Once Bitten, Twice Burned(84)

His eyes weren’t dark any longer. There was a circle of orange—red?—around his pupils. As if . . . as if his eyes were burning.

The wood began to smoke beneath the man’s hand. Tendrils of smoke drifted into the air. Then the wood caught on fire. Big, bright flames erupted along the surface of the broken chair.

Rhett jerked his hand away and leapt back.

“I told you, be glad I’m not a vampire.” The chair burned to ash in a blaze that matched the fire in the man’s eyes.

No, not a vampire, but . . . “What are you?” Rhett’s voice was hoarse, thanks to all the damn screaming and yelling he’d done.

But the guy wasn’t answering him. He was too busy touching the wall to his right. Just his touch sent flames licking up the old wood and rushing toward the ceiling.

“Stop!” Rhett yelled—or tried to yell. But, oh hell, screw stopping the guy. He just needed to get away from him. So Rhett rushed forward. He plowed his fist into the guy’s face—shit, that blow scorched his knuckles—and tried to lunge through the doorway.

But the hulking guy just laughed and grabbed hold of his arm. “It’s not that easy.” He looked over at the flames. They were burning bright and hot. “We’ll send a little message to your sister, then we’ll let her find us.”

“If you’re killing me, do it,” Rhett snarled. The guy’s hold was burning into his skin. “I’m not going to let you use me against Sabine.” The way Vaughn had wanted to use him.

“Of course, you will.” He said it as if there had never been any doubt. “You’re just human.” The guy shrugged. “What else are you gonna do?”

Kill your ass. He was just close enough to do the job. Cocky supernatural. Thinking humans weren’t a threat. “I didn’t know if Vaughn would be coming for me, or if it would be someone else.”

Blisters were on his skin. Blisters and blood and he was tired of being a punching bag.

Rhett said, “But even if a vampire had come through that door, I wasn’t gonna go down without a fight.”

That stupid smirk was getting on his nerves.

“Why fight?” the man asked. “The result will be the same. You’ll lose.”

“No.” But Rhett stopped fighting. For the moment. Let him think I’m weak. “You will.” Then he brought up his left hand—with the broken chair leg that he’d kept hidden—and he stabbed that chunk of wood right into the pyro’s chest.

The guy’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Guess you didn’t see that coming,” Rhett said as he twisted the chunk of wood.

The SOB’s hand fell away. His body sagged to the floor.

“Stop underestimating humans,” Rhett bit out. He turned away. Rushed through the door.

The crackle of flames grew louder behind him. Rhett didn’t bother trying to pull the man’s body from the fire. Even a vamp couldn’t rise with a stake in his heart.

The fire kept spreading.

Rhett rushed away from the flames.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




Dawn had come. The light spilled through the thin curtains at the cabin. Sabine knew Ryder wanted something from her, she could see it in his eyes.

She just didn’t know what he needed.

Would she kill her brother? No. She wouldn’t. Not Rhett. Never him. But it wasn’t going to come down to that. “I trust Rhett.”

“The way you trusted your father?”

He was pushing her. If he kept that up, she’d push back.

“Betrayal hurts, it’s a wound that doesn’t heal, not with any kind of time.”

She wouldn’t step away from him. Right then, Sabine wanted to be close to her vampire. “How many times have you been betrayed?”

“Too many to count.”

Brutal.

“But I made sure to always pay back those who betrayed me.”

Yes, she was rather sure his payback was a biting bitch. She kept her hands on his shoulders as she eased back down until her feet were flat on the floor. Don’t kiss him again. Not yet. When she kissed him, she just thought of sex. She needed to ask him more questions. This was her chance to actually unravel the mystery that was Ryder.

She wasn’t giving up this chance. Even if she did want to strip him naked.

He looked good naked.

Sabine cleared her throat. “How did you wind up in Genesis?” He knew how she’d been tossed into that cage. What about him?

“Another betrayal.” He inclined his head toward her. “Some vampires sent me right into a trap. One I stupidly didn’t see.”

“Have you gotten your payback?”

His gaze seemed to see past her. “A human owned the motel they sent me to. They said . . . said there was one of our kind there who needed my help. I went, but the human just sprung the trap. You see, he sold paranormals to Genesis. He sold me. Probably dozens more, too.”