Hunger Untamed H3 (16 page)

Together he and Lucy followed the lycans’ progress out of the bar. Neither looked back. By the time they hit the front door, Victor had no doubts reinforcements would be surrounding the bar within minutes. If he expected to make it out alive, they had to go. Now.

“What kind of weapons do you have on you?”

She scanned the room before speaking in a hushed voice. “Knives. Stakes.” Lucy’s gaze came to rest on his, her face pale. “But those weren’t vampires, were they?”

“No. Werewolves. You’ll need a gun and you’ll need to be fast. I don’t want you to fight them. You’re not ready for anything like that. But I do need to know that you can get away without me having to worry about you.”

“Hey! You haven’t been teaching me nothing. I know a few things.”

He liked that she didn’t so much as blink after being told about what had to be a new-to-her species. “You know how to get yourself killed with these people. I promise you that dancing with Sage is only slightly harder than dancing with these guys. I’m not going to argue with you, but I am going to arm you. Do as I say and run.”

“Because that worked so well for you yesterday,” she muttered.

Ignoring the remark, he pulled a gun from the holster. He passed it to her beneath the table, their fingers brushing. “Don’t do anything stupid, because I’m giving you a very valuable piece of hardware. And I will buy you as much time as I possibly can. They’ll be keeping their focus on me, so you should be able to get away.”

“What about you?”

Minus one gun, he didn’t think he stood a chance of making it out unscathed. Having broken away from Locke once before, they wouldn’t be giving him a second chance. “No time to get into this. We leave now before their numbers swell.”

He rose to standing, nodding with satisfaction when she followed suit, tucking the gun at her side. They’d only gone over rudimentaries of gun handling, but she’d absorbed everything he’d ever told her like a sponge.

He drank in the sight of her, needing it to last. He wished more than anything that he could have spent last night making love to her, instead of trying out the stupid experiment about spice. If they couldn’t have done anything else, he would have touched her naked body all over, tasted her all over, until the sun rose and she tired from his attentions.

Fuck. He hated this.

Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. Even the lightning-fast move didn’t shove fear into her the way it should have. Instead, with her head tilted back, a casual hand resting on his chest, Lucy watched him.

The rest of the bar, all of its patrons and furniture, faded. Insignificant.

Victor dipped down to caress her mouth, sliding his tongue inside to taste her once more. She was pliant, bowing beneath the force of his kiss. A couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t have dared to move her lips with his. Tonight, he couldn’t imagine a world where he’d never been gifted with the chance.

“Be careful. No matter what happens, you get out of here,” he whispered to her.

“Don’t make this sound like the last time I’ll ever see you.” Lucy’s chin lifted, a defiant glint in her eyes. There hadn’t been an ounce of tenderness in her directive, all of it instead filled with certainty as if she knew the future.

He wouldn’t lie to her, so Victor righted her without saying anything more and got ready to do whatever it took to make sure the lycans focused on him.

Although it was only a few minutes past nine, he pulled out the gun still in his possession. The door swung into the night air after he shoved it with a foot, uncaring if he someone got hurt by the brute force. Fists and bullets were about to fly, so they needed to get their asses out of there anyway. He’d do what he could to keep it away from the humans but couldn’t make any promises to anyone but Lucy.

The night was sticky and hot, the air clinging to him like Saran Wrap. A bead of sweat dribbled down his temple before he’d even taken a step. He glanced at the sky, dismayed to find a full moon glaring down at them. This made tonight so much worse than it should have been. So much worse. Lucy’s soft steps behind him prompted him to assess the area quickly.

No one was on the streets outside of the bar. A few cars lined the road. Nothing amiss. He almost wished they would rush him while he was prepared and also able to see Lucy get away. He growled at her, “Go. Now.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll find you, but you have to go.”

She hesitated and for the split second she stood there, dread made the blood in his veins freeze. At last she nodded and took off at a trot down the alley, gun at her side still. Part of him wanted to follow to make certain she’d made it to the car okay. Another part told him that if the lycans didn’t know they were together already, then by drawing attention to her, he’d only make things worse. Staying put had to be one of the hardest decisions he’d made in his life.

Victor moved in the opposite direction, the long way to his car. He kept his ears on alert for any sounds of pursuit, but nothing came to him. Still, despite the seconds that passed, he wouldn’t allow himself to relax.

The hit came from behind.

His thoughts scattered.

Something tagged him on his upper and lower back. Then pain exploded from where he’d been struck. His muscles clenched, and Victor dropped to the ground, unable to control any of them. His entire body jerked as what must have been a million volts of electricity shuttled through it. He’d heard the
pop
and then rapid-fire crackle immediately before contact and hadn’t recognized it for what it was.

He writhed on the sidewalk, teeth clenched, all thought obliterated by the pain. He tried to concentrate and separate himself from the torture, but the most he managed was the ability to think with some sort of continuity. Multiple pairs of footsteps came at him, and Victor curled into a semi-turn onto his side.

The blonde bitch from the bar was back and holding the trigger of a Taser. The second she released it, he’d be on her.

She said, “We could have done this the easy way.”

Unable to respond, he could only grunt in reply. He watched as three pairs of legs walked toward him and then spread into a circle, promising the release of the trigger at any moment. They would have to try and subdue him after she let go of the trigger. Otherwise, they might risk being taken down by the electricity as well.

He didn’t know how much time he would have to regain control of his muscles, but prayed it would be enough to break free.

“Hey!” a sharp feminine voice called.

The blonde turned and faced Lucy, who stood with the gun raised and pointed at her. Lucy didn’t hesitate. She fired once, her aim true. The blonde jerked back as the bullet struck high up on her chest. She screamed and dropped her weapon. Still, at least thirty seconds passed before Victor had control of his muscles again. Reaching behind him took several tries before he could yank on the connectors until the clasps disconnected. Tossing it all aside, he rose to shaky feet just in time for one of the men to barrel headfirst into his abdomen.

He stumbled over his own feet, the momentum from the man’s weight driving him down again.

Victor swung both arms around and then slammed his elbows into the lycan’s back. He released a rush of air, crying out as the sound of bone cracking could be heard. He slumped over and Victor shoved him off. A moment later, Victor rolled out from under his substantial weight.

Still grasping for control, Victor’s knees gave out when he rose and he wavered until he fell against the building. Skin shredded as flesh met concrete, abrading over the rough surface. Heart pumping in his throat, he ignored the burning sensation and searched the streets for Lucy.

She kneeled a good twenty feet away, both arms extended, gun in hands. She cracked off shot after shot at the lycans. They all landed high, decimating brick walls and placing large holes in cars. After having seen the expert shooting of the blonde, he knew she wasn’t trying to hit anyone. He didn’t know if he should applaud or cry. If they returned fire, they would not be as sympathetic.

“Go!” Victor bellowed. He couldn’t get away until she was safe and out of sight. She’d drawn attention to herself now. They had her scent.

“You go! Get your gun and let’s get out of here.”

He didn’t have to be told twice.

Chapter Seventeen

Victor still looked dazed, but Lucy kept her eye on the lycans closest to him while he got to his feet. The blonde had propped herself against the building, pressing a hand to the bleeding wound near her shoulder. Blood drooled through her fingers and down her arm, dropping to the pavement in fat circlets.

One of the guys twitched, balled into the fetal position. Lucy managed to keep the other two guys pinned behind a Jeep. She let loose a shot in their general direction at random intervals, just to dissuade them from thinking too hard about getting up. Pretty soon she’d run out of ammo, so she needed Victor to hustle.

Victor might yell at her later for not leaving, despite his many, many instructions to do so. But she needed him. Everything he’d said had sounded so final, and their agreement still hadn’t been fulfilled. If he disappeared on her, she’d never get the chance to go after Sage.

Her feelings for him were also uncomplicated but demanding. Regardless of how much time she had left with him because of her illness, she wanted to savor every minute. She’d discovered an inexplicable fondness for the vampire, and she wouldn’t easily give it or him up. Turning around to check on him had been a good decision.

“Move your ass, Victor,” she called.

He still weaved dangerously, listing to the side as he used the wall for support. She didn’t like the way his fingers dug into the cement, the strain he used in trying to get up.
C’mon
,
baby.
Pain made her useless to render much aid, so she needed him to stand.

“Get to your car. I’m going to mine,” he grumbled.

“You won’t make it ten feet on your own. Wherever you’re going, I’ll be right beside you, bud.”

“Woman, when this is over, we’re going to have a long-ass conversation about how you listen to instruction.”

“Man, when this is over, you’ll be thanking my ass that you’re still alive.” She didn’t know how a hand-to-hand fight might have gone down, but the crack shot at the blonde had given her ego a substantial boost.

For now, she studied Victor’s face, that blood-red eye seeming even more ominous against his pale skin. The Taser had done a job on him, and it wrenched her heart to watch him still trying to shake it off.

Growling echoed down the alley that she’d just abandoned, and Lucy turned, trying to see the animal obviously on the hunt. But she couldn’t very well watch the Jeep, Victor and the alley at the same time. She swiveled in all of those directions though, determined no one would sneak up on them.

For the first time, it occurred to her how underprepared she might be for this encounter. “Victor. Find us another way.”

He’d scooped up his gun and pointed it down the alley. He looked at Lucy, shook his head and jogged closer. Putting his back to hers, he said in a low voice, “They know my Mustang, so we’re not going that way. It’s on foot for a while until we can pick up another ride. We stay like this until we can’t. Shoot first and ask questions later. Smart humans will run but lycans will attack. Don’t worry about hitting the wrong person. I think they want me alive, which means you protect yourself first.”

What kind of mess was Victor mixed up in? She understood the unspoken message he’d just delivered. She would be counted as collateral damage for getting in between their brawl. If it came down to covering Victor’s back or her own, he meant for her to put herself first.

He wasn’t already dying like she was, though. Burning legs testified to her mortality with every breath she took. She forced her mind to shove the pain to the back; otherwise she’d be nothing more than a liability to Victor.

Her heart thumped in a steady rhythm as they edged their way along the buildings farther away from the bar and Jeep. Sweat dribbled down her face and back, her shirt clinging to her when she moved. Lucy searched the shadows, trying to discern any that followed them versus just mundane flickering of light. Her skin crawled while she listened to footsteps behind and in front of them.

Neither of them stated the obvious that they were surrounded. The lycans held back for some reason, but this wouldn’t end without another brawl in the streets.

Every hair on the back of her neck stood straight on end. Something was off. Wrong. “
Victor.
”

“I know,” he muttered.

Lucy’s inner alarm bell was clanging, and she couldn’t figure out why. She whirled to her left, leading with the gun, searching for the unseen danger. Shadows moved, but none came closer. “Where are they?”

The scrabbling of nails made her look up.

She screamed when two hundred plus pounds of fur and teeth leaped down from an overhang jutting from the building. Victor was quick to react, dropping into a crouch and firing as some sort of animal fell from the sky. Lucy swung her gun in the same direction, but she reacted with a human’s speed. The shock at seeing this
thing
coming at her didn’t help.

Victor aimed, but the animal was faster. It bounced off the wall, the shots landing microseconds after it had already moved to a new position. It hit the ground like a lead weight, the concrete miraculously not shattering beneath the force.

Tracking it with the gun proved an impossible task. It moved like lightning, never staying still for more than a second at a time. Lucy and Victor scattered, each trying to get a bead on the damned thing. They both aimed, but she held back, afraid of accidentally sending the shot at Victor.

A low growl from behind her had Lucy diving for the pavement. She managed an awkward roll as she landed on her gun hand and the unyielding metal. Something inside of her torso snapped at the same time. Tears sprang to her eyes, a small cry bursting out before she could contain it. She’d hurt something inside, but didn’t have time to focus on it. Bristling fur filled her sight line.

Victor flicked his attention to her, but the split-second movement wasn’t lost on the two charging animals. The lycans.

They split off, one headed for Victor, the other gunning for Lucy. Her rough breathing already hampered by the poison running through her system grew more erratic, and she gulped in painful gasps, desperate for a greater supply of air. The creature headed for her practically paralyzed her in its yellowed gaze, her stomach churning with fear. Between the pain and shock, she couldn’t get her sluggish brain to think about her next steps.

Shoot it. She had to shoot it.

Her arm weighed a hundred pounds when she lifted it to bring the gun to bear. Sweat dripped into her eye, blinking hard adding more sweat instead of clearing it from her vision. She didn’t dare use her free hand, needing it to help steady her trembling gun hand.

The first shot went wild and high, clearing the creature. It hunkered down though, pausing as if waiting for the pain to register. When nothing happened, it rose from the crouch.

The second time she pulled the trigger, the gun clicked. No ammo.

Goddamn it. She’d spent her only bullets on firing at the guys by the Jeep. Victor must have another clip, but he had his own problems right now. She glanced over in time to catch him and the lycan wrestling, the lycan’s jaws snapping at Victor but catching only air.

Movement closer to her brought her attention back to her own troubles.

The creature seemed to have realized her ammo dilemma and began to trot toward her again. It glared at her as if recognizing how close she’d come to ending its miserable life. It loped faster on four legs, fur bristling. Rumbling like a thunderstorm filled the air, and Lucy scrambled backward as fast as she could.

The pain in her side grabbed her liver or some such internal organ, twisted and then stabbed for good measure. Lucy cried out, pressed a hand against the pain and tried to keep the stuff on the inside where it belonged. Whatever damage she’d done when she’d landed earlier had been more severe than she’d thought. Maybe the poison slowly killing her added to it. Damn it.

She crawled forward, very aware the creature couldn’t have been more than a few feet away.

Tears blurred her vision, but she turned to find Victor. There was no chance she’d be able to scream for help. It hurt so much.

He couldn’t see her from his position.

Hot breath panted down the back of her neck, spittle following. She didn’t dare look back, not when she could feel the weight of the creature hovering above her.

Her hands trembled, but Lucy grabbed onto the sidewalk and dragged herself forward.

So much pain.

* * *

Victor pulled on the lycan’s head and twisted, not stopping until the creature’s limbs stopped flailing and the entire body went limp in his hold. A final
snap
ensured he’d ended its miserable life. The distant sound of sirens snagged his attention, and with disgust, he dropped the body. Whether any of them liked it or not, the humans would be on the scene of the fight in no time. They would be forced to scatter, putting an end to this confrontation until another time. Worse, they might be forced to end innocent lives in order to protect their kind.

He whipped around, searching for Lucy. She might not be attuned to the danger approaching yet, and he had to get them both out of there. Including the one with a broken neck, there were two still bodies on the ground. The blonde couldn’t be seen, but no doubt she was balled up somewhere trying to expel the silver bullet. Maybe one of her friends assisted, which was fine by Victor. The more who remained distracted, the better. Get Lucy. Get gone.

Oh
,
fuck
. How had he missed that there was a second lycan?

It crouched over a body he’d overlooked, but from where he stood, Victor couldn’t tell whose. Maybe the blonde? He couldn’t see Lucy anywhere.

But she wouldn’t be lying there.

Shouldn’t be.

He prayed to high heaven she wasn’t the person on the cold pavement. He ignored the familiar light blue color of the T-shirt and the blue jeans on the body. Still, his thoughts began to break apart, losing meaning.

Lucy.

He swung his guns around firing at the creature, aiming high as to not hit the body beneath.

A yelp helped him refocus for a needed split second. His shots had been true, colliding with the lycan’s body. Blood exploded outward, but the creature seemed unfazed. It turned toward him and howled, a growl following on its heels. It swayed on four legs before collapsing in a heap. It wouldn’t buy him a lot of time, but it was better than nothing.

From the direction which he’d run, the sound of nails clattering against the concrete made him too damned aware more lycans were on their way. Possibly the two Lucy had distracted before.

Victor refused to look at that body. He couldn’t help her if he was dead. That impulse alone kept him from rushing to her side.

The bullets were silver, but unlike what the movies showed, they would only slow the lycan and not kill it. The silver slowed down the healing process, not stopping it altogether.

Victor leaned against a telephone pole, heart racing. The longer they stayed, the more lycans would show up. Never mind the fact that the human authorities were on their way. He was out of his league here and putting Lucy in mortal danger. Maybe she was only unconscious. Arousable. If she got seriously hurt, he’d never forgive himself.

He scanned the street, spotted humans seeking shelter from the storm of their fight inside storefronts. They hunkered behind tables and chairs, eyes wide. White-knuckled grips kept them glued to the gunfight instead of fleeing from the danger of stray bullets. Stupid.

Fuck
,
Lucy.
Why weren’t you one of them...afraid and cowering but
safe
?

Victor pushed down the emotion. Turned to face the approaching lycans. Damn, he’d been so focused on the wrong thing that one charged from only a few feet away. Throwing up an arm, he howled as a lycan clamped onto the target. It hauled back its head and ripped out a hunk of Victor’s flesh. His arm went numb and then came alive with a white-hot inferno of pain. Teeth had bounced off bone, the torment more excruciating than he could have ever imagined. He kicked out on instinct, unable to focus except on how he’d give anything to tear off his arm and stop the hurt. The blow connected, the lycan shoved away a few feet.

By some miracle, he managed to raise his other very trembling arm and fire. Aiming for the creature’s eye, it went into its yawning maw instead. Victor’s stomach jerked, but his pulse pounded in triumph. The lycan dropped to the ground, limbs twitching.

That left one more lycan, but dear God he didn’t know if he had the strength left to dispose of it. Victor cradled his mangled arm at his side, grimacing as physiology started mending his flesh. His heart worked triple time, keeping up with his wounds and the healing. If he went through another hit like this one, he might not make it out in good condition. Much more blood loss, and he’d pass out. Awaken later.

The sirens were getting closer, not more than two or three blocks away.

They couldn’t stay here any longer.

“Lucy?” He edged closer to her body, gun hand extended as much as he could. A sound of anguish escaped him when he spied the dark red spray of blood on the shirt.

Defense became a latent concern. He could hear the very faint, very weak sounds of her heart and he’d been around humans long enough to know what he heard wasn’t normal. She was still, so still. If he thought for one second that it would have helped, he would have raged against every living creature in his sights.

Although his legs hadn’t been injured, they didn’t seem to be under his control, and Victor half dragged, half stumbled his way to Lucy. Although he tried to keep his gun arm raised, the cold metal in his hand weighed too much, and his arm fell back to his side time and again.

He made it to her before another attack, her luck more than his because surely by now he was out. After dropping to his knees, he strained to pull her into his arms, trying to find a way to hold on to her while keeping his gun ready. His mangled arm hung uselessly at his side, and he didn’t know how long it would take before he regained control of it. Lucy couldn’t have been more than one hundred and thirty pounds on any given day, but as dead weight, it might as well have been three hundred. He struggled to throw her over his bad shoulder, one part of him demanding he not injure her further while the other knew his best course of action meant getting away.