Luther's Return (Scanguards Vampires Book 10)

Dobbs and MacKay were right outside the door now.

“Cool.” MacKay grunted. “Want a snack?”

Shit! Luther suppressed a curse. That’s just what he needed now: two heavily armed vampire guards raiding the fridge. His fingers automatically lengthened, and sharp barbs emerged from his fingertips, readying themselves for a bloody battle.

“You know they count that stuff,” Dobbs cautioned.

“We can always blame Summerland,” MacKay suggested.

“Don’t be stupid. That jerk’s gonna be up your ass so quickly, you won’t even see him coming.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Summerland.” MacKay laughed.

A growl came from Dobbs. “Do whatever you need to do, but don’t expect me to cover for you.”

Footsteps moved away.

“Hey, wait up, Dobbs.”

A second set of footsteps followed the first.

Luther waited until the sounds grew fainter, before he released a breath. Then he looked back at Katie.

Her eyes were glued to his hands. His gaze shot to them. They had turned fully into claws. Deadly instruments. Luther lifted his eyes, meeting Katie’s. There was no fear in them, but something he could only interpret as fascination.





19


Katie held Luther’s gaze. The orange-red rim around his irises slowly disappeared, turning his eye color back to a rich brown. She’d watched him closely when he’d listened to the guards passing in the corridor outside and seen the tension harden his entire body, readying himself for a fight.

Maybe she wasn’t scared of that side of Luther because he reminded her so much of her brother Haven at that moment, of how he’d used his vampire side to protect her. To save her from a human who’d meant her harm. Perhaps that was the reason why she associated glaring red eyes, piercing fangs and hands that took on the form of claws with safety rather than danger.

Katie reached for his hand, but before she could clasp it, Luther turned his back to her and opened the door.

“Come,” he said quietly and walked into the corridor.

She followed him, her eyes darting up and down the corridor. She couldn’t hear anything. It was eerily quiet. She’d always assumed that it would be noisy in a prison. But maybe that was only the case for a human prison.

The corridor was lined with doors. As she walked past them, keeping close to Luther, she read the signs on them. It appeared that they weren’t cells, but rather supply rooms, mechanical and electrical areas, and most likely administrative offices. This had to be the area of the prison the V-CONs had no access to.

Luther guided her through a maze of corridors, turned left, then right, again and again. Within minutes, she had lost all sense of orientation. But Luther seemed to know exactly where he was heading.

At the next corner, he ducked into one of the many niches that held closets. He ripped open one of the doors and jerked her to him, shoving her behind the open closet door. Her mouth was already opening to voice a protest at the rough treatment, when he pressed a hand over her mouth and shielded her with his body. His eyes told her what he couldn’t express with his voice: to keep quiet.

She blinked in acquiescence and he removed his hand from her mouth, yet continued to hold her tightly to his broad frame. A few seconds later she heard it: several people came marching down the corridor. Involuntarily she held her breath. But her heart began to pound so loudly in her ears that she was sure every vampire in the entire prison could hear it.

Beneath her fingers, which she realized were suddenly clawing into Luther’s shirt, Luther’s chest muscles were flexing. Despite the fear of discovery that gripped her, she couldn’t help but marvel at the strength that pulsed beneath her trembling fingers. If she were strong like him, she would never again have to be afraid. A yearning went through her and made her aware of her own shortcomings: she was a witch without powers, and right now she hated her mother for having robbed her of the magic she’d been given at birth. If only…

Luther released her.

The corridor was empty again. The guards had passed without noticing them.

“Why didn’t they smell me?” she murmured to Luther.

He motioned to the open closet.

She stared at the shelves and noticed the bottles of bleach, soaps, sponges, and rags used for cleaning.

“You really know your way around here.”

He put a finger to her lips, before taking her hand to lead her away wordlessly. The spot where his finger had been for such a brief moment tingled, and she wanted to rub her hand over it, not because she didn’t like the feeling, but because she wanted it to spread to the rest of her body.