‘Never leave your weapon.’

Ben pulled the knife out and kicked the man to the side. The first man he had stabbed lay cursing on the ground. The man who had been kicking Dez and the baby said nothing. A growing pool of blood leaked out of him and into the cobblestones that paved the street. The rain fell harder, and a rivulet of blood joined the small stream that flowed down the middle of the alley. Ben blinked again and tucked the knife into his waistband before he knelt and picked up the wounded woman.

Dez was moaning and her face was bleeding.

“The baby,” she mumbled. “He kicked the baby.”

“Hang on. I’m going to get us out of here.”

Ben had no idea how he carried her. He didn’t remember leaving the dead-end street or which direction he turned. He paid no attention to the pain in his knee or the strain in his arms. But he felt the warm blood soak his arm when Dez began bleeding between her legs, and he felt the warm tears that fell from her bruised face to stain his shirt.

The moment he came within sight of the train station, he started yelling at the dark blue coats of the police who stood at attention near the doors.

“Help her! She needs a hospital! She’s pregnant and she’s bleeding!” He wasn’t sure whether he was speaking English or Italian, but he could hear the sharp cries of the men who rushed toward them. They grabbed Dez from his arms and laid her gently on the ground. A radio began to squawk in the background as he knelt beside her.

“Hold on, Dez. It’s gonna be okay.”

She looked up at Ben, holding her stomach as tears fell from eyes that were quickly turning black from the bruising. “The baby…”

“They’re calling for an ambulance right now, okay?” His hand stroked her cheek, and he cringed when he saw the smear of blood his fingers left.

“Call Matt. You need to call Matt right now.”

He nodded and tried to reach for her fingers, but rough hands pulled him away.

“Ben?” Dez looked around in alarm, but Ben could see the paramedics running toward her as the police began shouting and searching his pockets.

“It’s okay, Dez. It’s gonna be okay. Just give the doctors Matt’s number, okay?”

“What’s going on?” She looked around and tried to grab the coat of one of the police who hovered over her. “Stop them! He’s the one who saved me. He kept  the men—”

“Dez!” She looked to Ben and he gave a sharp shake of his head. “Don’t worry about me. Just call Matt!”

Tears continued to streak down her face, but she nodded. Ben could see the gentle hands of the paramedics lifting her up as they secured his wrists behind his back and shoved him into the small police car.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rome, Italy

October 2012

“And your friend, she is stable?” Beatrice could tell that Emil was trying to be soothing over the phone. She could also tell he was angry.

Not as angry as Beatrice.

She spoke around fully elongated fangs. “She appears to be. She is in the hospital right now. Her husband called just a few minutes ago. The bleeding has stopped and they have her under observation.”

“That is welcome news.”

She paced the library, barking at the speakerphone and willing the sun to set faster. “She’s pregnant, Emil. She’s pregnant, and they attacked her. Her husband said that they aimed kicks at her stomach. There was—” She choked on her own rage. “‘Extensive bruising.’”

There was a grim silence. “But the baby is fine?”

“They’re monitoring both of them.”

She could hear him take a breath. “Beatrice, I am glad that your friend is being cared for. If you have any concerns about human doctors or the hospital, you need only call my people. It pains me that she was not able to walk the streets of my city in safety. I hope you know… this will be dealt with, I assure you.”

She picked up a vase and threw it into the fireplace, reveling in the crash. “You bet your ass it’s going to be dealt with, Emil!”

There was a long pause over the line before he spoke in a cool voice. “I’m going to ask something of you, and you’re not going to like it.”

Her fangs cut her lower lip. “What?”

“I want you to stay away from the castle tonight.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“I know what you are feeling now. I know someone has attacked a valued member of your household, but I am asking you to stay away.” Beatrice tried to quell the roaring in her ears so she could listen to Emil’s crisp voice. “I can turn this against her, Beatrice. Donatella is furious. I am in shock that she would go to this extreme. This was very foolish of Livia, and I can use this to paint her in a very bad light, but not if the court is focused on your reaction.”

“I want that bitch to die!” Beatrice screamed across the room. “I will kill her for this!”

Emil’s voice was suddenly hard and sharp. “And that would be very foolish. You know this.”

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself and focus on more than her own rage.

Matt had been frantic, but Angela had called from the hospital to let her know that Dez was awake and talking. She had told the police the details of the attack, which brought Beatrice back to the reason she had called Emil in the first place. He was still speaking.

“Stay in the city tonight. Take care of your friend. Let me bring this in front of the court without the distraction of your rivalry with Livia. The vampires of Rome know better than to attack tourists. It is bad for everyone and risks exposing us all.”