Lavos Read online

  Lavos gripped Mitch’s shoulder and dug those claws into his skin.

  Mitch screamed. Lavos jerked his hand back, wiping his bloodied claws on the back of the soldier’s shirt. He leaned down a little but spoke loud enough for her to hear.

  “Every time you’re hurt, your body heals too fast. That’s the difference between a Vampire and a soldier. Your system is feeding off itself to repair any injures. It makes you go insane faster. Between the bullets she put in you and what I’ve done to you so far, you’ll be lucky to remember who you are by tomorrow night. Am I clear? I could keep going until you totally lose the ability to think anything at all, and then I’ll remove your head. You won’t come back from that.”

  Mitch looked afraid. “None of that is true.”

  “Oh, it is.” Kar nodded. “Have you noticed those tiny veins across your skin and the blood in your eyes? Vampires don’t have those. You’re like a hyped-up version of them, but you weren’t meant to survive as long.”

  “Vampires fully heal from injuries but they do it more slowly,” Lavos explained. “You recover too fast to mend properly, causing a permanent breakdown of your body in the process. Your mind goes first.”

  Mitch moaned. “Why would he do this to me?”

  “Because Vampires are assholes.” Lavos jerked Mitch to his feet. “Take us to where this other group is or I’ll have no reason to keep you alive. Don’t you want me to go after the bastard who turned you? That means you need to remain sane long enough to tell me everything you know about this asshole, right after you take me to this camp.”

  “North.” Mitch raised a hand, pointing toward a hill. “Right on the other side of that, next to the river. It’s probably a mile away.”

  “Will the blond one you turned be there?”

  “Probably. We’ve taken out everything else in this area. He’s got to be hungry.”

  “Everyone,” Lavos corrected. “They were living beings.”

  “They were food,” Mitch spat.

  “What an idiot,” Kar muttered. “Shut up and walk, Mitch. You don’t want to piss off my friend. He likes humans.” He flashed a look at Jadee. “Obviously.”

  Jadee hoped that was true. Her situation had become dire but it could still get worse. It was possible Lavos had lied to her. She wanted to survive until dawn and make it home at some point. That meant she needed him to keep his word. The guns with ammo still strapped to her didn’t make her feel safe.

  “Let’s go,” Lavos said. He pushed Mitch forward.

  Jadee wished for a flashlight but her eyes adjusted enough that she felt secure about not walking into a tree. The moon was out enough to show shapes. It also helped that she followed behind Lavos. His friend stayed at her back but she refused to glance over her shoulder. It took a bit for her to relax enough to stop expecting him to do something bad…like stab her in the back with his claws.

  They reached the top of the hill and she made out a dark shape that looked like a river flowing into a valley. Kar stepped to her side and pointed. “I see the trailer.”

  She followed the direction of his finger, squinting a little. It was the black shape of a box a few hundred yards from the water. “I see it too.”

  “Take hold of this one,” Lavos ordered. “I’ll help her. The hillside looks steep.”

  “I can carry her down,” Kar offered.

  Jadee jerked away from him, not willing to let him touch her. Lavos made an aggravated sound.

  “I said take hold of this one, Kar. Now. Keep a firm grip on him. He’s stupid and keeps trying to jerk away from me. He obviously hasn’t figured out that it would be easy for me to chase him down.”

  Kar moved away from her, toward the other men. He grabbed Mitch by the back of his neck and the stockier shape of Lavos pulled away, advancing on her. He paused just feet away.

  “I don’t want you to fall or trip.” Lavos spoke softly. “I’m guessing your vision isn’t very good right now. Mine is excellent. There’s lots of loose rocks and vegetation to trip over going down this hill. Will you allow me to get you down safely?”

  “What do you have in mind?” She was still leery but taking a header down the hill didn’t sound appealing.

  “I’ll carry you.”

  It almost made her laugh but she had a feeling he was serious. “I think I’m a little big for that.”

  “No you aren’t.”

  “Take my hand and tell me if you see a tripping hazard.”

  “That’s going to be too slow.” He stepped closer. “Let me carry you in front. Wrap around me. I can walk easily that way if you just tuck your face against my neck so I can see.”

  To Jadee, that seemed too intimate.

  “Can we get a move on?” Kar sounded irritated. “Decide on something. I’d like to get this over with before someone else dies.”

  He made a good point. Mark, Peggy, and Brent needed help. There was still one of those things running around. She stepped closer to Lavos. “Are you sure I’m not too heavy?”

  Kar snorted. “He’s not human, sweetheart. He could toss you about twenty feet without breaking a sweat or pulling a muscle. Carrying you down a hill is nothing.”

  “Enough,” Lavos grumbled. “Don’t scare her, Kar.” He reached out and touched her arm.

  She startled and he pulled his hand away.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Jadee. I am a man of honor.”

  Is he a man? Are Werewolves human? At least the blood on him will be dried by now, I hope. But does it matter?

  Nope.

  She reached up and carefully placed her hands on his shoulders. They were wide and solidly packed with muscle. He was also like a furnace, putting off a lot of heat. She cleared her throat, nervous. “Okay.”

  He gripped her hips and lifted. She felt incredibly awkward as she spread her legs and her chest hit his. She did as he’d asked her to do, wrapping her thighs around his waist. He was so warm and firm. Big too. He released her hip to wrap an arm around her middle and adjusted her a little higher. There was no denying his strength.

  “Tuck your head,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

  She turned her head and tossed her hair so it wasn’t in his face as she pressed closer, until her nose touched his warm throat. She hated that she noticed the soft traces of his cologne. It wasn’t one she identified but he smelled good. He shifted his other hand and braced his forearm under her ass. Jadee clenched her teeth, not protesting.

  He started to walk and it rubbed their bodies together. She closed her eyes and hoped he could see as well as he’d implied. To fall and have him land on top of her would suck. He was a large man and everything about him seemed hard. She didn’t feel any flab on him—and she would know, being this close.

  “Can I take a picture of you with her? I doubt anyone will believe me when I tell them about this.” Kar laughed.

  “Shut up,” Lavos ordered. “Keep your phone in your pocket and don’t let go of that asshole.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “Stop giving her a bad impression of us.” Lavos gave her a gentle squeeze around her middle. “We really are law enforcement. It’s just that we joke around to handle the stress.”

  “It’s okay.” She understood.

  “Good.”

  Rocks slid, the sound of them falling a bit scary. Jadee wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. She didn’t want to choke him but the sound of them smashing into other rocks far below frightened her. To die from falling would be a horrible way to go, but better than having her throat torn out by Mitch. She needed a distraction.

  “Why does your friend want to take a picture?”

  Kar answered first. “Lavos holding a human in his arms is priceless. I’d win so many bets.” He laughed. “He was always a little too understanding of his brother and Kira.”

  “Who’s Kira?” she asked, curious.

  Lavos sighed. “Enough. Hold on. I need my arms.”

  He reached up for something and his entir