Back in his deeper baritone, the man called, “Then, I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’llblowyour house in!”
Mollie didn’t know what instinct caused her to move, but as Mike was coming at her, she was leaping to her feet and scrambling over the top of the bales. The thunderous explosion of a gunshot reverberated through the barn as the floor she’d been kneeling on blew upward. Shards of wood pelted her calves before she flung herself over the bales and crashed onto the other side of them.
Dust burst into the air around her, and the breath was knocked from her lungs, making it impossible for her to breathe as she stared at the wooden rafters over her head. If she’d been able to scream, she would have when she spotted a set of golden eyes peering down at her. But thankfully her inability to breathe kept her from shrieking over a cat.
Dust swirled around her as she attempted to get her arms and legs under her. Then solid arms were encircling her as the floor burst apart behind her again.
Mollie bit back a cry when Mike’s arms tightened around her while he rolled until she was dizzy and had no idea where they were in the loft. When he came to a stop, he lowered one arm to her waist and kept the other locked across her back as he launched to his feet.
Dangling against his side, Mollie instinctively slipped her legs around his waist and cleaved to him as he released her to grasp an overhead beam. She’d nearly had her ass blown off and was being stalked by a madman with a Three Little Pigs obsession, but Mollie felt a rush of desire when his powerful body flexed against hers.
She held on as Mike lifted his legs off the ground and gripped the beam with them. She marveled at the strength he possessed while he scurried up the rafter and toward the center of the barn before swinging out to catch another beam. She finally managed to draw in her first deep breath as he made his way across the rafters with the ease of a monkey swinging through the trees. Except, he carried a hundred and forty pounds ofherweight with him.
The strength he showed was impossible, wasn’t it? And why was she questioning this when a lunatic was firing at them through the floorboards?
But the gunshots had ceased, and she heard only the frightened whimpers of those in the cages. Mike propelled them further up the rafter and nearly to the peak of the barn.
Coming to a stop, he swung out with his free hand and clasped the next beam only a foot away from them. Mollie kept her head tucked into the hollow of his shoulder and her arms around his neck as she flattened against him.
I will get you out of this,he vowed.
Gripping another rafter, he swung out with one leg and hooked around it before swinging over. He glided through more of the beams before coming to a stop close to the edge of the hayloft but a hundred feet away from where he’d knelt before. Feeling secure in the fact the vampires wouldn’t know exactly where they were, he nudged Mollie a little.
When she lifted her head to look at him, he pointed to her and then the rafter. Understanding his meaning, she eased her grip on his shoulders and reached for the overhead beam. Mike pushed her up until she spun around to straddle the rafter while he hung underneath her.
Her eyes met his before he swung away from her and onto the next beam. Mollie watched as Mike spun himself around the rafter and perched on it. He’d carried her a good fifty feet across the loft, yet sweat didn’t bead on his forehead, and his breathing was no faster than before.
Who is this guy?She wondered as he leaned over to peer down at the barn below.
“Little piiiiiiiiiggies!” the asshole with the gun called. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
Mike remained still as the man stopped near the ladder to the loft and tapped the barrel of the gun against a rung. The man couldn’t see Mollie from where he stood, but he could see Mike if Mike moved.
“This little piggy went to market,” the man said as he slung the gun over his shoulder and grasped the rungs. “This little piggy stayed home; this little piggy had roast beef.” The vamp climbed the ladder as he spoke. “This little piggy had none, and this little piggy cried all the way home because Igutted him and feasted on his blood!”
Mollie recoiled at the words and the vehemence with which they were declared, but more than that, she recoiled from the amusement in the man’s voice. This monster would enjoy doing such a thing to someone—tothem.
Mike tensed when the vamp’s ascent briefly made it so he couldn’t see him on the ladder. Mike used that moment to drop out of the rafters and place his feet silently on the ground.
“Stay,”he mouthed to Mollie, who frowned at him but didn’t make a move to leave her spot.
Mike glided toward the ladder. He’d prefer Mollie didn’t know what he was, but Mike doubted he’d be able to keep it from her if they succeeded in getting out of this alive. And her staying alive was far more important than keeping his secret.
He doubted metal bullets filled the vamp’s gun, so he had to disarm him the first chance he got. Mike’s heart thudded as he listened to the creaking ladder and the Savage growing closer with every passing second.
Then the vamp’s head poked over the edge of the loft. While he’d been out of Mike’s view, the Savage had unslung his gun, and the barrel of it was aimed directly at Mike’s chest. The bastard had known where he was the whole time.
“Sooooooey!” the Savage shouted as he pulled the trigger.
When the muzzle flashed, Mike twisted to the side. The wooden bullet skimming across his chest tore his shirt and sliced his skin, but it didn’t hit his heart. Mike charged the Savage as the man pulled the trigger again. The next bullet slammed into his shoulder but didn’t deter him.
The Savage released the gun and fumbled for something as Mike leapt at him. Wrapping his arm around the Savage’s neck, Mike yanked the monster backward. The vamp scrambled to keep his grip on the ladder, but Mike’s heavy weight ripped him free.
The air rushing around him tore at his hair and clothes as they plunged toward the barn floor.
Chapter Eight
Mollie gaspedwhen Mike and the man vanished. Mike had beenshot! She’d seen the blood on his shirt and his grimace, yet it hadn’t deterred him from attacking the man. Frozen in disbelief, Mollie’s fingers dug into the beam as a crash sounded below, and she realized they’d fallen on top of one of the cages.
