Page 19 of Bite of Sin

“Maybe,” the other vampire drawled, his leering gaze going back to me. “Let me see your neck, sweetheart.”

Forcing a smirk on my lips, I tilted my head slightly. “No thanks. But you’re more than welcome to try and look yourself.”

A flash of surprise hit both their eyes for a moment before the blond one straightened his shoulders in challenge. The other vampire was the one who made me more nervous. He wasn’t cocky like his friend, and he was watching me intently. But I kept my confidence, knowing if I played this right, I could kill both of them. There was still a healthy dose of fear flowing through me, but it only spurred me on more. Going up against vampires was always scary, but it was about survival. And I’d been training for moments like this for years.

The blond sauntered forward while his bald friend hung back, his scrutinizing stare staying on me. My mind raced with the best approach, but I didn’t get a chance to say anything else before the blond vampire was inches from me.

“I just need to see something.” He slowly reached for my neck, and I forced myself to stay still. It didn’t seem like he wanted to attack right away, and I could use that to my advantage. When his cold fingers brushed my neck as he pushed my wet hair back, my stomach churned, seeing his change.

“Well?” the other vampire asked gruffly.

“No mark,” the blond exclaimed, the dark excitement in his voice making me tense as he tightened his grip around the back of my neck. “Where’d you come from?”

“Let me go,” I demanded coldly.

The blond barked out a laugh, glancing behind him. “You hear her? The little human thinks she can give me orders.”

I suddenly let my body drop before he could get a firmer hold on me, and he yelled in surprise when I fell to the ground. I went for my stake first and stabbed him in the leg, giving myself the distraction I needed to get into my bag to reach the gun. The blond howled from the wood stuck in his calf, and I swept my legs under him, knocking him down. I was already scrambling to my feet, fumbling with my backpack.

I didn’t make it a step before fingers wrapped around my ankle, taking me back to the wet grass. I let out a shriek when he tried climbing on top of me, but too bad for him, I already had the gun in my hand. I was jerked around roughly until I was on my back, and I didn’t waste a second before clicking off the safety and shooting my first wooden bullet into my attacker. It was the blond vampire, and his eyes went wide with shock when I shot him in the stomach. This gun held twelve bullets, and I needed to use each one carefully.

“Bitch,” he choked out, pain thick in his voice. His warm blood seeped through my clothes as I struggled to raise my arm high enough to shoot him in the head. My heart was racing, knowing I only had so much time before the other vampire intervened. My finger tightened on the trigger, and the echo of the shot vibrated through my skull when the bullet hit him in the forehead. It was enough to knock him out, but I’d dropped the stake to reach for the gun, meaning I had no way to kill him right away. But at least the bullet in his head would keep him knocked out for a while.

“What the fuck?” the other vampire bellowed. His footsteps were coming fast, and I scowled, unable to see him with the blond one’s dead weight smothering me. Keeping the gun tight in my grip, I finally was able to roll him off me, and I raised my weapon, making the bald vampire skid to a halt a couple of feet from me.

“Wooden bullets,” I informed him coldly. “I’ll fucking drop you if you come any closer.”

His eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at me. “You’re going to regret that.”

The rain was still coming down, and it was hard to see through the water and falling darkness, but he was close enough that my shot wouldn’t miss. I pushed myself up, slowly climbing to my feet while holding the gun aimed at the vampire. His entire body was rigid, waiting for the moment to rush me.

“How many more of you are around here?” I asked him. Getting information was the only reason I hadn’t shot him yet.

The vampire sneered at me. “Doesn’t matter when I’m going to kill you.”

A cruel smile tipped up my lips as I lowered the gun and shot him in the leg. He let out a string of curses, falling to the ground while grabbing his knee. He’d heal, but since the bullet was wooden, it would take longer. Not that it mattered because I wasn’t letting him get to his feet again.

“Fucking bitch,” he swore, glaring at me. “All we were going to do was feed. But now you’re dead.”

I breathed out a laugh. “Me? You’re the one bleeding out.”

“Want some?” he shot back, making my stomach churn. “How about I feed you some of my blood and see how long that fucking smile stays on your face.”

Fear surged through me at his threat, and I tightened my hold on the gun. Vampire bloodkilledhumans. One sip from their vein, and death would happen soon after. For years, there were rumors that vampire blood could heal. Until the harsh truth came out when our city, along with others, decided to test it.

They’d taken a prisoner to the platform and made him drink vampire blood. Within minutes of ingesting it, the man had died. And it wasn’t a fast, painless death. I’d witnessed it years ago, but that man’s death was still a horrible memory that was burned in my brain. The government wanted the civilians to see that vampire blood was not something to chase after.

“I’m guessing you know what my blood does to you,” the vampire said, pulling me back to the present. “If you don’t drop that gun, I’ll make sure to drag your death out.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not as scary as you think.”

His eyes darkened at my taunting, and he quickly moved to get back on his feet. But I was ready. He let out a roar of pain when I shot him in the other knee, and he went down again. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his blond friend begin to stir and realized I needed to get to my stake quickly. I thought that bullet would have kept him knocked out longer.

I scanned the ground, searching for the stake I’d dropped when I went for my gun. My eyes locked with the vampire’s when he realized what I was looking for. His bleeding leg was forgotten as he whipped his head around to find my weapon. He had the advantage since he could see much better in the dark than I could, and a wave of panic hit me. He was moving too much for me to shoot in the head, so I aimed and put two wooden bullets in his chest. He choked out labored breaths as he fell onto his back.

I ran to where the blond vampire was and fell to my knees running one hand over the wet grass while keeping the gun in the other. My heart hammered when I finally found the stake, but before I had a chance to stand, the blond vampire rolled over, grabbing my arm.

“Get off,” I snarled, trying to wrench free.

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