Page 96 of Betrayed in Blood
“Stay with your mother and lock the door,” Jasper yelled as he ran.
Devon grabbed April and shoved her back toward her room. Confident that Cressa would deal with it, he raced after Jasper.
“Jasper!” April called out.
If Jasper heard, he didn’t turn around, and he had a good head start on Devon. There were more crashes from the first floor, and when he reached the stairs, Jasper was taking the last few steps to where two vampires were fighting.
Jasper reached into his jacket and pulled out a dagger, the lights of the chandelier flashing off the silver as he raised it toward one of Devon’s vampires. He wouldn’t make it down the stairs in time. Devon was still at the top of the stairs, but he didn’t take more than a second to change his trajectory. He grabbed the railing and leaped over it, pulling out his own dagger as he hit the floor.
If nothing else, it surprised Jasper before he could take a swing at one of Devon’s team members. But Devon shouldn’t have worried. His security details never fought without keeping an eye on their surroundings, but that didn’t always protect them from someone coming up from behind. In this case, the team member caught Devon’s leap, and he kicked out at his opponent while dropping and rolling.
Jasper wasn’t anticipating the move, and though his swing only hit air, he didn’t stop. Instead, he changed tactics, but he had a problem. It was two on two, and it appeared the first vampire, while only taking a glancing blow from Devon’s team member, hadn’t been faring well in the fight.
Devon ignored the team member and his opponent, his entire focus on Jasper.
When Jasper turned and caught Devon racing for him, his eyes widened with recognition, and then he grinned before he ran. He took a right at the hallway, which would take him toward the back of the house.
Devon took a moment to glance to his left, where several vampires were fully engaged. He spotted one of the opposing forces heading for the front door and let him go, directing his energy to follow Jasper. The moment to survey his team cost him a few seconds, and when he turned down the hall, Jasper was gone.
He slowed and blasted open doors with a forceful kick as he passed them, peering in for a quick scan of each one. Most of the rooms didn’t provide any place to hide, but two of them required him to check closets.
While he continued down the hallway, he performed a mental review of the floor plan. All the rooms at this end of the house only had one door, with the exception of two that were more like salons exiting into another hallway.
He put his trust in his outdoor teams, allowing him to continue his methodical search. A crash from upstairs didn’t alarm him at first, as he assumed Cressa would be dealing with April.
When he came to the first room that had a second exit, he took a different approach. If Jasper had been paying attention, and if he was in there, he’d expect Devon to kick the door down. Devon hadn’t forgotten the sound of the gun and suspected Jasper was carrying a firearm as well. He reached for the door handle and slowly opened the door. Once it was clear of the doorjamb, he shoved it open, but before he could jump aside, Jasper fired.
The bullet hit his left shoulder, and the burn of silver registered as the pain gripped him. His beast instantly flared to life, his gaze reflecting its icy blue glow. All he saw was the flap of Jasper’s jacket as he raced out the other door. He ignored the bullet as he felt his body forcing it out while his blood mended the damage.
All the vampires had taken blood donations before the mission. No exceptions. It wouldn’t stop them from losing their heads, but any other injury would heal faster. He didn’t know why Jasper didn’t just empty his gun, but he’d have to reload, and Jasper had no idea how many intruders were in the house. Or maybe Jasper was still regrouping and trying to figure out what the hell was happening.
When he reached the other door, he glanced left then right. There was an exit to the backyard to his left, but the door was closed. Why hadn’t Jasper gone that way? More crashing came from above, and now his fear grew.
He started toward the right, his gut telling him Jasper was returning to the second floor, but after a few steps, he stopped to listen. There was fighting somewhere toward the living room and maybe the kitchen or dining room.
He turned back and raced for the back stairs. The only ones on the second floor should be Cressa and April. Would Cressa anticipate Jasper returning? He was halfway up the stairs when a gunshot from above filled his veins with terror.
Simone heardthe shot as she rolled out of the pantry. She was halfway to standing when she was knocked backward. Her feet went out from under her, and she dropped like a stone weight. She glanced up. A vampire was rising to his feet while two others struggled behind him.
He had a gun in his hand, and he looked down at it, then back at her.
She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t move. Her vision was blurred, and she wiped at her eyes, surprised when she noticed her hands. They were covered with blood. She glanced back up at the vampire.
The asshole had shot her.
She still couldn’t move her legs, and it was fairly obvious she was in trouble. The vampires struggling behind this tableau were using varied martial arts and appeared evenly matched. Her team member had his hands full.
She grabbed her side as if she might have another injury. At least her arms moved, but the odds weren’t in her favor.
The vampire set the gun on the counter and pulled out a short blade.
Her body froze, but not from her injury. She didn’t want to give away her only move. Without her legs, she was at a severe disadvantage.
She’d taken donor blood before the mission; however, her legs weren’t healing. They were numb. The bullet must have done more than graze her head. She didn’t feel any pain, but the blood continued to drip down her face and into her eyes, making it almost impossible to make out the vampire who crept toward her.
This was not the way she planned on dying. Not on a simple mission to grab a couple humans. Venizi must consider them important because these vampires were more skilled than what he’d thrown at them before.
Had they somehow known an enemy would be waiting? She didn’t see how, but her thoughts weren’t coming as fast as normal. A sharp pain slammed into her, making her double over. She pushed past it, not wanting to give the approaching vampire easy access to her neck.
