His hands slowly rose. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Obviously—you’re just a crazy man. You’re out here, spouting about wolves and attacking innocent men. Maybe you don’t belong in jail. Maybe I need to find you a nice psych ward for the rest of the night.” It was a good thing she’d brought along her cuffs. Jane inched toward him. He wasn’t moving. His hands were still up. For the moment, he seemed to be following her orders. She grabbed one of his wrists and locked the cuff around him.
His head turned as he stared down at her. “Don’t pretend with me. You don’t have to do that. I know exactly what is happening in this town.”
She went behind him, caught his other wrist, and cuffed him. With his hands behind his back, she felt a bit more secure.
Okay, not really.
“Garrison!” She called to the fallen man. “Garrison, get up!”
He didn’t move. So much for werewolf back-up. If her guards were just going to get their asses handed to them at the first sign of a fight, what good were they?
“If you stay with him,” Vincent told her quietly, “he will kill you.”
A cold chill slid over Jane’s body.
The man—Vincent—glanced over his shoulder at her. “A vampire isn’t meant to stay with a werewolf.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Stop.” No anger was in his voice. He said the word almost as if it were a caress. “Don’t pretend with me. You never have to do that. I’m not here to judge you. Or to hurt you. I want to help.”
Garrison groaned.
“Y-you were the one outside of the cemetery, weren’t you?” She hadn’t been able to see the vampire’s face, not clearly. He’d been running toward her, a big, menacing shadow. Because he’s a big guy. Then he’d just…vanished.
“I was there for you.”
“You need to stay the hell away from me.” She pressed her gun into his back. “Because my last meeting with a vampire didn’t go so well.”
“We’re not all the same. Humans are good and evil. Werewolves, too. Why would you think that vampires would be any different?”
Because—
He snapped the cuffs. Just ripped them straight apart. She’d only seen one other guy ever do a move like that—Aidan.
The vampire whirled toward her. Her finger squeezed the trigger because she was not about to let him attack her. If he thought she would be his meal for the night, he needed to think again.
The bullet slammed into him, hitting his chest as he turned, at nearly point-blank range. He grunted at the impact, but didn’t so much as stumble back.
Because I hit him with silver. A silver bullet won’t take out a vampire. But blood loss would hurt him. So she’d just keep shooting—
He grabbed the gun, his fingers curling over hers. “It hurts like a bitch to get shot.”
She stared at him. He was right, it did. She’d been shot before so she knew that truth.
He smiled. This time, she could see his fangs.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
So he kept saying.
“Your lover…he’s the one you have to fear.”
What?
“And he’s coming…”
Vamps had enhanced senses. So if the guy said Aidan was coming…then he is. “You need to get your ass out of here.”
“You’ll need me, Jane. When he turns on you, I’ll be the one to help you.”
“Aidan won’t turn on me.”
“Yes, he will.” Vincent sounded so absolutely certain of that fact. “It’s his nature. The beast lives to destroy us.”
“There is no ‘us’ here. I’m not like you.” She was still talking to him for one reason—to buy time. Because if Aidan was coming, she wanted to keep the vampire there with her. Together, she and Aidan could stop him. “I’m not a vampire.”
“Not yet.”
“Not ever.”
He laughed. “You sure about that? If you want to know what your future holds, then perhaps you should pay a visit to the voodoo queen in town.”
He’s talking about Annette Benoit. Because when it came to voodoo in New Orleans, Annette was the real power. Everyone else was just a sideshow for the tourists.
“Ask her to scry and see what the future holds.” His voice turned into a whisper. “Though I don’t think you’ll like what you find.”
“Jane!” Her name was a roar that seemed to shake the street.
“And here’s the lover, rushing to the rescue…” Vincent didn’t seem at all worried.
He should have been.
She looked to the right and saw Aidan rushing toward them. He was little more than a blur, so fast, so—
He hit the vampire. Just slammed his body into Vincent’s. They both went hurtling to the ground. Aidan lifted his claws, aiming them for the vampire’s throat. He’s going to take Vincent’s head.
But…the vampire wasn’t fighting back. And he hadn’t hurt me. He hadn’t killed Garrison or her other guard, even though he’d had the chance. Garrison was rising slowly to his feet right then. The other guard was groaning.
And the vamp isn’t fighting. Something was very wrong with that scene.