Page 73 of High Noon

“I feel… phenomenal,” I told Enoch, who hadn’t stopped hovering over me since Maru disappeared. An energy thrummed through me, spreading like wildfire under my skin. After feeling weak for so long, the sudden strength was a respite I was more than okay with. Especially since we had been gifted with a few more stolen moments to spend together. Titus was a fast eater, but he’d want seconds of the greens and roast duck.

Enoch sat on the bed, watching carefully as I moved closer and pressed my lips against his. He breathed me in as I pushed my scent out to him. “You shouldn’t exhaust yourself,” he warned.

“I’m not,” I promised, pressing a kiss on the side of his neck.

His eyes darkened.

“And for the record,” I began, “I can bite you, but you can’t bite me back.”

Enoch chuckled in a low timbre, making goosebumps erupt all over my skin. I nipped his neck and his hand on my hip tightened. I pushed him down and straddled his lap, kissing him, running my hands over his chest and stomach.

His breath hitched and his eyes fluttered closed when I began to unbutton his shirt, tugging it out of the waistband of his pants. His skin was soft as silk, and watching his muscles ripple was my new favorite thing.

“I’ll catch you, Eve.” In his eyes was a promise. He hadn’t let me down yet. I knew that if I managed to live through the pull, he would be there, waiting to catch me.

Gunshots rent the night. And not from outside. From downstairs. “What’s happening?” I scrambled to the door, but Enoch blurred ahead of me.

“Titus!” I yelled. Titus was downstairs with Asa, Mary, and a slew of humans, all of whom had their hands in the air.

Seven men strode into the saloon, pistols aimed and ready. Their faces were concealed with red fabric tied at the back of their heads. The leader of the pack saw me and Enoch standing on the staircase and waved us forward. Enoch looked back at me. I raised my hands, with my eyes urging him to do the same.

The leader removed his red cloth and bared his fangs. “We’re so glad we stumbled across your little establishment. We sure are thirsty.”

The way he looked at the humans made my skin crawl.

Where is Kohana?

A grunt came from the floor beneath one of the tables, followed by panting. “Kohana?” I called out. He coughed, rolling from one side to the other, clutching his stomach. I started down the steps. “Kohana!”

“Stop. Right. There,” Lead Asshole ordered.

His minions weren’t nearly as confident as their leader. They shifted their weight on their feet, their attention darting from one person to the next. They were thirsty.

Titus and I locked eyes. He eased a stake from his holster, careful not to draw attention to the movement.

I didn’t want to be shot again, but a shot to the head would end us, suit or none. I eased my stake out, too, clutching it at my side. I turned it end over end and gripped the point, ready to launch it. Enoch glanced at Asa, and Mary nodded.

They blurred across the room, disarming two men each and dragging them outside. That left one. Titus jumped onto a table and he and I threw our stakes at the same time, both hitting our target. As soon as the leader sputtered and fell forward, his skin turned ashen. Titus ran to collect our stakes.

I rushed to Kohana, who I could tell had been shot. “Why did they shoot you?”

“Said my kind wasn’t welcome in these parts,” he gritted.

Screw that. If the asshole wasn’t dead, I’d kill him again. I lifted Kohana up, but he fought against me. “Don’t… I can walk.”

“You can’t walk. Stop being so stubborn. I can help you.”

Titus blocked the staircase. “You stop being stubborn, Eve. You shouldn’t be carrying anyone.” He took Kohana from me and hefted his weight up the steps, me anxiously following on their heels. Titus laid Kohana on a bed and probed the wound. Fortunately, it wasn’t in his stomach, but on his side. “It’s just in the muscle, buddy. You got lucky.”

Kohana shouted a string of words that I didn’t know but felt sure meant, Screw you, I don’t feel very lucky, followed by maybe a few I hate you’s when Titus pressed a cloth to the wound.

“Your blood was calling to them. I’m glad they didn’t bite you,” I told him, kneeling next to him.

“Me too,” he winced, panting when Titus brought the cloth away. “I have herbs in my bag. I need them. They’ll stave the bleeding.”

“Is it downstairs?”

He nodded. “Hurry. They’re back.”

“Who?”

“Enoch, Asa, Mary…”

I rushed down the steps, seeing that the room had already been cleared. Kohana’s bag had been toppled and was spilling onto the floor beneath a table. I grabbed it and told Enoch to take the others outside until I said they could return. His eyes were already dark, reacting to the smell of freshly spilled blood, but he did as I asked.

Kohana mixed the herbs himself, chewing them up and handing the wad of wet herbs to me. I separated it and stuck one glob onto the entry wound, followed by another glob on the exit hole. I covered both places with a cloth while Titus wound more around Kohana’s body to keep them from falling off.

“Thank you,” Kohana said, finally relaxing. “Thank you both.”

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