Free Dark Secrets by Madeline Pryce

if he’d gotten it out yet. “Eli, we gotta go.”
    “I’m busy.”
    Gabbi looked over my brother’s shoulder and met my gaze. She
licked her kiss-swollen lips and blinked hooded, I’m-seconds-away-from-climaxing
eyes at me.
    I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t have time for this
crap.
    “Roy’s in the hospital. If you wanna stay here and give this
lovely lady an STD, fine. Go for it. But I’m leaving.”
    “STD?” Suspicion flavored the barmaid’s voice and her lust
dimmed.
    “He’s joking.” To me, he said, “What happened?” Eli
disengaged from his soon-to-be conquest and zipped his pants.
    Disgust washed through me—this wasn’t my brother. The Eli I
knew wasn’t cavalier about sex, had never mistreated a woman in his entire
life. It ate at me to see him acting like this. When shit settled, I needed to
have a serious conversation with him—more than some slogan on a coffee mug.
    “Heart attack, you asshole. You coming or going?”
    He glanced back at the redhead, cupped the back of her head
and swooped down to pull her in for a kiss. “Gotta go, sorry, babe.”
    She nodded with a pout. “Will you call me?”
    I turned and slammed out of the bathroom, pulled out my
wallet and threw a few bills on the table as I passed. Eli jogged to catch up
and together we made it to my car. I didn’t see the sights, smell the scents,
could only focus on the black shadow of my vehicle.
    “Is Roy going to be okay?” he asked as we both got into the
car.
    The engine roared to life and I skidded out of the parking
lot in a spray of gravel. My palms sweated against the steering wheel where I
clutched it. I pressed on the pedal, putting it all the way down as I sped down
the highway.
    “I don’t know. Dante called, told me to get my ass to the
hospital.”
    The rest of the trip was silent, both of us lost in our
thoughts. The closer I got to Ella, the less pressure I felt in my chest. She
was close. Fuck, I’d known something was wrong and hadn’t listened.
    I followed the signs to the hospital and pulled into the
parking lot in front of the structure, slammed the car into park and ran the
rest of the way to the emergency room entrance, Eli at my side. Glass doors
slid open to one of my worst nightmares—Ella wrapped in Julian’s arms, the
vampire fuck holding my girl close as she sobbed against his chest with loud,
gut-wrenching tears.
    My heart ripped in half, a physical pain so consuming I
could barely think beyond it. What was worse was I had no one to blame. I’d let
my ego and anger get the best of me. I’d walked out on her when she needed me.
I’d ignored my instincts and the connection between us—left her vulnerable and
open to Julian’s influence.
    Red hazed my vision and the only thing I could taste was
blood.
     

Chapter Five
     
    My emotions unraveled—the culmination of nonstop disasters
reaching its peak. The hustle and bustle of the emergency room faded. The
scents of blood, grief and death ceased to exist. My sister’s sobs, Dante’s low
murmuring voice, no longer reached my ears. Everything faded away and I
retreated into myself where blame consumed me.
    I was a selfish bitch.
    A horrible girlfriend.
    A murderer.
    Unable to protect my family.
    Roy was going to die and I’d failed him.
    My chest constricted, breathing almost impossible. Tears
filled my eyes and spilled over in a hot wash I’d given up on containing. Screw
it. My shoulders shook and my knees went weak. Beside me, Dante cradled Hannah
close, sheltering and giving her strength. Neither were things I had to offer.
    One more person I’d failed.
    “Don’t cry, min askling . Roy is a fierce hunter, he
will pull through this.” Julian’s words were soft, the first ones without any
ulterior motive or agenda.
    I looked up and met his blue, blue eyes. He searched my gaze
as if he were looking for something. If he sought to unearth my love or
admiration, he was in for a lifetime of eternal disappointment. Hell