Never before had he felt such an encompassing urge to destroy something, but if those things found them, he would shred the flesh from their bones to keep her safe. They might take him down, but he would leave them so wounded they’d never be able to take her.
He shook his head to clear it of the murderous wrath thundering through him. One kiss and he’d turned into a moron. He barely knew the woman, and since they met, she’d punched him in the face and irritated the fuck out of him, but he would do whatever it took to keep her alive.
The screaming grew distant, and Jack realized they were keeping one of the women alive. She would have been better off dead. The other two suffered brutal deaths, but at least their suffering was over.
Charlie inhaled a shuddery breath when she realized it was over, but she didn’t try to leave the safety of their hiding spot yet. She required more time to make sure her legs would support her after listening to that.
She rarely ventured above while the hunt was happening. When she did, it was only to see if the hunt was still going before retreating underground again. It had been a long time since she listened to the tortured screams of those the vampires brutalized.
Mal said the hunt started the second weekend in June; the length of time it ran always varied. The longest hunt he knew of occurred during his fifth year on the island. It went all the way to the end of June before the organizers declared all the prey dead and called an end to it. They’d learned from one of their prisoners that this was what decided the end of the hunt every year—one of the organizers had to call an end to it.
Even on the years when someone stumbled across the tunnels and evaded death, the hunt hadn’t lasted long. Mal suspected that on the year it ran so long, whoever was dodging them must have been spotted enough to keep the hunters engaged whereas when Mal took in his refugees, they were never seen again and most likely, assumed dead.
But this year, with the unexpected escape, she was trapped aboveground. Never had she believed she would yearn for the dirt and gloom of the tunnels, but she was ready to trade the sunshine and fresh air for the safety of being below ground. The only problem was, they weren’t as prepared this year for the hunt as they were in the past.
Most of the year they fed on animals, but during the hunt, she, Mal, and the other vampire with them, Miguel, relied more on the humans living with them for nourishment. However, they hadn’t had the chance to stock up as much as they usually did. There were some supplies stored, there always was just in case, but they would have to ration their supplies a little more this year, especially if Jack were going to join them.
“We should go,” she said when she was sure nothing was out there waiting to kill them.
Chapter Eight
“We’re almost there,”Charlie said.
“I have to feed,” Jack told her.
“I think it’s better if we get belowground as soon as we can.” She was desperate to see Dylan. “We have some humans below who offer their blood. I hate doing it, but they’re willing.” She felt like the lowest form of life feeding on people who, while they had a choice, still believed they were obligated to keep the vampires protecting them well nourished. “And we supplement their blood with animal blood. They’ll be able to provide for you until we can hunt.”
Jack nodded as, through the trees, a house materialized. It wasn’t until they were closer that he realized it was a lighthouse. Most of the house’s white paint had chipped away to reveal the rotting wood beneath. Glass remained in only a few windows, and the front porch looked like a mouse could bring it down. The pine leaning against the brick chimney blocked some of the lighthouse tower at the end of the structure.
“Has anyone ever climbed into the lighthouse to look for land?” he inquired.
“Well, I’ll be, do you mean you can climb up to the top of that thing? Shit, you do learn something new every day. And I bet you can seefarandwidefrom up there. My goodness, do you think boats can also see the structure from the sea?” she inquired without missing a beat.
Okay, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, but he still shot her a look. She smirked at him.
“Come on; it’s this way,” Charlie said and tried not to laugh when Jack continued to glower at her.
Jack followed her through the woods behind the house. “How far down are the cliffs?”
“In some areas, they’re a hundred to a hundred fifty feet; in others, they’re ten or twenty. They’re at least a hundred feet high here.”
Charlie led him over to a clump of dirt protruding from the ground and bent to grasp something. Jack didn’t know what she was doing until a door rose from the earth.
“Root cellar,” she said at his questioning look.
She led the way down the rickety stairs and stepped to the side at the bottom. She waited for Jack to join her before she climbed back up, grabbed the rope tied to the handle inside the door, and pulled it closed.
She knew, from having seen the outside of it, no one would see the root cellar there after the door closed. Over the years, the debris on top of the door had broken down and stuck to it until the door blended into the earth.
With the door closed, complete darkness descended over the cellar. The enhanced vision that came with being a vampire did nothing for her as no light pierced these gloomy depths. Placing her hand against the cold, rock wall, she felt her way over the rough stones and down the stairs. She struggled not to sneeze as the potent scent of mildew and earth tickled her nostrils.
At the bottom of the stairs, she heard Jack’s breaths but not in time to stop herself from walking into him. “Sorry,” she muttered.
She didn’t step away fast enough to stop her body from reacting to his nearness. The whisper of his breath against her ear made her breasts tingle.No! It’s stupid to get involved with anyone on this island, and you stopped being a moron ten years ago.
She liked to believe that was true, but she couldn’t deny her fingers itched to stroke his cheek. Unable to stop herself, her fingers touched her lips before she yanked her hand away. She could clearly recall the taste of him, didn’t think she’d ever forget it, but she was not going to let it happen again.
Her body protested the resolution, and before it could betray her by drawing him against her and screwing his brains out, she edged further away from him. It would be so easy to lose herself to him in the shadows.
