Free Her Blood Sings: Episode 01 by Vivian Wolkoff Page A

She
seemed mad at first. Then, her face fell and she looked flustered.
Her cheeks warmed, turning a lovely shade of pink. The guy licked
his lips like Evie was something to eat.
    Dan felt his blood boiling in his veins. Who
the fuck was this guy? And why was Evie ready to spread her legs
for him? Did he have to send this guy to the hospital too? Maybe he
should just use his fists on Evie again. Maybe then she would learn
her place.
    Evie raised her eyes. She stopped moving, her
face going pale. It took Dan a moment to realize she had seen him.
He looked around. In his rage, he had stepped out of the shadows in
the alley and was standing right in the middle of the street.
    He smiled at her.
    Evie started for the door.
    Dan turned around and dashed back into the
alley. This was not the right time. He had to make things perfect.
He sped away from Evie even when she called him. He rushed to Mom's
car even when he heard the screeching of tires in front of the
café.
    It was not the right time.
    "Just a little longer," Dan said once he was
behind the wheel and driving home. "Just a little longer."

Chapter 13
     
    Chris frowned. Evie had just run outside. She
looked around, spinning on her heels slowly several times. Then,
she froze.
    She was just standing there, in the middle of
the street. Her eyes drifted to the café. Their eyes were
locked.
    Chris's eyes drifted down the street. The old
pickup truck was rushing to Evie, skittering on the icy street. It
looked like the driver had lost control. Evie looked terrified, her
eyes wide and her face pale. Her shoulders shrank, bracing for
impact. It only made her look small and fragile.
    For a moment, Chris saw what would happen
next. The car would hit her head on, the impact sending her flying
several feet away. Her body would hit the cold pavement. Her blood
would fall around her, painting the snow in shades of red and pink.
The fire that burned in her eyes would disappear and her smell
would fade into nothing. At that idea, Chris felt something inside
him snap. He couldn't let that happen.
    Chris acted before he really thought about
it.
    He sped out of the café, his feet barely
touching the frozen ground long enough to slide on the snow and
ice. The headlights of the car hit his eyes, but it wasn't enough
to blind him. He saw Evie squint under the lights, her eyes
scrunching shut. The big, old pickup truck sped towards them,
unyielding and aimless. Its wheels were useless on the ice. A nice
looking old man with tons of wrinkles on his narrow face and wide,
scared eyes was behind the wheel, trying to reign in his beast of a
car.
    Chris reached Evie. He had seconds to save
her life. His arm circled her waist and he pulled her close. It
took her a second to realize Chris was next to her. In the chaos of
the moment, her eyes seemed to take forever to find his face. Her
lips parted in surprise. He pulled her close, flurry drifting
around them. Her skin was covered in deep shivers. Chris growled
when he realized she was wearing nothing but her uniform.
    Chris wondered what she had seen outside,
what had made her snap and walk out of the café. He made the mental
note to get to the bottom of it later.
    He twisted his body out of the car's path,
taking Evie with him. He used his body to shield her, wrapping
himself around her like an ivy. The pickup truck rushed past Chris,
a wall of cold air hitting his back as the pickup truck passed them
by. It probably had missed him by a hair.
    Now that the pickup truck had missed Evie, he
couldn't care less what it hit. Still, he felt her shiver as the
truck hit the wall a couple of blocks down the street. Chris felt
Evie's knees give out under her. He held her close, supporting her.
Chris wrapped his coat around her, pulling her back flush against
his chest. The fabric of her uniform felt too thin. It was fucking
useless to keep her warm.
    For a few precious seconds there was nothing
but the feel of her. Her smell around him, like warm