Page 197 of Golden Eagle

Alexei herded Dante behind him, and pulled the gun he’d tucked into the back of his waistband, one of Trina’s spare Smith & Wessons. “Guys!” he shouted up toward the roof.

A gunshot cracked through the air, rippling and echoing off across the water. A shot from a gunmuchlarger and more powerful than the one he held in his hand.

~*~

Trina had fired hunting rifles off and on since she was sixteen, up at the family compound in Buffalo. Sometimes at hay bales with paper targets affixed, and sometimes, in winter, at leftover Halloween pumpkins; that had always been a pulpy mess. It turned out, firing close range at someone’s chest had much the same effect.

She aimed for the big vampire’s heart, but she didn’t have a bipod, and hadn’t had the chance to slowly, carefully set up her shot. The Mosin-Nagant pulled a little left, and the round exploded the vampire’s sternum, rather than his heart. Drilled right through with an awful, wet sound, and a spray of blood, and bone, and viscera. It punched out the back, leaving a halo of blood on the ground, and for one wild, awful moment, she swore she could see daylight through him.

He staggered back a step, colliding with the vampire beside him; went down on one knee. Not dead, but heaving for breath, coughing up thick gobs of blood, more of it pouring crimson down his white shirt.

She raised the rifle to fire again, aiming for the heart again, bracing her elbow on her raised knee and trying to steady her sights.

A black blur dove in front of her, and she jerked her face off the stock. It was Kolya, spinning, his black coat flaring around his legs, sunlight glinting off the knives he held.

“Kolya, no! Shit!” Nikita cursed.

Sasha took off, falling into stride beside his resurrected friend.

The vampire that Kolya was gunning for held a length of pipe, and raised it to strike. Kolya, somehow, ducked beneath the blow, whirled in close, and buried a knife between the vampire’s ribs. It was so sharp, and his aim so true, that it slid in without resistance, with a low, wet sound. The blade had punctured the lung.

The vampire wheezed, and tried another hit.

Sasha closed his jaws on the vamp’s hamstring, and earned a high, startled scream.

Kolya stabbed with his other knife, in the soft, meaty front of the shoulder, just below the bone, and the arm holding the pipe went suddenly, dramatically limp, the pipe clattering to the ground.

The heart!Trina thought. Kolya hadn’t yet tried to go for the heart.

But she couldn’t worry about that now. More vampires were coming.

Nikita had engaged with one, and looked to safely have the upper hand.

Jamie was throwing a punch at another, and looked startled when it actually connected, and snapped the guy’s head backward.

And Lanny was–

Someone tackled her to the ground.

Panic spiked – but only for a second. Then she recognized the scent of cigarette smoke, and laundry detergent, and her favorite brand of coffee, and she recognized Lanny. Knew they were his strong arms around her, cushioning her, keeping her from smacking down into the gravel of the rooftop. As far as tackles went, it was very gentle; he cradled her, and bore her to the ground without a scratch.

But he was being all heroic and protective again.

“Lanny, you dumbass, get off of me! We don’t have time for this!”

“Sorry!” He surged to his feet, and launched himself at the vampire bearing down on them.

Trina scrambled upright, sweat-damp hands slipping a little on the rifle.Shit, shit. She couldn’t afford to get nervous. Couldn’t afford to think of them as immortal blood-drinkers who could rip her apart, but just as enemies. As targets that needed taking out.

(A small, terrified part of her was glad for Lanny’s intercession. She was way, way out of her league here.)

She steadied herself, one foot planted, knee serving as a makeshift stabilizer for her supporting arm, and sought a new target.

The big vampire, the one she’d shot, had lurched back to his feet, unbalanced and dazed. He’d suffered terrible blood loss, and needed to rest and feed. He clutched at the side of the squat building that housed the stairwell and door, his movements clumsy.

Quicker movement drew her eye. A female vampire was gunning right for her, a length of bright chain dangling from one hand, teeth bared in a snarl that showcased long, narrow fangs.

Trina steadied the Mosin-Nagant and fired.

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