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I’ve never heard anything so sexy in my life. Not her threat because of what had happened to her, but the way she gets super protective over us. I’ve never had somebody care for me like this apart from my grandmother and my older sister. It’s something I never expected to have again, now here I am, basking in the strength of Hayley.
“Rape? You’re mistaken. No one was sent in to rape you. We’re not monsters.” The vampire peers over his shoulder at the donors.
His words set me off, and I step forward, the desire to kick his face in stealing away my control. He’s fucking lying. He’s trying to manipulate me. But I was there. I saw how traumatized she was.
I fist my hands. “You son of a bitch. I don’t care if you don’t believe her, but it happened. We have the fucking bodies to prove it. All of your men have been slaughtered. They got the fate they deserved. Now move out the way, so we can leave. If you don’t, you’re dead. Take the fucking building down if you want. We’ll survive. We survived a hell of a lot worse.” I turn and look at Sawyer, meeting his gaze.
“Goddamn it. You’re going to be responsible for the fall of humanity in La Vega. I can’t let that happen.” The vampire raises his gun, aiming it at me. “Move now, or I will shoot you all, including you, dhampir. If you’re not with us, you are against us.”
Looks like he has our same fucking motto.
His words trigger Hayley and her nature, clouding her good senses. She flings herself from Monroe and at the vampire, putting his threat to the test. He shouts at her to stop, aiming his gun, but Hayley refuses. And he proves that he’s bluffing, because he doesn’t shoot her. But he does try to grab her, dodging out of her way to materialize behind her.
Hayley grabs his wrist, stopping him from digging his nails into her shoulder. Pulling the vampire with her weight, she manages to flip him over her back and onto the ground.
“Detonate the explosives.” The vampire flashes his fangs, looking up at the donors, standing there waiting for his command.
He truly is planning to go down, trying to take us with him.
The four of us fly toward Hayley, trying to get her away from the vampire. He snatches the front of her shirt, stopping her from reacting.
The deafening sound of an explosion rings in my ears, and the floor disintegrates beneath my feet. The world clouds around me, and I hear Hayley scream, but I can’t see her. I can’t see Sawyer, Monroe, or Knox either.
I hit the ground hard, my ankle giving out. It wasn’t a long drop, but the sheer force of hitting the concrete ground breaks my bone. And then a slab of rock slams into the ground next to me. Dust fills the air as the rubble rains from above, stopping me from getting out of the building.
I shield my eyes and duck, positioning myself between two large pieces of concrete, creating a pocket to protect me.
My heart races as I try to listen through the ringing in my ears for voices. If Hayley is hurt, I will destroy every fucking renegade I find. I will destroy the leaders. If something happens to Hayley, there’s nothing left for me in this world, and I will take it down.
The world settles, the debris piling over me, making it nearly impossible to see in the dark. I cough, inhaling breaths of dust. Heat radiates from nearby, and the scent of smoke wafts through the crevices of my small pocket of air. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to get out of this.
I try to whistle, but I can’t. It’s too hard to intake deep breaths. The smoke and dust nearly suffocating me.
“Hayley!” Knox shouts, his voice muffled but still clear enough for me to hear. “Hayley!”
Silence hangs in the air as Hayley doesn’t respond to Knox’s call. Panic rolls through me. I know that vampires can withstand horrendous circumstances, but dhampirs? I don’t know. Hayley is different. She’s stronger, faster, and more vampiric in nature compared to what I remember my grandma being. Sure, she was tough as hell, but Hayley? She’s incomparable.
“If you make a sound, I’ll rip your heart out. The Bella Crew obviously won’t work with us.” The familiar voice of the douche vampire sounds from the right of me.
I wasn’t far from him and Hayley when the floor fell out from under me. I can’t see shit, though. All I can hear is Knox yelling for Hayley. Sawyer. Monroe.
“Coop! Cooper! Can you hear me?” Knox calls my name, his voice coming from above me.
“Now listen carefully, dhampir. I’m going to let go of your heart, but if you consider even breathing too loudly, you’re dead. You’ve left me no choice.” Growling, the vampire continues whispering to Hayley. “This will hurt.”
His instruction to Hayley stops me from responding to Knox’s yells. If the vampire realizes I’m nearby, he might do something unthinkable. I have nothing to live for without Hayley and will not jeopardize her life for my own. If the vampire knows how to escape the rubble, I’ll allow him to. I’ll wait until Hayley is safe and out of this mess before figuring out how to escape.
Hayley groans, her whimper cutting off and muffling. Fury burns hot through me, testing my resolve. The pain she experiences now is agonizing. I know it. I’ve felt it, and her reaction ignites the painful memory all over again.
“I said be quiet,” the vampire says, his words striking me in the soul.
I close my eyes, listening to the rubble shift less than a dozen feet away. Knox continues to shout for us from above, and dust and debris trickle into my air pocket. I can’t see him, but I suspect he digs through the wreckage. How he manages to be on top instead of beneath the broken building is beyond me. I didn’t even have a second to think.
The familiar whoosh of Hayley’s breathy gasps helps me focus on her. Something crunches, and I stare in the direction of the noise. The vampire isn’t digging up to escape. He’s shifting small pieces of debris, working his way in my direction.
Glaring, I watch the slab of concrete wiggle, my eyes now adjusted to the darkness. Only a streak of orange light glows from my left, the building smoldering without catching fire completely from where I can see.
I shift in my place, feeling my side until I find the empty holster of where my gun should be. Fuck. It takes stretching awkwardly and reaching behind me to free my last knife from its spot in my boot. My knee buckles with the pain coursing through me. I push through it because I know that at any second, the vampire is going to come crashing through with Hayley. And I can’t let him get away with her. I can’t.
