Free Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) by P. S. Power Page B

nodding, both Ed and Lenore started hitting her. It hurt , but she didn’t do more than cover
her head. They weren’t trying to rip her apart, and neither one of them acted
mad, they just did it. Striking until she started to apologize.
    “Sorry.
Sorry! I know, I shouldn’t run my mouth. Ouch.” The both stopped then, and Ed
moved in, giving her a little hug.
    “All
right, no need to belabor the point then. That was over reaching on a level
that, well, to tell the truth, they should have shut down instantly. I
think that they were just so lost that they really didn’t think about it
properly. Now you’re in for it, too. They all know who you are. That’s
insane, you do realize that, don’t you? It was bad enough that Bey and Marissa
have plans for you. You probably won’t survive it, if they all take an
interest.”
    He
didn’t explain why, and she honestly didn’t know what the reason would be, but
she nodded, since saying she didn’t get it would probably have her beaten
again. Okay, hit a bit. There was a difference.
    “I
understand. I’ll do better. Right now I should run? It’s about twenty miles,
and I want a shower before work.” She had time, if she moved fast enough, but
getting out of there seemed like a sweet idea, she realized.
    That got
her a pat on the back from her maker. It was a gentle thing, his large, strong
hand comforting, even after having just hit her. That was a sign of good mental
health on her part, wasn’t it? Going from being punished to cuddling with the
guy in less than a minute?
    “Head on
out. Get with me at the first sign of trouble. I don’t want my club fire
bombed again.” That event had happened years before, but she’d heard about it,
because Barb had been around for it.
    She
nodded, then focused as hard as she could manage.
    Moving
fast was different than she’d ever imagined it being, and didn’t require her to
mimic running really. It was more about being willing to suffer horrible pain.
Exhaling fully, she pushed so deeply into the fire that was fast movement that
even the other Vampires seemed to be holding still at the moment as she worked
her way around them and walked out of the room. Then she fought to do even more
of it as she ran through the city. Hiding when headlights of cars might hit
her. Using the world around her to push and pull herself to greater speed.
Bouncing off of walls and trying to move like Bey did.
    She
failed, of course. He was probably three or four times faster than she was
still. That wasn’t a reason not to try. No, if she had it right, her lack of
being able to do what he did, or possibly even more , was mental in
nature. Eve was being wimpy, failing to take the pain that she had to, in order
to do what was needed.
    Doing what
she was hurt a lot more than the few punches that the others had just given
her. She moved faster anyway, knowing that the suffering was the cost of her
new abilities. It would never go away, but she could become strong enough to
take it and not let it stop her, couldn’t she?
    She was
back to Ed’s, showered, changed, and wearing a light coating of make-up, five
minutes later. She’d never done that for work before. Not since she’d died.
There was no reason for it in particular, she just felt like being pretty that
night. It was probably a mistake, since there would be guys hitting on her the
whole time, but it made her feel better. Like she fit in.
    When she
got to the club, wearing her blue jacket with the name Terran 2 LA on the back,
she paused in front of Kevin, who was already out front, managing the line.
There were only about ten people in it, which was about right, since the doors
wouldn’t open for an hour or so.
    If you
weren’t that great looking, you could sometimes get in anyway, just by being
first. The people in line all looked to be nicely enough dressed, so it would
probably work for all of them. Later, as the night wore on it would be a lot
harder to make the cut.
    “Hey
Kev.