of hands and no humor whatsoever. “You want a bite?”
“Uh...” Did she?
Was she considering the offer? No, she was not. He’d taken her by surprise and... It was just so cool to learn about yet another paranormal creature.
And then her brain did the right thing and switched to survival mode. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
She took a few cautious steps backward and gripped the gold cross on the chain around her neck. She wasn’t deeply religious, but when faced with a vampire—oh, yeah, she believed.
“Not going to help,” the vampire said and laughed. “Not baptized, bitch!”
She didn’t know what that meant—the man lunged for her and managed to grip her wrist. Kizzy shrieked. She was three blocks away from the gas station and didn’t think Bron would hear her over the sounds echoing out from the garage. For all those times she had mused over whether or not carrying a wooden stake would be a wise decision, she now regretted not going with her instincts.
The vampire was strong. Even as she struggled and planted her feet, he managed to drag her under the long, spindly branches of the willow tree. It was darker under there, and they weren’t in a residential area. Most businesses had closed for the evening. Would anyone hear her scream?
He twisted her wrist, yanking her closer. Kizzy went for the scream again.
“Quiet! Just a quick bite, and then I’ll take that heart of yours.”
“My heart? H-how do you know about that?”
“Followed the vibes, baby.” He grinned a bloody smile. One of his fangs must have cut into his lower lip.
Vibes? What was he talking about? He sounded more like a stoned sixties hippie than a bloodthirsty creature of the night.
This was not happening.
But, yes, it was. And if she wanted to escape unbitten—and, apparently, with her heart intact—Kizzy needed to get smart. Fast.
She grabbed at the willow branches with her free hand. The long, slender branches were remarkably strong. Pulling up with that hand, and using the elastic-like give of the branches for propulsion, she was able to kick up toward the vampire and landed him on the chest. He released her with a grunt—but then a vicious growl preceded his lunge for her. Arms opening to clutch, he wasn’t able to grab her again because something slammed him against the tree trunk.
Someone, that was.
“Bron.” She gasped and stumbled backward, then answered the call of the adrenaline rush and fell to her knees, clutching her chest and, in the process, her camera bag.
Beneath the concealing umbrella of the willow’s slender fall of branches, the vampire howled. Bron stepped back, a wooden stake clutched in hand. He replaced the stake in the holster strapped to his thigh.
“Crap,” Kizzy muttered in awe.
She crawled to the side to get a better view. The creature who had threatened her diffused into a cloud of ash, which then settled in a heavy heap before Bron’s feet.
“Ohmygosh.” She leaned forward, clutching her stomach. She could get sick, but she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and just... “Ohmygosh.”
“Come with me,” Bron said as he strolled past her. “Unless you want to take your chances on your own again?”
Against bloodthirsty vampires? She shook her head and forced herself up to her feet. “I’m right behind you. Could you walk a little slower? On second thought, I’d like to be beside you just in case something comes for me from behind.”
He thrust back his hand, and she grasped it. It was a sure, warm clutch. Making a fast pace toward the gas station, she couldn’t for the life of her figure why she’d so stupidly fled from him in the first place. With her hand in his, everything felt right. Like he would protect her.
Until he tried to seize her heart.
“Wait.” Kizzy tugged him to a stop in the middle of the hedge-lined alleyway. “Are you going to protect me?”
He bowed his head and propped his hands at his hips, looking up at her with a rueful sort of admonishing stare. She’d had enough of dominant males who liked to tell a woman what to do. And her relationship with Keith had ended horribly. And left her scarred. So she wasn’t about to give this guy the benefit of his alpha take-charge attitude.
“Answer me!”
“I don’t know.” He splayed out his hands. “I honestly don’t know what the hell is going on right now. I will protect you from whatever comes after you, but—”
“But what about when you come after me? You said you were here to retrieve my heart. That’s just...so not cool.” Her fingers shook, and she shivered as if the wicked Minnesota winter had suddenly swept in on an icy wind. “I don’t know what’s going on. You’re freaking me out. Creatures are coming after me. I can’t trust you, but I think I need to because I’m not prepared to stake vampires or dodge harpies. But you apparently are.”
He exhaled and took a step toward her. Just when she thought he might embrace her, he stopped, his hands extending before her as if to warn himself away from such intimate contact. Wise move. She didn’t need the physical empathy. She needed real answers. Right now.
“As long as the tracker is homed on to you, it will send out vibrations to any creature nearby and alert them to you. And, as I understand it, they will know about your heart.”
“Vibrations? The vampire said something about the vibes leading him to me.”
Bron scrubbed a hand over the back of his head. “I suspect the harpies were lured by the same vibrations. It’s to do with universal vibrations. No time to explain it. Right now I’ve got to get you to a safe place. Away from...here.”
Kizzy planted her feet and gripped the camera-bag straps at her chest. “How am I going to protect myself from you?”
“I won’t harm you. Promise.”
“I don’t know if your word is good.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve a choice, Kisanthra.”
“Please, it’s Kizzy.” She shook now, nerves making her wish she wore a jacket to stave off the shivers. And it was a warm September evening!
“You’ve got two choices, and you’d better be quick about your decision.” He held out his hand for her to grasp. “Come with me. Or take your chances with the four vampires heading our way right now.”
She twisted at the hip to look over her shoulder. Down the alleyway the silhouettes of four men raced toward her. Mercy. She’d always been a fan of Buffy and Spike. (Nope, not an Angel girl.) None of the creeps barreling toward her looked like the sexy British vampire who had stolen the slayer’s heart.
Yikes. One of those things wanted to rip out her heart? Kizzy turned and slapped her hand into Bron’s. “Let’s get out of here.”
