Page 78 of Sunshine and the Vamp

My head hit the dashboard and a high pitched ringing filled my ears. I blinked. There was glass everywhere. The trees were upside down. No. that was me. I was upside down.

“Vlad?” I croaked. I couldn’t see him. My vision was foggy and there was a dull ache behind my eyes. That would be a concussion. I tried to take stock of my other injuries but I couldn’t sense anything too serious. Couple of broken fingers and my chest hurt where the seat belt had dug into my skin. Bet that would be a hell of a bruise later.

The passenger door was ripped open and Vlad crouched into view. “I’ve got you.”

Blood trickled down the side of his face from his temple, but I couldn’t see any open wounds. Benefit of being a vamp, I guess. Super quick healing time.

He supported my weight and then unbuckled my seat belt. I fell from the seat and Vlad placed me down gently. “I’m going to call Dam—”

Something barrelled into his side, and he flew out of my view. “Vlad!”

I tried to move my head but it felt heavy, like it was full of stone. Glass crunched beneath someone’s feet as they moved slowly. Instinctively I wanted to shout for help but I knew that whoever this was, felt way too convenient for them to have just happened upon the car accident.

Flashes of colour went hurtling around the car. I couldn’t process it. They moved too fast and made me feel nauseous. There was a loud groan and then the ground shook.

“Vlad?”

Feet stopped outside the door. Feet clad in expensive loafers not the combat boots Vlad would have been in.

The owner of the shoes crouched down towards me, and I got my first look at the mystery man. Long silver white hair and bright red eyes. Sharp nose, sharp jaw, sharp gaze.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Benji.”

That voice, I knew that voice. “Ronin?”

He wrapped his hands under my shoulders and pulled me from the wreckage as if I weighed nothing. “Do you know what a Ronin is?”

My body felt broken. I didn’t think it was, just shook up a bit, but I couldn’t muster the energy to roll over, let alone escape. And where was Vlad? I looked around and spotted a body laying still on the floor. Oh God, was he dead?

“Don’t worry, I’ve just knocked him out,” Ronin said, answering my thoughts. Jesus, this guy must be something if he could disarm and pacify Vlad in seconds. What would he do to me? Probably best not to find out.

Ronin dropped his weight on my hips, his thighs straddling my waist, and I hissed as the movement jarred my body with pain.

“I understand what Damyr sees in you, Benji.” He leant closer, burying his hands in the dirt by my head. “You’re quite beautiful, and that mouth…” He swept his thumb across my bottom lip. “That mouth in something else.”

There was a wicked gleam in his eye that I found unsettling. Fear traipsed its way up my spine as his gaze roved over the contours of my face. I could feel it like a physical thing, slithering over my skin like a snake.

“To answer my earlier question, a ronin is a samurai without a master.”

“And that’s you?” I asked casually, trying to keep the fear from my voice.

“Of a fashion.” He kept tracing my bottom lip. His thumb going back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. The repetition was maddening and I was tempted to see if I could bite his thumb off. “My master died and left me to wander. Your precious Damyr killed my brother and left me with no one.”

“You’re a Morley.” Damyr had never mentioned Edwin had a brother. It was a long time ago, perhaps he’d forgotten.

His smile widened. “Yes, I am. Silas Morley at your service.”

“What now, Silas? What do you want with me?”

“With you, Benji?” he taunted with a pout. “Nothing. You’re just a means to an end. As is the tank of a vampire over there. It’s not personal, I just need you to get to Damyr.” He leant closer, bringing his mouth to my ear and dropping his voice to a whisper. “First though, I’m going to make him suffer until he begs for death, and then I’m going to let him watch everything he loves burn to the fucking ground.”

Then he lifted my head and slammed it to the ground. The last thing I saw was the venomous rage in his ruby red eyes before I surrendered to the blackness that had been waiting to claim me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Damyr

Something was wrong. Why hadn’t they called? They should have been there. I pulled my phone out and called Vlad. There was no answer. I called again, and I was pissed that it went straight to voicemail. Again. Where the fuck was he?

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