Dark Seduction (Vampire Royals of New York #2) - Sarah Piper Page 0,57

to go check, I knew right away it was a man. But not a man.”

She stopped long enough to glance up at him. The moonlight reflected in her wide eyes, making her look young and frightened and vulnerable.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, Dorian,” she whispered, rubbing the chill from her arms. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub that image out of my mind.”

Dorian hated seeing her in pain. He wanted to go to her. To wrap her up in his arms and promise he’d take her away from the cold, brutal world they lived in—from anything that would hurt or frighten her.

But he knew that would only confuse things for both of them. So instead, he stood in place on the garden path, gently urging her to continue. He needed to know exactly what had transpired today. What she’d seen.

“It… He… he was naked,” she said. “His skin was blistered and cracked, like he’d been burned in a fire. Some of his ribs were poking out, and…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “He had fangs—that’s how I knew he wasn’t human. His mouth and chin were covered in blood. He was just lying there and reaching up for me, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn’t get up. It was like the sun was just… cooking him.”

She shivered, tightening her arms around herself.

Dorian took a step closer. “Did you happen to notice if he had anything around his neck? Like a pouch?”

She glanced up at him and nodded. “Yeah, I guess he did. I didn’t get a good look, but I’m pretty sure it had a red cord. The pouch itself was covered in blood.”

“Did your sister see it?” he asked gently.

“No, thank God. I made her stay in the car. I told her it was a deer, then made a fake call to the highway patrol to come remove it.” Her eyes filled with fresh tears, and she reached for his arm, her touch warm. “Dorian, I’m so sorry. The car seems fine, but the tires might be a little messed up. Or the brakes. I hit them pretty hard when—”

“I don’t give a bloody damn about the car, Charlotte.” He cupped her face, unable to go another moment without comforting her. “You did the right thing. You kept yourself and Sasha safe. That’s all that matters.”

The gathering tears finally spilled from her eyes. “Where did that thing come from? Are there more?”

Dorian brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, catching her tears. He wanted to lie, to tell her some story that would allow her to sleep at night, but lies are what got them into this mess in the first place.

“There are more,” he said. “Though we don’t know how many.”

He told her about his reunion with Cole Diamante, and the grays he and his wolves have been tracking.

He also told her about the pouch Cole had found this morning—likely the same kind she’d seen on the gray in the road.

“I’ve got a witch looking into its origins,” he said, leaving out the part about Chernikov’s involvement, “but I’m almost certain Duchanes and the Rogozin demons are behind this.”

Charlotte nodded and pulled away from his touch, turning to look out at the rolling hills. The mist was creeping in, blanketing the grounds in thin, white clouds that reminded Dorian of ghosts.

“You need to be prepared for other possibilities, Charlotte.”

“You mean, something other than half-formed, mindless vampire monsters creeping through the woods and jumping out at cars? Burning alive in the sun? Eating people?”

“I mean…” Dorian sighed. “There’s a very good chance that if the grays are traced back to Duchanes and Rogozin, your uncle’s got his hands in this as well.”

“Wait. You’re saying Rudy’s involved with the grays? But he’s just an art thief. What would he want with them? What would he stand to gain?”

“There’s a historical connection between your uncle and Rogozin. That alone is enough to warrant further investigation—and extreme caution.”

Charlotte dropped onto the stone bench, her eyes welling again.

Dorian could only imagine the memories haunting her now. The attack by Rogozin’s men when she was a girl? Her uncle’s threats? Her dead father’s unsolved murder? The ghoulish creature who’d crossed her path this afternoon?

Charlotte may not have been ready to hear it, but Dorian was convinced all of those things were connected.

And one way or another, he was going to find out how.

“I need to ask you something about that heist,” Dorian said, taking a