Gunn(Bayou Springs Alien Mail Order Brides #2)(24)

 

With my heart hammering, I reached for the door, intending to lock him inside. No such luck. He turned abruptly and reached for me, catching the back of my shirt. I ran, barely managing to escape his grip as my T-shirt ripped.

 

Panic set in. My only hope was to outrun him and to somehow evade his goons while I waited for the yellow mist to work its magic. What was taking it so long? It should have been instantaneous. I ran out of my bedroom and straight for the front door, but just before I reached for the doorknob a sharp, searing pain radiated from the back of my left thigh, causing me to fall on one knee.

 

I glanced back and spotted Bolt holding a handful of darts in one hand, and aiming another one at me with the other. Dragon Darts. They were the weapon of choice for most Azurites because they left little evidence beyond a pinprick. Even a tox screen was ineffective because hardly any labs were prepared to test for it.

 

There was no question the pain in my leg was from one of the poisonous Dragon Darts. Just the one would only make my head spin. But if he stabbed me with anymore, it'd be lights out for me, or death. Humans could only handle so many doses before our hearts stopped. Had I pissed him off so much he was willing to kill me? A current of fear shook me to my core.

 

I was out of options.

 

The yellow mist was slowly eating away at his shoes and pants, creating quarter-sized holes that would eventually destroy every last stitch of clothing before it started in on his flesh. It was an effective weapon since it was nearly impossible to stop without the right antidote, but this time I was out of luck. The dose must've been too weak. It was moving so slowly, he hadn't yet even noticed the damage to his clothing.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

"All you had to do was hand over the liquid energy," he snarled. "But no, you had to be a bitch." He flung another dart at me.

 

I threw myself to the left, landing hard on my hip, thankful the second dart hit my credenza instead of my flesh.

 

He advanced. I yanked the original dart out of my leg and threw it under the couch as I rolled, getting my feet back under me.

 

"You're not going to survive this," I taunted, hoping to distract him from another dart attack.

 

"Shut up."

 

"Not likely." I gestured to his feet. "See that? It's flesh-rotting mist. In about five minutes you're going to have some seriously unattractive calves."

 

He froze and glanced down. The darts fell unceremoniously to the floor as he raised his head. "You did this to me."

 

"Well, duh. What else did you expect? You attacked me and my boyfriend and threatened to kill us both if you didn't get your next fix. What did you think I was going to do?"

 

"No. I mean you caused my addiction. You and your precious congresswoman. You got me hooked, then cut me off cold turkey. And now this." He waved frantically at his now exposed legs. "You're pure evil!"

 

His accusation shook me to the core. Was it really my fault? I'd conducted experiments for the congresswoman, but it was all with good intentions. We'd only been trying to find a synthetic drug that would mimic the pleasures and benefits Azurites derived from feeding off the energy of women. The serum he'd been given was close, but had become highly addictive, similar to amphetamines. And Bolt had quickly turned into a junkie. We'd had no choice but to cut him off. "Congresswoman Green-"

 

"Fuck her and fuck you!" His expression turned wild, and he launched himself across the room, his arms stretched out as he reached for me.

 

I scurried backward just as the door flew open and Gunn intercepted the Azurite.

 

"No!" I screamed, terrified he'd come in contact with the acid mist.

 

My cries went unheeded and before I knew it, Gunn had issued a blow so powerful, the Azurite sailed into the wall, cracking the plaster. Bolt hung on the wall for just a second, then he crumbled to the floor, out cold.

 

I sucked in air, trying not to hyperventilate as I searched Gunn's body for any of the horrible mist. Nothing. A small ball of relief blossomed in my chest. "Oh, God, Gunn. Are you all right?" I ran my hands over his arms and chest, searching for wounds, but found nothing except rock hard muscles.

 

"I'm fine." He pulled me to him and wrapped me in his arms. "You?"

 

"I think I'm okay," I said, trying to block Bolt's accusations from my mind. He'd eagerly volunteered for the experiments. Signed all the release forms. And at the first sign of trouble, we'd scrapped the formula. But that didn't change the fact I'd been the one to give him the drug in the first place. And now the controversial acid mist was going to eat him alive.