Accidental Sire (Half-Moon Hollow #6)

I nodded. “Kind of derpy?”

“Yes, we had to do something about him. He kept getting in our way,” she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “Every time we would approach you, we’d find him hiding out near Jane’s house, keeping those vampire security guards all stirred up, trying to get to you two. Allan took care of him, left him in a little pile of ash in some B and B in Cooter Holler.”

I tried to feel bad about Dr. Hudson dying, but honestly, the man had left me to die in a tobacco field. So . . .

“You’re not spilling all of our secrets, are you, Tina?” Dr. Fortescue asked, shooting his cuffs as he walked out of the office. His chubby cheeks were red and flushed, his dark eyes were bright and gleeful, and his dark hair had been smoothed back. So either he’d been in there drinking, or he had been in there rocking out to old-school M?tley Crüe. I didn’t smell any whiskey, so I was betting on hair metal.

“Just a little girl talk,” Tina chirped. “I’ve missed my little chats with Meggie. She’s the same sweet girl she was when she lived in the dorm.”

“Dr. Fortescue,” I said loudly, hoping that Jane was listening. “Or should I call you Allan? I never had you in classes at UK, so I’m not sure what to call you.”

“Dr. Fortescue is fine. I didn’t spend years getting two PhDs to be called Allan by an undergrad.”

“Fine.” I nodded.

Prick.

“You are such a beautiful specimen,” he breathed, leaning close, tracing his fingers over the curve of my cheek. I twisted my arm, putting stress on the plastic cuff even as it burned my skin. “The future of vampirism, wrapped in a perfect package. I had no idea how lovely you would be when Tina suggested you.”

He was a prick and a close talker. Ew.

“I wanted a male, of course, so we might test aggression levels. But I see now what a missed opportunity that would be. My only regret is that I lost the chance to observe you in your first weeks. But we’ll make up for lost time together.”

I squirmed away from his touch, because it felt like my spine was about to crawl out of my throat. The pain of the silver burns somehow gave me the anger I needed to twist my arm further. I felt the plastic cuff give just the tiniest bit, a tear in the oh-so-special polymer that would help rip it open. Clearly, Dr. Fortescue had not accounted for hybrid-vampire superstrength when he created his devil cuffs.

To cover the noise, I growled, “Take your hands off me, or I will bite them off.”

He grinned at me, those scary Chiclet teeth even brighter in the cheesy fluorescent light. “Well, you’re going to have to bite me eventually. You’re going to turn me.” He glanced at Tina. “My companion has a notion to wait until I perfect the process. But I just can’t wait! And there’s something rather poetic about being turned by my first creation. Symmetry, Miss Keene. I enjoy symmetry.”

“I won’t do it.”

“I won’t give you a choice.”

He shoved his arm toward my mouth. I tucked my lips over my teeth. He pinched my nose shut. I yanked my arm as I struggled. The plastic gave way just a bit more. I didn’t need to breathe, so it wasn’t as if he could smother me.

“Imagine the contributions I could make to your kind if I had unlimited time,” he insisted. He took the gun from Tina. “Why are you being so selfish?”

I refused to answer. I wouldn’t let him trick me into opening my mouth.

“You will bite me, or I will shoot you in the head. Do you understand?”

I jerked one last time and felt the plastic cuff break. Remembering what Dick had told me about my phone, I put my thumb on the one button, prepared to hold it down until I heard the beep. My problem would be getting ten feet away. Because I still didn’t know what would happen when I heard the beep.

Just then, I heard a door swing with a creeeeaaaaak, followed by the patter of little Mary Janes on the floorboards. Georgie wandered into the room, her eyes wide and guileless. She was dressed in her favorite pink sweater and jeans, with her golden hair in pigtails. She could not have looked more harmless or adorable, though I picked up a dangerous flash of silver in her eyes as she passed through a beam of moonlight.

I had never been so relieved to see a tiny vampire in all my life. Because if Georgie was OK, that meant Ben and Gabriel were OK. And some sort of rescue effort was being made. I wouldn’t have to have Dr. Fortescue’s hand on my face much longer. He was starting to palm-sweat at gross levels.

Georgie’s pale bottom lip trembled. “Have you seen my mommy? I’m lost.”

I swear, it took iron control over every single muscle in my face to keep from smirking. The cavalry had arrived. The cavalry was wearing pigtails and was scary as hell.

“Now, what is a little girl like you doing out this late?” Dr. Fortescue demanded. “Get out of here.”

Real humanitarian, Dr. Fortescue.

“We were Christmas shopping downtown, and we got separated. Do you have a phone I can use?” Georgie asked. “Please, I need help finding my mommy.”

Fortescue sighed heavily, as if being forced to help a lost child was the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. Tina rushed forward and cooed over Georgie, stroking her hair and pressing Georgie’s face into her poncho. I grimaced, but Georgie kept a brave face.

Under Tina’s arm, hidden from Dr. Fortescue by Tina’s poncho, I could see Georgie flash four fingers. Then three and two. I pressed the one key, and just as Georgie flashed one, I heard it beep.

I threw myself sideways and tossed the phone at Dr. Fortescue. He jerked, fumbling for the phone. In his panic, he fired at me, but the bullet went out through a window just as my pink-and-purple plastic phone exploded near his feet. He shrieked, and Tina screamed, running forward to pat out the small fire eating through his pants.

The warehouse exploded in shards of glass. Gabriel, Jane, Ben, Dick, Andrea, Cal, Gigi, and Nik all burst into the room, fangs out and growling. I let out a joyful whoop at the sight of them. I yanked my hands free of the chair and ran for Ben. Jane rushed forward and slapped the gun out of Dr. Fortescue’s grip with one hand and bitch-slapped him with the other. Tina screamed and ducked behind a crate, only to be routed by Gigi and Andrea, who dragged her out into the open by her armpits. I threw my arms around Ben and kissed him for all I was worth.

“I’m so glad you’re OK!” I cried.

He tucked his face into my neck, cradling my head in his hands. “I was so scared.”

“I love you,” I told him. “I love you. I’m so sorry I had that realization in the middle of the team murder-timeline meeting. But I do, and I didn’t know how to tell you, and I’m basically an emotional wreck, and you should be prepared to deal with that for a while.”

His whole face lit up. “I can handle that.”

And we were kissing again, which totally took the focus off the burning in my wrists.