“No,” her father said. “It would have taken alot more to catch her if she was.”
“Did that vampire kill my daughter?” Delilahdemanded.
Delilah would far prefer Lucy dead than whatshe’d become, and for that, Melanie despised the woman evenmore.
“Why didn’t he kill her?” one of the menasked.
“Maybe he’s keeping her as a food sourceuntil he gets to where he’s going,” her father said.
Melanie closed her eyes as she tried toregain control of herself. She had to think of a way out ofthis.
“Why did he leave her alone then?” the otherguard asked.
“Because she’s fucking him and the idiotprobably believes he won’t turn on her once he’s done with her,”Delilah spat.
Delilah smiled in response to Melanie’sglare. Trees rushed past in a blur as the tires hummed across thepavement. As she started to regain control of her body, Melaniegazed at the guards while she tried to figure out a way to breakfree.
She couldn’t think of anything.
They were about a mile away from the grocerystore when something crashed into the side of the vehicle and theass end went sideways. Melanie cried out as her father fought tokeep the SUV from going off the road.
Just as he got the vehicle straightened out,the back window to her right exploded. Melanie ducked her head assafety glass sprayed the back seat. When she dared to look upagain, she discovered Kyle clinging to the side of the vehicle ashe reached inside.
His red eyes burned, and his lips peeled backto reveal his elongated fangs. The black and red color seepingthrough him covered his face and chest and was spreading toward hisfingertips as he grabbed the guard beside her.
“No!” Melanie screamed when the guard liftedthe shotgun and aimed it at Kyle’s chest. She threw herself againsthim, but it was already too late.
Still leaning inside the vehicle, Kylecouldn’t get out of the way fast enough to avoid the blast. Heducked back to avoid taking the brunt of the shot, but not all ofit as the shotgun pellets sprayed his chest.
Melanie screamed again when blood sprayedover her, and the impact of the bullet threw Kyle from the vehicle.She was still screaming when his body hit the ground and he bouncedacross the pavement.
One of the vans pulled to the side of theroad, but Kyle leaped to his feet before it could completely stopand started chasing the SUV. She had no idea how he was stillgoing, but he could not keep up when her father accelerated.
“Arthur, stop,” Delilah said. “We have to gethim back.”
“We can’t get him into this vehicle. Let theothers catch him, if they can.”
Melanie twisted in her seat to watch Kylefade away. One of the vans was still behind them, but she couldn’tsee the other one. She prayed Kyle stayed away from it. Theycouldn’tcatch him again too.
She refused to shed the tears filling hereyes and clogging her throat, but she couldn’t shake the certaintyshe’d never see him again. When the second van came back into view,her shoulders relaxed a little. There was no way they could havecaptured Kyle and caught up to them so fast.
“I want him, Arthur,” Delilah said.
The way she said it made Melanie’s blood runcold. She turned back around and settled into her seat. She couldfeel the guards staring at her, but she didn’t look at them.
“We’ll get him,” her father vowed. “But we’renot going to hunt him; he’s going to come to us.”
“Why would he do that?” Delilah asked.
In the rearview mirror, her father’s gaze methers. “Because we have something he wants.”
CHAPTER 41
Kyle darted into thewoods when a white van pulled to the side of the road. Another oneraced past it and continued down the road. Blood oozed from theholes in his chest, his body ached from hitting the ground, andsticks and branches dug into his bare feet, but none of it slowedhim. The trees were a blur as they whizzed past him.
Determined to make them pay for daring totouch Melanie, he circled to the back of the van. He’d ambushanyone who came out and drain them dry. He didn’t care they werehuman; their blood would help him heal faster and get toMelanie.
He was almost to the van when it accelerated.Dirt and rocks flew up from its spinning tires before they caught.The vehicle lurched forward with a squeal of tires and shot ontothe pavement.
