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  The fireplace was across the room, and I mean what’s up with that anyway? Only a crazy person would have a fireplace in Miami. We have about one cold day a year, or none. Natasha leapt up into the air, propelling herself at me. I thought she might at least pretend not to be working with the demons, but apparently, she decided killing me was her best option.

  I jumped up as well, my reflexes faster than hers, despite the centuries she had on me. When I was close enough, I kicked my leg out, landing a hit right where her knee bent. I hoped to break her leg. If I didn’t have the means to kill her, then at the very least, I wanted to immobilize her. She called out and collapsed on the floor, only to get right back up again. Apparently, Natasha could jump around just fine on one leg.

  This time, I ran at her full force, preempting her strike. I collided into her and rammed her directly into the staircase. The wood from the structure crumbled all around her just as I managed to get myself out. I jumped straight up and grabbed the veranda on the second floor. I pulled myself up and saw Thomas and Jeremiah struggling with three demons. I kicked one of their legs out from under its body and stomped the heel from one of my pumps into their neck. Yuck! It was gross pulling the heel back out. There were gurgling noises involved and I tried not to gag. I knew Thomas could handle the other two demons, even with Jeremiah’s weakened condition. I went in search of Benjamin.

  I found him down the hallway in what was the master bedroom. Natasha would be up here any second so I knew we had to act fast and get us all the hell out of there. Benjamin and Duncan were exchanging hard blows, and they were pretty well matched, though Benjamin had the upper hand. They were like a blur as they tumbled throughout the room, breaking everything in sight. I wasn’t sure how to get involved in the brawl and help without drawing Benjamin’s attention away.

  Natasha darted into the room with her leg healed already. She had a murderous look on her face and her usually perfect hair was standing up like the bride of Frankenstein. She aimed for me and Benjamin took his attention away from Duncan to stop Natasha from going after me. Ugh, I can handle myself!

  With Benjamin’s attention off Duncan, he saw his chance. Between Duncan and Natasha, they could definitely get Benjamin. I quickly broke off one of the four posters from the bed and jammed it through Duncan’s chest—straight through the heart. Duncan fell to his knees and immediately started disintegrating into a bloody mess.

  The fight between Benjamin and Natasha stopped immediately.

  “You bitch!” she screamed, rushing to the spot where Duncan used to be.

  “Thomas!” Benjamin bellowed before swooping me up in his arms and crashing us through the second floor window. I felt glass cutting me across my forearms and legs. We landed beside the pool and took off running, but Benjamin didn’t ease his grip on my arm. I looked back for a second and saw that Thomas was right behind us with Jeremiah in his arms.

  We reached the cars and Benjamin threw me in the passenger seat. “Can you drive?” he asked Thomas.

  Thomas nodded and I could see through the side view mirror that Jeremiah was standing up on his own. He got out okay. “We can’t go to our houses,” Thomas said. “And we can’t just walk into a hotel looking like this.”

  “We can probably go to Laura’s,” I said from the car.

  Benjamin shook his head.

  “Where else then?” I asked. There was no other place to go where Natasha couldn’t find us. And dawn would be coming soon. I gave Thomas the address and he followed us in his SUV. Benjamin got in the Jaguar and sped away just as I heard police sirens in the distance. I guess the fight was loud enough for the neighbors to complain.

  I took Benjamin’s phone from the glove compartment and called Laura.

  “S’late,” she said, her voice raspy.

  “I know and I’m sorry. Do you think a few of us can crash there for the day? We’re kind of in a bind, but you can totally say no, and I won’t be upset.”

  “No, s’okay.”

  “We look pretty banged up so we’ll come up the service elevator. Probably be there in an hour.”

  “S’fine, I’ll be more awake by then. Promise.”

  “Thanks sweetie, I owe you one!”

  “Yes, you do,” she said, ending the call.

  We were already on the expressway, and at the speed Benjamin was driving, I wondered if maybe we’d make it downtown in less than an hour. Which would be quite the feat, but it’s not like we had time to waste. The sun waits for no one. Benjamin was driving with one hand while the other was entwined with mine.

  “So,” I said, with nervous laughter. “That didn’t exactly go as I thought it would.”

  Silence.

  “I’m glad Jeremiah made it out okay, and now we know who was supplying the demons with vampire blood. I knew there was something going on with Natasha. I never would have guessed she was working with demons, though.”

  Benjamin’s grip tightened around my hand. “They’re going to come after you now.”

  “Who is going to come after me?”

  “Everyone. Killing a fellow vampire is a crime.”

  “They were going to kill you!” I said, my voice going up an octave.

  “You saved me from death,” he said.

  “Super-death, ‘cause you know, you’re already kind of dead.”

  “Is super-death a technical term?”

  “Maybe it is.”

  “I’m serious, Olivia. What you did in there could get you killed.”

  “What was I supposed to do? Just let them destroy you?”

  “I would have rather that outcome than putting you in more danger than you’re already in.”

  “Not an option,” I said, feeling like Benjamin was acting terribly ungrateful.

  “And now we’re getting Laura involved. A human.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Geesh, okay, Benjamin. Please, tell me all the ways I’ve fucked up this evening!”

  The tires to the car squealed as Benjamin pulled off to the side of the road, coming to an abrupt stop. The seatbelt strap dug into my chest as I snapped back into the seat.

  He threw the car in park and leaned over the center console, unbuckling my seatbelt. Grabbing the back of my neck with one hand, he brought me toward him and kissed me fiercely. He parted my lips and stuck his tongue down my throat as far as he could manage. My fangs descended involuntarily and I nicked his tongue. As a result, a small drop of blood swirled around my mouth, driving me crazy.

  Moving as quickly as a snake strikes, I maneuvered myself on top of Benjamin, straddling him. Not an easy thing to do in the Jaguar. I bit into his neck, hearing the sickening sound of fangs piercing his perfect skin. As I drank, Benjamin ran his fingers through my hair, pulling the mess away from my face. I unbuttoned his jacket and unlatched the buckle to his belt. Then I undid his pants in one swift movement. I was never happier to be wearing a skirt!

  I was never a fan of sex in public or sex out in the open, for that matter, but at the moment, I didn’t even care that we were parked on the side of the highway. The windows were tinted and if any cop stopped by to investigate, I’d just hypnotize him anyway. I thought that bitch vampire was going to kill Benjamin and I was so pumped from the fight and his blood, that I needed him inside me.

  I retracted my fangs and stared into his blue eyes as I removed his hard, enormous length from his pants.

  “I’ll kill them all if I have to,” he said. “I won’t let anyone touch you.”

  I pulled my panties to the side and took him all the way inside of me with one quick thrust.

  “You are mine,” he said. “Say it.”

  “I am yours!” I said, arching my back, the steering wheel digging into my flesh. I was pretty sure that’s as close to an, “I love you,” as I was going to get from the thousand-year-old vampire.

  I moaned, full of ecstasy. “Don’t you want to feed?” I asked.

  “No,” he said. “I want to watch you.”

  His hands
were firmly placed on either side of my waist as my hips moved in circles above him. My release came first and he met my thrusts with vigor until I felt his body shudder inside me.

  I sat back in my seat, aware that a demon and vampire were probably a lot closer to my human best friend’s apartment than I was. It had been selfish of me to indulge myself, but I’d gotten wrapped up in the heat of the moment.

  Fifteen

  Thomas was worse off than Jeremiah. His body wasn’t healing quickly because he’d lost a lot of blood and needed replenishing. Laura was awake and dressed, even though it was close to five in the morning.

  “Laura,” I said, after she closed the front door behind all of us. “You kind of met Thomas the other night, and this is our friend, Jeremiah.”

  “I’m sorry that we keep meeting under these inopportune circumstances,” Benjamin said.

  Laura shrugged, turning her attention to me. “Are you okay? You look a mess!”

  “Actually, yes. I’m fine,” I said, eyeing Benjamin. “One of us will have to go out with Thomas so he can feed before dawn breaks.”

  “I’ll go,” Benjamin said, though I could tell he was reluctant to leave me alone.

  I didn’t want to be apart from him either. Not after I’d almost lost him. “I’ll go with you. Jeremiah can rest here.”

  “They might come after you,” Benjamin said.

  “They might come after you, too,” I countered.

  “Who might go after Olivia?” Thomas asked, straining against the pain of a few cracked ribs, I imagined.

  “She killed Duncan,” Benjamin said.

  Thomas froze for a beat, letting the information soak in. “They’ll come after you both. I’ll go out on my own,” he decided.

  “No.”

  “You can’t.”

  “Can I just give him some of my blood?” Laura asked.

  “Absolutely not!” I said, looking at Benjamin. I was waiting for his I-told-you-so speech on how I shouldn’t have gotten Laura involved. Well, you know what? He was right. This was a terrible idea.

  But Benjamin didn’t do anything except look pensive.

  “Right, Ben? Definitely not?”

  “If she is willing, Olivia. It would be safest.”

  I didn’t like that one bit because he was obviously placing my welfare over Laura’s; and in my book, that was unacceptable. I pulled Benjamin by his suit jacket to the hallway to argue with him when I heard Laura whimpering from the kitchen.

  I sprinted inside to find Laura sitting on the kitchen countertop with her arm held out while Thomas sucked the blood from her wrist.

  “Seriously?” I yelled. “Behind my back?”

  “He’s almost done,” Jeremiah said from the living room.

  “That’s enough out of you!” I said, storming into the kitchen.

  Thomas was already standing up straighter and looking pain-free. Laura was biting her lip and a small moan escaped her lips. “Alright, alright,” I said. “You’re all better now.”

  Thomas retracted his fangs and grabbed a sheet of paper towel, which he wrapped around Laura’s wrist. “Thank you,” he said, helping her down from the countertop.

  “Oh, man,” she said, walking past me. “That does feel good! I am a little woozy though.”

  I crossed the room to the fridge and removed the container of orange juice. “Here, take this with you to bed and do not open the bathroom doors tomorrow. Pee your pants if you have to. You will kill us if we’re exposed to the sunlight.”

  “I got it. Geesh, when did you get so uptight?” she said, opening the door to her bedroom.

  “Good night!” I said, as she slipped into her room. I turned to Thomas. “Last time that happens. You understand?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t kill me!” he said, pretending to back away from me.

  “Funny,” I said, my voice devoid of humor.

  “Thomas, there’s a bathroom through there that doesn’t have windows.”

  He nodded and left.

  I turned to the demon. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Me too. Thank you, and I’m sorry you’re in a bit of trouble as a result of my rescue.”

  “Well, the vampires shouldn’t be aiding the demon invasion anyway, so I don’t feel bad.”

  “They were hiding it well from me,” he said. “They’ve been letting me roam free, knowing that eventually, I might lead them to Thana. They know I’ve been helping you. They’ve been following you three as well.”

  “Jer, I think I found her. We leave tomorrow evening.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I’m not going to tell you so you can go running off without us and get yourself killed. We’re in this together, now, rest.”

  “Alright,” he said, visibly unhappy with the situation.

  “I’m exhausted.” I hooked my arm through Benjamin’s and led him to the other bathroom with me. We crawled into the bathtub together with all of our clothes on and waited for dawn to come.

  “We’re not taking Laura with us tomorrow,” I said, enjoying the feel of Benjamin’s arms around me. “I don’t care what she says or if she gets upset. I don’t want anything to happen to her. If I have a big target on my back, that means that she’s in danger as well.”

  “She’s going to be mad.” Thomas drove us on the Florida Turnpike South. There was no way we were all going to fit comfortably in Benjamin’s Jaguar, or in my coupe, so we took his SUV. Jeremiah sat upfront with Thomas and I was in the back with Benjamin.

  “You think I don’t know that?” I snapped back at him.

  “Leaving a note. That’s harsh.”

  “Would you stop already? I don’t feel bad about it. Laura was getting too involved.”

  “Yeah, but sneaking out like that?”

  I threw my phone at his head because I knew it wouldn’t do any real damage. It bounced off his temple and Jeremiah caught it, handing it back to me.

  “Thanks,” I said, sulking in the back seat. When we woke up from the day’s sleep, Laura was too eager to go on this mission with us and her eyes were all googley over Thomas. I didn’t like it one bit. I never should have put her in the position where she felt it was okay to just go offering her blood to the first vampire she saw. The note read: I’m sorry Laura, but we left without you. It’s for your safety. I’m in a lot of trouble now with every being imaginable and I don’t want you getting into the middle of it. If anything happened to you—I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. Please consider going to stay with your parents for while. I love you. Call you soon, Liv.

  I asked her to go out and get us some flashlights and batteries, and while she was gone, I wrote the note and we all left. She hadn’t even called to bitch at me yet, so she must have been livid.

  Oh well, it was for her own welfare and sometimes we have to make hard decisions in life.

  “Key Largo?” Jeremiah asked for about the millionth time this evening.

  “I tried to find a picture of her online, but she must be somewhat of a private person because I couldn’t find anything.” I was hoping to show Jeremiah a photo so that we’d know if it was she before embarking on this trip. I was going to feel silly if we got there and it ended up being a dead end.

  “This woman told me that this Key Largo lady communicates with ghosts and has purple eyes. She said that she’s the only person she knows that is the real deal. I mean, how much of a coincidence would it be if it weren’t her? No—I have a good feeling about this. We’re going to find the demon you are looking for,” I said.

  It only took an hour to get to Key Largo. The plan was to lay low until the next day. While we slept, Jeremiah would go find the ghost whisperer, as I liked to call her, and confirm. He wasn’t supposed to make contact with her, though. We were specific about that detail. He would spot her, confirm, and then we’d meet back in the evening, once we’d woken up for the night.

  Benjamin thought it would be better if I approached her since I was a woman and seemingly less t
hreatening.

  “I’d say she’s pretty threatening,” Thomas said, laughing. “She just killed one of the oldest vampires alive.”

  “I had to—he was going to kill Benjamin.”

  “I know that,” Thomas said. “I’m just saying. You can be scary too.”

  “I’m not scary,” I whined. “And now I’m vampire enemy number one. How bad is my situation, anyway?

  “Pretty bad,” said Thomas. “How did you kill him, again?”

  “I staked him through the heart with a bed post.”

  “Ouch!”

  “It’s nothing,” said Benjamin.

  “That bad, huh?” said Jeremiah.

  I sighed out of habit. “But can’t we just explain to the others what happened?”

  “They won’t believe you.” Thomas slowed the car down as we arrived in Key Largo. We had to find a decent hotel. I told them we might as well just stay at the Marriott.

  I grabbed Benjamin’s hand and squeezed. “But they’ll believe Benjamin.”

  “They’ll just point out that he’s in love with you—that his judgment has been compromised.”

  Hmmm, so Thomas thought Benjamin was in love with me. If I weren’t half-dead, I might have blushed. “But, Natasha is working with the demons.”

  “She’ll deny it.”

  “This blows!”

  Thomas veered off the road and pulled into the Marriott hotel parking lot. “Yes, it does.”

  We paid for a suite with adjoining rooms. Benjamin and Thomas left to go find heavy tarps and a whole lot of duct tape to sun proof our rooms. Did I really need that much protection? After drinking Benjamin’s blood the night before, I woke up a good half hour before the sun rose. I walked out of the bathroom and stood in the living room with Jeremiah for about ten minutes before I got hot and pink. I was starting to burn from the mild exposure. I went back to the bathroom and healed within minutes, all before Benjamin awoke. I hadn’t told him yet, though, because Thomas was always around.