“I’m non-returnable, Prince. You don’t have a choice.”
“Don’t need one. Your prisoner, on the other hand… Bet he’d like to return you right about now.”
In response, Renault spat out his busted teeth and a mouthful of blood. At least, Jaci assumed it was blood. Wasn’t quite the right shade of red though—looked more like blackberry jam. Dark. Clumpy. Definitely the sign of a body breaking down. With the botanical poison doing its thing in his veins, the vampire’s healing abilities were on permanent hiatus.
The sight made her smile all over again.
“What… what’s happening to me?” he panted. His gums continued to bleed, coating his lips and tongue with the dark ooze.
“Colin Redthorne,” Jaci said, shaking out her throbbing hand. “Not only does he have the hair and dimples of a Disney prince, but he’s also a doctor. The two of us put our heads together, and voilà!” She fingered the line that ran from a newly installed port in his chest up to the IV bags suspended on a rack above his head. “Oh, and if you’re thinking of pulling out the line, I wouldn’t. Isabelle worked up a little magical insurance policy to discourage you.”
“What policy?”
“Catheter.” She let her gaze trail down to his crotch. “Yeah, you might not feel it now, given the level of pain you’re probably in. But if you so much as sneeze and interrupt the flow to your veins, that little worm you call a dick will be flooded with so much poison it’ll glow like a fucking lightsaber. But only for like five seconds, and then…”
Horror stretched his mouth wide. “And then?”
“It’ll fall off. So, where were we?” She clapped once and nodded. “Right. Torture.”
“But… wait! I—”
Jaci pressed a hand to his chest, sending a spark of hellfire into his lungs. Flesh and blood sizzled at her command, the scent of brimstone sharp on the air.
Renault coughed and wheezed. Looking past her, he glowered at Gabriel, eyes turning red all over again. Still, the fangs stayed hidden.
“You’re a traitor to your own kind, Redthorne,” he snapped. “Shielding this... thisabomination. Your father would be disgusted.”
“Yes, I imagine he would be.” Gabriel took a few steps closer, his voice as menacing as his gaze. “But you know something, Duchanes? It’s no measure of a man’s worth to garner the respect and admiration of a wretched cunt.”
Renault hissed through his teeth, sending another spray of blood across his lips. “After everything he did for you. Your brothers. He made you immortal. He made you fucking vampire royalty! He made you—”
“He made us alotof things, not the least of which is merciless.” Gabriel wrapped a hand around Renault’s throat, cutting off his air. “If you’d like to continue worshipping at the altar of Augustus Redthorne, be my guest. But if you’re looking for a way to get undermyskin, bloodsucker, best search a bit further from the family tree.”
“You’ll… burn in… hell,” he ground out. “Both… of you.”
Jaci rolled her eyes. “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, the bumper sticker,andthe travel mug. But Renault?” She grinned and sent another white-hot spark through his chest. “I look forward to sendingyouthere real soon.”
“I’d wager your ticket’s already stamped,” Gabriel said, fist still tight around Renault’s throat. “You’ll be lucky to last the rest of the day.”
“Fuck… fuck you, Redthorne.” He shifted his gaze to Jaci, glaring at her with a hatred that burned as hot as her hellfire. “And you… You’re already… dead,mongrel.”
Gabriel released his throat and smashed his fist into Renault’s gut. “Look at her like that again, and I’ll rip out your femur and use it to bash in your eye sockets.”
“Excellent visual,” Jaci said. “Pun intended.”
Gabriel blinked at her.
“Get it?” she said, wriggling her brows. “Eye sockets? Visual?”
“You should probably stick to witchcraft and leave the comedy to the professionals.”
“What? I’m hilarious! You just don’t know the value of a—”
“Stop!” Renault shouted. Begged, really. “Please! I just… What the hell do you want? Why am I here? Why… why are you doing this to me?”
He coughed again, face turning red with the effort.
“Why amIdoing this toyou?” Jaci asked, her voice suddenly faint, as if the words had come from some other woman in some other part of the crypts. Some other realm entirely.
