I tore away my mask. “Thisismy business. Keystone business.”
When he recognized me, he slowly turned his gaze toward Blue and realized this was a setup. In a swift movement, he snatched her wig, taking the cap with it and releasing her brown hair. The anger was never more palpable on his face than in that moment when the hunted became the prey.
Christian swiftly circled Glass so we had him surrounded. “Looks like you picked the wrong girl to have a fairy tale with, Detective.”
Maybe we were expecting Glass to make a grand statement, or perhaps a great escape, but what happened next shocked everyone.
Including me.
Chapter 28
Detective Glass explodedinto action and wrapped his arms around me like a vise. His thick canines—all four—pierced my neck with one savage bite.
My body stilled the way prey does when caught by a predator. Just as suddenly as the attack occurred, he let go and vanished.
Stunned, I crumpled to the ground, unused energy buzzing at my fingertips. Christian slid onto his knees beside me.
“Go after him,” I croaked, feeling the slow caress of my warm blood dripping down my neck. Had he torn my throat out?
Christian’s eyes widened when he looked at my neck. “Viktor!”
“I’ll follow Glass,” Blue said, shifting into her falcon and flying away. Instead of leaving behind a glass slipper like Cinderella, she left behind a pile of clothes.
“Jaysus,” Christian whispered, cradling my head. Then he did something that startled me more than Glass’s attack. He latched his mouth around my neck and began to drink.
“This isn’t a banquet!” I protested, trying to shove him away.
He spat in the grass. “I’m drawing out the venom. You’ll die.”
I pushed myself up on my elbows and touched my neck. “Quit trying to slurp on innocent victims while the killer is getting away.”
He rose to his feet, staring at me in disbelief. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened to a Mage when bitten by a Chitah, but I supposed by the confusion stamped on his face that he was expecting to see me writhing in pain or frothing at the mouth.
“Chitah venom doesn’t have an effect on me.”
He pointed his finger at my nose. “We’ll talk about this later.”
I sprang to my feet and flashed in the direction Glass had gone. My phone suddenly vibrated in the pocket of my skirt. “Of all times,” I muttered, slowing my pace.
Christian’s message alerted me to head east. He could hear Blue’s falcon crying in that direction. I reached a dark patch of woods, which allowed Christian to shadow walk and catch up with me.
Out of breath, I stopped and looked all around.
Christian cocked his head to the side. “He stopped running.”
I followed him to a tree line that surrounded an open meadow. We treaded quietly, but since I was barefoot, the soles of my feet were getting pricked and prodded.
A falcon cried from the treetops.
My pulse raced, each heartbeat forcing more blood to trickle from the puncture holes on my neck. I cupped my hand over the wound while Christian glided through the shadows like a phantom.
When I focused on the clearing, Christian walked steadily toward Glass. Moonlight lit up the glade like an arena—its two champions in the center, facing each other like warriors. Glass wielded a big stick, and that was all the weapon he needed against a Vampire. Chitahs were fast, and one strike could render Christian paralyzed.
Glass thrust his arm, driving the stick at Christian’s chest.
Christian moved fast and snapped the wood in two. “You repugnant bastard. Murdering all those women and then having the audacity to pin it on a Vampire. Men who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. What the feck is wrong with you?”
“His woman left him for a Vamp,” I shouted, strolling into the open. “Between that and his mother—”
