The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) - Dianne Duvall Page 0,23
of her lab coat pockets, she palmed the key card and turned toward the door.
Her legs shook as they carried her forward. The gunfire was nearly constant now, audible even over the loud wonk-wonk-wonking of the alarm. She touched the card to the lock.
Beep.
Grasping the knob, she turned it and pulled the door open. The soldier who had shot Brad lay dead in a pool of blood in the hallway.
What had killed him? She had seen only a blur of black and glowing amber eyes. Had the… had the alien escaped? Was it out there? Waiting?
Lisa had never been so terrified in her life, but somehow she found the courage to step out into the hallway.
Something clamped around her throat and lifted her off her feet, slamming her back against the wall. Pain rushed through her head. Sparkling lights flickered at the periphery of her vision. The door to her room snicked shut beside her. Fluorescent lights glowed above her as she fought for breath.
Panicked, she clawed at whatever held her.
A hand. It was a hand. But she couldn’t budge it or pry even one of the long, smooth fingers loose.
Gasping and choking, she managed to turn her head a fraction of an inch and looked to her right. Her attacker was a man dressed all in black: black pants, black shirt, and a long black coat. Even his hair, loose and falling several inches below his shoulders, was jet-black, a stark contrast to the white walls, floor, and ceiling.
Standing over six feet tall with incredibly broad shoulders, he paid her no attention at all. He was turned mostly away from her, his head bent to the throat of another soldier garbed in green camo.
That soldier’s eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling.
Was he dead? Was that soldier dead?
Darkness threatened. Her struggles weakened as her attacker slowly choked the life out of her. Lisa’s gaze returned to her killer—the dark one—just as he dropped the soldier, who sank to the floor like a discarded rag doll.
The face that loomed over her then was both beautiful and terrifying. He had the features of an Adonis with amber eyes that glowed as brightly as a candle’s flame. Full lips drew back in a sneer that exposed long fangs stained with the soldier’s blood. More blood coated his firm, stubbled chin.
Vampire.
Brad had been right. There really were vampires. And she was about to die at the hands of one.
A whimper escaped her… the last sound she feared she would make before death claimed her.
The vampire’s snarl abruptly faded, replaced by a look of… concern?
His grip loosened. Carefully, he lowered her until her feet touched the floor, then withdrew his touch.
Her knees buckled. She would have fallen to the floor beside the dead soldier had the vampire not clasped her narrow shoulders and held her up.
“Easy,” he crooned.
Lisa gasped and coughed and gulped in much-needed air.
He glanced at her belly, then noted her white lab coat. “You’re one of the scientists who work here?” he asked in a British accent, his expression grim.
She had a feeling he would’ve already killed her if he hadn’t realized she was pregnant.
Lisa shook her head. “Prisoner,” she blurted, her voice hoarse. She motioned to the door to her room. “We were going to escape. He brought me these clothes so I’d blend in.”
Doubt darkened his features as he reached for the door.
The floor beneath their feet abruptly shook. The walls and ceiling did, too.
Lisa looked around wildly. Was this an earthquake?
The vampire looked down the hallway.
Lisa followed his gaze.
Another vampire dressed all in black stared back as he broke a soldier’s neck. “Seth must have found Gershom,” he called over the din. Dropping the dead man, the vampire darted away in a blur.
The one holding Lisa took her firmly by the arm and began to walk her toward the end of the hallway. “We’ll have to sort you out later. You’re dressed like the other scientists here, so I know you’re probably lying, but… I don’t care how fucked up in the head you are. I don’t harm pregnant women.”
They had almost reached the end of the hallway when three soldiers in green camo raced around the corner. Stopping short, they fired their weapons.
The vampire shoved her to one side and swept forward in a blur to attack the soldiers. A vicious battle ensued in which he rid them of their weapons.
Her heart slamming against her ribs, Lisa slid along the wall and eased past the battling foursome.