Free Wanted: A Blood Courtesans Novel by Michelle Fox, Kristen Strassel Page B

have an army of vampires with me; they could glamour anyone. But I couldn’t.
    Or worse, no one was looking for me. Their lives had to be easier with me gone. No more constant fear of what would happen next, or punishing me for things I swore I didn’t do. The threats from neighborhood kids would have stopped, and my sister had a chance at a normal life.
    Nash parked in an alcove hidden from the road. The vamps who flew had already arrived, hair and jackets fluttering the breeze.
    He killed the ignition and turned to me. “Tell me what you see.”
    That same vision of Olivia popped into my head, but now she lay on the forest floor, crying softly. Shit. “I’m scared I’m doing this to her.” I squeezed my eyes closed but it didn’t go away. “It’s the same as before, but worse.”
    He put his hand on my leg. “I see it now, too.” His tone was grim, confirming we shared the vision. “We’ll find her, and we’ll make it stop.”
    “I’m coming with you, right? I’ve lived here all my life. The forest was part of my home.”
    Nash laced his fingers in mine before we joined the other vamps. “Of course you are.” He stopped, taking both of my hands in his. “Stay by my side. If for some reason we get separated, think of me, nothing but me, and I’ll know where to find you.”
    “What if…” I didn’t even want to say it. “I bring you harm?”
    He kissed me, long and slow, pushing every horrible thought out of my head. If this was all it took to make the bad stuff go away, I was willing to kiss Nash forever.
    “Think of that, if you need to.” He looked over to the group waiting for us before turning back to me. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m older than every vampire in this coven. I created the vampire who colonized the forest. My biggest mistake. You’ve met him, he was the one who challenged me for you.”
    I felt sick. “Is that why you believed me about Olivia?”
    “One of the reasons. I know what he’s capable of. In the last century or so, he’s behaved. That’s why he’s been allowed to come to auction. If I find out he’s behind this…” Nash didn’t finish his thought before leading me over to the rest of the coven.
    “Wait a minute.” I tugged on his hand. “Did you create all of these vampires?”
    Nash pressed his lips together. Once I learned to reign in the bad thoughts, I had to work on shielding the rest of them from him. It wasn’t fair that he could get in my head like this. “It was a different time. We needed a strong coven then. We were at war.”
    Tonight, we readied ourselves for another battle. Nash may not have created all of the vampires that stood before him, but he was their leader. They stopped talking and turned to him.
    “We have reason to believe that Oscar and whoever’s working with him is taking girls from auction and keeping them here as blood slaves. That’s in direct violation to the courtesan contract. Be on the lookout for any human women, and any that have been recently turned. Find a place to keep and guard them until we can bring them back to the city. Keep an eye out for a courtesan named Olivia, a blonde who was with us last week. Any questions?”
    “What are the limits?” one of the vampires in the back of the crowd asked.
    “No limits. Rip their heads clean off their bodies if you need to. Whatever you do, don’t let them bite you.” Nash squeezed my hand, probably to calm me. He’d just ordered this group of men and women to kill if needed.
    “Nash, you’ll start a war!” Sabrina stepped forward, her eyes full of something I couldn’t read. “These guys are a huge problem, but they’re our last line of defense before any challengers come to the city.”
    “If you question me, you can stay here with them.” His tone was so cold, I didn’t believe it belonged to him.
    “No!” I shouted. Everyone stared at me. “Don’t threaten her.”
    Someone in the crowd scoffed, “You can’t control your blood