“Do you think we’ll have any of this left tomorrow?” Ari swung the grocery bag right before a speeding car came screeching to a halt. She yelped and fell backward, but I didn’t move.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I was glaring at the driver, whose bumper had nearly reached our legs. They’d come careening around the corner like a maniac.
“Emy, c’mon. Let’s just—”
A blaring horn sounded over Ari’s sentence. The driver laid it on for several seconds while the car slowly rolled forward. This time it was inches from hitting my thigh.
“You have a stop sign, bitch!” I kicked the closest tire on pure impulse, then kicked it again when the driver’s door opened.“I swear, nobody in this town knows how to drive!” I was ready to go off until I saw how physically intimidating this woman was.“Oh, shit.”
I could probably handle her, but I wasn’t in the mood today. Ari grabbed my hand and we took off running, cackling the entire way. The woman’s stream of profanity was left behind as we rounded a corner and darted into the mouth of an alley.
“Did you see that lady’s muscles?” Ari gasped, barely able to speak.
“How could I not?” I grasped my side in an attempt to control my breathing. They were the most impressive muscles I’d ever seen. “You still have the ice cream and brownie mix, right?”
“Is that all you care about?” She laughed and held the bag up. “Yes, I have them.”
“Perfect.”
“Shut up.” Shegrabbedmy arm and ducked, yanking me down.
“Is it the angry lady?” I peered out as a black car cruised by. Ari nodded and fell into another fit of giggles.“I must’ve really pissed her off.”
“You called her a bitch and kicked her tire, dipshit. Of course she’s pissed.” We peeked out once the car had passed. “I think it’s safe to leave now.” Ari made to exit the alley, but I placed a hand on her arm.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?” she asked. I gestured further down. There it was again: a slight whimper, followed by heavy breathing. We jumped at the sound of something hitting the ground.“We should go.” She tugged my arm but I calmly resisted.
“What if someone needs help? We should go check.”
“No, we should call the police.Emery!” she whispered my name as I very carefully, very quietly, crept down the alley toward the noise.
“You don’t have to come. I’ll be back.”
“Of course I have tocome. I’m not gonna leave you.” She caught up and took my hand.“I’m scared.”
“Don’t be. What if someone had a heart attack or something? I’m just being a good person.” I tripped over something and glanced down beforestaggering back.
“What?” Ari asked.
I shakily pointed to the ground. She shrieked and crashed into me, trying to get away from the body. My eyes were on the living body past the dead one. He stood further down the alley, shirt smeared with blood, and somehow hadn’t noticed us yet. He was casually observing the limp, disembodied hand that lay near his feet. I bit back a scream when his clouded grey eyes looked up and straight at me. Ari fell forward and I instinctively caught her—she was out cold.
“Ari?” I shook her, holding up her entire body weight.“Really, Ari? Really, you’re gonna pass outnow? We’re about to die and you pass out like that! What’s wrong with you? Aurelia!” I was shouting hysterically and the man was laughing.
“I wouldn’t say you’re about to die.” He was suddenly in my face—his speed as unnatural as Dennis. I screamed and dropped Ari. He caught her with one hand, then dumped her aside.“I haven’t decided if I’m gonna kill you yet.”
“Get off!” I kicked out as he pushed me against a wall. He seized my ankle with such force there was a sickening snap. I cried out as an excruciating pain shot up my leg. My ankle convulsed while he clenched tighter.
“You sound nice when you do that.” He nuzzled my neck, brushing his nose against my hair. “Stay still or this could get messy.”
Sharp teeth grazed my skin but before they could break flesh, he was ripped away. He flew across the alley and slammed into a wall—Dennisheld him against the bricks, fingers constricting his neck.
“You know she’s bound, Kiro,” Dennis seethed. The other vampire struggled before managing to break free.
“Oh, hey D,” Kiro greeted him like they were old friends.“Is she your bind?”
“Yes, she’s my bind,” Dennis snapped.“And that girl is Sean’s.”
