"Let her go," Etienne ordered.
"Stay back." Pudge began to sidle away, taking Rachel with him.
"You aren't taking her with you."
"Stay back, or I'll cut off her head," Pudge warned.
"Don't hurt her. It's your fault I had to turn her in the first place. She would have died from that ax wound you gave her if I hadn't turned her."
That made Pudge pause. Rachel held her breath as he looked down at her.
"You're the doctor from the hospital." He sounded surprised. She supposed she'd looked a little less healthy at the time, having just recovered from the flu. She'd been pale and limp-looking, she was sure. She noted the guilt cross his face and felt a moment's hope. He said, "I'm really sorry about axing you, but you shouldn't have jumped between us. I tried to tell you what he was."
"Let her go," Etienne repeated.
Rachel felt the hope die in her as Pudge stiffened. His expression turned grim as he pressed the knife tighter to her throat. Apparently his guilt only went so far. "I won't hurt her if you stay right where you are." He sounded a little more in control now. Rachel couldn't decide if that meant his confidence had increased or if Etienne's repeated warnings were making him comfortably sure of the fact that he had the upper hand.
"If you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands."
Rachel's eyes shot to Etienne. He looked capable of doing it. Gone was the easy facade, the charming computer geek. Etienne looked every inch a dangerous predator.
They were all three silent for several minutes as they waited for Pudge to decide what to do next. Rachel didn't have a clue what he could do. He couldn't let her go, which rather restricted him. Her gaze slid to Etienne. The bleeding had stopped, but he was looking a little gray around the lips. A lot of the blood left in him was no doubt being used up to repair his wound, she supposed. From what they had told her about his state, she supposed he was in dire need of an infusion. His body would be cramping with his need, and he would be terribly weak and vulnerable.
The only plus was that Pudge wouldn't be aware of that, she decided.
"You'd better decide what you're going to do quickly. His body is nearly done repairing itself, and who knows how much strength he'll have then." Very little was Rachel's guess, but if Pudge was going by the movies, television or the big screen, he'd probably think otherwise. At least she hoped he would. Judging by the way Pudge's hands tightened on her, she guessed she was right.
Rachel couldn't see his face, but she sensed the bewilderment Pudge was feeling. He asked suspiciously, "Am I supposed to believe you're trying to be helpful?"
Rachel forced herself to relax and managed an unconcerned shrug without beheading herself. "Believe what you want. I was sneaking out when you broke in," she said truthfully. She had been sneaking out for a walk, but she didn't bother to mention that. When Etienne's sharp gaze filled with betrayal, she was almost sorry she couldn't. Rachel hated to upset him, but she made herself continue. "I've been forced to stay here since that night in the morgue. I wanted to let my family and friends know I was all right, but calling them was out of the question." Which was all true, she assured herself as she felt a nervous giggle rise in her throat. She had been forced to stay--at least until she learned how to control her teeth and such, and calling anyone had been out of the question. She didn't have to specify that it was herself forcing these decisions.
"So I played nice and waited until Etienne was asleep, then was about to leave through the kitchen when I heard you coming in," she continued. "You blew my plan."
Etienne was looking upset, but Rachel ignored him. She waited while Pudge digested her words.
"It that's true, why didn't you just leave?" Pudge asked with disbelief. "Why stay and save him?"
Rachel shrugged. "My conscience wouldn't allow it. I couldn't just let you slaughter him in his sleep after he saved my life from the mortal wound you inflicted." She emphasized his part, hoping to bring about a return of the guilt she had seen on his face earlier. When she saw it flicker in his eyes, Rachel decided to drive the screw a little deeper. "Thanks a lot for that, by the way. Being a bloodsucking demon was never high on my list of dreams and wishes, and I can't tell you how pleased I am that I'll be stuck on the night shift for eternity."
Pudge actually winced. "I'm sorry," he said regretfully, then paused and glanced to Etienne. "What do you suggest we do with him to get out of here?"
Rachel considered. She didn't believe for a minute that he now considered them on the same side. She supposed he was testing her. If she gave an answer he didn't like, she'd be in trouble. But then, she was probably in trouble anyway. He seemed to see himself as a modern day Van Helsing, dedicated to eradicating the world of the vampire blight, and she was very aware that put her on his list. Her only hope was to convince him that she was too stupid to realize, and that she believed they were now on the same side. To that end, she was extremely careful with her answer. "Well, I don't want to see him dead after he saved me. If you really want to kill him, you'll either have to try another day when I'm not here, or stake me now and take your chances with him--but I wouldn't if I were you. At normal strength he's fast, agile and stronger than ten men. Right now he's not as strong, but I am. With the two of us, the odds aren't in your favor," she added.
Pudge was listening, and her honesty in refusing to see Etienne dead seemed to convince him. Rachel barely let that sink in before adding, "Then too, he has a security system. There are probably several of his kind on their way here right now. So you don't have a lot of time."
Pudge obviously believed her. Panic flashed across his face.
"If you tie him up," she went on, "he'll just break his bonds and probably be on us before we're out of the house." Or at least he would be after consuming some blood, she thought.
"I suppose the best thing you can do is lock him in his office. He's made it proof against competitors of all races," she explained. Then to sweeten the pot, she added, "It would give you a chance to destroy his latest work too."
"I should have let you die." Etienne's cold words drew her eyes back to him. She would have mentally congratulated him on his acting abilities, but she wasn't sure it was an act. She had just admitted to having been sneaking out while he slept, and though she hoped it wasn't true, he might believe everything. No. He knew the truth about vampires, and that she knew better than to think that he was getting stronger right now. Surely he realized she was stretching the truth to save him.
On the other hand, Rachel thought suddenly, his anger might be based on another reason. What if he hadn't saved any of his work, hadn't backed it up against the possibility of losing it? He might lose it thanks to the suggestion she had just made. But her main concern had been to leave him alive somewhere where there was blood for him to ingest.
Jeez, if he hadn't been sensible enough to save his latest game, Etienne might really wish her dead. But better alive and angry than dead with an intact game.
Pudge shifted, switching the knife at her throat from one hand to the other. She wasn't sure why he'd done it until he swung the rifle from his shoulder to point it at Etienne.