Zia didn’t think. She didn’t wait to see if Harlan had been shot, or ifshehad. Taking advantage of that tiny opening, she pulled her hand away from her wound, wrenched herself around in Julius’s lap, and shoved her cupped palm against his mouth.
He made an incoherent, outraged sound just as Harlan forced his hand back against the cushioned booth. Magic hummed in the air. The cuff locked in place. There was a wet crack as Harlan tore the gun from Julius’s hand — breaking bones in the process.
The older vampire’s head thrashed, fighting to tear his mouth away from her hand. Julius gasped and then gurgled as her blood was forced into his mouth. When he tried to spit it out, Harlan’s big, scarred hand covered hers. A rough command filled the suddenly too-quiet room. “Pinch his nose.”
There was a brief, hysterical moment where she wanted to ask whyhedidn’t just do it. She wasn’t built for this sort of thing, after all. But he was busy holding onto Julius’s other hand, she realized, and it was not the time to take umbrage with his commands.
Adrenaline bubbled in her veins as she followed his instructions. Using her forefinger and thumb, she cut off Julius’s air. Within a handful of seconds he was struggling in earnest, attempting to dislodge them so he wouldn’t be forced to swallow her poisoned blood.
Zia had never even thought of what it might be like to watch a man die, but when the air loss became too much, she couldn’t say she was sorry to see Julius choke on her blood.
Once it was clear it wouldn’t be coming up again, Harlan snapped the other cuff on his wrist and fixed it to the table, forcing his former master into an awkward spread-armed pose. That done, he hooked his arm around Zia’s waist and hauled her away. They were halfway across the room before Julius began to convulse.
Oh, gods.Zia felt her gorge rise as she watched him jerk his splayed arms, desperately trying to free himself as pink-tinged foam began to leak from his lips. His eyes were wild as they rolled backward, almost animalistic in their desperation. Gone was the sophisticated man with the sugary charm and vacant gaze.
This creature was nothing but flailing, gurgling meat.
When the blood vessels began to pop in the whites of his eyes, Zia felt Harlan’s hand on the side of her head. She let him turn her face into his chest as he backed them up. His spine hit the wall by the door with a dull thud.
Across the room, the sounds of agony got louder, more disgusting.
Zia tried to block them out. Instead, she retreated to the soft shadows in her mind, where warmth and safety waited. She buried her nose in the collar of his shirt and breathed in his scent, felt his heartbeat against her chest, and thanked every god in the pantheon that her vampire washers.
She didn’t know how long it took Julius to die. It felt like hours, but it could have been less than ten minutes. Whatever the case, Harlan held her tightly until his last breath. She could feel the warm muzzle of the bolt gun against her hip, gripped in his tense hand, and the way his heartbeat thundered until, at last, it calmed.
“He’s dead.”
Zia was shaking too badly to do more than nod.
Soft fingers slid under her chin, gently coaxing her to tilt her face up. Her vampire stared down at her with an agonized expression. “My love,” he whispered, voice breaking, “I am so sorry.”
Tears spilled over. “I shouldn’t have l-left the room,” she blubbered, clutching at his bloody shirt with all her strength. “I’m the one who— it was my fault!”
“It’snotyour fault.” His voice was whip-sharp. “He was waiting for any opening, Zia. If we didn’t give him one, he would have made his own. I should have done more, but even then…” He shook his head. His expression was slack with disbelief. “I didn’t realize how desperate he was. We were his only shot at getting his power back. Even if I’d done everything right, he still would have found a way to get to us.”
She sniffed hard. A hard knot of dread and guilt made a lump in her throat. “You’re not angry with me?”
“Gods.” It was as soft as a breath. “Gods, Zia… I was out of my mind when I found you gone. When I walked in and saw your blood and his hands on you, I thought—” The sentence ended with a single, cracked syllable. “Zia, you are my beating heart. I’m not angry with you. I could neverbeangry with you. Please believe me.”
The knot loosened, making it easier for her to breathe. “I love you,” she replied, hiccuping. It was about all she could manage to articulate, and summed up everything she felt, everything she needed, in three simple words. “I love you so much. I’ll never break another rule, I promise.”
A soothing rumble built in his chest. Harlan leaned more of his weight against the wall, like relief had stolen some of the strength from his spine. “Ah, pet, you can break rules. I love it when you surprise me. Just don’t ever leave my sight again. At least for a while. Maybe forever.”
A raw laugh climbed out of her aching throat. “Deal, Mr. Bounds.”
Very, very gently, he tilted her head to one side and began to lick at the cut on her neck, cleaning up every drop of blood and sealing the wound with his saliva.
She went lax in his hold as her body responded to what was his usual after-bite care. A flood of endorphins dulled the edge of hysteria that threatened to cut her in two.Safe,instinct whispered.Cared for. Loved.
“So brave,” he murmured against her throat. “So smart. I never would have thought to use your blood against him. I was just going to snap his fucking neck, but I like your way better. Blood poisoning is the worst, most humiliating death a vampire can suffer.” There was a dark pride in every word.
Zia didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but she didn’t argue. So long as she never had to do anything like this again, then she would accept the macabre praise. Her voice was slightly sluggish when she asked, “Is it done?”
“We will never have to worry about him again, my Zia. You’re safe. You’llalwaysbe safe.”
She sagged against his chest. Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she croaked, “But is itover-over?”
“Yes.” Harlan kissed the crown of her head and squeezed her so tight, she felt the breathwhooshout of her lungs. “Atticus and the other guards have taken care of the few men who were loyal to him. It’s done, pet.”
