Page 101 of Sinner's Secret

Uh oh, he’d heard that tone in her voice before, and it meant nothing good was going to happen to the person she was talking to.

But these men, these vampires weren’t him or even Yvgeny. They were ruthless, greedy, power-hungry maniacs, and if she provoked them too much, they would kill her.

“You...cared for him? This stupid Breznik?”

“Yes, he’s...he was my friend.” She sounded like she was crying. “He was just trying to protect me.” She sniffed and let out a sob.

Whoa, the Nika he knew was not a crier, not in front of a bunch of strangers.

Shit, she was playing for time, making herself look harmless so she could figure out a way to escape or avenge his death, or some other recklessly right thing.

Speaking of which, why wasn’t he dead yet?

The fire in his veins hadn’t cooled, but his bones didn’t feel like they were about to explode anymore.

He carefully tensed various muscle groups and found that they responded as expected.

Huh. Maybe dying this way took longer?

There was a hollow metallic clang from the elevator shaft. Shit, that was probably Yvgeny. If these bastards tried the same vampire flambe trick on him, he would die right away.

Maybe drinking the blood of all those drunks over the years had made Baz partially immune to its effects?

He was the only one who’d been crazy enough to punish himself for centuries.

Whatever the reason, his death had not arrived, and he was going to make the most of his unexpected continued existence.

Nika screamed and spoke in some kind of terrified mumble that came out of creatures when they were really scared.

He lifted his head a little and partially opened one eye to see what was going on.

She was pointing at something in the bathroom with a shaky hand.

Behind him, the elevator door opened, and two men stumbled out shouting at each other, one in Russian, the other in Portuguese. As soon as they were clear of the doorway, Yvgeny punched the other man in the throat, then followed that up with an elbow to his head.

The fight split everyone’s attention between it and Nika’s hysterics. Three of the henchmen headed toward the combatants, leaving only one with Antonio Ruiz.

Movement from the bathroom had Baz pausing. Were there more people he would have to deal with?

Two more vampires came out of the bathroom, with one more in between them. Hernesto Ruiz, Antonio’s younger brother, hung between the two vampires like a wet noodle. His head was covered in blood and the back of his skull looked wrong.

Antonio told the two men to take his brother to their airplane. He instructed them to stay out of sight and wait for his return. He would ensure the destruction of the Breznik family in New York City, then join them at the airport.

The men grunted and carried Hernesto away.

Antonio moved to stand close to the end of the bed, studying Nika with a sick smile on his lips. “You are fierce,” he said in English. “You will make a formidable wife.”

“She nearly killed your brother,” his man said, sounding disgusted.

“We need a woman who can pull a trigger,” Antonio said, looking her over like she was a horse he was about to buy.

She wrinkled up her nose and said in that raw whisper, “Eww, you guys are gross. No thank you.”

Antonio smiled at her, showing off his sharp canines. “Oh, you’ll be punished, of course, and when we are done teaching you the error of your ways, you will do whatever you’re told.”

The bastard was talking about torturing her, breaking her, and remaking her into something unrecognizable. A creature without conscience or care, without any goal other than to survive.

He’d seen too many others like himself who became such things. Those vampires inevitably destroyed themselves along with far too many normal humans. Whole communities sometimes wiped out by their greed for power and blood.

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