurried to do the same, covering them swiftly.
Chunks. Chunks of body parts flew through the air.
Left. Right.
Up. Down.
Straight fucking at us.
I lowered my hand and spat out a piece of flesh that had landed inside my mouth. “Don’t get me wrong. I love blood as much as the next vampire. But…”
Aiko turned to me, muttering, “Why in the gods does that keep happening?”
I brushed a man’s torn finger off my shoulder. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
His head whipped back to the mess. He bent down and picked up a severed arm, using it to point at the gore. “That is just unsporting.”
“I had that same thought once.” I shook my head slowly and moved toward the door. “I no longer have that thought. So, come on. Let’s go blow up more humans.”
Aiko tossed the arm over his shoulder and took the lead once more. “It just…isn’t right.” A quick peek at me. “And you are a very poor liar, Queen Gwynnore.”
“I’m very good at it when I put effort into it.” I chuckled softly and thumped his back. “Quit stalling and run.”
He huffed but did as I said.
All was good and dandy until we both ran smack into a golden, shimmering wall, our asses hitting the ground, not a second later.
“Other way,” I mumbled, grabbing his arm as the wall turned into flames. We shuffled back on our ass in a fast clip, leaving two trails of blood and guts on the ground. I shoved him up to his feet and jumped to mine. “I’ve seen this one before, too. It’s not much fun.”
“Dorian, you are very unreasonable!” Aiko shouted into the flames, right before he turned around and ran even faster in the other direction. “I truly am a kind man to those I care for. We should talk like gentlemen!”
The flames reached out and nipped at my ass as I raced after him. I growled loudly, “That was uncalled for!”
Dorian’s laughter tickled my ears.
I ran faster.
“Belshazzar, where the hell are you?” I screamed into the chilly, passing breeze. “I know you can hear me! Get control of your damned brother!”
We stopped running when our feet hit slick concrete, skidding to a literal screeching stop as we slid—managing to stay on our feet as our arms windmilled. Our eyes took in the scene in appreciation, our perusal of the goods completed in seconds.
I pointed to the right. “I want that one.”
“What is that?” Aiko closed one eye and squinted at it with his other. He shook his head and opened his eye. “I can’t even fathom what that is for, though it does look like a man who was bankrupt in the pants created it since it has a huge penis pointing at us.”
I coughed through a laugh, this strong, silent man surprising me with his zingers. “It’s called a tank. We get inside it and drive it.”
“Like a train?”
“Something like that.” I headed right for it.
“Do you know how to drive a tank? You certainly did not know how to drive a train.” He trailed at a slower pace, staring at the tank warily.
“I do.” I smacked my gums together. “When I was awoken early from my last Rest, one of the humans I drank was in the military. He had a lot of experience with new military advances. In fact, I’m going to need your help. We’ll have a lot of fun with this one.”
To the right, four humans ran into the room. And exploded.
Aiko shook his head, muttering quietly to himself.
I chortled and hopped over a mutilated foot. “I’m telling you, that is the darndest thing.”
He groused dryly, “Right.”
We climbed up the tank and stopped behind the gun turret. I opened the hatch, and down the two of us went into my new favorite toy. What it lacked in speed, it made up for in power. This was lady boner material in the making.
I settled into the seat and whooped! “This is going to be awesome.”
Aiko surveyed the many controls, bending over the back of my chair. “If you say so.” He watched as I turned it on and jolted where he stood when we started moving, gripping the back of the chair harder. He cleared his throat pointedly. “How do you plan to get out of this building?”
“That’s where you come in. Remember the big penis? Well, you’re going to fire it. I’ll tell you how.” I sent a cheeky grin over my shoulder. “But I’m guessing you’re already pretty good at that.”
He blinked…and a slow grin etched his stoic features. “Why yes. Yes, I am.”
A fast rush of air blasted us from behind, bringing with it the scent of fresh blood. Then, a breathless Belshazzar griped, “I want to drive this.”
“Not happening. And we could have used you a little earlier. Dorian is on the wrong mission.” I thumbed a dial getting the right readout, not even glancing back. It wasn’t his blood he was wearing. I’d know that scent anywhere now. “Close the hatch.”
“I took care of the issue. He’ll leave Aiko alone for now.”