Page 100 of Her Dark Salvation

Vito stood in the doorway, but I didn’t wait for an answer. I pushed past him and ran to where my Anna lay in the street.

Siobhán hovered over her still form, softly weeping against the back of her hand. I nudged her out of the way.

“Vito!”

He crouched on her other side and lowered his voice. “One alive. You killed the two that got away. The rest are dead.”

“I want answers,” I growled.

Anna’s breath was shallower than when I’d left her. I grabbed her wrist. Her heartbeat was fading. Where was the fucking ambulance? I started to panic; I couldn’t lose her.

Siobhán watched us, tears streaking through her makeup. The driver of the car that hit Anna paced nervously behind her, his hands tugging at his hair.

I shot Vito a look. “Get them out of here. And get me a clean shirt.”

He nodded, and I gave him a moment to clear the area before I turned my attention back to Anna.

I had to save her. I couldn’t let her die.

Faced with a life without Anna, faced with losing the only woman I’d ever loved, I realized how stupid I was to deny us a future. She’d wanted me to bite her. She’d been furious with me for denying her the right to choose, because she’d already chosen us. She’d accepted this life, accepted me, and that was all the permission I needed.

I tapped her lightly on the cheek, careful not to jostle her, but I had to coax her back to consciousness. I shouted her name and struck her cheek harder. I needed her awake for this dammit!

She groaned.

“Grazie a Dio.”

I shrugged out of my suit jacket, furiously wiping the gunman’s blood from my hands. I tore off the remains of my bloodied shirt, and my fangs descended for the second time that night.

I pierced the skin at my wrist, deeply to make sure the blood would flow. It ran down my arm. I pried her lips and teeth open, held my wrist over her mouth, and my blood streamed onto her tongue.

“Come on, amore mio. Swallow for me.”

She grunted and groaned, but instinct prevailed, and she swallowed before she choked. Once. Twice. Her head jerked back and forth, face contorting, and she slammed her mouth shut.

The wail of an ambulance sounded in the distance.

I squeezed her cheeks, forcing her mouth open. “One more, Anna. One more mouthful, amore.”

Blood drained out of my wrist into her mouth. When it was full, I held her lips shut, forcing her to swallow instead of cough. Her body lurched like she was going to throw up. I smoothed the hair off her forehead and held her in place. “Ti prego, amore mio. Ti prego.”

Finally, her body relaxed, and she swallowed.

The wail of the siren grew louder.

Anna’s body slackened, and her head rolled to the side. Unconscious again, but at least with three mouthfuls of my blood inside her. “God, I hope it’s enough.”

Vito shoved a fresh shirt in front of my face. I lost the undershirt full of bullet holes and blood and pulled the long-sleeved polo over my head just in time.

The medics arrived in a flurry and pushed me out of the way. I stepped back and shoved a hand into my hair. A drop of blood hit my face. I wiped it from my cheek and licked my wrist to staunch the bleeding. I stood helpless while the medics took Anna’s vitals.

Thin fingers landed on my arm. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Siobhán. I scented her perfume and felt the worry in her shaking touch.

“Marco.” Her voice was small, barely above a whisper. “She’s going to be okay. She’s so strong.”

They strapped a brace around her neck and placed an oxygen mask over her face, and my chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. They transferred her onto the spinal board, and I ground my teeth to prevent myself from shouting at them to be careful.

“Who are you trying to convince, Siobhán?”

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