Free B006P1R39O EBOK by Lorraine Kennedy

… and to offer our services,” he told her.
    “We don’t need any help,” Sarah put in, not bothering to hide her dislike of the slayer.
    “Oh I believe you do. I don’t think that you really understand what you are up against.”
    “How do we know that we can trust you?” Nicole asked, her eyes never straying from the man’s face. She was looking for any sign of deception.
    “Because I know whom it is that you have to kill to end the curse and save those that you love … and it isn’t who you think it is. It isn’t Omar,” he informed them.
    * * *
    When she first opened her eyes, the world was a blur. The glare of the overhead fluorescent lighting only made it more difficult to focus. Giving up, Kathrina shut her eyes. Though she still felt as if she were only half conscious, the side of her stomach was throbbing.
    Moaning, she tried to lift her head but it was too much. The effort only made the pain worse.
    “Luciano,” she forced his name from parched lips.
    “Shhh … you need to rest.” It was Nicole’s voice.
    Kathrina again tried to open her eyes.
    Where was she?
    The last thing she could remember was walking with Luciano.
    “You’re in the hospital,” Nicole told her.
    Blinking rapidly, she was finally able to force her eyes to work. “Where’s Luciano?” Kathrina asked.
    Nicole shook her head. “I don’t’ know. You don’t have to worry … you’re safe now,” she added.
    Kathrina was too weak to ask any more questions. She would just sleep a while longer, and then she’d try to remember why she was in the hospital.
     
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Kathrina managed only a couple bites of the tasteless vanilla pudding before she gave up and pushed the tray away. She needed meat – red meat, but that would be going against the doctor’s orders. They said she wasn’t ready for solid food yet. The arrow had damaged internal organs and she’d lost a lot of blood. According to the nurses that came in to check on her several times a day, she was lucky that she wasn’t dead.
    Throughout the week that she’d been in the hospital, her family had come to see her everyday, including Donavan. Even Dash had snuck in after visiting hours to say hello.
    The one person that she hadn’t heard a peep from was Luciano, but then again, there was no reason to believe that she would. Kathrina knew that she should be grateful to the vampire. He’d let her live when he could have easily killed her that night.
    She was grateful, but she was also angry. Kathrina had been sure that there was some kind of connection between them. That he might actually care what happened to her.
    She must have been wrong because Luciano had dumped her at the hospital like an old suitcase that he no longer needed. Then he’d simply walked away, disappearing into the night and from her life.
    Her sisters were ecstatic that he’d spared her life and then left her alone.
    Why wasn’t she?
    Kathrina was jerked from her thoughts by a knock at the door. She insisted that they keep the door to her room shut. She didn’t like the idea of people walking by and staring in at her while she was sleeping.
    Though she knew it was a silly thing to worry about, it did bother her. What if one of those people that walked by, just happened to be a vampire?
    “Come in!” Kathrina called out.
    Kathrina was troubled to see a stranger follow Nicole into the room.
    “How are you feeling?” Nicole asked.
    “Better,” Kathrina answered, never taking her eyes from the man that stood behind her sister.
    “This is Jordan Anderson … he’s very interested in talking with you,” Nicole told her.
    Kathrina acknowledged him with a slight nod of her head.
    “I’m sorry to bother you while you are still recovering, but it’s extremely important that we talk.”
    “What is it that I can do for you?” Kathrina had been in a foul mood all day, and right then, all she wanted was to be left alone. At least she didn’t want someone in her room