How to Elude a Vampire (VRC Vampire Related Crimes #2) - Alice Winters Page 0,87
than anything, that I have to run.
His face is almost completely covered, and it makes it even more unnerving only being able to see his eyes.
I push myself up and the moment I draw my right leg to me, unimaginable pain spikes into me, reminding me that it was at least broken if not crushed from the accident. I fall forward, slamming down on my hands. When I look down, I see my leg is wrapped but I can feel the broken bones grating against each other as nausea rises in me.
Quickly, I look back at the vampire and realize that his eyes are glowing a deep red. It’s all I can see of him hidden behind dark clothes and a mask.
“I see that you’re awake, my beautiful doll. It’s okay. Just lie back down and let me take care of you,” he says, voice deep and cold.
I don’t know if it’s the aura or the pain or just my fear, but his voice sounds wrong. Twisted. Words stabbing into my brain holding this almost playful or teasing tone to them. It’s like he’s enjoying my fear. My panic.
“Where’s Orin? Please… please…”
“Oh, don’t worry about Orin, you’re mine now. I’ve always wanted you. You’ve always been the missing doll in my collection.”
Faster than my eyes can follow, he’s standing before me, grabbing hard onto my left wrist.
“Your mother did everything she could to try and ruin this beautiful body of yours. But I’ll make you perfect again,” he says as he runs a finger over my cheek. “But first, let me taste you. I’ll bet you taste so sweet.”
He yanks my head back and I feel his fangs tear into my throat as I cry out and fight against him. He pins me down like I’m a child, telling me there’s nothing to do to get away as realization begins to settle on me.
He’s going to kill me.
My eyes snap open and for a moment, I feel him there, leering down at me, calling me his sweet and beautiful doll.
The panic is thick inside me as I try to breathe, but it seems like I was just there. I was just lying on the floor, coated in terror as he came into my life and proceeded to destroy it.
“Something wrong?” Marcus mumbles as he reaches for me.
I must not have woken him this time, which is good. “I was going to get a drink,” I say as I push the covers back.
“I can get it.”
“No, I’m fine,” I say as I put my leg and arm on quickly and escape from the room. It’s not that I want to get away from Marcus, it’s that I want to be in a room with all the lights on where I can breathe. Where I can look around myself and know he’s not there waiting in the shadows. I head downstairs, but instead of going into the kitchen, I continue down into the basement. I hesitate when I remember him rushing through that window, especially when I’m so far from Marcus, but then anger fills me because I’m letting him rule my life again. I’m letting him dictate what I can and can’t do.
I’m letting him consume me. And that’s what he wants. He wants me to fear him. To think about him. He wants to be my only focus, but I can’t let him.
I rush down the stairs and over to a tall heavy bag I’d talked Orin into letting me get when I started learning how to fight. I had to promise that my prostheses would never ever make contact with it, but I think Orin was happy I was learning self-defense. Well, happy until I jumped into law enforcement.
When I first started working with it, I made Aria come down with me every time because I was afraid of being alone down here. I felt like he was waiting in every corner. Aria would join me on most nights or would do her homework in the corner.
I pull my old gloves on and punch the bag, wishing it was his face. Wishing it was his body I could beat and abuse.
Jab, jab, uppercut, punch after punch. When my arms begin to tire, I shift to kicking with my good leg. Roundhouse, side, back kick. I grab the bag and nail it again and again with my knee, begging for the strength to destroy him but more than anything, letting those dark thoughts dissipate.