"It's not responding. He must have jammed it from the inside."
"Then I'll just have to break it."
"Be careful. The spell—"
He released the button, cutting off the rest of her warning, then clenched his fist and hit the door with everything he had—physically and kinetically.
For too many seconds, nothing happened. Then, with a screech that sounded like a live thing dying, the door exploded inwards. Wood and metal fell around him as he ran inside. The smell of burning flesh hit him immediately. Lenny's screams pierced the muggy air, the beat of his heart loud and erratic. Beyond that, further down the room, two more heartbeats. Human heartbeats, suggesting Nikki and Jon. The slower beat of a second vampire's heart was nowhere to be heard. Obviously, Marcus was dead.
He swore under his breath and ran swiftly around the boxes, heading for those two beats. Nikki knelt next to Jon, her hand on his shoulder, pressing a T-shirt into his wound. She glanced up as he approached, a mix of anger, confusion, and fear warming her expressive amber eyes.
"What took you so damn long?" She grabbed Jon's free hand and placed it against her makeshift bandage, then stood, thrusting her bloody hands on her hips.
Her anger burned through his mind, and he almost laughed out loud in sheer relief and joy. There wasn't much wrong with her if her temper was this high.
"Surely you could see what was going on in here?" she continued tartly.
"We did." He grabbed her, pulling her into a hug that was as fierce as it was loving. "And I'm sorry, but Lenny barred the door. It took a while to force my way through. Are you all right?"
"Yes," she said, her words muffled against his chest and at odds with the trembling in her body. "It was Jon who got hurt and..." She hesitated, her voice catching. "The other vampire was killed." He held her away from him, his gaze sweeping the length of her then coming back to her face. Her left cheek was swollen and beginning to bruise. He gently brushed a tear away from her cheek. "Any loose teeth?"
"A couple," she admitted.
He saw the blood on her teeth and knew she'd probably cut the inside of her mouth as well. He pulled her into his arms again, brushed a kiss across her mouth and glanced down at Jon.
"Thank you."
Jon nodded. Pain still lingered in his blue eyes, but Nikki had pulled the white ash out of his shoulder, and the healing process would have begun.