Page 79 of Blood Pack Beginning

No shit.

They exited into the parking lot, empty but for a luxury sedan with the engine running. Movement to the left had Diego swiveling to see Tim, another of Thaddeus’ vampires, attaching something to the gas line.

Thaddeus exited and shut the outer door. He held the knob, a temporary measure. The slams against it showing it wouldn’t remain closed for long.

“Everyone needs to move as far away as possible. Tim’s about to blow this place up,” Thaddeus declared, showing strain as he held the portal closed.

Bang,rattle.

The metal shipping doors began to dimple as the ghouls sought escape.

They ran for the SUV, Amir still carrying Sasha. Four-legged Diego and Cyrus blew past him and dove in the open trunk. Amir threw himself and Sasha into the back seat as Anabel slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.

When she put it into drive, Amir yelled, “Where’s Pierrot?”

“With Thaddeus, reporting. Hold on tight.”

She sped out there with a squeal of tires and almost wasn’t fast enough to beat the concussion blast from the bomb. The rear window shattered, spraying them with glass, but she kept going.

A glance behind showed an even bigger inferno than the one they’d caused only moments earlier. Smoke and flame billowed, hopefully cooking all of the ghouls.

On their tail, the sedan sped, catching and passing them, looking remarkably intact.

Anabel must have guessed their confusion because she said, “It was custom-made to withstand attack.”

Tired of being without a voice, Diego shifted and as he wiggled in their confined space to dress asked, “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere we can hide from the oncoming dawn.” Anabel peered upward through the windshield. “Thaddeus made arrangements. We just need to follow.”

“Sasha’s not waking up,” Amir stated morosely. “She’s injured pretty bad.”

“She’ll be fine once she gets some blood,” Anabel replied. “She’s pretty tough.”

“Do we have any bags?” Diego asked, scrounging around in the back.

“No. They need to be refrigerated to be any good, so we didn’t bring any.”

“Any idea where we can get some?” Diego questioned as Cyrus took his turn to shift and dress.

“Hospital, but we don’t have time before the sun rises to steal any.” Anabel didn’t have any good news.

Amir hugged the limp Sasha closer to his chest. “Any reason she can’t have mine?”

“No, but she’ll need more than you alone can give,” Anabel stated, swerving to follow the sedan when it took a sharp right.

“What if three of us donated?” Amir asked before Diego could.

“That actually would be more than enough,” Anabel agreed with a nod. “But be sure to take turns, even if she appears reluctant to switch off. With these kinds of wounds, her thirst will be grievous, and she won’t realize she’s taking too much.”

“How do I give it to her? Do I slit a wrist or something?” Amir questioned.

“If you have a wound on your arm, place it against her lips. Her primal instinct will kick in. The enzyme in her saliva will prevent clotting while she feeds.”

Amir didn’t hesitate to put a sluggishly bleeding gash against Sasha’s mouth. Diego and Cyrus leaned over the back seat to watch, the pair of them relaxing when Sasha began to suckle.

Amir leaned his head back and sighed.

“Does it hurt?” Cyrus asked.

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