Bat out of Hell (4 page)

Light
gleamed
off
of
his
sharp
teeth.

“
Sounds
like
your
problem,
not
mine.
”
Ava
stood
at
the
door,
ready
to
run.

“
Please,
I
beg
of
you,
have
pity
on
me.
”
His
voice
grew
soft
and
cunning,
and
Ava's
heart
smashed
against
her
sternum.

“
What
can
I
do
for
you?
I
don't
even
know
you,
and
you
aren't
supposed
to
be
inside
a
shipping
box.
”

“
Maura
sent
me
across
the
ocean
—
an
ocean
of
time
—
to
you
because
of
your
name.
”

“
What
the
hell
are
you
talking
about?
And
who
is
Maura?
”

“
She's
a
good
friend
—
a
bartender
in
the
lower
reaches.
”
He
laughed,
and
the
sound
was
like
a
shriek
from
hell.
“
Enough
about
that.
Ava
Allen?
Isn't
that
your
name?
”
He
smiled
and
stepped
closer.
She
held
up
the
knife,
waving
it,
even
though
she
was
yards
from
him
now.

“
Yes.
How
do
you
know
my
name?
”

“
I'm
your
lover,
Gabriel
Dunning.
We
were
together
in
another
life.
”

Chapter
Two

“
Stay
away
from
me!
”
Ava
yelled,
turning
the
doorknob
to
leave.

“
No,
please,
listen.
”
His
voiced
harbored
a
tone
of
longing,
and
she
stopped
in
spite
of
her
body
telling
her
to
run.

“
It's
true.
We
were
together.
I
am
a
nobleman
from
—
well,
from
a
place
you
wouldn't
believe,
and
you
were
my
English
love
in
a
previous
life.

Ava
stopped,
becoming
very
still.
“
I
don't
believe
all
that
crap
about
my
family
and
demonic
forces
and
debauchery.
”
She
glared
at
him.
“
And
I'm
definitely
not
my
grandmother.
”
The
thought
occurred
to
her
that
pictures
of
her
grandmother
showed
a
shocking
likeness
between
them.
Her
mother
had
often
told
her
the
same
thing.

“
Yes,
you
are.
You
are
her
in
spirit
as
I
knew
you
would
be.
I've
searched
for
you.
”
He
strode
toward
her,
muscles
flexing
beneath
his
breeches.
Ava
flushed
in
spite
of
herself.

“
Prove
it.
Tell
me
about
her.
”

He
stopped
in
midstride,
running
his
fingers
through
black
hair.
“
She
came
to
the
countryside
to
study
and
became
lost
one
day
during
a
walk.
She
wasn't
much
for
studying.
That's
how
she
found
me.
”
He
grinned
like
a
jackal.

“
Oh.
”
Ava's
palms
grew
slick.
Her
grandmother,
Ava
Allen,
had
studied
in
the
Balkans
somewhere,
and
later
her
parents
had
died
on
the
trip
to
bring
her
home
to
England.
She
had
not
returned
to
there
until
she
was
in
her
forties,
so
the
family
legend
went.
When
she
had,
she
was
a
pale
image
of
her
former
self.
She
refused
to
eat
or
drink,
and
she
died
after
having
a
bastard
child.
Ava
had
always
supposed
she
had
been
an
anorexic
when
the
disease
didn't
have
a
name.
I
wonder.
.
.

“
It's
true.
I
knew
her.
I
loved
her,
and
I
will
love
you.
”

Yeah
right.
Ava
glared
at
him.

“
This
is
ludicrous.
When
I
get
back
tomorrow
you'd
better
not
be
here,
or
I'm
calling
the
police.
”

She
picked
up
the
knife
again
and
waved
it
at
him.
“
Go.
Now.
”

He
backed
away
and
ran
as
she
came
closer
with
the
knife.

When
she
was
sure
he
was
gone,
Ava
ran
out
of
the
door
he
had
left
ajar
and
darted
through
the
shop
and
out
the
front
door,
gasping
as
she
ran
to
her
car.
It
started
on
the
first
turn
of
the
key,
and
she
panted
the
entire
short
drive
home.

Ava
ran
into
the
house,
threw
all
the
locks
and
snatched
every
blind
down.
She
brushed
her
teeth
and
hurried
to
bed,
tired
and
distraught
after
her
encounter
in
the
shop.
She
didn't
bother
to
eat,
knowing
she
couldn't.

Some
time
during
the
night,
she
dreamed
of
Gabriel
Dunning.
His
face
hovered
over
hers,
and
he
stroked
her
hair,
leaning
in
close
to
her
neck.
She
felt
the
sharp
graze
of
his
teeth,
and
she
shuddered
with
a
rush
of
pleasure.
He
sucked
at
her
neck,
moaning
with
greed.
The
space
between
her
legs
grew
wet,
and
she
groaned.
There
was
a
sharp
pain
as
his
teeth
sank
into
her
neck,
but
it
mingled
with
pleasure
in
a
way
she
had
never
experienced.
She
put
her
hands
in
his
sleek,
black
hair
and
pulled
him
closer.
An
orgasm
ripped
through
her,
and
she
sat
up
in
bed
with
a
shout.