Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,73

death of Grayson. He wrapped his hand around the back of my head and pulled me against him, pressing his lips to my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly as tears pricked my eyes.

“I’d never lived before I had met you,” he whispered into my hair and I nodded my head. A lump had formed in my throat and I was afraid that if I had tried to speak, the floodgates would open. His grip tightened around me.

He kissed me hungrily. I felt an overwhelming urge to abandon our plan of attack and run away with him. I knew we wouldn’t make it far, but it would prolong our time together.

Reluctantly, he pushed himself back from me and held me at arm’s length. His eyes searched mine for a few minutes and I felt his anger and rage push through my sadness. “You can do this,” he assured me. I nodded and a small, sad smile flickered across his face, then quickly turned to stone.

Chapter thirty-four

Against the World

He took my hand and guided me behind him through the maze of buildings and cars. We snaked our way around the back of the club to a fire exit that was unattended. The door was propped open by a bucket. I assumed the employees used it for their smoke breaks so the customers would not see them. I often used the one at my parent’s restaurant to do the same. It suddenly occurred to me I hadn’t smoked in days. I felt proud of myself for a second as the thought crossed my mind but was quickly replaced with fear as someone slid through the opening.

We ducked behind a car, but one of my weapons banged on the side making a loud clanging noise. I held my breath and locked eyes with Elijah. He kept perfectly, inhumanly still. I tried to mimic his actions, but my body shook from my intense heartbeat.

After a moment had passed, Elijah looked over the hood of the car. The scrawny man stood with his back to us, oblivious to our presence. I realized that he must be human and would be little match for Elijah. He put his finger to his lips to motion for me to be silent as he released my hand. He snuck quietly along the dark wall of the club. I stared at him in awe. He was a lion stalking his unsuspecting prey. The man had no idea his life was about to end. Part of me wanted to scream out to him in warning, but I kept silent, biting my lip as I waited for his death. This casualty was necessary if we wanted to gain access to the others. I no longer saw it as us humans against vampires. It was now just Elijah and me against the world.

Suddenly, Elijah was behind the man. In one swift motion, his hands rose in a blur and the man’s now lifeless body slumped to the ground. Elijah lifted him effortlessly and carried him behind a small divider wall. He reappeared a few minutes later, wiping the blood from his chin. I sighed with relief as he made his way back to my position.

“Now is our chance,” he whispered. I followed him as we crept across the quiet lot and slipped into the open door. The small room was lined with old couches and a busted brown coffee table. Luckily, no one was in sight. Elijah peered through the next door and nodded for me to follow him. We slipped through the opening into a dressing room. I was shocked to see several women milling about, but they didn’t seem alarmed at our presence.

In fact, they hardly noticed me at all. Elijah’s unmatched good looks took center stage. He smiled at them as we passed by and I felt a pang of jealousy as they blushed and smiled back. I struggled to keep my feelings to myself, but Elijah’s determination pushed through and kept my mind on track. A thick red velvet curtain is all that kept us from the crowd.

Elijah glanced around the entertainment room and as the last song ended, we rushed through. I raised my weapon and took aim at anything that showed its fangs. I was shocked at how relatively small the crowd was. It appeared that everyone in the audience was a vampire or a midnight snack. A tall, lanky man rushed Elijah. He blocked his advances and shouted at me