Page 30 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

“Yeah, well, you’re a weird little vampire girl.”

She stepped out of my arms, smiling at me. Who knew, maybe one day, Lavinia and I could be friends? Hell, maybe we already were.

The girl looked out the window, and I followed her gaze.

The sun had dipped out of view, its only traces being the orange and yellow hues that stained the darkening sky.

“Are you ready to free your lovers and go home, Princess?”

I drew in a deep breath, grounding myself. “I think so. Did Sterling give you anything to give me as a weapon? A gun? A silver dagger? Anything?”

The corners of her mouth curved into a slight frown. “No. We’re making our escape quietly. If all goes according to plan, you won’t need to lift so much as a finger. However, in the event it all goes south, use your bare hands. Your reputation to rip off the heads of the males who displease you has already spread across the East Coast covens. They’re calling you Ruby Red, Taker of Heads.”

Rolling my eyes, I laughed. “I’m going to blame Corry for that one.”

I followed Lavinia out of the room.

Even though I was nervous as hell, I was ready.

I’d lie low and make the clean escape Sterling would want...and only take heads if it came down to it.

But with my luck, I fully expected ourquiet escapeto turn into a full-on blood bath.

Chapter twelve

Dark Plans and a Jailbreak

Thehallwaywascompletelyempty. Lavinia’s trick with the mesmer spell had worked. All the thralls had gone to their rooms, leaving our path to freedom clear, at least on this floor.

“Go ahead without me,” the girl said with a sharp nod toward the elevator.

“It will be safe enough to take the elevator down to the second floor, but the lobby is bound to be crawling with night security. So find the stairwell and wait for me there. When I return, we’ll make our descent to the basement through the back entrance.” The vampire’s gaze flicked down each end of the hallway several times over to triple check that our coast was clear.

She turned her back to me and headed toward the opposite end of the hall. But before she could get very far, I caught the frilly lace of her sleeve, stopping her in her tracks. “Wait!”

“We have little time,” she hissed beneath her breath as she shot me a prickly glower over her shoulder, wrenching her arm away from me.

“Where are you going? Shouldn’t I come with you?”

“I’m going to the security room to destroy the footage of our escape. It’s several floors away, and I can move faster than you. We’ll get you and the princes out of here sooner if we split paths for now.”

I didn’t like the way she said we’ll get”you”out, not ”us.” I studied her expression and thought back on her plan. “Wait a second. Why do you want to destroy the footage? They’ll know we’ve escaped within the hour, so why bother? Unless...”

“I have every intention of staying behind, Princess Ruby.”

My gut tightened as I regarded the girl with a look of horror. “Why?”

“To be the inside eyes for our coven, of course. Oh, don’t give me that face. If I destroy the footage and we eliminate any witnesses, my master will have no reason to question my loyalty to him or the Boston Coven.”

“Lavinia, no. You can’t.”

Her tiny nostrils flared with a heated huff. “If you plan on bringing down Dagon Knight and the rest of this infernal den, you’ll need an inside ear. I’ll get wind of valuable information about their next moves.”

My eyes itched with tears that threatened to fall if I blinked. “What if they find you out? They’ll kill you. And knowing them, they’ll make it slow. They’ll probably ship your body parts to us in little pieces.” A few hours ago, I didn’t give two craps about the immortal girl. Now it felt like I was about to lose a dear friend.

With an exasperated sigh, Lavinia forced a smile on her face that I suppose was meant to be reassuring. But it looked all wrong paired with her scowling brow, as if having to comfort the sentimental mortal was more of a burden than staying in an enemy coven as a triple agent.

“Even if I’m found out, Dr. Sharpe is fond of me. He’ll have me killed quickly, by stake. In which event, my body will turn to ash.” This time, her smile morphed into something more genuine, as sharp as it was sweet. “So if they ship you anything, it will be my ashes. Now please, go! I’ll find you in the stairwell in a few minutes.”

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