Free A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) by Jaz Primo Page B

honor terms to you, if you’ll just agree to a truce.”
    She frowned and momentarily reconsidered the merits of arriving at some agreement. Her more immediate concern was to aid Caleb, and any further issues with Devon could be handled at a later time, if necessary. “Very well,” she agreed warily. “We will finalize matters later. Expect to hear from me soon, Devon Archibald.”
    Devon’s eyes darted to Caleb where he was lying on the ground nearby and back to Katrina. “Understood,” he agreed. “And once again, I apologize for the misunderstanding. I invite you to Marietta, where you must grant me the opportunity to solidify an agreement and reintroduce myself in a proper fashion.”
    Katrina nodded curtly, and Devon turned to depart into the thick pine trees next to the trail. But then he stopped and looked at Katrina with eyes that no longer glowed. “My word is honorable,” he insisted. “What was your name again? Your mate mentioned it, but I don’t recall.”
    “Katrina Rawlings of the Atlanta area.”
    Devon’s eyes widened. “Wait, the one that killed the Aztec who was murdering other vampires?”
    Katrina’s face turned stony, but she nodded. “That’s me.”
    Devon sighed, shook his head, and muttered, “Yeah, just my luck.” He turned to look at Caleb and offered, “My respects to him. I’ve never encountered a human who fought so hard before. He’s a tough little bastard, and he gave almost as good as he got.”
    Katrina scowled. “I’m sure he’s happy to hear that.”
    “Thanks, asshole,” was all Caleb managed to rasp in response as he glared at the vampire from where he lay on the ground.
    Devon frowned deeply, turned away from them, and disappeared quietly into the forest. Caleb blinked, and when his eyes opened again the hulking vampire was nowhere to be seen. A fresh wave of pain shot through his ribs as he tried to take a deep breath, and his head felt woozy and ached.
    Katrina moved in a blur as she both sheathed her knife and sped to Caleb’s side. She knelt beside her prone mate with a concerned expression, removed the leather jacket she’d been wearing, and laid it over his prone form.
    “Everything will be okay, my love,” she tried to reassure him. I’m taking care of you .
    He murmured something unintelligible and escaped the continued pain by welcoming the darkness as it finally overcame him.
    * * * *
     
    Caleb heard Katrina’s voice talking when he regained consciousness, though he couldn’t immediately understand what was being said. He shifted his body slightly, resulting in pain, and realized he was lying in a bed. He slowly opened his eyes to discover the room was dimly lit, and he recognized the estate’s sublevel room. He moaned while lifting his hand to his head as dull aching persisted behind his eyes, which he closed tightly.
    “I have to go, Alton. He’s finally awake,” Katrina urged in a near whisper. “I’ll call you soon.”
    Caleb felt the edge of the bed shift next to him, and he opened his eyes to see Katrina sitting beside him in a pair of cotton lounge pants and a t-shirt. Her gentle fingers caressed the skin on the side of his face, and her warm smile soothed him.
    “Welcome back, my love,” she offered. I’m relieved he’s finally regained consciousness . She was confident his body was healing, but worried he might have a mild concussion.
    He felt disoriented and somewhat confused as he tried recalling anything beyond blacking out on the hard ground in the forest, but nothing came to mind.
    “What happened?” he asked. “How long have I been out?”
    “Twelve hours or more,” she replied. “How do you feel?”
    He tried to swallow and noticed his throat felt raw. “Like hell, but better than back at the forest.”
    She retrieved a glass of ice water from the nightstand, and he noticed a blood-tinged syringe lying nearby. His eyes met hers with a curious expression.
    “How bad was I?” he asked before drinking greedily.