Page 62 of Dark Obsession

“Oh, shit,” Cody said under his breath, then, a bit louder, “Hi, Annie.”

Bastian’s smile widened. “You have been doing your homework.” He slid an arm around Annie’s waist and looked down at her. “When I met this one out here in the parking lot, I knew I wanted to keep her around. Forever.”

“Forever,” Annie repeated, slow and dreamy.

“What happened to your brother?” Cody said. “He’s been worried about you.”

Annie and Bastian chuckled darkly, then Annie said, “Andy won’t be worried any longer.”

“That’s right,” Bastian said. “He’s gone to a better place. Right, Leo?”

A third vampire emerged from the shadows of another car. He was the one who’d gotten past Marlowe and gone after Andy, and now gore coated the lower half of his face. The parking lot slanted under Demetrius’s feet, and his blood pounded in his ears.

Bastian looked at Leo and shook his head as he made a tsking sound. “Leo, my dear, you’ve got Andy all over your face.”

Leo grinned, his fangs terrifyingly white amid so much blood-stained skin. “Sorry.”

Cody started running for the cornfield along the side of the parking lot, almost yanking Demetrius off his feet as he pulled him along behind him.

“Oh, good,” Bastian said behind them. “I love a good chase.”

Seconds later, Demetrius plunged into the corn behind Cody. He felt the dry slap of leaves, and ears of corn thumped against his head. The edges of some of the leaves were sharp and slashed at his exposed skin. The damp smell of soil filled his nose, and corn silks brushed his face. Cody gripped his hand tight, pulling him up one row, then across at least a dozen before dropping to his knees.

Demetrius knelt beside him, both of them trying to keep their breathing as quiet as possible.

“What now?”

Cody’s eyes were wide in the moonlight. “Don’t die.”

“Okay. Good plan.”

“Let’s make our way to the farmhouse or barn next door, find some kind of weapon,” Cody said.

“Weapon?” Leo appeared in the row ahead of them. “Against us?” His smile was devious and awful within the blood smeared around his mouth. “Good luck.”

Cody lunged toward the vampire. There was a brief flash followed by a crackling-popping sound, and Leo dropped to the dirt. In an instant, Cody was hauling Demetrius off deeper into the corn and away from Leo, who had already begun to stir.

“Is that Andy’s taser?” Demetrius asked.

“Yep. I grabbed it before we left. Figured it might buy us a few seconds.”

“You’re amazing.”

Cody grinned over his shoulder. “I’ve been telling you that for years.”

They pressed on through the field, zig-zagging between rows as they moved farther from the bar and hopefully closer to some kind of refuge.