at the crowd with forced bravery. "I'm taking her out of here right now. Anyone got a problem with that?"
I should have known better than to phrase it in the form of a question.
"Try me, cupcake," said the vamp who wanted me, and cold trickled down my spine. I was strong and fast and immortal, but the girl was not.
Even if I fought my way through the crowd, I couldn't fight full out and protect her at the same time.
What I needed, I thought, was a distraction.
His timing couldn't have been better.
"Goddamn it!" I heard across the room, followed by the crash of glass that silenced the rest of the crowd.
The metallic tang of blood filled the air, and all the vamps in the vicinity turned toward the locus of the smell. I saw Jonah through the crowd, staring down a cowering vampire.
Blood had been spilled, maybe from a broken glass or pitcher. Not a bad way to get the attention of vampires - and to give me a way to get to the door.
I looked at the girl on my arm. "What's your name?"
"Sarah," she said. "Sarah."
"Well, Sarah, we're going to make a run for it. You ready?"
She nodded, and as soon as the brawler and the rest of the vamps began to move toward the waves of scent, we bolted.
I understood the draw of the blood. I was beginning to get hungry. We were nearing the end of the evening, and it had been hours since I'd eaten . . . or had blood. The smell was becoming undeniably delicious, so I gnawed on my lip to stay focused, the sharp sting of pain pushing back the hunger. As was so often the case, this wasn't the time or the place.
I guided Sarah through the vampires now rushing toward the blood, her arm over my shoulder, my arm around her waist. We weren't exactly graceful, but we got closer to the door and the edge of chaos.
And chaos had definitely erupted.
The room became a hurricane of violence as vampires stepped and crawled over one another to get to the blood. One angry vampire spurred a brawl with another, and that brawl pushed its way into someone else's conversation, which angered those vampires, as well. The violence traveled like a virus through the room, spreading as it made contact. And as the violence increased, so did the magic - spilling into the air and making the vampires even more predatory than they already had been.
"I thought you might need the cavalry."
I looked to my right, relieved to find Jonah at my side again. "Took you long enough. Thanks for the distraction."
"You're welcome. I didn't exactly expect you to have pulled a blade and kidnapped a human."
He glanced at Sarah. "What happened?"
"Don't know. Drugs? Glamour? I'm not sure.
Either way, we need to get her out of here."
"I'm right behind you," he said with a nod, and we made our way to the elevators.
The doors were open when we got there; I helped Sarah inside while Jonah mashed buttons until the doors closed, muting the sounds of fighting behind us. I slipped the dagger back into my boot.
It wasn't until we were halfway down the building again that I let out the breath I'd been holding. I glanced over at Sarah. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm okay. But all those other people in there. We need to get them out, too."
Jonah and I exchanged a glance.
"Maybe you could call the police?" she asked.
"Tell them about the party, and when they come, they can get the rest of the humans out?"
Jonah looked back at me. "If the cops come . . ."
I nodded, understanding his concern. If it took cops to shut this thing down, we'd be swimming in bad press and right back in the mayor's office - assuming Tate hadn't already issued Ethan's warrant.
But maybe we didn't need the cops. Maybe we just needed the fear of the cops. . . .
"We can beat them to it," I said as the elevator doors opened again. "Help her outside. I'll meet you there in a minute."
We shifted positions at Sarah's side, and while they shuffled to the front door, I hustled to the security desk. The guard's gaze followed Jonah and Sarah out the front door, his hand on the walkie-talkie on his desk.
"Hey," I said when I reached it, drawing his attention to me. "We just got a call - the cops are on their way to the top