When the vampire twisted toward her, shepulled back the extinguisher and hammered it into his face. Herhands went numb from the blow, but she managed to keep her hold onthe handle. The vampire’s lips peeled back to reveal its reddenedteeth. Blood streaked from its broken nose and the gash she’d lefton its cheek.
It lunged at her, knocking her back in theseat. Swinging the extinguisher up, she bashed the side of themonster’s face again and kicked out. The vampire fell back and ontoRoger as the glass behind her shattered. Fingers entangled in herhair; pain exploded through her scalp when her head was yankedback.
She tried to swing the extinguisher behindher to batter her new attacker, but it caught the top of the windowand toppled from her hands. She reached behind her to beat at thehands twisting in her hair, but the monster didn’t ease its hold onher. She was beginning to worry her neck would break when red eyesfilled her vision and fangs punctured her shoulder. The pain of thevamp pulling her blood from her ripped a scream from her.
Her patient’s bite had brought her rapture;this bite caused an agony the likes of which she’d never knowncould exist. She tried to kick out, but a strange sort of rigormortis had set in as her limbs became rigid. Stars burst before hereyes, and it felt as if the blood vessels in her brain wereswelling and exploding.
Not like this!Her mind screamed ather.I will not die like this!
A roaring noise filled her ears; thensomething warm splattered her face. The bite retracted, leaving herlimp as she struggled to get air into her constricted lungs.
When her eyes cracked open, she discoveredher patient looming over her, his broad shoulders heaving. Hiselongated fangs had sliced into his bottom lip, and she swore hisskin held a reddish black hue to it.
Impossible!
Yeah because the rest of this night hasbeen entirely possible. She released a laugh that sounded morelike a cackle.
I’m going insane. It runs in the family!
She laughed again and tried to roll awayfrom the window, but she barely twisted to the side before fallingback and crying out.
CHAPTER 10
“You’re safe,” he murmured to her.
Aiden steadied himself as rage continued tothrum through his body. He’d caved in the face of the vampirefeeding from her with one swipe of his hand, but he hadn’t killedhim. It took everything he had not to leap out the window andfinish him, but he couldn’t leave her unprotected. When he foundthe asshole who’d done this to her, he’d flay the skin from theSavage one slow centimeter at a time.
“I’ve got you,” Aiden told Maggie as hergray eyes rolled toward him.
Unable to resist him, Maggie fell againsthis chest as he eased her into his arms. Flashing red and bluestrobes filled the cab when he lifted her. Figures scurried intothe shadows as brakes squealed. Some of those figures had bodiesdraped over their shoulders, and she realized the vamps werecarting away their wounded and dead.
She had enough reason left to understand themonsters weren’t removing the bodies for nostalgic reasons, butbecause they were covering their tracks. No one was supposed toknow vampires existed, not for sure, but she did.
She’d stumbled into a massive pile of craphere.
Aiden watched the Savages slip away. Two ofthem carried the bodies of the two he’d killed in the ambulance.The third limped badly as he ran, and Aiden guessed it was theSavage whose back he’d broken. He knew he’d killed at least two inthe alley, so where were the other three?
“Roger,” Maggie whispered.
Aiden turned toward Roger sitting in thedriver’s seat. Despite his blood loss and the erratic beat of hisheart, Roger’s brown eyes locked on them, and Aiden could see theanger shimmering in them.
“Let her go,” Roger croaked.
That was not going to happen. Taking theman’s chin, Aiden knelt before him and focused all hisconcentration on those eyes as he wove his way into Roger’smind.
“You have no idea what happened heretonight. You remember nothing of the alley or anything afterward.”Aiden glanced at the windshield, as outside doors slammed andshouts filled the air. He had to get them out of here. “You do notknow what became of Maggie,” he continued. “You do not knowanything, understand?”
Roger gave the smallest of nods. Aidenreleased his chin and glanced at Roger’s torn neck. The Savage hadripped his throat open enough to hide all evidence of what hadhappened to him. Turning, glass crunched under his feet as Aidenslipped into the back of the ambulance.
He lifted the stretcher and tossed it out ofhis way. Blood from the two Savages he’d killed coated the floor,but their bodies were gone. The Savages may be assholes, but theyalso didn’t want the human race to know of their existence. Itcould spell the death of all vampires if people ever learned thetruth. Vampires were stronger and immortal, but they were alsogreatly outnumbered by a species known to distrust and fearanything different than them.
There was nothing he could do about theblood or the destruction wrought here, but he knew humans had a wayof explaining away the unexplainable. He had to trust in them to dothat here.
“Someone’s in the back!” a woman shoutedfrom outside.
Footsteps raced toward them as Aiden leaptout of the ambulance and fled into the night with Maggie cradledagainst his chest.
• • •
