Page 103 of Sinner's Secret

“Why are you killing other vampires, Tony?” he asked conversationally as he slid over to cover the bathroom door. “That seems counter-intuitive to your own continued survival.”

Nika came up behind him. Her breathing sounded labored and wheezy. “I’m armed.”

Antonio frowned at her, then said to Baz, “I can’t decide which is more repugnant, you or the way this normal believes you’re safe.” He shook his head. “You, once the most feared man in the world. Bazyli Breznik, the brutal and ruthless killer of thousands of people.” He smiled a bloody smile at Nika. “He didn’t just kill men, he killed women and children, the old, and the helpless. Did he tell you about that?”

“He’s told me many things,” she said in a rasp. “But his actions speak louder.”

“She doesn’t know, does she?” Antonio laughed. “The man you’ve been looking at with kindness and compassion, the man you say is your friend, is the first true vampire. The one even human history recognizes as the epitome of evil. At that time, he called himself by another name. Vlad Tepes, more famously known as Vlad the Impaler.”

Nika remained silent, watchful, her weapon in her hands, ready to shoot.

“History didn’t get a lot of things right,” Baz said. “That was never my name, just the identity of a convenient fall guy at the time. But don’t you worry about the discrepancies, Tony, because I’m going to end you and your stupid plans.”

He heard someone coming toward him at speed from the entrance to the suite and managed to deflect the attack of one of the Ruiz vampire henchmen.

That left him open to Antonio, whose arm came around Baz from behind. Shit, he was going to try to break Baz’s neck like he’d done to the other guy only minutes ago.

Instead, two gun shots roared right next to his ear.

Antonio’s hands fell off him and Baz readied himself to fight the henchmen.

Nika shifted and shot that one in the head twice as well.

He glanced at Antonio. Two neat holes in his forehead.

“Nice shooting, Tex,” he said to Nika.

She didn’t smile, just looked at him with a pale face. “You’d better help your cousin.”

Shit. Yvgeny.

He ran toward the elevator and discovered two vampires had Yvgeny on the floor. It looked like they were trying to stomp on his head.

Baz crashed into one so hard the man flew a few feet and smacked into a wall. He punched the other one in the throat as hard as he could. That one grabbed at his neck, then crumpled to the floor.

Yvgeny lay on his back, breathing hard for a few seconds. “Antonio?”

“Nika put two bullets in his head.”

Two more gunshots echoed through the penthouse.

“Nika?” Baz shouted. “You okay?”

“The one whose neck you broke moved,” she called back, her voice sounding worse every time she spoke. “Now he isn’t.”

Yvgeny got to his feet with a wince. “Are you sure it’s safe for her to have a gun right now?”

“How many bullets do you have left?” Baz called out.

“Don’t worry, I’m reloading.”

The vampire who’d gone for a short flight, staggered to his feet.

“Cool, I’ve got two more customers for you and your gun.”

The vampire asked for mercy in Portuguese.

Nika came around the corner. She was still wearing her comfy pajamas, but now they were flecked with blood. As she got closer, he realized she wasn’t wearing a blue undershirt like he’d thought, there was a ring of dark blue, purple, and red bruises around her neck.

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