Dragon's Second Chance Romance - Riley Storm Page 0,38

at that moment, anger burning in his eyes.

“I’ve seen the real you,” he growled in her defense. “The real you is strong, confident, smart, and beautiful. The real you is an amazing woman that anyone should be proud to call their daughter. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has things they regret. Things they wish they hadn’t done. That they wish—”

He broke off, shaking his head, stopping himself from saying more.

Once more, Lilly saw the hurt that lay deep within him, but she didn’t pursue it. Now wasn’t the right time. Her mind wasn’t up to helping him right now.

A heavy knock at the door grabbed their attention.

“That must be Trent,” Lilly said. “I told him to come by.”

“Why?” Claire asked.

“So the four of us could hang out,” Lilly said. “You need some time to just relax and unwind with your friends. That’s us.”

Pietro went to get the door while Claire wrapped Lilly up in a hug. “Thank you,” she said quietly, knowing she didn’t need to specify why. Lilly would know.

“You’re welc—”

Lilly was cut off as the front door blew inward, the corner of it striking Pietro in the head and spinning him to the ground in a spray of blood.

Chapter Twenty-One

Claire

Both women screamed in unison as Pietro hit the ground with a sickening thud at the same instant two creatures appeared in the doorway to his house.

“What the fuck?” Lilly shrieked as the two women got to their feet, facing the door in shivering terror.

“Pietro?” Claire called nervously. “Pietro, get up. Please get up. There’s things at the door. They’re trying to get in.”

There was no response.

“Pietro?” This time her voice was a nervous whimper.

“What are they waiting for?” Lilly asked, clutching at Claire’s hand for safety and reassurance. “Why aren’t they coming in?”

The two gray-skinned creatures were viciously struggling to push themselves through the doorway, but they appeared to be caught up in something almost weblike. Claire couldn’t see anything, but words that Pietro had spoken echoed in her head.

“The threshold,” she said, pumping her fist victoriously. “They can’t get through the threshold!”

“Threshold?” Lilly stared at Claire for a moment, then her head whipped back around to the doorway. “Those are the vampires?”

“Yes. But they can’t get in. The threshold will—”

Whatever was holding the vampires back seemed to give somewhat under their onslaught, and suddenly the creatures were partway in the house.

“It’s not strong enough,” Claire whispered, dread filling her. “He was right. It’s not strong enough here.”

“What do we do?” Lilly asked nervously. “I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t know. Do you have any crosses?”

The vampires started laughing.

“I don’t think that’s going to do anything,” Claire said. “Not unless they laugh when terrified. Dammit Pietro, get your ass up and burn these things to a crisp!”

She wanted to rush to his side, but that would take her far too close to the vampires. If the threshold parted even further, then she would never be able to pull back in time.

As if reading her mind, the invisible webbing across the doorway stretched as one of the vampires started to bull his way through, sensing victory.

Both women started backing away, breathing hard, fear filling their veins. There was no hope, no escape. If they tried to leave, the vampires would catch them outside. Claire had seen and heard some of the brief fight they’d had with Pietro the night before. They were fast. The two women would never escape them.

“What do we do now?” Lilly asked, backing up faster than Claire as she bumped into the island in the kitchen.

“I think we die,” Claire said heavily. “Those things will catch us easily if we try to leave. They’re stronger than we are, and Pietro is either dead or unconscious.”

She tried to keep her composure as she stated that last fact. In a few moments, it wouldn’t matter either way. She would be dead as well. In fact, they might see each other again very shortly, in an entirely different place.

“At least I’m not going to go to jail,” she said, a hiccup of hysterical laughter escaping her mouth. “Gotta see some silver lining at least.”

Lilly didn’t respond. Claire turned to see if her friend was okay, but at that moment the barrier parted for the first vampire. It was inside and moving like a blur, snatching up Claire’s wrist in a grip like an iron vise.

Claire gasped, staring up at the nightmare face of her enemy, frozen with fear.

“Let go of my friend!” Lilly shrieked as she came