Bound Through Blood (18 page)

Devin and Salena finished their journey to the Gulf of Mexico. He'd chosen Holly Beach as their place to wait. He'd already scoped out the area around the ocean, and this beach, at least at the time, was the least populated by tourists and locals. He didn't want the battle to be witnessed by a bunch of humans, and with Gabriel, it would be a huge battle. His concern was to keep Salena safe, even if he died in the process.

Salena was more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life. She was worried about Devin getting hurt by Gabriel, of course, but also by herself. What if she couldn't be the person he expected her to be and already thought her to be? What if she couldn't be Abigail for him? What if she just didn't want to? She didn't feel as strongly about the last part as she used to, though. Of course, she was also worried about what Gabriel would do to her if Devin failed. She'd felt his wrath once; she didn't dare think about the second time.

Devin kept an eye out for Gabriel; he could be anything right now—a stray dog walking by, a bird perched in a tree, a squirrel, or even just a spider. Or he could be himself, and Devin wasn't sure what would be worse. He knew Gabriel was strong. What he didn't know was what new tricks his brother had. He couldn't be sure of what to expect, so he decided to expect anything and everything.

The couple stopped and sat on the shore close to the water and waited.

They didn't have to wait long.

Gabriel found the happy couple sitting on the beach. He wasn't sure if they were waiting for him or not, but it really didn't matter; he was ready. Salena looked to be healed nicely from his attack on her, which he found interesting. Devin must have remembered some spells from the old world, or maybe he had some new ones; either way, it didn't matter. They were both good as dead. In fact, as he sniffed the air, he noticed a change in Devin's aroma. Could it be? A wicked grin graced his gorgeous face, and a low chuckle escaped his throat. Maybe Devin was transitioning back to mankind. This was just too easy. Not only would he not be able to protect Salena, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself.

Gabriel waited until dusk before he made his move. The visitors in the area had gone on home or to dinner, which is good, he didn't want a lot of spectators for the show about to take place. A few he didn't mind—a huge crowd, though, could be a problem—even in good old New Orleans. He was close enough to Devin and Salena to watch them, while the sun set, without being noticed himself; at least as far as he could tell, he hadn't been noticed. He knew Devin was on the lookout, though, but his brother's senses aren't as keen, especially if he was transitioning back to mankind.

He kept an eye on Salena as well; she had just recovered too quickly from his attack. He would not make that mistake again. He would make sure she really suffered this time. The thought of it made his fangs ache. It also put him into action. It was time.

He approached the couple, sitting down on the beach, talking quietly amongst themselves. Maybe Devin was talking about the good old days and Abigail again. Gabriel thought that, personally, if he were Salena, he wouldn't want to be compared to a ghost.

Devin looked casually over his shoulder; he knew Gabriel was behind them. He gave Salena a squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head, then he turned and lunged. Gabriel was fast though, so Devin missed him for the most part. He was able to make contact with Gabriel's shoulder, however, which knocked him off balance but only for a split second. Gabriel lunged back, knocking Devin to the ground. They rolled around snarling, growling, and thrashing like a couple of starving bears.

Salena stood nearby, watching in horror as the vampire she was supposed to love tried to save her from the vampire she feared the most. And, of course, she knew what would happen to her if Devin lost. Yet, she couldn't leave his side. So, she just watched, cried, and hoped. Then she saw blood, and she didn't know whose, and that really terrified her.

Gabriel had bit Devin in between his shoulder and his neck and ripped some flesh away, causing blood to splatter into the night.

Devin snarled and yelped in pain and then bucked his brother off himself, and then he was on top. He delivered a crushing punch to Gabriel's chin while his other hand twisted Gabriel's right arm, trying to dislocate it. He didn't even know that this was the arm Salena had hurt in the car door.

Gabriel felt his injury reopen in his right arm from where that bitch had slammed the car door shut. He howled in pain from the injuries while delivering a blow to Devin's abdomen with his knee. He was pretty sure he heard a bone break, and if he was lucky, maybe even two.

While rolling around on the sand with Devin, Gabriel eyed the bigger prize, Salena, who was standing there weeping—all alone and defenseless—again. Devin was a total fool for bringing her with him; not that he wouldn't have hunted her down after killing his brother. But still, why bring the feast to the lion? With all his might, he flung Devin off himself and scrambled toward Salena, who could only stand there in shock as he approached her.

Salena's legs were frozen in fear. She saw the vampire charging her, but she couldn't move for anything—just like in her dream—she was stuck in the mud. She couldn't even scream.

Devin felt a crushing blow to his abdomen from Gabriel and had the wind knocked out of him just as he heard bones break. It took him a mere second to regain his wits, even though he was not as strong as he once was, and to realize Gabriel had gone for Salena. Clambering after Gabriel, he rushed to save her.

Gabriel knew Devin right behind him, and just as he got to the scared stiff Salena, he turned in a surprise move and faced Devin head on. The vampires lunged at the same time, and their bodies crashed into one another with a colossal force that knocked them both backward. Both lunged again, and this time, Gabriel made contact—his fangs penetrated Devin's throat. He was about to deliver his final blow, when Salena rushed to her lover's side. This astonished Gabriel enough to pause him from his attack, which was enough time for Devin to lurch upward and elbow him in his already injured jaw and divert his fangs from inflicting further damage.

Devin rolled away, but he knew it was over. Gabriel had to attack him one more time, with just one more blow, and it would be finished—and he would have failed his truelove—again. He was just too weak. Even though the transition wasn't complete, it had started. And now as he lay there panting for breath, with blood gurgling in his throat, he felt something else—besides the pain. He felt his heart swell and a warm glow as he saw a look in Salena's eyes that had never been there before—it was a look he recognized from Abigail's eyes—it was love. And then he felt the most truly miraculous thing of all—he felt human. And as Salena leaned down and kissed his bloody lips, he was glad he would die in the arms of his soul mate; he was glad he could finally rest in peace.

Gabriel chuckled as he slowly approached the couple. "I have a confession for you, brother. I am the reason Abigail was burned. I am the one who cried
witch
." Gabriel lunged toward Devin for the last blow; he knew it would be over now. Just as he was about on top of his dying brother, though, Salena blocked the attack with her body and turned to stare into his shocked eyes before ripping into his throat. Then she picked him up with a strength she never had before and threw his body into the ocean.

Devin looked at his soul mate through half-closed eyes as she turned to him with blood on her mouth and smiled—a vampire grin—adorned with raven-black eyes. "Now, what were those ingredients for that healing spell?"

Prologue

She ducked around the corner, returning a flirtatious nod to the oblivious security guard. Her heart was pounding with excitement—this was her biggest heist in months.

Scarlett walked with her head full of long auburn hair—the reason for her name—held high. The statue ensconced in her over-sized handbag was going to bring her millions, while the ceramic replica left in its place was going to bring the British Museum shame. She knew that pottery class would pay off.

Making sure her badge and side arm were both visible, Scarlett passed the security guards by the entrance, with no problems at all, and hailed a cab.