My Love Lies Bleeding (11 page)

I only woke up because I had a mouthful of mud and a lump of hard dirt as a pillow.

“Ow.” I sat up, blinking blearily. “What the hell, you guys?”

“Shh,” Connor hissed at me, his hand covering my mouth. “We’re not alone.” I could barely hear him, he was speaking so softly.
I couldn’t hear heartbeats or frightened porcupines or twigs snapping under combat boots, but I knew the rest of my brothers
could. He drew a sun in the dirt at our feet. I could barely make out the shape in the moonlight falling through the branches.
Not just vampires then.

Helios-Ra.

The wind was warm, persistent. The crickets had stopped singing, no doubt sensing predators in every corner of the forest.
This was our forest, damn it. The Helios-Ra had no business here.

Shadows flitted between the trees, making an unearthly sigh of displaced air. A vampire screamed and turned to dust, billowing
between the leaves. A wooden Helios-Ra stake bit the maple tree behind her as she crumbled. Someone screeched. Connor leaped
into the fray before I could stop him. Marcus was fighting, and Quinn, of course, who couldn’t be kept from a good fight no
matter the circumstances. Logan crouched between me and the worst of it, Duncan was farther behind, guarding our back. It
was standard formation, one my mother drilled into us along with our ABCs and why we mustn’t tell anyone our parents had fangs
and drank blood instead of coffee. For my mother to have been truly proud, we should have had the high ground.

We didn’t.

In fact, we weren’t even all accounted for. “Where’s London?” I asked.

“She took off,” Logan answered grimly. “She ran off down some tunnel while you were napping.”

“And you didn’t go after her?”

“Little busy for a temper tantrum.”

“She probably feels bad about dragging me to court.”

“Too busy for that, too. She’ll be fine,” he added. “And anyway, she mentioned something about doing some recon of her own.
The royal guard should have been there to protect you if you were such an honored guest. She wants to know what’s going on.”

“Everything’s a sad- ass mess, is what’s going on,” I muttered. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”

I didn’t even know how far away from the farm we were, having slept through a good part of the journey. We could be half an
hour away or three hours. The stars were faint above us, visible only when there was a particularly violent gust of wind.
I studied their patterns, as much as I was able. The moon hung low.

“Nearly dawn,” I muttered at Logan. “We have to get out of here.”

“You think?” he muttered back, using that tone reserved for only the most annoying of little sisters. I rose to my feet, feeling
as if I were moving through water. I was that tired, with my eyes burning and my throat clenched against a yawn. Logan glared
at me.

“Get back down.”

I shook my head. “We’re outnumbered.”

“Not the first time,” he grunted, ramming a stake into the heart of a vampire Connor flipped toward him. A hiss, a burst of
dust.

“I can smell her,” someone interrupted, excitement thrumming through his voice. I had no desire whatsoever to meet the owner
of that voice. The moon continued to drop behind the horizon. I dove toward Logan, coming up at his side. I yanked stakes
out of his back holster.

“Stay down, damn it.”

“She’s mine.” One of the vampires caught my scent and turned sharply away from where he’d been beating Duncan to a pulp. The
vampire looked around, distracted. “Solange? I’m here for you, my love.”

“If he starts spouting poetry I’m staking him myself,” I promised through my teeth. Duncan rolled toward us, a deep gash bleeding
profusely on his head. Blood matted his hair to the side of his face. Logan’s nostrils flared.

“Cutting it close, aren’t you?” he muttered.

“Bastard’s stronger than he looks,” Duncan muttered back as I propped him up against a tree. I swallowed against the gag reflex
when his blood oozed over my fingers.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He wiped his face with his sleeve. “It’s healing already.”

The sounds of battle came closer.

Too close.

I heard the snap of a twig. And then Marcus roaring. Not a twig. His arm.

I threw one of my stakes. It didn’t hit the vampire’s heart but she did stumble back, hissing. Marcus hid himself in the bushes,
cradling his injured arm. Quinn laughed even though he was fighting off a vampire and a Helios-Ra agent who were also fighting
each other. Fists thudded into flesh. Blood splattered through the air. The darkness was fading slowly to the gray light of
predawn, glinting off night-vision equipment. I sat back on my heels, stomach clenching.

“Logan,” I said. “There’s too many of them.”

“We’re fine,” he insisted.

“Are not,” I insisted right back. “You guys have to get out of here.”

“We’re trying,” Duncan grunted.

“I mean right now. Without me.”

“Forget it.”

“We have you surrounded,” a voice announced over some kind of scratchy amplifier. Quinn blinked, midpunch.

“Cops?”

“Worse,” the vampire currently ducking hissed. “Helios-Ra.”

“Damn it all to hell, they’re not even being subtle about it.”

“We only want the girl, not the bounty,” the amplified voice shouted out. “We’re willing to let the rest of you go.”

“Bite me,” Quinn suggested.

“And me,” his new friend agreed.

The sun was hovering on the edge of the horizon. I could see it in my brothers’ faces. A fine sweat beaded Logan’s forehead,
and vampire body temperature was generally much lower than human temperature. To see one sweat was rare. Very rare. His face
looked drawn too, nearly gray with fatigue. Duncan’s hand shook as he shoved himself to his feet.

We could probably fight our way through the others. After all, they’d have to seek cover soon, just as we would. But even
if we did get through them with minor damage, we still had to get through the Helios-Ra, who could lie out in the bright sunlight
and just wait for my brothers to sicken and die. My choices were narrowing drastically. I knew what I had to do. I also knew
that each and every one of my pig- headed brothers was faster than me. I couldn’t hope to outrun them.

But I could take them by surprise.

I let them mutter among themselves, let Logan pull me to my feet. The other vampires scattered, like earwigs under a shifted
stone. The leaves barely trembled at their passing. Quinn and Marcus closed in and Connor moved toward us through the undergrowth.
An arrow whistled between the trees and hit him in the shoulder. He jerked back, clutching at his bloody arm.

“I’m all right,” he told us, jaw clenched in pain.

“A warning shot,” an agent called out. “Next time we hit the heart.”

My brothers were scowling at each other, dragging Connor to safety.

Now or never.

If I thought about it too long I might wimp out.

Now.

I eased away from Duncan, who was half– turned away to prop up Connor. Only Logan blocked me and he wasn’t expecting me to
knee him in the kidney and then leapfrog over him as he doubled over.

So that was exactly what I did.

A rain of Helios-Ra arrows flew over me, biting the ground behind me like the ramparts of a castle fort. They protected me
from my brothers, who had to halt their forward charge, if only for a moment.

“Your word,” I yelled, running even though my legs felt like lead and my lungs burned. “Your word my brothers go free.”

“Take her.”

They swarmed around me like beetles. I jerked away, all instinct and thrumming adrenaline. They were faceless, eye goggles
obscuring their features, and black vests, black pants, black boots.

The sun crested the horizon, dripping softly between the leaves.

“Run, you idiots!” I hollered at my brothers as my arms were seized. I knew they didn’t really have any other option. The
sun was now bleeding through the trees. They wouldn’t even be able to make it home. They’d have to use one of the caves or
the secret safe houses, and by house, I really meant hole in the ground.

“Got her.”

“This is her?” one of the agents said as they began to march me through the forest. A few of his companions were hobbling,
one was being carried. “She’s just a kid.”

I knew what he saw: a fifteen- year-old girl in a muddy slip dress and scratches all over her arms from running through the
woods. His companion shrugged.

“Bounty’s the same. And anyway, come her birthday she’ll be a monster like the rest of them.”

“The Drakes are all right,” someone else muttered. “They’re on the Raktapa Council, at least. Now, would you stop your damn
gossip and hurry the hell up?”

I was so tired I could barely see straight. I shuffled my feet, hardly having the energy to lift them off the ground.

“What’s the matter with you?” he snapped. “Are you hurt?”

“Fresh out of coffee, princess, so move your ass.”

The morning continued to unfurl around us in pink misty dampness, as if we sat in the center of a rose after a rain. The leaves
shivered above us, so green they nearly glowed. Birds sang cheerfully, oblivious to my predicament. Pine needles crunched
under our passage.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, biting back a yawn.

They didn’t answer as they formed a tight circle around me, one I knew I had no hope of breaking through, especially since
I felt about as strong as a wet noodle. I squinted at the sunlight, eyes tearing. I hoped my brothers were safe. They’d be
nearly defenseless. Each of them was still new enough to the bloodchange that they slept hard, too hard to defend themselves
quickly if there was an attack.

We continued to march along until I began to recognize where we were. The mountains were on our right and a small lake glistened
in a lower valley. The tunnel ran right underneath us, no one the wiser. I was so close to an escape and it might as well
have been on the other side of the planet for all the good it did me. Even if I could get to one of the doorways, which was
doubtful, I couldn’t afford to give away the secret location to the Helios-Ra. I was thinking so hard I didn’t see the shadow
leap down from a tall gray aspen, scowling fiercely. He wore unrelieved black like the others and was armed to the teeth.
His dark eyes pinned me.

“What the hell is she doing here?”

Kieran Black.

Byron was a welcome distraction as he ambled up the stairs and lay on my other side. He had kibble breath and was close enough
that he drooled on my arm. I nudged him.

“Move over, you big lump.” He just gave me that doggy look, the pathetic one I could never resist. “Fine, but at least quit
drooling on me. It’s gross.” I scratched his ear briefly. “Some watchdog you are.” I knew the other two Bouviers would be
lying down near Hart and Hope, eyeing them hungrily.

“I want to assure you,” Hart was saying in the living room, “that I have officially retracted the bounty on the Drake clan,
just so there are no more misunderstandings.”

“We’re glad to hear it,” Liam said blandly. I could just imagine what retort Helena was biting back.

“It was an accident,” Hart continued, sounding hard. “And one that will be rectified immediately.”

“I suggest you keep a closer rein on your organization,” Helena said. “Or I will cease to keep such a tight rein on mine.”

“Understood. We stand by our treaty,” Hope interjected. “This is an internal problem and should never have leaked out.”

Their voices dropped slightly. There was the clink of glasses. I squirmed, trying to peer around the stairs into the living
room. I could see the edge of a chair and nothing else. There wasn’t even anyone sitting in it.

“I’m going to try and get closer,” I murmured.

When Nicholas didn’t try and stop me, I turned to look at him. He was asleep. His cheek rested on his hand, pale skin gleaming,
dark brown hair tousled. His features were sculpted, sensual, and dark. It was totally unfair how beautiful he was. Even if
it did sound like he might be snoring a little. Byron snorted and rolled over.

“You two are a lot of help,” I said.

And then the quiet shattered.

There was no actual sound of warning, only Hart sailing out of the living room, crashing into the foyer wall and sprawling
across the floor in a heap. The chandelier above him rattled alarmingly. At the sound, Nicholas startled awake and flipped
himself over me, as if he was protecting me from an airborne missile. He pressed into me, about as yielding as a slab of cold
marble. He looked slightly disoriented, not quite fully awake.

“Can’t breathe,” I croaked.

He shifted slightly but didn’t get off me. I could see the thick fringe of his eyelashes, his hair falling over his forehead
to tickle mine.

“Foyer,” I wheezed. We both craned our necks. Helena marched out, all black leather and motherly fury. Byron raced down the
stairs.

“Where is my daughter?” She seethed, her pale eyes practically glowing. Liam flanked her, simmering. I could all but see the
leash on his temper straining to release. Hope took a stake from her belt.

“I wouldn’t,” Bruno advised quietly.

“What the hell was that for?” Hart sat up, his left eye already purpling.

Liam lifted his cell phone. “That was one of my sons, gone to ground because of your blasted league.”

“I told you we didn’t set the damn bounty,” Hart said through his teeth. “I explained.”

“Then explain to me, human,” Helena sneered, “why my daughter has been taken by your agents.”

Hart stared at her. “What?”

Sebastian and Geoffrey joined them from the living room. Boudicca barked once, blocking Hart from doing anything more than
sitting up. Nicholas shifted off me, growling low in his throat.

“That’s impossible,” Hart insisted. He reached for his own cell phone and punched in a number. He barked out questions, swore
viciously under his breath at the replies. Sunlight touched the windows on either side of the door.

“Unit’s gone rogue,” he declared.

Hope paled. “No.”

Helena sniffed the air delicately, then nodded at her husband. “He’s not lying.”

Beside me, Nicholas sniffed as well. He frowned. I frowned back.

“What?”

“It’s not a lie, but I smell something else. Something I can’t quite place.”

“More lemon shampoo?”

“No. Definitely not that.”

Bruno signaled to the dogs and they eased back, letting Hart get to his feet.

“We have to shut them down,” he said darkly. I wondered if he had a gun strapped inside a shoulder holster under his coat.
“Now. Before the damage becomes irrevocable.”

“I am forced to agree.” Liam held up a hand. “However, we had a treaty, Hart. And it was broken. Under the circumstances,
I believe a show of faith is in order.”

Hart sighed. “What did you have in mind, Drake?”

“One of you stays here.”

“You’re taking hostages now?”

“You have our daughter. Her safety must be assured.”

“You have our word,” Hope said.

Liam raised one eyebrow. “Not nearly good enough.”

Hart rubbed his face wearily. “All right. All right,” he repeated. “I’ll stay.”

Hope whirled on him. “No, I’ll stay. You know how some of the units still see me as a paper pusher. They’ll respond to you
quicker and with less posturing if they truly have gone rogue.” She squared her shoulders. “So, I’ll stay.” She narrowed her
eyes. “You don’t have a dungeon, do you? Because I expect a guest room.” She showed her teeth in a bare approximation of a
smile. “As a show of good faith, of course.”

Hart met Liam’s grim gaze, returned it with his own. “I expect her to be safe here.”

Liam inclined his head. “As long as our daughter is safe.”

Hart barely suppressed a wince. “I’ll do my best,” he said.

“If your best isn’t good enough?” Helena said softly, silkily. “I will personally drain every single person in your league.
Understood?”

He nodded stiffly.

“Your mom rocks,” I muttered. “You know he’s totally shaking under all that suave sophistication.”

Bruno showed Hart outside, trailed by the dogs, except for Byron, who kept sniffing suspiciously at Hope. Geoffrey nodded
his head at the stairs.

“Your room is this way.”

Nicholas and I scrambled to our feet. He pulled me down the hall, his fingers like a vise around mine. We leaped into Solange’s
room just as Geoffrey led Hope to one of the guest rooms with its own bathroom. He shut the door behind her and locked it,
with an ominous click that seemed to reverberate. He paused on the other side of Solange’s door, and I half expected him to
lock us in as well.

“Get to sleep, you two,” he muttered before walking away.

I turned back to Nicholas, who was already stretched out on Solange’s bed, his head resting on the Hello Kitty pillow I’d
given her for her ninth birthday.

“What do we do now?” I asked. My eyes felt gritty and dry. I’d been awake for nearly twenty-four hours. I felt a little lightheaded.
Nicholas didn’t even open his eyes.

“I have to sleep.” His words were slurred. I sat down next to him, touched his forehead. There was an unhealthy pallor to
his skin. “Save Solange.”

He didn’t say anything else for a long time. I poked him once.

“Nicholas?”

Nothing.

It felt wrong to sleep when my best friend was out there at the mercy of rogue vampire hunters. Buffy wouldn’t have slept.

Of course, Buffy had supernatural powers.

Me?

Not so much.

“Shut up about Buffy already,” Nicholas muttered. I hadn’t even realized I’d spoken out loud. He didn’t open his eyes, only
reached out and yanked my sleeve until I fell over, sprawled next to him. “Go to sleep.”

The bed was soft and smelled like vanilla fabric softener. Nicholas was a comforting presence against me. He was already asleep
again. He wouldn’t notice if I snuggled in just a little bit closer.

For safety’s sake, of course. There were bad guys everywhere, after all. One couldn’t be too careful.

He shifted midsnore and pulled me closer.

I fell asleep feeling better than I had all week.