Bound by Danger (The Alliance, Book 6) Read online

  He recalled his struggle to breathe and his determination to kill as his fingers bit into his brother’s throat and his thumbs pushed under his chin. Flesh gave way as he dug his thumbs into his skin to tear his brother’s head free.

  Then something went wrong, and he found himself staggering toward the open doorway as the retreating figure of his brother fled across the field of their family estate. Fire leapt from his back as he ran into the sunlight.

  “Yannis,” he breathed.

  A cruel smile twisted his brother’s mouth before he couldn’t tolerate the sun anymore and vanished back into the tunnel. For a moment, Lucien remained unmoving as the past and present collided.

  Without thinking, he lunged forward to go after the bastard and tear him apart. Yannis should have died all those years ago, he shouldn’t be here now, but since he was, Lucien would make sure he finished what he started so long ago.

  The woman slipped on the rocks and cried out as stones clattered away from her feet. His concern for her rushed to the forefront. Yannis would die, he would make sure of it now that he knew the evil fucker lived, but he had to take care of her.

  For the first time in his life, his need to protect someone overrode his obsessive impulse to kill. When no more Savages poked their heads out of the tunnel, Lucien sprinted across the opening.

  His toes curled into the slippery rocks, and he used his hands to help keep him stable as he pursued the Savage closing in on the woman. The Savage had one hand extended toward her, and little flames danced across its fingertips when Lucien snapped its neck. He kept twisting until he tore the head free. He kicked the body into the ditch and threw its head after it.

  The woman turned back and squeaked when she spotted him. He heard the frantic beat of her heart as she fled up the rocks, but she wouldn’t get away from him. Winding his arm around her waist, he clasped her against his side as he lifted her off the ground.

  Looking back, he spotted two more Savages coming after them.

  CHAPTER 6

  Callie bit back a cry of frustration when the man locked his arm around her waist again. However, she couldn’t be that upset as he propelled her up the rocks a lot faster than she could go herself. His chains rattled, but he had enough room in them to grab her with ease.

  When they arrived at the top, he hurried her forward, but when she didn’t move fast enough for his liking, he lifted her over his shoulder again. As she found herself staring at his lower back once more, the blood rushed back into her head, and she slapped her hands against his back as her irritation over being treated like a sack of potatoes mounted.

  Don’t hit the vampire. It was probably some pretty sage advice, and she decided to take it. However, when this was over, she’d… she’d what? Kick him? Hit him? None of those things would have any effect on this beast.

  More than likely, when this was over, she’d be his breakfast. That possibility didn’t sit well, so she decided not to dwell on it. Right now, all that mattered was getting away from those things. And though he was as deadly as them, he seemed like the lesser of two evils.

  But when both of those evils are after your blood, does it matter which one is the lesser of them?

  She had no answer for that question, and she also had no other options as he had a good grip on her, and she was no match for his strength.

  Lucien’s feet slapped against the pavement as he ran between buildings and into a street. Despite the fact it was still early morning, tires squealed and cars screeched to a stop as he plunged into traffic. One of the vehicles didn’t stop fast enough; a bumper grazed his leg and knocked him back a couple of steps.

  The woman cried out, but Lucien continued running as behind him footsteps rebounded off the pavement. He raced between more buildings and out into another street. This time, he managed to avoid the cars screeching to a halt around him as horns blared.

  He didn’t stop to get a good look at his surroundings, but the tall buildings and the amount of traffic at this time of the morning made him realize he was in a city. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, could see him.

  There were probably dozens of cameras on him, but he didn’t stop running. There was nothing he could do about the cameras, and the buildings and traffic had already slowed him enough.

  Most humans couldn’t run as fast as he was, especially with a woman slung over their shoulder, but many of them wouldn’t guess anything supernatural. And they certainly wouldn’t think it was vampires running across the road.

  They would most likely think his dealers or gang members were chasing him after a drug deal went wrong. If he was high on something, it could give him added strength and speed. He didn’t know how they would explain the chains rattling with every step he took, and he didn’t care. Humans were good at making up lies or burying their heads in the sand instead of facing reality.

  They would have his face on camera, but there were no files on him, so they wouldn’t know who he was. Despite that, when he reached the shadows of more buildings, he tried to stay hidden by them instead of exposing himself to more cars and people.

  However, the buildings probably had security cameras on them, and he had to get rid of his pursuers before they were joined by more Savages who hadn’t killed so much that they couldn’t tolerate at least a little sunshine.

  As he tried to plot his escape, madness seeped in to cloud the edges of his mind. His fangs throbbed, and the scent of the woman’s tantalizing blood did little to help his increasingly incoherent thoughts.

  His hands tightened on her legs as his mind returned to the past and his battle with Yannis. His brother had taken everything from him.

  But even as the past was surging around him, a match ignited his arid veins. Like a long-smoldering blaze denied oxygen, the inferno of his hunger flared to life. It burned through his body until every breath became torture.

  Callie pushed herself up to take in her surroundings. She studied the buildings and then the new street they merged onto, but none of it looked familiar. Were they in Trenton or Newark? Or maybe she wasn’t in New Jersey anymore. Her kidnappers could have taken her to New York City.

  She didn’t recognize any of her surroundings, but that didn’t mean anything; she’d rarely gone into New York City, and she’d only ever been to Newark to catch a plane. She could whittle her combined time in both cities down to a total of two days, and that was being generous.

  Her eyes widened when two creatures rounded the corner of one of the buildings. Did they realize they had smoke coiling off their heads? If they did, it wasn’t slowing them.

  She glanced at the back of the man to see if he was starting to smolder, but he didn’t have any smoke trailing from him. Wasn’t he the same thing as those monsters? How come they looked as if they were about to combust, while she saw no sign of that from him?

  Confused, she inspected her captor more closely for a sign he was about to erupt into flames, and take her with him, but there was nothing.

  Whatever was wrong with their pursuers didn’t affect him, but how was that possible if they were all vampires?

  How is any of this possible? You’re hanging over the back of a guy with red eyes while being chased by two smoking vampires. The reality train pulled out of this station a long time ago.

  Lucien sprinted around the corner as he searched the buildings for someplace where he could get away from human view and cameras. He loathed leaving the sun behind, but he couldn’t kill the Savages out in the open.

  He turned another corner and raced into a seedier section of the city. Abandoned buildings, rats, and the downtrodden populated this area. He ran past the sagging door of a home that looked about to crumble before skidding to a halt and turning back.

  His feet thudded against the wooden steps as he raced up them while seeking to avoid the holes in the rotting wood. The mildew stench of the place enveloped him as he plunged into the building. Beneath that potent aroma, he detected the feral scent of wild animals living in the walls.
r />   The woman squirmed on his shoulder, and he didn’t go far before he abruptly set her down. She was still stumbling away from him when he spun to face the Savages coming through the door and charging at him.

  Lacking the finesse and discipline that came from years of training and learning to fight, these idiots relied on their strength alone to win a battle. It would result in their deaths.

  The first one came in low while the second one ran for her. Lucien didn’t know why it went for her, but as the first one wrapped his arms around Lucien’s waist, he threw himself to the side and crashed into the Savage who was only inches away from her.

  The impact caused something to crack in the creature’s shoulder, and it howled as it staggered through a doorway and vanished.

  Callie worked to catch her breath as the primal sound of animals tearing each other apart filled the room while they rebounded off the broken, graffiti-covered plaster lining the walls.

  She wanted to cringe from the sound and flee this awful place, but even as she contemplated running back out the door, the other creature reappeared in it. The monster’s grin revealed its fangs before it ran at her. She dashed to the right, but it followed her.

  When she went back to the left, it blocked her and started to laugh as it spread its legs like a defender in football. She’d spent enough time trying to evade her friends in backyards and fields to be confident in her ability to get past most people.

  However, this thing wasn’t a person.

  She darted to the right again, and when it started to laugh, she resisted the urge to rush at it and throw herself against the infuriating monster. However, handing herself over to the thing trying to kill her didn’t sound like the best idea.

  Sensing her inability to escape, it ran at her. Knowing she couldn’t get away—it was far faster than her—she stayed where she was. On her tiptoes, she danced back and forth as she debated going left or right. When it was only feet away from her, instinct took over and she threw herself to the ground.

  She grunted when it ran over the top of her and skidded to a halt. Back and ribs aching from the impact of its weight, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled away from the vampire. She staggered and fell against a wall before turning to survey the room.

  The vampire no longer looked amused as it stalked toward her with a murderous look on its twisted face and its fangs bared. She searched for a route out, but there was nowhere for her to go.

  The man who’d carried her from the tunnels shoved aside the creature he fought and charged toward her attacker. Her eyes fell on a board only a few feet away from her. The vampire was almost to her when she threw herself to the side and rolled across the ground.

  She grabbed the board and pushed herself up as the beast fell on her. The weight of the creature knocked her back and shoved her into the ground. Somehow, she managed to get the board between them as it lunged at her.

  The wood dug into her palms and she tried to resist the vampire’s weight bearing down on her, but she would have had a better chance of fending off a grizzly bear. Fangs snapped in her face as its warm, copper-tinged breath billowed into her face.

  She realized the coppery tinge was the scent of blood. Her stomach churned, and the board bent beneath the monster’s weight before cracking. She cried out as the wood gave way, and the creature fell onto her.

  CHAPTER 7

  The fingers of one hand encircled her throat as the man appeared over the creature’s shoulder and loomed over top of it. Callie found herself staring into his red eyes as he lifted a piece of broken board, spun it in his hands, and drove it through the vampire’s back.

  The monster’s hand compressed on her throat; its back arched, and blood sprayed out of its chest before spilling from its mouth. Callie squirmed to get out from under it, but its weight kept her pinned to the ground. The man tore the board free of its back, seized its neck, and lifted it away from her as if the thing weighed no more than a doll.

  She was still marveling over his strength when he spun and smashed the board across the face of the other vampire. She hadn’t seen that thing coming, but the sound was like the crack of a bat hitting a ball. Teeth flew out of its mouth and clattered against the wood as they scattered across the floor.

  Using her elbows and feet, Callie propelled herself away from the two monsters as they fell on each other with the brutality of two tigers fighting over a piece of meat. She scrambled to her feet as she sought to flee the sounds of battle behind her. She didn’t look back as she ran toward the open doorway.

  Lucien spun the board in his hands and brought it down on top of the Savage’s skull; it gave way like a grape beneath a boot. Lucien ignored the brains seeping from its flattened skull as he released the board, clutched its head, and twisted it to the side. A slurping, wrenching sound filled the air as he tore the head off before tossing it aside.

  When he shifted his attention back to her, he discovered the woman fleeing out the door. Panic propelled him forward, and he raced after her. He should let her go, but he couldn’t. Not only had she seen too much, but the idea of having her out of his sight caused something more than madness and starvation to rise inside him.

  If he lost her….

  What? What would happen if he lost her?

  He tried to puzzle out the answer, but processing his thoughts was far too difficult right now as blood consumed his mind.

  Excitement swelled inside him as he chased her. He was hunting again and free to do as he pleased. He could sate himself on the delicious blood coursing through her veins.

  Adrenaline coursed through him as he closed in on her. Her heartbeat thundered in his ears, and the scent of her blood drowned out the Savage’s stench as he followed her outside.

  She was sweet, she was his, and she was running from him. He would not allow it.

  She only made it three feet down the street before he caught her. Lifting her, he stifled her small shriek with a hand over her mouth before carrying her back toward the building.

  He searched the street for any sign of humans nearby, but if someone watched them, this wasn’t the type of neighborhood where people reported what they saw. Still, he grappled to keep himself under control. The last thing he needed was a concerned citizen deciding to get involved.

  Her feet kicked against his shins as he carried her up the stairs and back into the dilapidated building. He set her down and turned her to face him.

  His eyes fell on the bite marks he left on her earlier, and hunger gushed like an erupting volcano. When he licked his lips, she recoiled. Guilt flickered to life within him, and somehow, he managed to regain enough control of himself to stagger away from her.

  “Don’t run from me,” he commanded in a voice slurred by his fangs and his barely restrained impulses.

  Callie grasped her elbows and hugged herself as he stalked away from her. When she took a couple of steps backward, his burning red eyes swung back to her. The look on his face halted her.

  Every instinct she had screamed at her to run, but he was far too fast, and she wouldn’t get far. She also feared what he would do if she tried to escape again.

  What will I do if I don’t try to escape? she pondered.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he muttered.

  Even as he said the words, he questioned how true they were. He had no idea what he was going to do or who he was anymore.

  “You already have,” she replied before biting her tongue.

  She should have kept her mouth shut. Provoking the vampire was far from the best idea she’d ever had, but his promise not to hurt her pissed her off, considering he’d already inflicted a lot of agony on her.

  Her gaze fell to the punctures on his shoulders and arms again. Someone had fed from him, she realized. Those bites were similar to the ones on her. Some vampire had decided to use him as a food source.

  Despite her dislike of this man, she couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him. She knew how excruciating two of those bites were; s
he couldn’t imagine enduring a dozen of them.

  Shuddering, she hugged herself as she tried not to give in to her growing unease. After Carter, she’d vowed never to fear anything again, but there was no way she could have seen anything like this coming.

  Lucien flinched as her words cut deeper than he ever would have believed possible. “I’m sorry about that.”

  Callie didn’t reply as she watched him prowl the room. He surveyed the walls and the bodies on the floor before glancing back at her to make sure she remained where he left her. He studied a couple of broken windows before dragging one of the bodies into a shaft of light.

  Smoke spiraled from its back, and by the time he carried the other body and head over to the first, flames were dancing across its skin. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the fire, and the continued proof her life would never be the same.

  “This can’t be real,” she muttered.

  Lucien glanced at the woman as he dropped the head on the bodies and turned to study the building. They couldn’t stay here. As soon as night descended, the remaining Savages would be out in full force, and the stench of the blood permeating this room would draw them here.

  It would draw his brother here. Yannis was still alive. Lucien’s teeth ground together as his nails bit into his palms. Blood welled from his broken skin and pooled in his hands as he stared out the window.

  He should have known Yannis would survive their battle and the sun. Cockroaches could survive a nuclear war, and Yannis was no better than that filthy insect. Once this was over, once he got her out of here and somewhere safe, he would hunt and destroy Yannis. This time, he would make sure Yannis did not survive the atonement of his sins.

  “What city is this?” he demanded.

  “I don’t…. I don’t know,” Callie stammered when she heard the increased hostility in his voice and sensed the rising tension in his rigid body. The veins in his arms stood starkly out against his filthy skin.