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Since vampires always had to ruin a good moment, footsteps echoed across the garage.
It was midday, but being underground meant the garage had no windows, so dark shadows spread throughout our level. Flickering light bulbs provided a little extra light to see the man approaching.
As memories of my ongoing nightmares flooded my mind, fear rooted me in place. Ice seeped through my skin and coated my bones.
The Master Vampire I loathed with a passion stepped into the light.
21
TUESDAY AT NOON
If I was being honest with myself—which we all knew I hated to do—I wasn’t sure how I would feel seeing Xavier again. Yes, he had planned to cage me and apparently breed me—for what purpose, no one knew—which stoked my anger into an all-out rage.
And yes, his face filled my nightmares, not just the ones from Colin’s spell, but ongoing nighttime visions that made my stomach plummet to my feet and my legs turn to jelly.
The problem was that he had also warned me not once but twice about a greater threat. Once on the streets of Miami after he’d escaped from the DEA’s holding cell, when he tried to kidnap, slash asked me to run away with him. Then a second time when he sent a letter warning me to dig deeper just before I went to the Blood Trials to save Thane’s life.
This mother fucking vampire had helped me twice, maybe even saved my life, and now I was super conflicted about my feelings toward killing him as soon as he showed his face. Only a handful of months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated. Curbing my impulsive side came with some serious cons.
Especially now as he strode forward. I’d forgotten how fucking good-looking he was, which shifted my emotional spectrum back to the angry-as-fuck side. Because it wasn’t his influence talking—just plain old vampire genetics (if it was called that).
The man had thick, wavy hair that curled around his ears, each strand showcasing the rich hues of autumn. His dark brown eyes were laser-focused on me, set within the latte-colored painting that made up the rest of his beautiful facial features.
His light blue suit jacket hung open, revealing a simple white shirt beneath, and the sleeves rolled up to his mid forearms to display the floral pattern on the inside. He tucked his hands casually into the pockets of his matching linen pants. Not a care in the world as he approached two incredibly powerful Community members, if I say so myself.
Sharp canines hid behind his full lips, the corners of which were currently twisted upward into a conceited smile. His gaze drank me in from head to foot, his subsequent arousal pressing against the fabric of his pants.
“Ah, Veronica Neill,” he purred in a sultry voice that likely made most women’s panties drop, “what an absolute pleasure to see you again.”
I put my hand on Thane’s arm as he stepped forward, anger emanating from him like a heatwave. “I can’t say the same.”
“My apologies for the late arrival. I had a minor issue to attend to first.” Xavier’s gaze flicked to my mate for the briefest of moments. “And I believe I asked you to come alone.”
Thane crossed his arms.
“If you actually expected me to follow through with that, you’re dumber than I thought,” I said.
Xavier’s eyes flashed dangerously. “How I missed your…ladylike sass.”
Like before, the man hadn’t come to grips with women being his equal and often his better. He was stuck in his millennia-old ways, and I was happy to take advantage of that mindset again.
“Let’s get this over with so I can move on to killing you,” I said with a hurry-up gesture. Just because I was emotionally conflicted didn’t mean I wouldn’t kill him. “And I’m only giving you one minute before I do because you technically helped me with Emilia.”
Xavier’s smile deepened. But coming from the vampire, it was like a cat teasing its prey. “How kind of you.”
“Her generosity won’t last long,” Thane said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re stalling.”
“What do you have that I want?” I eyed him up and down with contempt. “Because I can’t think of anything except your ashes in the trash.”
The vampire’s pupils burned red as he telepathically communicated to his creations. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he hadn’t produced more vampires, which was part of the reason we’d armed up as much as we had.
Like nails on a chalkboard, the skittering sound of claws on cement surrounded us. Newly-turned vampires crept out of the surrounding shadows and from beneath cars. As their hungry eyes fixated on us as if we were their lunch, I counted five with varying degrees of desiccated skin and stringy, patchy hair.
Although we kept our weapons sheathed, Thane and I shifted our weight into more defensive stances. Five wasn’t a lot, but who knew how many more waited. If things got dicey, our plan was to inflict as much damage as possible, then high-tail it out of there.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “An ambush? Really?”
“Of course not. I’ve no intention of harming you,” the Master Vampire said. “However, I knew you would not come alone, and you brought more than just one ex-reaper.”
