Suddenly, a solid and strong hand grasped my left arm.
I yelped, hating the panic that consumed me, and jerked away from the touch. In a split second, my weight shifted and I busted my ass. The concrete wasn’t easy on my already sore posterior. I glared at the fucktard who touched me without permission. It was one of the men who arrived on the scene armed to the gills, covered from head to toe with weapons. He was in his forties at least. Salt and pepper stubble covered his chin and jaw and matched his shortly shorn hair.
“Come with me,” he said quietly and extended his hand to me.
“Nuh-uh.” I shook my head, scooting in the opposite direction. “I don’t think so, All American Hero.”
His frown was genuine—he didn’t understand why I would refuse his help.
I shoved my hand into my pocket, prepared to go for my trusty butterfly knife. My fingers wrapped around the outline of the warm metal, and I felt an insubstantial amount of comfort, which was better than none at all.
Vampires were all around me. I could feel them.
“Incoming!” Carter yelled, eyes narrowed, his mouth pressed in a tight line.
Vampires engulfed the alley. Some came from the opposite end while others dropped from the rooftops. I pressed into the wall, attempting to seem as miniscule as possible. Whatever the hell was about to happen didn’t involve me. I didn’t want to become a part of it. The alley erupted in gunfire, snarls and the distinct symphony of fighting.
Someone snagged me by the shoulder and hoisted me up.
I planted my feet and tried to lean in the opposite direction, but stumbled when my weak knee caved. The gargantuan soldier dragged me along behind him. I focused on the scuffle he was pulling me from. Vampires were attacking in bursts of speed, but they weren’t killing their targets. Those suited in camouflage didn’t offer the same courtesy, firing round after round into heads and torsos.
“Come on!” the man yanking on my arm ordered.
Too bad for him I was equally pissed.
“Let go of me!” I snarled, planting my feet again. This time, I used my left leg to bear my weight. I pulled him up short, and he scowled. With a firm tug, he yanked me toward him.
“Get her out of there!” Carter thundered. “We’ve got to move!”
A strange sensation brushed my skin, the slightest drizzle of water tickling my face and hands. I stopped arguing with GI Joe and lifted my chin in the direction of the cooling sensation.
Then I heard outraged snarls.
Misty waves of condensation flittered from the rooftops and whispered through the air. If the sun had been in the sky, the tiny beads of fluid would have created a rainbow effect, much like a water hose with fork holes that created an instant ghetto sprinkler.
The vampires hissed in fury, and Kate pulled her lips back to reveal elongated fangs. Steam rose from her body and I noticed blisters spreading across her face. It took a moment to realize what was taking place. When I did, my stomach knotted and an unexpected surge of nausea made me want to toss my Cheerios.
The water was blessed. It had to be.
“I don’t have time for this.” GI Joe used my distraction as an opportunity to take control. He bent at the waist, shoved his shoulder into my midsection, and lifted me easily. “Up you go.”
“Put me down, you dumb motherfucker!” I screamed, kicking and thrashing.
He ignored my tirade, striding purposely to the camo army. My head flopped, and I tried to see through my hair. A few vampires were on their asses with enormous holes seeping their life’s blood from their bodies. The bullets had to be blessed or silver. Their wounds would have started healing otherwise.