Knox swatted the poker away, then leapt fluidly to his feet.
No sooner than he had, the big male wrestled him into a headlock. Knox fought the relentless hold with all he had, finally managing to break loose. On a snarl, he shoved his opponent across the room.
The vampire flew backward a few feet, then skidded to a halt on his boot heels. Panting, his eyes on fire with animal rage, he lowered his head like a bull and came at Knox on a feral, unearthly cry.
Knox scrabbled for the poker on the floor beside him. As soon as his fingers closed around the handle, he drew it back. Then he drove the weapon right through the center of the charging Hunter’s skull.
The blow was catastrophic, even for the most powerful of his kind. The big male crumpled to his knees, dead even before his body hit the floor.
CHAPTER 25
Leni stood rooted to the same spot, her arm still wrapped tightly around Riley and holding him close to her, after Knox removed the body of the slain Breed male and took it outside.
“The sun will do the rest in the morning,” he told her when he came back into the house.
She nodded, not yet able to find her voice.
Riley clung to her, his little body shaking nearly uncontrollably. The poor child was obviously in shock, terrorized by what he had witnessed. Leni didn’t feel all that stable herself.
She didn’t think she would ever be able to purge the memory of staring into the Breed assassin’s cold eyes while he pulled the trigger on the pistol he’d aimed point-blank at her face. Even though she had been secure in the power of her gift to protect herself from injury, it hadn’t lessened the horror of the attack.
And she was still trying to reconcile how she had been able to shield Riley at the same time.
In spite of her terror, Leni had felt a new strength surge within her. She felt it now too. It lived inside her, thrumming with energy, even at rest.
She felt the incredible presence of the blood bond she shared with Knox. That hadn’t left her for a second, not during the attack or now. Knox’s strength fed her own. His love galvanized her. Tonight, it had saved her life.
He had saved all their lives.
As remarkable as her ability was, how long could she have held out against a relentless killer with the brute force and lethal skills of ten mortal men?
Knox closed the damaged front door, then strode toward her. “It should be secure enough until the Order arrives.” Drying blood and dark, swollen bruises marred his handsome face. One of his brows was split open, his eyes still smoldering with banked fire. Behind his torn upper lip, his extended fangs gleamed long and sharp from the depth of his battle rage.
But his touch was infinitely gentle as he gathered her to him, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Are you all right?”
“I am.” Her reply was a choked whisper. She lifted her head, her heart breaking as she took in the awfulness of his injuries. “I’m fine, Knox. Riley and I are both unharmed. But you—”
Frowning, he shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll heal soon enough.”
And so he was, she realized. The lacerations and shattered bones of his cheeks and jaw were mending before her eyes.
“That’s the power of your blood inside me, Leni.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “My blood will make you stronger too.”
“It already is. That’s how I was able to shield Riley with my ability, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “And thank God you did.”
The gravity of his deep voice only confirmed just how close they’d come to losing the boy.
They all had come terribly close to losing everything tonight.
In a dread-filled corner of her heart, she knew the worst of it wasn’t over yet.
Knox crouched down onto his haunches in front of Riley. “How’re you holding up, buddy?”
Instead of answering, the boy sidled around to the back of Leni’s legs, his small hands clutching the loose fabric of her pajama bottoms.
“Hey,” Leni said, reaching around to coax him out of hiding. “You don’t have to be afraid of Knox, honey. He’s not going to hurt us.”
