Page 70 of Claiming Her Vampire

“Are you alright with that?” Bash asks me.

“He gave up his life when he took so many others,” I nod.

“You are so badass,” River says, holding his hand up for a high-five. I reluctantly respond.

We file out of the building. River is still blathering about missing out on the perfect selfie and is eating a breadstick.

This guy is a total trip. I can’t help but like him. In some ways, he reminds me of Ryker. Bash looks at him as if trying to solve a puzzle, cold and stoic. Ryker grins at him, totally entertained.

The guys confer in the street, making a game plan for the interrogation of my dad. I stand off to the side, shoving the fact that he is my dad to the back of my brain. I will think about the repercussions later. The fact that he is the mastermind behind a grand, nasty plan but couldn’t take a picture of me before prom is mind-boggling. I don’t know whether these are my real emotions or my demon shut them off to keep me sane.

Ryker is suddenly pushing me to the ground. I hear shouting from Bash and River, just as I hear a whizzing sound to my side. Ryker’s weight is holding me down on the cold pavement.

“Are you okay?” Ryker asks.

“Yes, what the hell was that?” I ask.

“A shooter,” he says, his voice slurring. “I won’t allow you to feel any pain.”

“Ryker?” I ask. I grow concerned as his body drops more of his weight on top of me.

“Fuck, I can’t tell where it came from,” Bash swears.

“Ryker? Talk to me.” I shake him. His head drops beside mine. “Ryker?”

River crouches at my side, helping to roll Ryker to his back. I gasp as I see blood seeping from his side. His eyes are closed.

“No, no.” I bend over him. “Ryker, wake up,” I scream.

“Shit, we need to move him. River, go get the car,” Bash demands and holds his hands over the wound.

“Bash, what’s wrong? Why isn’t he healing?” I frantically look between Ryker and Bash.

“Fuck, I don’t know,” he says, fear in his voice as Ryker's blood oozes through his fingers. “They must have used a different type of bullet.”

My heart beats painfully in my chest. All I hear is a buzzing in my ears. Ryker is too big, too fierce to be taken out by a bullet. The worry of him dying never crossed my mind. A killing rage takes over my body. Whoever did this will die. Ryker is mine, and I am his—he told me. He can’t leave me.

I look up at the squeal of tires. River hurries over to help lift Ryker. I can’t believe this is happening. He has to be okay. He can’t die. I won’t allow it.

Just as I am yanking open the back door to be near him, I glance up.

No, I don't believe it. I shake my head, hoping that I’m seeing things due to the trauma of watching Ryker taken down. My mother is standing proud on the edge of the roof with a gun resting on her hip.

Chapter Twenty-One

Serenity

I march from one side of Ryker’s bed to the other, looking at his still face. Bash is hovering over him as the doctor examines him. River dropped us off and went to the club to inform Kerian and help with my dad.

I was torn between going after my mom or coming with Ryker. But in the end, there was no choice. I had to make sure Ryker was taken care of. I stop and stare at my hands, covered in his blood. Fear shivers down my back. He bled so much. He needs blood.

“It is a bullet,” the doctor says. “My guess is that it must contain shards of wood. It won’t kill a vampire, but it would slow them down, leaving them weak enough to kill them by stabbing them in the heart. I have only seen this once before. I have to get it out immediately.”

“Do it,” I demand. “Will he recover when you get it?”

“He will. He’ll need lots of blood.”

“What are you waiting for then?” I growl.

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