Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Let’s be real,” I say. Energy buzzes around me. I take Marie’s warning seriously. I’m not going to get cocky. But I also know now that there is far more power inside me than anyone ever realized. “There is no version of this that ends well for you.” I gesture around us. “It’s broad daylight. There are cameras everywhere. No matter what happens, he’s going to know it was you.” I kind of hate myself for using Xavier as a threat. The feminist inside me is probably rolling over in her grave at the idea of hiding behind my husband. But also? I’m married to a seven-hundred-year-old leader of the supernatural mafia. It would be stupid not to use that when necessary. “And Xavier wouldn’t be the only one you’d have to worry about,” I continue. “None of them would stop until the last person responsible was gone.” I hold his gaze.
“You people like saying blood demands blood?” My voice drops. “Try saying that to a vampire.”
His eyes widen. But he doesn’t back down. He just stares at me like he has nothing left to lose. And at this moment, maybe he doesn’t. That’s the problem. Desperate people are dangerous.
A police cruiser tears around the corner, swerving around traffic to get to our side of the street. Two officers jump out with their guns drawn and order the Reapers onto the ground. I recognize one of them from last night. He was with Governor Richards. His eyes land on me, and his expression falters for half a second before he pulls himself together. Two more squad cars arrive seconds later.
The Reapers are quickly surrounded. I take a few steps back as my brothers come rushing down the street toward me. One of the officers moves to stop them.
“They’re with me,” I say quickly. “They’re my brothers.”
“As soon as I heard gunshots, I knew it was you,” Antonio says. He grabs my shoulders and turns me toward him, looking me up and down to make sure I’m not hurt. Leo takes in the scene just as fast. It doesn’t take either of them long to figure out what happened. The Reapers wanted revenge.
“Any chance I can just sneak out of here without being questioned?” I ask. The adrenaline is starting to wear off now, and my hands begin to shake. Leo grabs one of them and holds it tightly. “I think you’re going to have to call your husband for that one,” he says quietly. I nod. We stand back and watch the officers cuff all three members of the 409 Reapers. The man who shot at me fights as they shove him toward the back of a squad car.
“You know what she is!” he shouts at one of the officers. “You know what he is!” He jerks against the cop holding him. “We’re sick of it!”
Then he looks past the officer, straight at me.
“You’re all going to have to choose eventually.” His voice carries across the street. “The living or the dead.”
Chapter
Eighteen
“Ileave you alone for five minutes and somehow things manage to go from bad to worse,” Larkin says. She eyes Leo and Antonio curiously, her gaze lingering on Antonio. “I thought this one was a vampire.”
“Yeah, that was a whole thing,” I say, shuffling back against the building. “It made sense at the time.” Antonio gives me a look that tells me to shut up. This time, I listen. I nervously roll the bullet between my fingers, then shove it into my pocket as one of the officers starts walking toward us.
I picked it up off the ground before anyone else could see it. Or at least before anyone else with credibility could. It’s flattened and warped, like it hit a sheet of Kevlar or something. We’re lucky the energy surrounding me didn’t cause it to ricochet.
“The coalition is destabilizing fast,” Larkin says, meeting my eyes with an icy stare. “Fix it.” Then she turns and walks away. One of the responding officers is a pack member, and between that and Xavier’s connections, we can probably get out of here without having to go to the station for questioning.
Which is going to make what I want to do next a little difficult.
I only need a few minutes alone with an unlocked police computer to run a quick search on Eudora Claire Bellamy. My gaze flicks toward the patrol cars. There are computers inside. And there’s a good chance at least one of them is still logged in.
“Just go with this,” I whisper to my brothers. “I need to get inside one of those cars.” Then I put a hand to my forehead and sway dramatically. “I need some cool air.”
Antonio immediately grabs me by the shoulders like he’s supporting my weight. “I think she’s gonna pass out,” he says. He takes a few awkward steps forward, dragging me along with him. “Let her sit down.”