pet name. As if I’m his Lolita. Never!
The bastard smiles and slowly stalks forward, his gun still trained on me. “Is that what this is all about? You didn’t want me to share you with my customers?”
Huh? I retreat as he picks up the pace, and collide with the building. Nowhere to go.
Phil closes his hand around my throat, pinning me to the wall, and caresses my cheek with the muzzle of his firearm. The frigid metal sends ice-cold fear spiking down my limbs.
“Baby, if you wanted me all to yourself, why didn’t you just say so?” He presses his mouth hard to mine, forcing his tongue between my lips. Revulsion roils in my gut. This man has a gun and he is determined to have his way with me.
I’m tired of running.
There is no way I can see myself walking away from this.
If he’s going to take me out, I’m going out fighting.
I bite down, the coppery taste of blood filling my mouth as his screeching fills my ears. The jarring blow to my head sends me reeling, and I hit the ground with a grunt. On my hands and knees, I spit his blood onto the blacktop.
Phil grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me to my feet. “You fucking cunt!” He grinds the muzzle against my cheek, the sight notch digging into my flesh. “You wanna play rough, bitch? You got it.” He drags me to the building and slams my face against the brick.
More blood fills my mouth and I cry out.
His forearm presses hard across my shoulder blades, holding me against the wall, and he tugs at my jeans, my belt buckle biting into my stomach.
“Hey! What are you doing to her?”
Phil is off me and two shots explode near my head, deafening me.
I spin in time to see the stranger fall to his knees, clutching his shoulder.
A long howl pours from my mouth, interrupted by two more shots Phil pumps into my chest before he dashes off into the night.
I can’t breathe.
My knees crash to the pavement and I collapse, trying to gasp for air. The stranger who tried to save me fumbles with his cellphone, bloody fingers smearing the illuminated glass.
I flop onto my back, hot tears streaming into my hair.
I want to see Karina… Armando… just one more time to tell them both how much I love them. And how much happiness they brought to me.
Many exist without ever forming true connections. I’m suddenly grateful for the love I’ve had in my life.
I try to gasp but cough, red splattering onto my face. Huh. That’s my blood. As it fills my lungs and darkness closes around me, I cling to the vision of Armando’s handsome face hovering over me, while my tears bathe my cheek like sweet rain.
“Armando.” Roxy pokes her head into the coatroom, worry creasing her brow. The vampire holds the cordless phone of the Club’s LAN line out to me. “It’s Karina. Zoe’s in trouble.”
I shove off the back wall of the coatroom, my dead heart racing in my chest.
I grab the receiver. “This is Armando. Where is Zoe?”
“She’s at a warehouse just a few blocks from Club Toxic. Give me your cell number and I’ll text you the address. God, I think Phil’s caught up with her.” The fear in Karina’s voice is tangible. I rattle off my number, and she hangs up.
Fuck! A potent cocktail of emotions overwhelms me. It takes several seconds for me to work through the rage, worry, disbelief, and determination currently mixing through my frenzied mind.
Goddamn it! The love and affection pouring from her when we made love earlier this evening. That was her goodbye to me. Bullshit.
My phone dings with a message. It’s the address from Karina.
“Roxy! Tell—”
She points toward the exit. “I’ll deal with Theo and Alex. Go get our girl.”
I blur out the back door so fast, none of the humans see me move.
I take a second to pull up the directions to her location, and memorize the route before I take off. Nausea burns in my gut as I rush through the night.
I will walk into the sun if anything happens to her. Zoe is the light to my dark. The only person who makes me truly smile. I can’t be too late. There are too many adventures and experiences we have to share.
If I hadn’t kept what I am a secret, she would be safe at my house right now, trusting me to protect her and ensure