Page 42 of The Psychic and the Vampire

“I'll kill him,” Mike said, pointing at Ant with the empty gun. “I’ll kill him and his stuck-up sister, too.”

“You think that's gonna stop me?” Viktor tipped his head back and laughed, narrowly missing the ceiling. “You think it's gonna stop me from tearing you a new asshole? One that goes from your butt to your neck?”

“Look, look, you said you could do a deal,” Colin said. He was backing up, but he was still holding on to Ant, and Viktor needed him to let go of his mate. “You said you wanted a deal. We can deal. We can do this. I don't mind being an immortal, long-lived, eternal, or whatever you called it. I don't even mind worshipping your dick for the next hundred years if that's what it takes. I'll doit. I'll do it if that's what saves us here. Just let me have my little pleasures and I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I’ll take the deal!”

If there was one thing that annoyed Viktor more than anything else it was a whining man - somebody who was pleading for their life when they'd had such callous disregard for anybody else's. Moving forward, it took just two steps, in one swift move Viktor had a man in each hand, their scrawny necks squeezed under the strength of his fingers, as he pulled their feet off the floor.

They automatically let Ant fall and Viktor cringed as Ant’s body hit the floor with a thud. But he kept his upset inside. It was time for these two idiots to realize they’d messed with the wrong mage, the wrong sister, hell, they’d messed with the wrong family, and Viktor included himself in that term too.

“You hurt my mate,” he growled, his shifted form’s voice deep and gravelly as he stared deep into Colin’s eyes. “You took my mate's sister and for what? To set up a murder scene because you wanted to prove I was a criminal. To take revenge for Tony? That useless two-bit piece of shit asshole who's currently cowering in jail paying people to leave him alone because he's so afraid that anyone else’s dick near his will turn him gay. You disgust me. You, what you stand for, and everything else.

“And as for you…” Viktor switched his focus to Mike. “You were worse. You abused Ant's trust. That man you've just dropped on the floor is the kindest, most decent human being you could ever hope to meet, and you tore his trust apart. I refuse to let you hurt or use him anymore. The only thing you two are fit for is worm food.”

It only took a few moments. It wasn't that easy tying two human bodies together in the form of a Celtic knot that would require a chainsaw to break apart. But when a person's dead, the process is a little bit easier. Viktor figured someone in the first respondercrew would have some way of cutting them apart before rigor mortis set in, otherwise things could get messy. But he didn't care.

Tossing the bundle of tangled limbs and shocked faces aside, he let the bodies land with a thump, and immediately picked up Ant off the floor. His face was paler than his white-blond hair, and he was barely breathing.

You need to give him blood,Viktor sent through to his other half.Give him a drop of our blood and it will help revive him.The vampire form considered it. He had heard such a method had been used by vampires throughout history. Any injured vampire could be healed by a drop of their mate’s blood. It wasn’t a process that had been used on non-vampire mates very often, although the vampire had heard stories about its effectiveness.

It won't do him any harm. Look at him. He’s completely overwhelmed. Gods know what he’d seen while he was being held by two criminals, but you heard him. Ant said he’d seen their sins, and he couldn’t escape them, held the way he was. You have to give him something.

Carefully pricking the end of his little finger with one of his fangs, Viktor squeezed it and made a blood drop appear. He brushed it on Ant's bottom lip, trying to coax it open. When that didn't work, he pulled down on the slack lip and quickly shoved his finger inside, wiping his blood on Ant's tongue.Hopefully it doesn’t take long to start working.

Still in his vampire form, Viktor went over to where Bridget was resting, kicking the trunk aside, before bending down and scooping up her limp body up with his other arm.

The door frame wasn’t that big when seen from his second perspective.I’m going to have to squeeze through.Stomping upthe stairs, he could see Able's tail. The dog was lying flat on the fake hardwood floor, but as he heard the footsteps, Viktor saw a little flicker of the end of the tail and heard a small whine.

Time to make some calls,he thought with a sigh as he carried Ant and his sister outside, laying them on the lawn this time, while he went back to pick up the dog.Maybe one of the first responders could be convinced to bring some food out with them, because you just know they’re going to keep wanting to talk about things and analyze the scene for freaking hours.

With another long sigh, Viktor placed Able next to Ant, and then stroked over his mate’s face. In his shifted form, his fingers were longer than Ant’s head.I need you to wake up nowhe sent through their bond as he shifted back to his human form.I really don’t have the patience left to deal with authorities.

Calling the emergency number, Viktor gave few details to the operator, and simply told her they needed an ambulance, a vet, and the police before hanging up. When asked for the address, he told the operator to go to the location of Mike’s car. He sat down on the grass, staring moodily at the police cruiser still resting where Mike had parked it.

It’s going to take the first responders ages to get here,he thought, wondering how much extra trouble he could get in for stealing the police car.

It could be considered an emergency,he reasoned. He had two unconscious people and a shot dog who needed attention. But, figuring Ant might not see things the same way, he sat and listened to trees and birds and shit. It wasn’t until he finally heard the distant wail of a siren that he felt Ant stir.

“Hey,” Ant said, his voice still faint. “Hey, Viktor. Are you all right?”

Of course my mate would ask that.Viktor pulled Ant into his arms and held him close to his chest. He genuinely didn’t have words in that moment. It would be enough for him if Ant could pick up his relief through their bond.

Chapter Thirty-One

“I don’t have a lot of time,” Ant said as he sat down in the police captain’s office, Viktor a brooding hulk beside him choosing to stand. “I have to pick Able up from the vets in an hour and I don’t wish to be late.”

“Ah, yes, your service animal. I am glad to hear he is recovering successfully.” Captain Bains looked at the papers on his desk. “I understand the veterinarian removed a police issue bullet from his shoulder?”

“Two of them.” From the tone it was clear Viktor didn’t want to be in the office either.

It’d been two days since Bridget’s abduction and the events that followed. Bridget had been checked over in hospital, and then checked herself out, insisting she was fine to be home. Ant tried to persuade her to stay with him for a few days, but she refused. “The day I let assholes change my behavior is the day I hang up my high heels,” she said. “Besides someone has got to sort out all the legal shit this incident has caused, and we all know you’re hopeless with paperwork.”

The most she would agree to was turning up for breakfast each morning, and Ant had to be happy with that.

Able was a different matter. The vet wouldn’t let Ant bring him home, even though he underwent surgery that same day to remove the bullets. The vet had been kind, explaining that as Able was so highly trained, it would be almost impossible for Ant to get him to rest, which was what he needed.

“I’m sorry, because I know how important he is to you, but you’ll have to rely on your mate for a few days so Able can rest without having to work.”

It had been one thing after another, and Ant was tired of it all. Viktor hadn’t said much to him or the police when they were questioned back at the house. Once they got home, all he did was bring Ant food every five minutes and spent the rest of the time insisting he wanted to cuddle on the couch and watch movies, although it was clear Viktor watched him more than whatever was happening on the screen.

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