Kace cut him off with a punch to the face, his cheek cracking beneath his knuckles. It took serious power to break a vampires bone, and that was the one time he was grateful for his beast.
Blood splattered, surprisingly cold.
“My phone,” Lucas wheezed. “You can call from my phone, but I don’t have direct contact with Augustine, only Dutch.”
Marshall disappeared, coming back a few minutes later with a jacket, searching in the pocket. “Number?”
Lucas mumbled the numbers, taking two times before he could clearly dictate the correct order. Once it began to ring, Marsh held it out to Kace.
He ignored the slight disappointment, wanting to punish Lucas for longer before he had broken.
The call wouldn’t connect, and after three tries Kace crushed the phone in his hand. It had been worth a try, but he wasn’t really there for the Vipers anyway.
Lucas’s eyes bulged, his mouth flopping open. “No, wait! I can help you, I can…” Kace cut his words off with another punch, the rhythmic pounding of flesh on flesh so fucking satisfying as he kept going until his face resembled nothing but mush. But he didn’t kill him, not yet.
“Feed him,” Kace demanded, and Marsh immediately stepped forward, cutting his wrist and squeezing some of his blood into Lucas’s wrecked mouth.
Kace needed Lucas to remain conscious, so he could truly suffer.
He was going to protect Eva the only way he knew how, and to do that he needed to coax the snakes from their hiding place. But not before he destroyed the man who had first killed her.
“Now,” he began as he accepted the pretty-looking saw that Marsh held out, turning back to Lucas. “Where were we?”
Chapter30
Eva
Eva sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking out into the surrounding grove from the window nook. She could make out the city in the distance, the tall skyscrapers glinting with the early morning sun. A black cat curled by her feet, grumbling every time Eva dared to move.
“Kace swore he would never bond with anyone, and it’s not something that’s supposed to be so instant. It’s a whole…”
“I don’t remember asking for your opinion.” Eva looked up at the man who had approached, the same man who had tried to attack Kace with a sword. He stood with his arms crossed, his expression just as closed off. She traced the scar down his face, able to see it more clearly than before. It should have made his face cruel, but instead it made him even more striking.
Jax,she thought, remembering his name. He liked her lemon tarts.
“You don’t understand, he has always made it clear that he wouldneverbond with anyone. It wasn’t an option for him because of…” Jax cut himself off, a flash of pain across his expression. “My brother deserves an apology for last night, and so do you.”
Eva turned back to the window, reaching over to stroke down the soft black fur.
“I just need you to know that bonding with someone is entirely new to us. It’s part of our… curse.” Jax cleared his throat. “Before you reject him, maybe you should talk.”
“He said everything he needed to last night.” A click as a door opened, and Eva carefully moved the cat before swivelling her body towards the doctor who had just stepped out into the hall. “Hunter, is he okay?” she asked.
The doctor was tall, a female with pale white hair and matching bushy brows. Lines wrinkled her face, her eyes a pale yellow. She seemed surprised to see Eva, recovering the shock with a professional smile. “He’s healing well. Bruises and cuts will take time compared to his internal injuries, but as long as he continues to shift he should recover with no ill-effects.”
“So I can see him?” Eva had already stepped past the doctor and into the room before she could even respond.
“Oh, Miss Morgan,” the doctor exclaimed. “I didn’t realise you were up and about already. I would really like to speak to you about…”
“No thanks.” Eva shut the door, pressing her forehead to the wood.
“How comes you can ignore the doctor, but I can’t?”
“Because I’m an adult.” Eva smiled, happy to hear his voice. “You okay?”
“You should see the other guy.”
Hunter lay curled on his side, his head raising as she hesitantly stepped closer. Bruises covered the entirety of his face, his left eye swollen shut and his lip split.
