Eternal Breath of Darkness (26 page)

“Mia is such a good person.
She took Julie and Brianna in off the street. Julie was prostituting, and
Brianna’s entire family died in a fire last year. Brianna is blind. She didn’t
have anyone. Julie didn’t have anyone. They were without a hope until Mia
intervened. I know that everyone dies, but I can’t stand the thought of her
dying so young.”

“We won’t allow it happen,
little love.”

~
Eighteen ~

“GET THE HELL out of here!” Backing away, Mia gripped her forearm
to slow the blood seeping from it. Damn it. She was bleeding all over the
place. And damn it, her favorite leather jacket was ruined.

“You think that you can run
from me?” Chad moved toward her. “The only way out of here is death.”

She was thoroughly pissed
off. If the son of a bitch wanted a fight, he was going to get one. She didn’t
run away from anyone. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Well,
Chad, if you want to die, I’ll happily arrange it for you.”

“Oh come on, you don’t
really believe that you can kill me, do you?” He laughed aloud, mocking her.

The sound of his laughter
made her want to strangle him. She tried to keep her eyes on the knife, but he
was swinging it all over the place. How the hell had he taken the knife from
her? He wasn’t a very large man, but he was strong. Too strong. She’d never
allowed a man to disarm her. She was so pissed off at herself. She knew better
than to allow him to corner her. She was losing too much blood. Her head was
fuzzy. But damn it, if she was right, he was going to send her to hell. Well,
she wasn’t going alone. She would take him down with her. Her thoughts were
racing. She needed to focus. She needed a weapon. But what? She was way too far
away from her gun.

Chad tossed the knife a few
feet away from them. He lunged and reached for her so quickly that his movement
was a blur. “You’re going to die today, bitch!” He was so close, cornering her,
that his saliva spattered all over her face.

“Huh? Yuck. What the hell?
You nasty little freak. Try brushing your teeth.” She wiped her face with the
back of her hand, unintentionally smearing blood across her lips. “And you’re
going to die first, asshole.”

The enticing scent of her
blood and alluring sight of it excited Chad. Fangs bursting, he inhaled deeply
as he stared at the crimson-red blood smeared across her lips. His mouth was
watering with anticipation, and his stomach clenched tightly. “I’m going to
suck you dry.”

Fangs? Oh, crap. A vampire.
Yep. She’d suspected it a few weeks ago when they had their first encounter.
She’d hoped for conformation, but this, being cornered, wasn’t the confirmation
she was searching for. “Gee.” She rolled her eyes, pretending to be
unconcerned. “Thanks for the offer, but not on our second date.”

He squeezed his hands around
her throat so hard she was certain her eyes were going to pop right out of the
sockets. “You want a date, bitch?” His voice was an angry, lustful hiss. It was
definitely inhumane.

She fought for air but
couldn’t get any. She didn’t panic. She refused to give him the satisfaction.
He doubled his fist and hit her face hard. The back of her head banged against
the wall. She was seeing stars. He still had one hand wrapped tightly around
her throat. He moved closer, crowding her, using his body to press hers against
the wall. He closed his eyes and groaned, savoring the sensation of her hot
body pressed against his. Then he opened his eyes and held her gaze captive
with his while grinding his cock against her belly.

She was so shooting his
mother-fucking ass as soon as she could figure out how the hell to get to her
gun. “Are you serious? If that’s all the fucking dick you have, wake me up when
you’re done.” He was squeezing her throat with so much pressure that she could
barely get the words out. But damn it, she got them out.

“You goddamn fucking bitch!”
The scent of her blood was making him so crazy his entire body was trembling.
“You’re going to regret interfering with my whore.”

He was getting madder. She
was definitely getting madder. “She isn’t a whore.” She braced herself,
gathered every ounce of her strength, and kicked him in the balls. “And you
don’t own her.” Stumbling back, his fingernails dug into her throat. He
released her, but he quickly reached for her throat again. His hands were
squeezing it. It was badly bruised and bleeding now. He yanked her head to the
side to expose her neck. Leaning closer, he savored the scent of her blood.

“I’ve should’ve known
better. Kicking a man without balls is a total waste of time and effort.” Her
voice was barely audible. Her vision was darkening. She was in serious trouble.
She gasped. If she didn’t get some air she was going to pass out.

Enraged, his gaze was locked
onto hers. Snarling, he slowly leaned forward. He breathed deeply, inhaling her
scent of her blood. It took a lot to freak Mia out, but she was freaked. She
knew that she saw fangs. And his eyes had a strange red tint to them. He was a
vampire. Her biggest problem wasn’t passing out. She was going to die if she
didn’t fight. She was probably going to die anyways, but it would be much more
satisfying to take him with her. She started to fight. She didn’t know how it
happened, but she managed to get away from him. She dove for the knife, grabbed
it, and rolled over onto her back. He pounced full weight on top of her. She
thrust the knife into his back. He yelped, but he didn’t back up off her. He
yanked the knife out of her hand.

Chad pressed the knife
against her throat. He leaned forward and licked the blood from her cheek. She
twisted and turned. She kicked and hit him, fighting with every ounce of her
strength to get out from underneath him, but he was too strong. He grabbed a
handful of her hair and yanked her head to the side.

She felt his teeth scraping
her throat. She fought like hell and managed to squirm out from underneath him.
“You son of a mother-fucking bitch!” She jumped onto him, doubled her fist, and
hit him hard. “Keep your fucking hands off of me!”

Chad threw her across the
room and pounced on her again.

***

Ready and eager for round
two, Joseph walked into Mia’s Clothing Boutique. He immediately sensed the
presence of a vampire. He glanced around quickly, taking in the information
seen and unseen. He saw Mia’s purse and its contents scattered across the
floor. He immediately scented sweat, human blood, and the foul odor of vampire
blood. He felt waves of lust, fear, and rage. He used his mind to reach out and
pinpoint Mia’s exact location in the building.

Using supernatural speed,
Joseph ran to the back of the boutique. In one swift, violent move he yanked
Chad off Mia and slammed the vampire against the wall. He glanced at Mia,
quickly but thoroughly assessing her condition. She was okay for the moment.
Hurt, but okay.

***

Mia rolled over and tried to
sit up. Her heart was racing. She couldn’t quite catch her breath. Hands to her
throat, she scooted back to lean against the wall. She recognized Joseph
immediately. Her eyes were so heavy. Her lungs burned. She watched in a dazed
state. Joseph seemed to have the upper hand, but she knew that it could change
at any moment. She needed to warn Joseph that Chad was a vampire. She needed to
help him. She needed to get to her gun. She tried to stand up, but her head was
spinning and she couldn’t get up. Her body was too heavy. She tried to talk,
but she couldn’t get a sound out. Her throat was so badly bruised it felt as if
it was crushed.

She knew she wouldn’t make
it to her gun. She saw the knife a few feet away. She could do it. She could
get to the knife. On her hands and knees, she tried to get closer to it. Chad
screamed. The sound of it was so inhuman, so frightening that her head snapped
up to look at him. Hand around Chad’s throat, Joseph was holding him against
the wall. Covered by iridescent black flames, Chad’s entire body was twisting
and contorting. He kept screaming, his arms and legs flailing. The sound of his
scream was like nothing she’d ever heard. It was so loud Mia had to cover her
ears.

Suddenly, Joseph wrenched
Chad’s neck to the side. Mia heard it snap. The vampire’s head fell from its
body and landed on the floor at Joseph’s feet. Joseph tossed the vampire’s body
next to its head and then lifted his hands. Within seconds, vivid currents of
electrical energy engulfed Joseph and then the vampire’s remains. It seemed
like a short eternity, but within seconds the vampire’s remain burst into
flames. Mia blinked, and there was nothing left of it. No ashes. No burn marks
on the floor. There was absolute nothing.

Mia looked up at Joseph.
What the hell was he? She decided it would be a good idea to get the hell out
of there. If Joseph was a vampire too, he was a hell of a lot stronger than
Chad. She tried to stand up, but her head was fuzzy, and her knees simply
buckled.

Joseph turned to face her.

It happened so fast she
didn’t see him move. He was on his knee in front of her, touching her all over.

Swallowing hard, reaching
for her throat, Mia closed her eyes. “He’s a vampire,” she whispered, her voice
hoarse.

Joseph forced her eyes open
to look at her pupils. He knew she had a slight concussion. It was nothing
serious, but it needed attention. “Was a vampire.” He was already sending
healing energy into her body while wrapping one hand around her arm to stop the
bleeding. “Did he cut you anywhere else?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Mia
opened her eyes. “Who the hell are you?” Her vision was blurry. She blinked to
bring his face into focus. “And why are you here?”

“Joseph.” He looked up to
meet her gaze. “And it’s a good thing I stopped by for a visit. Your vision
will get better in a minute or two. You have a slight concussion, and you’ve
lost a lot of blood.”

“I know that you’re Joseph,
you idiot. What are you?” He wasn’t human. “You snapped his neck off of his
body like it was a twig, and then you burned him. How did you do it?” Taking a
deep breath, she closed her eyes. “I know you’re not human.” The pain was
subsiding. “You’d better not be a damned blood-sucking leech.” Her body was filled
with a peculiar but soothing warmth. “And I swear that I will kick your ass if
you ever try to friend me or poke me again.”

“You take a great picture. I
noticed your single status.” He smiled at her. “I’m still waiting for you to
accept my friend request.”

Her eyes flashed open.
Narrowing her gaze onto his, she glared up at him. “It’s never happening.”

Grinning, Joseph shrugged
casually. “Why not?”

Mia blinked a few times. He
was way too good-looking. She wanted to beat him for looking so hot. Men like
him were just way too confident. And worse, he was cocky. No. He was just plain
annoying as hell. She tilted her head to the side. “I never asked you to come
here. I want you to leave.”

“You needed me here. I’m not
leaving just yet. You’re a wreck. You still need me here.”

“I had everything under
control.” One way or another she would make sure that he regretted being a
cocky, annoying son of bitch. Realizing her arm no longer hurt, she looked down
at it. Her leather jacket was no longer torn. “What did you do to my jacket and
my arm?”

“It’s your favorite jacket
so I fixed it, and I healed your arm.” He paused. “And for your information you
didn’t have anything under control. He nearly killed you. Why was he here?”

She got mad. He was right.
She didn’t have anything under control. Chad would’ve killed her if Joseph
hadn’t arrived. She didn’t like it. Clearly, she’d needed him. She didn’t want
to need anyone; she hated seeing herself as needy. She couldn’t stand the sight
of Joseph. She needed to get away from him. She tried to stand up, but her legs
were like rubber. “Let go of me.”

“Just relax. There’s no
reason for you to get all bent out of shape. You need to calm down.”

“Get your hands off of me
and get away from me. I want to get up.”

“Let me help you.” He took
her arm.

The second she was on her
feet, she shoved him. “I told you to get the hell away from me.”

It was easy enough to hold
her up without touching her, so he released her arm and turned his back to her.
“You’re very rude.” He walked around, acting as if he was checking the place
out as he weaved healing and protective spells throughout the boutique. “Why
are you such an angry, bitter woman? In case you didn’t notice, I just saved
you. You should at least thank me for your life. You’re too young and too
beautiful to be so bitter. Surely you know that acting so ungrateful is quite
unattractive.”

Mia narrowed her gaze on
him. “Who the hell do you think you are?” She walked up from behind, grabbed
his arm, and yanked it. “Get your ass out of here!”

“Sorry, angel, but you’re
wasting your time and energy.” He very slowly turned to face her. Locking his
gaze onto hers, he smiled and winked at her. “A simple, immature temper tantrum
won’t run me off. You’re marked. If one vampire came after you and failed to
kill you, another will take its place and attempt to kill you. I’ve no
intention of allowing you to die. In fact, whether you like it or not, I intend
to protect you.”

“Huh?” She shook head in
disbelief. “What did you just say to me?”

“I intend to keep you safe.”

“No.” She clenched her fists
at her sides. “What the hell did you call me?”

“Angel.” He smiled, clearly
pleased with himself. “It’s a lovely pet name.” Grinning, he winked at her. “It
fits you very well.”