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I suck in a deep breath and allow Knox to guide me toward the group of vampires. I feel as if I’m a delicacy waiting on a table to be devoured even though I stand in front of them. I hold out my arms, and the woman rushes me first as if she can hardly contain herself. She bites me so quickly that I don’t even feel the prick of her fangs, and I exhale a breath and close my eyes, just thinking about how this might all soon be over.
“You may pass. But I’m going with you to ensure you uphold your end of the bargain.” The woman cracks her knuckles and then wipes the drop of blood from her lips. She turns to the rest of the group. “Don’t allow anyone else in until I return.”
I blink in surprise. I wasn’t expecting that kind of offer. “Thank you. You won’t regret this.”
We follow the woman through a tunnel the size of a large vehicle. It might have once been used to bring in supplies, but it has now been converted into a shelter for this den of vampires.
I don’t get long to look around. It’s too dark anyway, the place not having electricity.
My guys pick up speed, following behind the woman as she leads the way.
I can’t believe we made it. I can’t believe we are back in La Vega. The lights of the city glow around me, and I stare up at the first hotel that resembles what was once a donor landmark long ago. I can’t recall the name, but it’s as tall, if not taller, than the monument at the Aris.
The world hums with life, and I can sense Strip dwellers lurking around but keeping their distance. I’m sure they can’t enter this area as it’s a part of whatever crew or group this woman is the leader of. She looks like she does the same amount of damage the Bella Crew does to those who try to threaten their territory. She also has the backing of the leadership, so it does give her an advantage.
“You can’t take the main street. It’s heavily monitored by the leadership. There is a back alley that goes along the Sphere and will take you to the old tracks. That’s your best route.” The woman motions for Sawyer to lead the way. “I’ll take the shortcut and meet you there.”
Something doesn’t feel right, and I grip on to Knox. Leaning down, I whisper in his ear, “Don’t follow her directions. Something’s wrong.”
Sawyer and Monroe hear my words, and they flick their attention to me. Cooper darts ahead, turning to peek at me for a second.
I don’t even get the chance to call out before the woman jumps on Cooper, sending him crashing to the ground.
“I’ll hold her off!” he yells, grabbing the woman by her hair and flipping her off him.
I expect my guys to hesitate, but they don’t. The world blurs as they rush past, leaving Cooper behind. I watch in horror as the woman jabs her fist into his chest.
She’s going to kill him.
A part of me wants to run away, but another part of me knows that I can’t run from this. I can’t let him die on my behalf. We promised him a better life, and he has done his best to be here for me even if it’s only been for a short while.
I throw myself from Knox’s arms, and he can’t keep his grip on me, my dhampir speed and strength kicking on. I launch at the woman and grab her wrist, stopping her from pulling out Cooper’s heart.
She screams at the pressure of my grip, and her fingers loosen. One second, she screams, and then the next, her head pops from her body and smacks Cooper in the chest. I stare in shock as she collapses on top of him, and it takes my mind a minute to catch up with everything.
“Warn us next time, little bird.” Monroe kicks the body of the woman off and hauls me up. “You’re keeping me on my fucking toes, and it’s driving me crazy.”
“You’re not the only one,” Knox says, inspecting every inch of me, ensuring I’m uninjured. I laugh, but mostly out of nerves. There’s nothing funny about the situation. If my adrenaline wasn’t running so hot, I’d be a mess. It helps that my thoughts of revenge consume me. All I can think about is what I’m going to do to Alexander if he survives the fight with Lawrence. I can’t help it. I feel stronger than ever. My surprise attack on him has left me more confident than I knew possible. Because I can hurt him. I can be a worthy enemy to him.
“Come on. We have to move.” Sawyer helps Cooper to his feet and pats him on his back. “Hayley, can you give him some blood so he can heal faster?”
I slowly nod my head. Instead of waiting for him to bite me, Sawyer holds me up for Cooper to take me in his arms.
“You better hold on tight to her. Don’t drink too much. She’s already had enough taken tonight. We’ll lead the rest of the way.” Sawyer pulls out his com device and taps the screen a couple of times.
“We can head toward the Ri. Mesquite might have somewhere we can stay.” Monroe motions with his knife in the direction we’re supposed to go. I can’t remember anyone named Mesquite, but I hope the guy isn’t as treacherous as the rest of this damn town seems to be.
“He fucking better. If we don’t find shelter soon, we’re going to have to face the sun,” Knox says, picking up his pace.
“Don’t worry. My cousin has our back. He’ll be able to contact the Bella for us as well. It’s Walcott’s time to shine. The bastard has been dying for another moment to murder at a whim, and it’ll be a good distraction to draw attention away from us. Tatum can get the Strip dwellers riled up as well. We have to make it hard for Aris and Lawrence to look.” Monroe’s voice rises with his anticipation. I’m sure he’d prefer to be out taking down the monstrous masses instead of hiding, but he won’t leave me to do so.
“That should work—” Sawyer snarls and jabs his knife, gutting a Strip dweller.
Vampires crowd the area, loitering outside the front of the Sphere. I don’t know how far the Ri is, but I’m afraid we’ll never make it by foot. There are too many threats and people getting in our way. It doesn’t help that blood coats my skin and clothes, turning me into a spectacle—actually, we all are.
I peer around from Cooper’s arms, trying to get a visual, but we move too fast. It doesn’t help that Cooper carries me like a child. It’s as if he doesn’t want to give me the chance to push away from him if need be. I cling onto his neck, resting my cheek to his shoulder blade. He smells different with the blood of the female vampire on him. It’s not bad, but I don’t like it either. I hate the thought he even had to experience such pain. That he felt the need to sacrifice himself for me. Why does he feel my life is worth more than his? That’s a rare occurrence, and something I haven’t really experienced until I met the Bella Crew.
“If you need to bite me, go ahead,” Cooper whispers the words under his breath.
