Together, they walked over to where the others had gathered around Diego’s bed. When he was only a few feet away, he saw what the doctor had pointed out as Diego’s mouth remained ajar from the doctor’s examination.
The inside of that mouth was entirely black. It looked like some sort of fungus had grown over his tongue, coated his cheeks and throat. Even his teeth were taking on a blackish hue.
One of the hunters took a couple of steps away, but when he bumped into Leonardo’s bed, he jumped and spun toward the other immobile hunter. Logan’s gaze shifted to Leonardo, but his mouth was closed, and he couldn’t tell what was happening in there.
He imagined it was nothing good.
“What is that?” Juan asked.
Beads of sweat dotted the doctor’s forehead as he lifted his head to look at the hunter leader. “I think Manuel may have given him some of his blood.”
It’s what Logan also suspected, but hearing the words come from the doctor’s mouth was like a punch to the gut. This couldn’t be happening. They’d gotten rid of the monster in their midst, and now they might havetwomore of them.
And he’d never seen anything like that from a vampire’s blood. Of course, Manuel’s had been that hideous black color, but for it to do this to themso fast…
It was all a nightmare.
And if they didn’t get these two tied down soon, they might start spreading their hatred and insanity throughout the compound.
Elena shuddered against Logan’s side. If it meant keeping her safe, he would kill these two now, but whereas the hunters didn’t blame him for killing Manuel, they wouldnotbe happy with him if he killed two more of them in cold blood. He didn’t care that it would push him closer to becoming a Savage and weaken him further against the sun; he would do and sacrifice anything to keep her safe.
Still, he restrained himself from cutting off both their heads before setting their bodies on fire. Because none of their remains or their blood should be allowed to stay here. It was a hazard.
“What about Leonardo?” Juan asked.
“I haven’t looked at him yet,” the doctor replied.
“I think it’s time to do that.”
Dr. Espinosa wiped away the sweat on his forehead before going to Leonardo’s side. He reached for the man with a trembling hand before pulling it back, shaking it out, and grasping Leonardo’s chin with a much steadier hand. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped before pulling Leonardo’s chin down and aiming the flashlight at his mouth.
Elena couldn’t see Leonardo’s mouth from where she stood, but the slump of the doctor’s shoulders and the way he pushed the chin back up said it all. These two would also become monsters.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
After the doctorgave both men a heavy dose of tranquilizers and they tied them up with Manuel’s chains, Logan went outside with Dr. Espinosa to check on Manuel's wife.
The doctor knelt by her side and peeled back her lips. Then, he examined the bite mark on her neck that Manuel inflicted. Logan had seen many awful things throughout his life, but there was something intrinsically upsetting about this examination of her corpse.
"I don't see anything," Dr. Espinosa said. "I hope Leticia will forgive me for this, but I have to do an autopsy on her. I have to bring her inside."
"I'll carry her," Logan offered.
It was the last thing he felt like doing, but he would do it better than the dignified doctor. Bending, Logan scooped Maria into his arms. When her head flopped lifelessly against his chest, he almost cringed, but unfortunately, it wasn't his first dead body, and it wouldn’t be his last. He carried her up the steps as some of the hunters left the building.
"Where are you going?" the doctor asked.
"Juan wants to move Leonardo and Diego into the jail cells. We’re going to make sure they’re clean and there are chains available," Miguel answered.
The cells were a better idea than the medical building, but Logan still preferred to kill them. He hated the idea of them on this compound with Elena and all the other women and children.
He hurried up the stairs with Maria and pulled open the door harder than he should have. Asher, Elena, and Juan all looked up when it bounced off the wall, but all he could see was Elena's proximity to Leonardo and Diego.
"Get away from them," he growled.
Elena's eyebrows rose, but it was Asher who reacted first. He went to grasp her arm before thinking better of it. When he lowered his hand, Logan realized Asher understood what Elena was to him.
"None of us should be so close," Asher said.
