Cass turned, still holding her tightly in his arms. An alarm was going off all around them—probably because the window had just exploded inward. And some guy—some guy with brown hair and dark eyes and a smirk on his face had just walked right out of the night and into their room.
He shattered the window. We’re on the freaking fourteenth floor—the guy flew up here and shattered the window.
The stranger’s smirk stretched and she saw his fangs. Vampire.
Cass’s hold tightened on her. “Gregory.”
“Holding out on me, old friend?” Gregory shook his head. “Because the word on the street is that you took another job for the Lord of the Dark.”
This was bad. This was so bad. She tried to ease from Cass’s grip. Her shoe crunched down on glass, but…not broken glass from the floor-to-ceiling window. Broken glass from the vase. It had shattered. Cass must have dropped it when he’d reached for her. The flowers had spilled onto the floor, and the roses looked like blood.
“Is she the bounty? She must be…Amber, I believe her name is. After a little persuasion, a friend down in New Orleans told me a bit about her.”
Persuasion from a vampire generally meant he’d drained some poor fool and forced the guy to talk. Amber wondered who’d told this guy about her. Maybe one of her regulars at the bar?
“Gregory, get the fuck out of here before I stake your ass.” Cass turned to confront the vamp, pushing her behind him and Amber had to gasp. There were at least a dozen shards of glass in his back. Big, thick shards.
They looked so painful. Her hand lifted and her fingers curled around the biggest chunk of glass—the one that was about an inch from his spine. She grabbed it and slowly pulled that chunk out. His blood soaked the glass and she tossed it to the floor. Then Amber reached for another piece.
“Cassius, you have an unfair advantage when it comes to bounty hunting. I mean, where’s the danger when all you have to do is touch your prey in order to collect? Too easy. Hardly sporting of you.”
“Gregory…”
“But when the prey has to be brought back alive, then things are different. That’s the hard part for you, right, my friend?”
Cass gave a bitter laugh. “Is that what we are? Friends?”
She dropped another glass chunk to the floor and reached for a third.
“We used to be family,” Gregory said. “We could be again.”
Amber did a double-take. Cass’s family included a vamp?
Gregory made a low, humming noise. “I’m guessing that pretty little piece behind you is one of those Bring-In-Alive bounties…or else she wouldn’t still be standing. Tell you what…how about we split her bounty? I know Luke is the one who wants her, and I’ve been trying to get an in with him for quite some time.”
The vamp wanted to get on Luke’s good side? She dropped another piece of bloody glass. What else is new? Everyone always wanted to play nicely with the Lord of the Dark.
Everyone but her. She just wanted to stay away from Luke.
“You and I can both take her in. Amber…” Gregory seemed to taste her name. “Such a lovely bounty.”
Cass took a lunging step forward. “I don’t share bounties.”
She peeked around at the vampire. His gaze dipped toward her. There was curiosity on his face—and anger. A cold, hard anger. His dark stare swung back to Cass. “Reaper, I’m asking nicely. I’m giving you a choice. We can be partners here…”
“I don’t work with partners, and you know that, Gregory. Your sorry ass has been nipping at my tail for too long. You want to play in the big leagues? Fine, do it, but you won’t get Luke’s attention by stealing my prize.”
She was a prize? So insulting. Amber glanced toward the door. She inched back a bit. She also kept her right hand curled around the last chunk of glass she’d taken out of Cass. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
“Did you follow me all the way from Key West?” Cass demanded. “From Key West to New Orleans? Then here? I thought I smelled some stench in the air. Had to figure it for the undead.”
“Watch it,” Gregory snarled. “I’m giving you a choice now. In about five seconds, there won’t be a choice on the table. I’ll be taking the pretty woman behind you, and I’ll be Luke’s new hunter.”
“You’re lucky I haven’t killed you,” Cass snapped back.
Yes…why hadn’t Cass killed him? Was it that whole “family” thing that Gregory had mentioned?
“Five…” Gregory began. “Four…”
Wait—he was doing a countdown?
Cass took another step toward the vampire.
“Three…” Gregory snapped. “Two—”
“One,” Cass fired right back. “Now get your ass out.” Then he shoved his hands—the gloves are gone!—right at Gregory. Just like in the alley, a bright burst of light seemed to fly right from Cass’s palms. That light hit Gregory and he went surging back. He fell out of the gaping hole that he’d created just moments before in the massive window and his body sank like a stone.