Bound to Shadows (9 page)

The hazel-eyed leader gave a slight sneer. “It’s four vampires against one woman, guardian. I’m
thinking the odds might be in our favor.”
“And I’m thinking you’re all fucking idiots.” I shifted my feet a little, adjusting my weight so
that most of it was balanced on my right leg. The men behind me were almost close enough. Almost.
“Attacking a guardian will get you into more trouble than you could ever imagine. You really
don’t want to do this.”
He flexed his fingers and gave me a grin that was all teeth. “You guardians killed a blood
brother. His only crime was obeying the wishes of a whore, and he was punished for it.”
“It’s against the law to suck a human dry. You may not like it, but it’s the law and we have to
enforce it.” As my skin began to burn with the closeness of the two vampires, I twisted, sweeping
my leg up and around. The blow took the first vampire on the chin and the second in the chest,
pushing them both backward. I followed through with a punch, smashing the first vampire’s nose,
sending blood and snot and God knows what else flying. He dropped like a stone to the pavement
and I spun around, looking for the second vamp. He was already out of reach.
Still, three against one was better odds by far.
But I had little time to appreciate it as the other two attacked. They were fast and strong and
coming from different directions, and I found myself backing up against the onslaught of their
fists and feet. I barely missed connecting with a one-two punch to my face, felt the breezy
approach of another and ducked, only to see the blur of an oncoming boot. I threw myself
backward, twisting as I did so, landing on all fours and launching myself upright. One of them
landed on my back, his spindly arms and legs wrapping around my body as his teeth tore into my
shoulder. A scream rolled up my throat but I gritted my teeth against it, forcing myself to
concentrate as the other two vamps came at me.
I dropped, sweeping with one leg—the movement somewhat awkward and cramped thanks to the moron
stuck to my back. The vampire avoided the blow then launched himself toward me. I twisted,
punching upward, wishing like hell I was wearing my wooden stilettos right now. They sure would
have been handy—although a blow to the privates nevertheless took another attacker out. It just
wasn’t as satisfyingly painful to him as a stake would have been.
Then a fist connected with my chin and knocked me sideways. I crashed down onto all fours, the
rough road surface tearing at my palms as I skidded along for several feet. I shook my head,
trying to clear it, trying to ignore the pain and just get up. The vampire on my back was still
clinging like a leech and the smell of blood tainted the air, intensifying the whole
situation.
The footsteps of another approaching vampire loomed large. I had to move or this whole situation
could get
really
bad.
Then another scent hit me—orange blossom and dark spices.
Starke.
The footsteps of the third vampire abruptly stopped, and a heartbeat later, bones cracked. I
grabbed the thumbs of the leech on my back, pushing them backward—hard. As he screamed, I threw
myself onto the ground, smashing his head against the roadside and crushing him beneath
me.
Starke appeared before me, his golden eyes burning with so much fury that they glowed.
“Please accept my apologies,” he said, holding out a hand. “The guard at the door is supposed to
prevent things like this from occurring and has been appropriately dealt with for his
lapse.”
I untangled myself from the arms and legs that were still wrapped around me, then placed my hand
in Starke’s and let him haul me upright. He did so with little effort and, surprisingly, released
me straightaway.
Which didn’t mean the ever-so-brief touch had no effect. Quite the opposite, in fact. “It’s
hardly your fault these four decided to be morons.” I barely resisted the urge to wipe the
lingering heat of his flesh onto my jeans. He’d basically saved my life, so the least I could do
was not insult him by showing such an outwardly adverse reaction to his touch. “Or that the
bouncer values his hatred more than his job.”
He smiled, but there was nothing warm about it, and I was suddenly damn glad that look hadn’t
been aimed my way. Jack might not have a very high opinion of this vampire, but I suspected he
was
way
more dangerous than he was letting on.
“Whether or not he has specific grudges against guardians should never have come into it. He was
employed to do a job and I expected him to do it.”
I couldn’t really argue with that. I looked past him. The vampire he’d stopped—who happened to be
the leader of this little band of morons—was lying on the ground, his back twisted at an odd
angle. Meaning it was broken. While this wasn’t a fatal wound for vampires, it sure as hell put
them through a slow and painful recovery. I can’t say I was sorry about that. Although if his
friends didn’t get him out of the street before dawn, he wouldn’t have to worry about the pain.
He’d be burnt to a crisp by the sunlight.
Couldn’t say I’d be sorry about that, either.
I looked back at Dante. Anger still burned in his golden eyes, but the heat of it had been tamped
down a little, its force replaced by a heat that was more sexual in nature. Surprisingly, there
was no spark of blood hunger lighting the deeper depths—an oddity given the blood that still
poured down my back. But maybe he’d just fed. The meeting the bartender had mentioned could very
well have been code for feeding.
I wondered if he fed during sex, like Quinn. I couldn’t actually smell sex on him, just the
delicious aroma of desire. It was a wave of heat that caressed my skin as sensually as any touch,
and it sent little prickles of longing shuddering through my body.
This vampire was dangerous, all right—and not just in the way I’d presumed moments ago.
I stepped away, trying to deflate the intensity of my awareness, suddenly glad that not every
vampire had sexual glamor. Nonhumans and humans alike would have been in deep trouble if they
had.
He smiled and closed the distance between us again.
“How badly did the vamp on your back wound you?” he asked, his golden gaze flicking to the
vampire behind me. It was just as well he was still unconscious, because if that look was
anything to go by, he would have suffered a fate deadlier than a broken back.
“I’ve had worse.” Which was true enough. Even so, I’d have to shift shape soon or Quinn would
have to forgo his feeding the next time we made love. I stepped farther away, but it didn’t ease
my hunger for the golden vampire.
Amusement played about his lush mouth. “Why not come back to the club and clean yourself up? I
promise not to peek while you strip down.”
Yeah, I believed
that
. “I’m afraid I’m expected back at the
Directorate—”
“And you wouldn’t stay anyway, even if I offered you your favorite coffee.” He paused, studying
me. “I find it odd that a werewolf is so reluctant to pursue such an obvious
attraction.”
“And we both know that this
isn’t
an attraction but the sexual glamor
you’re using on me.”
“Ah. You know about that.”
“Yeah, so stop it.”
He waved his hands and somehow managed to look woebegone. “If only I could. But alas, it is part
of my makeup and therefore uncontrollable.”
“Other women might buy that. I don’t.” I took the printouts from my pocket. “Don’t suppose you
know either of these men, do you?”
He took the photos from me, his fingers somehow managing to brush mine and send yet another
delicious shiver of desire skating through me.
“That one, no,” he said, giving me back the one I suspected was Kye in disguise. “This man isn’t
a regular, but I have seen him around before. I believe his name is Luke. Luke
Johnson.”
“Is he a vamp?”
“Human. The few times he was in the club, he was fed on, not feeding.” He handed me back the
printout. “If you’d like, I can ask around and see if any of my staff know of him.”
“I’d like.” I folded the pictures up and shoved them back into my pocket. “If you do happen to
find anything, just call the Directorate.”
“If I find anything, I shall insist you come and get it. After all, I just saved your life, so
you can hardly deprive me of another glimpse of your beauty.”
I snorted softly. “Do shitty pickup lines like that often work for you?”
His sudden grin had my hormones racing about excitedly. “Totally. In fact, it’s working now—only
you won’t acknowledge it.”
He had that right. “Again, thanks for your help.”
“My pleasure,” he said. Then, moving with lightning speed, he caught my hand and dragged me
against his long, strong body. His free hand slid under my sweater, caressing skin, sending
delighted shivers up my spine. “Are you sure you don’t want to come back? That wound is bleeding
profusely and really should be tended to.”
His lips were so close that his breath burned mine, and suddenly it was all I could do
not
to stand on my tippy-toes and kiss him. “Starke, release me or
I’ll kick you in the balls.”
And that would
hurt
, given the current rock-hard state of that
area.
“I’m only trying to help—”
“Bullshit. Now release me.”
He sighed dramatically and did as I asked. I stepped back and tried to ignore the hammering of my
heart. And the urge to step right back into the hard warmth of his embrace.
“Don’t try that again, Starke, or there will be trouble.”
Amusement glittered in his bright eyes. “Trouble and I are old companions. I enjoy its taste.”
His gaze swept down me then rose to meet mine again. His desire was stronger than ever before,
scorching my skin. “As I will eventually enjoy tasting you.”
He gave me a slight bow then walked away before I could say anything, his gait effortless and
sexy.
Lord. I mentally slapped the lusty image away, then shifted shape and trotted to the car. Once
back in human form, I took off my blood-sodden sweater and shredded bra, chucked them in the
trunk, and retrieved the spare T-shirt I kept there for emergencies.
As I climbed into the car, my phone rang. I turned the key in the ignition to warm the engine,
then answered the call. “Riley here.”
“Riley? Liander. Rhoan’s just been shot.”
My heart just about stopped. For several minutes, I couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, couldn’t do
anything. Rhoan had been shot. And
I
hadn’t felt it. Hadn’t even
known he was in trouble.
“He’s okay,” Liander added quickly. “The bullet winged him, nothing more. They’ve almost finished
stitching the wound and it looks fine.”
If he was in a hospital, then it was more than just a graze. I needed to get there. “Where is
he?”
“At the Albert Hospital. But there’s no need to come here—meet us at home.”
“Liander, I can’t—”
“Riley,” Liander interrupted, tone stern. “He’s okay. He’s being released, but it’ll take us at
least another hour to finish up here and get home, so you might as well meet us there.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath. He was right, I knew that, but the urge to run to my twin’s
side was an instinct I couldn’t easily shake. “Okay, I’ll see you there.”
“Good.”
I hit the END button, then glanced down as the phone beeped again. This time it was a text. I
opened the message.
How’s your brother?
it said.
Silver bullets can
cause such nasty wounds
.
Just that. Nothing more.
But I didn’t need anything more, because I knew exactly who it was from.
Kye was a dead man.
W
ith Rhoan safe and Liander advising me to meet them at home
rather than the hospital, it was an easy decision to go after Kye. I already had an appointment
set up with the man, and the attempt on Rhoan’s life made me eager to keep it.
Which was probably the reason he’d shot Rhoan in the first place.
Proximity Drive in Brooklyn turned out to be a road filled with hulking warehouses. Number five
was caged by wire, but unlike the others in the street, it wasn’t surrounded by tower lights. It
sat in the shadows—a long, slender building that seemed out of place among its beefier
peers.
I drove up to the gates, but before I could wind down the window and press the intercom button,
the gates began to open. I leaned forward and spotted the camera perched atop the posts. Kye must
have been watching for me. No surprise there.
I sucked in a breath that did little to control anger still roiling inside, then lifted my foot
off the brake and drove forward. A solitary light gleamed about halfway down the long white
building, illuminating a heavy steel door.
I parked in a bay near the door, then transferred Cole’s report from the computer to my phone and
climbed out. There was another camera perched above the doorway, and the door clicked open as I
approached it.
“Follow the hallway” came Kye’s instructions, seemingly out of nowhere because I couldn’t see a
speaker. “I’m in the second room on the right.”
The door swung shut behind me. The only light in the place seemed to be coming from a semishut
doorway down the far end of the hall. The air was crisp and cold, and my nipples puckered in
response. I crossed my arms—though it didn’t do a lot to alleviate the chill—and walked
forward.
It took all my control not to run.
Unsurprisingly, the second doorway on the right was the one emitting the light into the hall. I
pressed my fingertips against the cool metal and slowly opened it. I wasn’t sure what to expect,
but it sure as hell wasn’t a rifle range.
Kye was shooting at a target set far down at the other end of the room, but the minute I walked
in, he swung around. The gun was long and mean-looking, and it was aimed squarely at my
heart.
I stopped. I might want to kill him, but I didn’t want to die in the process. “You shot my
brother.”
The gun didn’t waver. Neither did the waves of cool amusement that were coming off him. He was
dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting black T-shirt, and part of me couldn’t help admiring the way
it defined his back and clung to the top of his biceps.
Obviously, my wolf was as insane as the man she was admiring.
“I thought,” he said, his voice flat and oh so controlled, “you might need a little reminder
about our meeting tonight.”
“He’s a guardian, Kye. You just committed an ar-restable offense.”