Him. Chase. The guy Leo had turned years before. Grim closed his eyes, tried to focus and find the ungrateful bastard but—
Nothing. “Maybe he’s already dead.” Maybe. But the truth was that he hadn’t felt a connection to Chase since the Taken had traded with the warlock.
So Chase could still be alive, or he could be dead. Again.
He glanced over at the bed. The dancer was awake. She’d been awake the whole time they talked, but she’d kept her eyes closed. Like a good little girl, pretending to sleep.
Maybe because she didn’t want to see. Maybe she wanted to pretend she wasn’t involved in this.
Wrong.
His tongue slipped over the edge of his sharp teeth.
The dancer wasn’t getting out of his den alive, but maybe he’d Take her. Maybe.
She drank greedily, desperate, hungry, needing the blood that spilled onto her tongue. More. More.
Dee felt the ice rising in her body. The numbing cold, and she fought it, drinking as much of the warm liquid as she could.
Drinking.
Her eyes opened when the blood flow began to ease, and she squinted, staring at the bright light. The broken glass.
Attack. Two vehicles. One from behind, one from the side.
Right at dawn, when we were the weakest.
Smart bastards, she’d give them that, she’d give them—
Simon’s hand dropped.
Dee sucked in a sharp breath. What— “Simon!” The blood on her tongue, the warmth in her veins.
His.
All his.
She turned her head to the left, craning to see him. “Simon!”
A weak smile curved his lips. Such pale lips. Such tired eyes. “What did you do?” she whispered. Stupid to ask, she knew. She fumbled, managed to grab his hand and hold tight.
“You…had to live.”
So did he. Dammit, so did he.
His eyes began to close. “Don’t…watch me…”
Her fingers clenched around his. “We’re gonna get out of here.” They were trapped in a damn tin can, but she’d get them out.
Crushed. Smashed in by the two vehicles and left trapped. The bastards would pay.
“Promise…don’t watch…me—”
His eyes were closed as he finished, “Die.”
No. “Simon?” The chill was back, raising the hairs on her arms and numbing her flesh. “Simon?” She squeezed his hand and realized what he’d done.
His life, for her. Bastard.
Dee dropped his hand and shoved against the metal. Shoved and pushed and jerked and twisted and—
Tears trekked down her cheeks as the sunlight poured onto her. “You’re not leaving me!” A scream.
Not like her father.
Her sister.
Her mother.
No one else would die for her. No one.
Dee screamed her fury into the light and kicked up with her knees. Bones snapped, flesh tore, but she fought through the pain and tried to tear her way out of the hell that held them in its hungry grasp.
When he saw the SUV, saw the metal tossed away on the side of the road, Zane’s heart seemed to stop.
“Holy fuck.” From Jude. The shifter had found him at the motel and helped him to kick the shit out of those vampires.
You won’t find her. The bitch’ll be dead before you even get close. Last words from one of the vamps.
Zane slammed on the brakes.
“She could still be alive!” The fierce whisper came from Erin Jerome, Jude’s lover. Of course, the woman had been at Jude’s side when he’d stormed up to the motel. Not like she was ever going to miss a good fight.
Zane jumped from the car, ran as fast as he could, and heard the thunder of Jude and Erin’s footsteps behind them. Be alive. She had to be. Dee couldn’t—
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Her scream. Dee.
His heart started beating again. He hurried around the side of the beaten metal pile, ready to rip and fight his way to her.
The passenger door flew at him.
Zane hit the ground. What the hell?
“Simon! You open those eyes, you understand me? Open them!” Then he saw Dee, crawling out of the car and dragging her vampire with her. Blood covered her, him, and the woman was snarling and swearing as she jerked out her man.
She stumbled, slipping, and Simon’s weight hit her, knocking her flat.
Zane shoved up to his knees. “Dee!” He should have known the woman wasn’t dead. The ambush the vamps had set on her—yeah, he’d gotten the full details on that one, courtesy of some threats and the skillful use of Jude’s claws—hadn’t succeeded. She was still alive, still fighting and—
She rolled her vampire until he lay on the ground. Her hand smoothed over his cheek. “Simon?”
And Zane realized she didn’t know he was there.
Didn’t know any of them were there.