Page 3 of Death Deals

Fuck.

I jerked my fist and was able to clock the female vamp in the face. She let go, hissing at me as blood gushed from her newly split lip. There was a blur of someone rushing by, and suddenly, the guy on my right was yanked away from me. Andre appeared, raising a short sword into the air and holding the vamp by the hair to expose his neck. A flash of silver and the man’s head was suddenly detached. His disjointed body fell over, the skin quickly graying and drying, until it crumpled in on itself, turning to dust. In Andre’s hand, the head did the same.

Whoa. I’d crossed over a few vampires as my time as a reaper, and I’d always wondered why there hadn’t been a body when I arrived, just the vamp’s spirit waiting to be crossed over. Now I knew.

A sharp pinch jerked my attention back to the female vampire. She was leaning over my arm, fangs embedded in my wrist and sucking greedily. A fiery pain lit my veins as she drew blood from me. When the guy holding my legs down noticed, his pupils enlarged, the rest of his eyes swallowed by blackness. Blood lust.

He pulled up my pant leg and sank his teeth into my calf. I cried out, bucking against their hold, but with every gulp, their strength seemed to increase. And mine diminished.

More bodies were around me. I only saw flashes of faces and teeth before the pain of their bites hit. My entire body was shaking without my say-so, and I knew it was from the blood loss. One last time, I tried to lift my limbs, to fight, but nothing was responding to my commands.

With my head falling to the side, I spotted Andre again, among some other shadowy shapes. Darkness began to creep along the edges of my vision, but I could have sworn his eyes were just as black as the other vamps snacking on me. When it came to feeding, all vampires had the same core instincts, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was about to jump in next to get a taste.

I was pleasantly warm all over. And tired. So very tired. As my eyes drifted closed, I thought about Eli and Michael and how I had screwed up big time. Especially with Eli. And now I was dying and I’d never be able to fix things between us.

A flare of brightness pressed against my eyelids and there was a sudden release of pressure, then nothing but darkness and peace.

“Tell me again, why aren’t we draining her dry as we speak?” a sultry female’s voice floated to my ears, pushing me back into consciousness. Besides the voices, the first thing to hit my senses was my intensely dry mouth. And the taste of metal, which lingered on my tongue.

“You saw what she did back there to the Omaris,” a man responded. A French accent caressed his words. “We need her help.”

“That’s why we should be collecting her blood in bags and have her on an IV drip. Farming her. Her blood could make us stronger,” the woman replied.

Every muscle in my body tensed at her suggestion, but despite the urge to get a look at the talkers, I kept my eyes closed and listened. Waiting for the right moment to reveal I was awake.

“I appreciate your input, Cassandra, but we’ll be handling this my way. Thank you.”

The woman snorted.

“Thank you,” he repeated a bit more forcefully this time. “Tell Hector I will be joining him after dinner with an update.”

Andre. The man’s name popped out of my memory, along with the last time I’d seen him—on Fairport’s street, eyes black with blood lust, right after he’d decapitated an enemy. And I had been left there to be vampire chow. So where was I now? Warmth surrounded me, not the biting cold that came with winter, and any pain I’d felt before was gone.

What happened with all those vampire leeches who’d managed to pin me down and drink from me? Had Andre stopped them? But if so, then why was he talking to some chick about making me a personal blood bank?

There was no way another vamp was getting close to these veins.

My eyes shot open. At the same time, a hand came down and pressed against my mouth. Andre’s face hovered over mine and he looked down at me, a warning flashing in his eyes.

“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t,” he whispered harshly.

My entire body tensed with anger, and I glared up at him.

“I’m the only reason you’re still alive, so I suggest you listen to me and don’t push your luck.”

For the first time since waking, I glanced around the room. The first thing I noticed was that we were alone. The woman I’d heard before was gone. Then, on either side of me were dark wooden pillars draped with red fabric. I was in a large bed and covered to the shoulders in a thin sheet. Heat filled the room from a roaring fireplace, and it didn’t take long for me to recognize where I was. Melodramatic décor? Medieval, gothic esthetic? We were back at Red. In Andre’s bedroom. And I was inhisbed.

What the fuck?

Furious, I went to yank his hand from my mouth but something kept my arm down at my side. A restraint. Dread seizing me, I tugged at the other and found it bound to the bed, too. With a kick of my feet, it became clear the same had been done to my legs.

This bastard strapped me to his bed?

I bucked frantically, pulling against the cords wrapped around my wrists and ankles. They didn’t loosen, only bit into my skin. My movements had caused the sheet to shimmy down, and when I realized my bare breasts were almost on full display, I stopped abruptly.

Rage whipped through me. Not only did he tie me to his bed, but he’d stripped me naked?

What a sick asshole.

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