Free Night Reigns by Dianne Duvall Page B

slightly as though embarrassed. “It’s ... it’s nothing. Just the pain.” Grasping her wrists lightly, he removed her hands from his body.
    Ami felt heat climb into her cheeks. “You need blood. To heal your ribs.”
    His lids lifted as his gaze darted to the pulse that beat wildly at the base of her neck. His lips tilted up in a wry smile. “The bag you gave me was destroyed in the crash. And I believe Seth told me you aren’t on the menu.”
    The notion of him closing those soft, warm lips on her throat spawned what was rapidly becoming a familiar fluttery feeling in her lower belly. “Actually, I didn’t mean me. I have a well-stocked cooler in the backseat.”
    He released her right wrist, but retained his hold on her left, stopping her when she would have turned away to retrieve the cooler.
    She raised her eyebrows in question.
    “Are you afraid of me, Ami?”
    “No,” she answered honestly. She had been at first. She always feared strangers now, thanks to the monsters who had deceived and captured her when she had approached them in friendship. But, even though Marcus had not wanted her in his house, tonight was the first time he had ever spoken to her in anger. Usually, he crept around trying to avoid her and simply appeared chagrined when she caught him.
    Ami thought chagrined an adorable look for him.
    Eyes narrowing slightly, he studied her with enough interest to stir her nerves.
    He started to speak, then straightened and closed his mouth. His brow furrowed. Turning aside, he examined the trees to the west near the Hayabusa, then those to the south. Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, much like a predator seeking the scent of its prey.
    Ami watched him, wondering what had caught his attention.
    Abruptly, his eyes flew open and flashed a brilliant amber. “Oh shit.”
    “What is it?”
    “Vampires.” Dropping her hand, he clutched her upper arm in a bruising grip and propelled her toward the open driver’s side door with what appeared to be a great deal of alarm. “Get in.”
    “What? Why? How many are there?” she asked, heart thudding.
    “Too many. Tell Reordon he has a security breach.” Though she dug in her heels, he managed to deposit her behind the steering wheel. “Chris calls a guy and tells him where to pick me up. Less than five minutes later, dozens of vampires descend upon me. No fucking way that’s a coincidence.”
    “Dozens!” Vampires hadn’t congregated in those numbers since Bastien’s army had been toppled a year and a half ago. “You can’t defeat dozens by yourself!”
    When she tried to exit the car, he held her in place with a hand on her shoulder. “Tell Chris to send backup.”
    “It won’t get here in time!”
    He looked to the south and said with a new sense of urgency, “Just go, Ami.”
    “No. I’m your Second, Marcus. I fight by your side.”
    “If you fight by my side tonight, you’ll die.” Stepping back, he slammed the driver’s side door and tossed the forest to the south a dark look. “No more time. Go!”
    Before Ami could launch another protest, he drew his swords, leapt over the ditch and blurred as he sped toward the far side of the clearing.
    Ami thrust the car door open with a muttered, “Go, my ass.”
    “Damn it,” he growled in response, already a hundred or more yards away.
    The trees in front of him exploded outward. Branches, leaves, and particles of wood flew like sawdust in every direction as dark figures with glowing eyes lunged toward their target.
    So many!
    Panic struck Ami like a fist. Marcus was right. Neither of them would survive this.
    At best, they would take as many vampires with them as they could.
    She scrambled from the car and, staying low, hurried to the trunk to delve into the weapons cache stored within. Out of sight of the melee, she retrieved a thin leather harness and tugged it on like a shoulder holster, shifting it until the two sheathed katanas it supported settled