Page 17 of Kiss of Light

Then she was tackled by four Vetali who bore her to the ground, forcing her arms behind her until her muscles screamed in agony.

“Shit,” she groaned, controlling her panic. She didn’t like being held down. “You win. I give in.”

Somebody seized a handful of her hair and yanked her head up painfully.

“Who the fuck are you?”

This Vetali was clearly the alpha. He had the requisite good looks; with his blond hair and muscled body, he looked like he shot beach commercials in his spare time. But the way the other vamps deferred to him told her he was the boss. She nodded towards Lemar, still on his knees with a vamp on either side of him.

“That’s my bounty, fang-face. I found him. I want him back.”

Lemar rolled his eyes.

“Oh yes. That’ll work.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Boss Vamp was incredulous. “You came here looking for yourbounty? You have balls, I’ll give you that. But he’s ours.”

“Look, I need the money. And you don’t care who offs him, do you? I’ll even cut his head off for you right here.”

Lemar gave her a pained look and Boss Vamp chuckled.

“You’re most amusing. And persistent.”

“You have no idea,” muttered Lemar. Tala ignored him.

“We both want the same thing. You want him dead, I want him dead – and this way, I’ll owe you a favour.”

“You owe me already, bitch. You killed Flavia and Aldo. Two of my best lieutenants.”

“Ah. I guess I shouldn’t mention the gorilla in the hall then, huh?”

With a snarl, the vamp kicked her in the face. Her head rocketed sideways, ears ringing. If she’d been human, her neck would have snapped.

The Vetali narrowed his eyes.

“Well, well. You’re not a normal tracker, I see. What are you? Fae? Valkyrie?”

“Shaitun, dipshit. And your vamps were breaking the code. The two of them were draining her.”

“On the contrary. They were giving her exactly what she wanted. Her reward. Camille dear, tell our intruder what we’re doing for you.”

From the couch, the half-conscious woman struggled to speak.

“They’re… making me... immortal. I wan’… be… vampire.”

Tala’s heart turned cold.

“Camille, no! Vamps can’t turn humans into other vamps. They’re using you…”

Her head ricocheted back again as Boss Vamp launched another kick. She felt the bone in her jaw crack.

Shit. That was going to hurt in the morning.

“So, shaitun. Who is your master?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Cillian, you may as well let her go.” Lemar’s voice was bored, as if he was in a business meeting instead of an execution. “She’s just a low-life tracker. She doesn’t even have a master. Throw her out of the window and be done with it.”

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