AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pull up on the side of the road and climb the barrier of the bridge, leaning out as far as I can get without toppling into the water below, the waves crashing far softer than the waves that used to speed me to battle upon battle.
I tilt my head and listen, penetrating the thickening sounds of the city, searching for her voice.
And there.
I find it.
“Please, just leave me alone,” she whimpers, her words ghostly and shifting as I listen through the autumn wind. “I just want to go home, okay?”
“Ooh, you’re a real spunky one, ain’t ya?”
“Please,” she says, firmer now. Anger flares in her voice and fierce pride pounds in my chest. “If you don’t leave me the fuck alone, I promise, there’ll be serious consequences.”
“Oh, really?”
Laughter.
There’s more than one.
“Y-yeah,” Tammy says, fear in her voice and swirling in her scent.
I glance back at my car, and then down the bridge and across the section of the city that would take me to her.
No.
It will take far too long.
So instead I leap off the bridge and dive into the water below, crashing into the icy depths and swimming against the current.
For her.
My woman.
My mortal queen.
Chapter Six
Tammy
So taking Chipper out for a walk in this area was probably a really stupid mistake.
But even a little dog like Chipper needs to stretch his legs every now and then, and anyway, I needed the time to think as well. I went to work today fully expecting Angelica to tell me I no longer had a job, but it was business as usual, even if she did chew me out for leaving the stock mid-take.
All last night and today, I’ve been trying to convince myself that I dreamt what happened.
He wants me.
He’s a vampire.
As crazy as it seems, both of those facts seem as equally difficult to believe.
Last night I had a dream in which Torsten and I were clasped together tightly, my body pressed right up against his, and he was burning with the heat of his desire.
In the dream, I could believe in his desire.
I didn’t have to be the self-conscious girl always questioning if I was being secretly laughed at.
And so when Torsten’s driver dropped us home as he has for the past week, I put Chipper in his harness and took him for what was supposed to be a quick walk around the block.
But my thoughts strayed to Torsten again and again, to the genuine – or genuine-seeming – pride in his voice when he complimented my singing yesterday. I thought about the way he’d flitted around the room, again trying to figure out just how the heck he pulled that off.
And again.
Nothing.
I just have no clue how the hell he managed something like that.
I was so lost in thought I didn’t even realize when the gang of nine men started following me until a low growl sounded in Chipper’s throat.
Now, I’m backed up against the wall of a grimy alleyway, Chipper clasped to my chest as I look over his growling head at their leader. All of the men are large, but this man is even taller than Torsten. He wears a baggy sports jersey and baggy pants, his eyes gleaming with a menacing look under the brim on his cap.
“Come on, doll,” he says. “We’d give you a good price.”
“I already told you,” I hiss. “My dog isn’t for sale. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?”
“Damn, you’re feisty,” the man chuckles, glancing at his friends. Every single one of them laughs lowly. “Listen, sweetheart. I don’t wanna have to hurt you. But see, I’m a dog-loving man, and the last thing I like to see is a lady who’s clearly unfit for such a beautiful animal. So just hand him over and that’ll be the end of it.”
“You’re living in a dreamland if you think I’m going to do that,” I snap, trying to force my voice to sound fiercer than I feel.
Fears stabs into me at the thought of these men stealing Chipper. But I have no idea what to do. There’s pepper spray in my handbag, but that would involve slackening my grip on Chipper, and there’s no doubt in my mind that these men are behind the spree of dog thefts that have struck this area.
Freaking hell, why did I have to take him for a walk?
A violent reflex spasms in me at the thought.
How is it fair that my dog should have to go without exercise just because there’s scum like this lurking in the city?
“Well,” the man says after a pause, “I’ve got no problem being called a dreamer. Alright, darling, we’ve danced long enough now. Give him here before I cut you open.”
With a flash of his hand, he produces a knife that glints in the eerie street light.
