Page 74 of Bite of Sin

“Holy shit.” A man’s muffled voice came through the door. “Is that Warner Mackley? We’ve been looking for you.”

“Should we bring him back with us?” another voice rang out.

“He has a bounty on his head. Dead or alive.”

My heart sank, and I reached forward and silently cracked open the door. From here, I couldn’t see the bar, but I could see the cage Warner was in with three men surrounding him. They were all wearing tactical gear, but two of them had taken off their helmets. Their necks were wrapped with something to make it harder to get bit. Panic slid through me, my steps heavy as I moved out of the room.

“Kill him,” one of the men ordered. “We don’t need to be dragging him back.”

Warner saw me, but he didn’t say a word as I lifted the gun. I’d been shooting for three years and had gotten amazing at hitting my target, but a human was completely different from practice. Plus, I was sure they were wearing thick vests, so I had to aim for their heads. I crept closer, giving me a better chance at hitting my mark. Sucking in a slow breath, I aimed for the one who had just spoken.

He was about seven feet in front of me, and I stared at the back of his head, putting it in my sights. I squeezed the trigger right when one of the other men turned and saw me. His shout of warning was too late. My bullet hit the guy in the back of the head, and he dropped to the floor. This was the first time I’d ever taken a human life. I wasn’t sure if it was because this was about pure survival or just plain adrenaline, but I didn’t feel a flicker of remorse as I backed away.

“Hey,” the man snarled, whipping out his own gun. “Put it down.”

Warner’s hand shot past the bars, and he grabbed the side of the guy’s head and smashed it against the cage. I aimed and shot at the man in the helmet who was charging at me. The bullet hit him in the upper chest, and it slowed him down, but it didn’t stop him. He lowered his shoulder, as if going to tackle me, and I fell to the floor a second before he reached me. His momentum didn’t allow him to stop in time, and he tripped over me, letting out a grunt when he slammed into the floor.

I jumped to my feet, leaping on top of him before he could get back up. I let my gun fall from my grip, knowing I’d need both hands to do this. He was on his back, and I dodged his first hit while reaching for his belt. I felt the handle of the knife and quickly tugged it from its holder.

I rolled off his stomach before turning and stabbing the blade where he was least protected. When the knife slid into his thigh near his knee, he jerked, screaming loud enough for me to hear through the helmet. I went to stab him again, but he kicked his other leg up, hitting me in the ribs. Pain jolted up my side, and I lost my balance. My palms hit the floor for a second before I scrambled back to my feet. By this time, the man had taken off his helmet. His brown eyes were lit up with rage, and his longer blond hair was a mess from being under the helmet.

Had he not learned anything in training? Never take off the armor that protected him. With a scream, I jumped back on top of him, slicing my knife at his hands when he tried reaching for me. He still had an edge on me with all his tactical gear, but I’d been learning to fight for years. I had a better chance against him than the vampires I’d been surrounded by.

“Not a vampire,” he spat out. “You’re the one on the run with him.”

He reached up, his hand tangling in my hair, and I gritted my teeth when he yanked. This was why I always wore my hair up, but Zan’s bedroom didn’t have anything for me to use to tie it up. I swung my arm, trying to hit his face with the blade, but he yanked me back by the hair before I could hit him. He threw me off him, and my eyes watered from the pain on my scalp as I landed on the wooden floor. I kept a tight hold on the knife as I rolled away even farther before getting back to my feet.

“Fucking bitch,” he snarled. He had gotten up too but was limping from the stab wound. “I’m going to enjoy gutting you.”

He lunged at me, and I shot my foot out, kicking him in the leg where he was bleeding. He crumpled to the floor with a howl of pain, his hands going to his thigh. In three steps, I was in front of him, and I jammed the blade into the side of his throat. He gurgled out breaths, his leg forgotten as I pulled the knife away.

“Look out,” Warner bellowed.

I whipped around to see another man running through the bar from the back area. His helmet was off, and his black hair was buzzed short. He had a gun in his hand. I ducked low, running the other way and scooping my own gun up before diving behind a pool table. I cursed under my breath, knowing this was a horrible spot.

I peeked around the side, and a bullet whizzed past my ear. Falling back, I dropped to my stomach and aimed at the man’s leg from under the table.

“Fuck,” I hissed when my first shot missed. I squeezed the trigger again, and this time, I hit him in the leg. When he fell, I took aim at his head until Warner’s voice shot ice through my veins.

“Three of them,” he screamed. “Behind you.”

Their shadows fell across me, and I rolled onto my back, taking another shot at the first person I saw. My bullet hit a man in the shoulder, and he stumbled back, but two others were on me in a second. I didn’t even get a chance to look at my attackers before a fist cracked against my jaw. Hot pain filled the side of my face, and I blinked, unable to recover before boots kicked me hard enough to break one of my ribs.

I choked out an agonizing breath, curling into a ball when the gun was wrenched from my hand. I screamed, blindly swinging as someone heaved me up by grabbing me under the arms. More hands grabbed my ankles, picking me up off the floor as I struggled against them.

“Get off,” I shrieked, twisting and writhing as I was carried away from the pool table.

My legs were suddenly free, and a second later, I was flung into something hard. The back of my head spasmed with pain as I slumped to the floor. The world was spinning, the pain making me nauseous as I tried getting my bearings.

“Leave her the fuck alone,” Warner snarled from behind me, making me realize I’d been thrown against his cage.

Before I could move, someone stepped over me, straddling my legs as he stood above me. I steeled myself, raising my chin to meet his gaze. My head was pounding, my ribs screaming with agony, but I bit my tongue, refusing to show them any of that. It was the man whose leg I’d shot from under the pool table. His wound was bleeding, but I must not have hit a vital spot, seeing as he was still standing. He had a gun in his hand, and he stared down at me with a vile smirk on his face. Three other men who were still wearing their helmets stood behind him.

The guy crouched down, putting his gun to my forehead when I tried moving. His weight fell on my legs as I sat there, and my heart thundered in my chest when I met his gaze. His brown eyes gleamed with cruelness as he studied me.

“Kali, I’m guessing,” he murmured. “We’ve been searching for both of you all over these damn woods this week.”

“She didn’t do anything,” Warner hissed from behind me. “She wasn’t there. It was all me and my sister.”

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