That explained Eli’s rude greeting. It could also explain why they were setting up Luke for the killings.
It was beginning to make sense.
And before she could say anything, a loud explosion sounded beside her. It took a moment to realize that someone had thrown a bottle through their window. One filled with something flammable. Before she realized what it was, it set fire to the closed curtains and spread across the room.
Chapter
Fourteen
Screaming, Amandine started for the next room.
Luke grabbed her before she could do something stupid. “We have to get out of here.”
Amandine’s eyes widened. “I can’t go outside. It’s daylight.”
“You can’t survive a fire, either,” Luke reminded her before he told Eli and Sorcha to leave. He shrugged his leather coat off. Covering Amandine from head to foot, he picked her up and ran with her, out the door and toward the stairs.
Other occupants were filling the hallway. “What was that?”
“Fire!” Luke shouted. “Get out of the building!” He rushed down the stairs to find Eli and Sorcha waiting for him by his car. “Delilah! Start your engine and raise the top.” He turned to Sorcha. “Get in. We have to get Amandine to the office as fast as we can.”
Luke gently put Amandine in the back as the convertible top raised to shield them. As soon as Eli was in and Sorcha belted, they raced to their offices.
Once they were in the garage, Luke called out. “Helly!”
She appeared instantly, then gasped as she saw Eli and Amandine.
“Close the garage door and take care of Delilah, please.” He carried Amandine out the back, to his office, while they ran behind him to catch up.
By the time Sorcha was inside Luke’s office, he’d already closed the blinds, pulled his coat off a bedraggled Amandine and shrugged it back on.
“You okay?” Sorcha asked Luke.
He nodded as he turned toward Amandine. “What about you, princess?”
Amandine was running her hands over her body, looking for damage. “I think I’m okay. Thank you for getting me out of there so fast.”
That confused Sorcha. “You weren’t kidding about vampires and daylight?”
Eli knelt down by Amandine’s side. “Sunlight won’t kill them, but it weakens them enough that they can be killed.”
“And it blisters terribly. The pain is unbearable.” Amandine looked to Luke. “Thank you for saving me.”
Inclining his head to her, Luke passed a furious glare toward Sorcha. “And fire definitely kills them.” He pulled his phone out.
Before she could ask him who he was calling, he started speaking. “Hey, boss. Sorcha and I just fled an apartment house near Forsyth. Someone tossed a Molotov through the windows. I had to rush a college kid out and I don’t want the local LEOs to think we had anything to do with it.” He paused a few minutes. “Yeah, we’re in my office. We’ll stay here and wait. Thanks.” He hung up.
“Reyes?” she asked.
He nodded. “I think this confirms our theory about the real target.” He jerked his chin toward their guest.
Amandine stood up. “I won’t be intimidated or threatened!”
“Better intimidated than dead.”
She glared at Luke for his comment. “What am I supposed to do? Give up my life because someone takes issue with my father?”
Luke swept his gaze from Amandine to Eli. “If the Orders find out about the two of you, you’ll have a lot more than just your father to contend with.”
