Page 20 of Bite of Sin

“That fucking hurt,” the blond vampire gritted out, anger lacing his voice. “But not as much as you’ll be hurting when we’re done with you.”

I pressed the gun to his chest, but he swiped it away with his free hand while keeping a hold of me with the other. My fingers tightened around the stake, and I twisted my body until I had access to his chest. Without any hesitation, I slammed the stake into his body, right where his heart was. He made a noise of surprise as I shoved the stake deeper. His body sagged as his life left him, and I didn’t have a moment to move before I was suddenly yanked backward by my hair.

I screamed as I was dragged back, my instincts the only reason I held on to the gun and stake. The other vampire threw me down, and I let myself relax, rolling over the grass to create space between us. The second I stopped, I lifted the gun, aiming it in his direction. He was already charging at me, and I shot at him, hitting him in the shoulder and the stomach. He slowed, a grunt of pain leaving him. My heart was racing out of control, and I shot again, aiming at his legs. He let out a bellow when I hit his knee again.

“Fuck,” he hissed, nearly face-planting in the grass.

I blew out his other knee to make sure he stayed down before cautiously creeping closer so I could make sure my next shot wouldn’t miss.

“You’ll never leave these woods alive,” he threatened, pain thick in his voice. “One fucking human little girl won’t get far. You’re nothing.”

I pressed the barrel of the gun to his skull, making him freeze.

“I’m enough to kill two of you,” I said in a deadly voice. “I guess that’s what happens when you underestimate humans. Especially onelittle girl.”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond, shooting him in the head. He slumped to the ground, and I hurriedly crouched down and rolled him onto his back. I dropped the gun and wrapped both hands around the stake. Without another thought, I drove the stake into his chest. His body jerked before he went completely still. Blood seeped from the wound, and I stared at him.

My heart was still racing as I leaned closer to the vampire, wanting to make sure he was actually dead. The gun was tight in my grip, and I squinted, waiting for the clouds to break. After a couple of minutes, the moon shone through the clouds, and I searched for the telltale sign. My pulse calmed down while I watched his skin slowly turn gray. He wasn’t getting back up.

I fell back, sucking in large breaths. Fuck, that had been close. I peered around me, not able to see much through the darkness. It wasn’t raining anymore, and I wondered when it had stopped. The wind was still strong, and I slowly stood up and made my way to my discarded backpack. I went still, hearing the familiar sound of moving water.

After slipping the bag back over my shoulders, I followed the noise to find a ditch near the road that was full of fast-moving water. I glanced down, knowing I needed to wash the vampires’ blood off. With a sigh, I tossed my bag back to the ground before stripping off Tim’s hoodie and climbing into the ditch.

“Shit,” I breathed out, my body adjusting to the cold water. The water must empty out somewhere because it was moving too fast for it not to have an outlet. I scrubbed my body with my hands, trying to get all the blood off. Once I was satisfied, I dipped my head under the water in case there was some in my hair.

Goosebumps covered my body as I climbed out of the ditch. I fell to the ground, my muscles exhausted from the fight. I glanced at Tim’s hoodie before grabbing it and throwing it in the water. There was too much blood and too many tears on it to salvage. After squeezing the excess water out of my hair, I closed my eyes for a moment.

I leaned back on my palms, staring at the dark sky as I let my body dry. Before I went any farther, I had to use the lotion to cover my scent. If I ran into any more vampires, I had a better chance if they couldn’t smell me. I could easily act as one of them as long as they didn’t catch the scent of my blood.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay there as my mind wandered over everything that had happened. My heart squeezed when I thought of Warner. I hoped he’d gotten out of the city. My gaze went toward the tall buildings, and I decided I’d stay there for a while to see if Warner found me.

I stood up after a while, giving my shorts some time to dry, and once they were only damp, I grabbed my bag. Taking the lotion out, I carefully unscrewed the cap and set it on the ground. I slathered the lotion everywhere. My arms, legs, and under my clothes. I put an extra layer on my neck. I needed to use it sparingly, but at the same time, I had to be sure I put enough on to completely cover my scent. My hair was still damp and tangled, but I didn’t have a brush, so there wasn’t much I could do about that. I grabbed the spray and squeezed, letting the mist cover my head and hair, hoping it worked as well as the lotion.

Far away voices caught my attention, and I immediately dropped to the ground, panic taking hold. I only had so many wooden bullets before I ran out.

“What the fuck?” The voice came out of the darkness, and I narrowed my eyes, straining to see.

“They’re both dead,” another voice rang out. “PARA?”

“No,” the other answered. “They wouldn’t have left the bodies.”

“We let them go out in the storm.” He sounded nervous. “We weren’t supposed to, and look what happened.”

I was barely breathing. Thank fuck I’d already put the lotion on. I just needed to keep my heart calm and hope like hell they didn’t hear it. Luckily, the rushing water in the ditch would help hide my heartbeat from them. I didn’t move a muscle, only seeing their shadowy forms in the darkness.

“We can fix it before anyone finds out. We’ll drop the bodies in the woods.”

It sounded like there were only two of them, and I frowned in confusion as I listened. They almost sounded…scared. But what did they fear?

“This is on us. It’s our watch. If they find out two were killed because we let them go out—”

“No one will know,” the other snapped harshly. “Come on. Grab the other one. We’ll be back before anyone realizes we’re gone.”

I watched as they picked up the bodies of the vampires I’d killed and kept arguing, but soon their voices faded out as they crossed the road, heading toward the woods. I quickly grabbed my bag and bolted in the opposite direction, toward the city. I planned to be far from here when they came back. Their words had confusion rocking me, but I didn’t have time to think about it now.

I followed a street that led into the city, and once I was between the tall buildings, I slowed down and studied my surroundings. There was an eerie silence that had my neck prickling, and I kept walking until I was a few blocks away from where I’d entered the city. I put my stake back in my boot before opening the door to the closest building. The area was small, with broken furniture scattered around.

I spotted an empty duffel bag on the floor, and I moved toward it. There was a chance I could find supplies here. With a deep breath, I slipped my own backpack off and unzipped it. A lump grew in my throat when I pulled out the hoodie. It was Warner’s. I slipped it on before grabbing the spray bottle and covering my clothes again. The hoodie was nearly as long as Tim’s, the hem going down to my mid-thighs and covering my shorts. Probably a good thing, because I wasn’t sure the blood had washed out of the denim.

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