Free Try Me by Parker Blue Page B

madness churning within Lorenzo, Lola had a lock on him that he couldn't break. He froze, released the girl, and waited for my next order. Good, Lorenzo was taken care of.
    But no time to worry about Brittany. First, I had to take care of the other vamp before more people were hurt. I spun around and saw that Dan and the demon had the female vamp cornered behind the refreshments table, but couldn't quite get to her. Or maybe the fact that she was female kept them from attacking.
    I'd never seen her before. She looked preppy and well-fed, not the typical grunge-vamp types I saw on the streets. She also looked confused, uncertain, fangs dripping blood on her sweater and pencil skirt. But her vulnerable appearance wouldn't stop me.
    "Need help?” I asked Dan, coming up beside him
    "No. I can handle this. Call for back-up."
    "I am back-up, you idiot."
    But as he turned to say something, she leapt over the table and took off like a bat out of hell, zipping past him and heading for the door at a dead run. I spun to follow her, but she bowled over a middle-aged woman like she wasn't even there. And when Nicole and Shade made the mistake of getting in the vamp's way, she grabbed a chair and jabbed it into them.
    Oh crap, they both went down. I couldn't stop to see how they were—I took off after her through the blood bank's lobby, afraid of how much more damage she could do. She was fast, but her high heels and her confusion slowed her down. Fang was faster. He scrabbled across the tile like mad then took a flying leap and hit her square in the back before she could make it out the front door. She went down and I was on top of her, pulling a stake.
    Dan caught up with me. “You should have let her go. It's daylight outside. She'd fry."
    "Something's wrong with these vamps. They should be holed up, far away from any possibility of coming into contact with a stray sunbeam."
    I glanced down at the vamp. She wasn't fighting back—it was more like she was clawing at something just in front of her face. Though I had her pinned, it was like she didn't even see me.
    Dan grabbed her head, the silver in his bracelet blistering the side of her face. “What are you waiting for? Stake her, or I'll drag her outside."
    I lifted a stake. The blood bank's main door burst open. “Slayer, hold!"
    I stopped. Not because of the command, but because of who it had come from. Alejandro stood there, looking menacing yet concerned with his cape draped over him to keep the sunlight at bay.
    "Why?"
    He took a graceful step to the side, out of the light, and lowered his cape. “Wait, please. She is one of mine."
    "She's sure not acting like it,” I snapped.
    "I can take care of her.” He knelt next to her and touched the tips of his fingers to her forehead. She relaxed and lay still, as if she had fainted.
    Dan and I let her go and rose to our feet. “How'd you do that?” I asked Alejandro.
    He waved a hand dismissively. “She is one of mine, so she is under the command of my touch."
    WHOA, Fang said. YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.
    Yep.
    "Did you order this massacre, bloodsucker?” Dan growled.
    Gently, Alejandro said, “I am not your enemy."
    "He's right,” I told Dan. “He's obviously trying to help."
    Dan made a sound of disgust. “Oh yeah? Tell them that.” His abrupt gesture encompassed the carnage in the room . . . the moans, the fallen, the blood.
    Alejandro glanced around, looking appalled. “What happened here?"
    Dan thrust an impatient hand through his hair. “Three of your minions—Roger, Lorenzo and the girl—"
    "Corina."
    "—came out of the elevator and started attacking people. They called the SCU, but no one's on shift yet. We've never had vampires attack humans during the daytime, before.” Dan looked at me. “How did you get here so fast?"
    "Micah,” I said, without explaining more. He knew Micah had demons working undercover at the blood banks. Dan nodded, and the watcher in question inclined his head at me then