Once Bitten, Twice Burned(58)

Then she and her band of protectors were crossing the street. Horns blared. They ignored them. Typical. They cut through alleys, slid around old buildings, moving as fast as they could.

She looked back again.

Ryder was still there.

And she knew that ditching him wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it might just be impossible.



The bar was pretty much as he’d expected. Ryder eased inside of The Rift, following the sound of blues as the other bar patrons swept into the bar. Dim lighting sent shadows chasing over the floor. The wood creaked beneath his feet as Ryder walked. The place smelled of alcohol and perfume. Laughter floated around him, just as the drinks were flowing.

The humans were in a good mood. Celebrating.

A circle of men had gathered near the back corner of the bar, a circle that enclosed Sabine.

The humans really needed to start backing the hell off. For Sabine, he was going to try and keep things civilized.

At first.

He could just see the top of Sabine’s head. Some guy with bright blond hair kept hugging her. Kissing her on the cheek.

That had better be the brother. If it wasn’t, the man was going to be in a whole world of pain soon.

“Sabe, what happened?”

Ryder was close enough to hear the blond’s question.

“Where have you been?” the guy demanded, emotion roughening his voice. “We were so worried. Hell, do you know how many times I checked the morgue?”

Her hand lifted, and she curled her fingers around his biceps. “I’m sorry.”

The guy swore and pointed toward a door marked PRIVATE. “You’re telling me what happened.” Then he was marching for that door. Pulling Sabine with him.

The other men were following him.

Ryder followed, too. Until his path was blocked by a tall, muscled male with a fuck-off glare. The guy’s blue eyes were a sharp and angry contrast to his dark brown skin. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Ryder lifted a brow. “Trust me, you don’t want to get in my way.”

The guy laughed. “Looks like that’s just where I am.” His smile faded. “You followed us here.”

Ryder shrugged. Why deny the truth? “You were easy to follow.”

The man’s right hand began to lift. Ryder knew the fellow was going for the gun he’d tucked into the back of his waistband.

“Do you truly want to do that here?” Ryder asked, curious, baiting. “With so many humans around?”

The man hesitated. “I’m guessing you’re not human.”

“Good guess.” Then he rushed forward and grabbed the guy’s hand before he could make the mistake of going for the gun. Using his grip, Ryder twisted the man around and forced him toward the “private” door. “Now how about you and I go join the little chat in the back room?” Because he’d been away from Sabine for long enough.

She left me. Just when he’d thought they were starting to trust each other. They’d gotten out of hell together. Had some pretty fucking amazing sex. Then she’d left the minute he closed his eyes.

He’d nearly ripped down the mountain trying to find her.

As it was, he yanked back his captive and kicked in the “private” door. The door flew off its hinges.

“What the—” a man’s snarling voice began. The blond. The guy had a cracked baseball bat gripped in his hand. He came up swinging.

Ryder caught the bat in his right hand. “You need a better weapon.” He shattered the wood.

Then heard the faintest click behind him. A safety, being released. Yes, he knew the sound.

“You shouldn’t have turned your back on me,” his ex-captive said. “Man, you’re gonna pay for that one.”

“Vaughn!” Sabine’s frantic cry. “Don’t shoot him!”

Huh. It sounded like she cared.

“I’m not shooting him, yet.” Now the guy’s voice was cocky. “Douglas, patch up the door before anyone sees what the hell we’re doing.”

The redhead ran forward and used his body to shove the door back into semi-place.

Ryder ignored the redhead. He only focused on the one person who mattered in the room.

“Stop it,” the blond snarled as he took a protective step in front of Sabine. “Stop looking at my sister like you want to fuckin’ eat her.”

It was too fitting. Ryder smiled and knew that his fangs would flash.

It was the wrong move, of course, because the trigger-happy human with the gun shot him.





CHAPTER ELEVEN




Ryder didn’t flinch when the bullet tore into his chest. The bullet hurt like a bitch, but after his time at Genesis, he’d rather gotten used to pain.

“You missed my heart,” Ryder muttered. Then he lunged for the shooter. His hand wrapped around the guy’s throat. One snap. Just one. And he’d have a dead human.