Page 116 of Death and Donuts

“When you stabbed Vivian with the knife, it was the distraction Vena needed to end her fight with Adriel. His death cry distracted Vivian.”

He nodded toward the front of the car. I followed his gaze and saw Anchor holding a crying Vena with one arm and a limp cat out to the side with the other.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

It tookseveral seconds for my brain to catch up to what my eyes saw.

“Adriel’s dead? As in, dead for good?”

“Doubtful. He didn’t turn back to his original form yet.”

A bloody man approached us.

“We need your help.”

Cross kissed my forehead and guided me so I could sit in the back seat again.

“Stay here, okay?”

I nodded and moved so I was fully inside. He locked the door then closed it before following the man toward the back of our caravan, where two shrouded people waited.

A glance at Vena showed her still crying in Anchor’s arms. Another of Shepard’s men had taken Adriel from him so he could hold her. The rest were walking in and out of buildings.

I twisted in my seat to watch Cross. He was talking, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. One of the shrouded people nodded. The other one kept wiping at its face under the blanket it wore. Cross opened a car door and helped the vampires get in.

A long, mournful howl rang out.

Everyone looked toward the other end of the street where Shepard and three other men carried bodies out of one of the houses. They all wore grief-stricken expressions as they proceeded past our car and placed them in the bed of the truck in our caravan.

I didn’t know what was happening and knew I would never learn if I stayed locked away in the backseat. So, after a glance at the ash-strewn yards, I opened the door and joined Vena and Anchor.

Vena had finally stopped crying as she patted Anchor.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We found our missing men,” Anchor said. “They’re dead.”

My gaze sought out Shepard, and my heart hurt for him as he pulled out his phone to make a call.

Cross left the car and came over to us.

“Shepard will want to leave as soon as possible. May I?” He took the cat from the man beside Anchor and started walking away.

Vena grabbed my hand. We, along with Anchor and at least a dozen of Shepard’s men, followed Cross to the shade of a building. He tossed Adriel to the ground and pulled the knife from his chest.

I watched the cat morph into the man, naked and wounded. His body was already beginning to heal.

“Fuck, that hurt,” Adriel groaned.

“Where is the dwarven ring?” Cross asked.

Adriel blinked his eyes open and weakly grinned. “Out of your reach.”

Cross grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“It will be out of your reach, too. Answer or die.”

Adriel actually laughed.

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