“What’s the rush?” he asked as she started jogging.
“Something’s not right,” she muttered, and then the image of a man creeping through the tunnels burst into her head. She didn’t recognize him, and judging by the rifle he held, he was a hunter.
Chapter Eighteen
Before Jack could reply,she broke into a run and sprinted down the tunnel. Rounding a corner, she nearly smacked into the back of the man in the tunnel. He’d entered from one of the side tunnels.
He’d survived the traps, but he had a hole in his jacket from where a stake pierced his shoulder and a gash across his right cheek. The wound was so deep, his skin had peeled back to flap against his cheek.
As the man turned toward her, she saw the rifle in his hand. Before the vamp could raise the gun and fire at her, Charlie lowered her shoulder and barreled into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as she drove him into the wall.
The vamp grunted and staggered back, but he didn’t let go of his rifle. Instead, he swung it up and slammed it into her back. Charlie bit back a cry as the blow nearly knocked her to her knees. She managed to stay upright by clutching the edge of his jacket.
If she went down, he would bash her head in with the rifle. A roar filled her ears, and then something lunged out of the shadows at them. The man’s jacket was wrenched away from her as Jack lifted him into the air.
Jack had been angry many times before, but all those times faded in comparison to what exploded through him when the vampire hammered his rifle onto Charlie’s back. Red exploded across his field of vision, a bellow erupted from him, and he charged at the man like an enraged bull.
The vamp’s eyes met his, but before he could react, Jack seized his throat and lifted him off the ground. Jack slammed the vamp into the wall with enough force that rocks shattered, and he propelled the vampire a few inches into the wall. The impact shook the tunnel, and debris rained down from above.
The vamp’s eyes bulged as Jack dug his fingers into the bastard’s neck. Trying to break free, the vamp drove his knee up, but Jack knocked it aside with his free hand and shoved the asshole further into the wall. The vamp tried to ram the butt of the rifle into Jack’s chest. Jack yanked the gun away and flung it across the cave.
When he seized the vamp’s wrist and bashed it against the rocks, bone shattered beneath the impact. The vamp thrashed in Jack’s grasp, but judging by this vamp’s callous-free hands, he didn’t do much fighting. No, this was the kind of vamp who had to pay to have some thrill in his life by hunting others.
Jack’s fury only mounted as, from the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie staggering toward the rifle fifty feet away and further back in the tunnel. All her grace was gone as she fell to her knees before crawling the rest of the way to the rifle.
Overcome by rage, Jack’s finger closed on the vamp’s throat, and he tore it out. Blood splattered Jack’s face as the vamp gurgled and lunged toward him. Releasing the vamp, Jack stepped to the side and hammered his fist onto the bastard’s back.
The vamp fell forward, but not before his hand swung out and smashed into the back of Jack’s knee. Jack bit back a cry when his leg buckled, and he nearly went down. His fingers hit the dirt as the vamp battered his knee again.
Snarling, Jack spun on the vamp, seized his wrist, and snapped it over. More gurgled cries issued from the vamp as his heels battered the ground. Jack grabbed him, and shoving himself to his feet, he lifted the vamp and drove him into the wall again.
He bashed the vamp’s head into the rocks as the vampire swung out and punched Jack’s head. Jack staggered back from the blow, and the vamp lunged at him. Recovering quickly, Jack stepped to the side to evade the charge.
Swinging the back of his hand out, Jack smacked it off the vamp’s skull, causing him to crash into the wall. His head dented the rocks, and more debris rained down. Jack charged at him and, wrapping his hand around the vamp’s waist, knocked him toward the exit.
They punched and kicked at each other as they rolled across the ground. Coming out on top, Jack grasped his neck and smashed his head into the wall again and again until the vamp stopped flailing. Jack pulled out a stake as Charlie slid the rifle strap over her shoulder.
“Don’t kill him!” Charlie called and winced when speaking sent a burning pain shooting from her spine to her toes and skull. The world gave a sickening lurch before settling back into place. “We have to question him.”
Jack held the stake directly over the bastard’s heart as he restrained himself from plunging it in. This prick had injuredCharlie.
Jack gritted his teeth and kept himself from killing this guy by recalling he might be able to help him find Mike and Doug. He might also know how to get off this island. Reluctantly, he pulled the stake away from the guy’s chest.
“Search him for bullets,” Charlie said.
Jack felt over the unconscious vamp’s pockets and pulled out a box of wooden bullets. Charlie checked the rounds in the gun and discovered it was fully loaded. Pushing herself to her feet, she took a minute to steady herself before limping toward Jack.
She was almost there when an ominous groan came from overhead. Charlie froze as specks of dirt fell to stick to her face. With a sense of dread sliding down her spine, Charlie gulped as the sound intensified. Pebbles broke free of the ceiling, and one bounced off the tip of her nose as behind her a thunderous crash shook the tunnel.
The hair on her nape rose, and she didn’t have to look to know the tunnel was coming down. The blows Jack delivered to the wall had shaken the foundation of the shaft, and if she didn’t move, it was going to come down on top of her.
Turning, she tried to flee, but the pain shooting from her back and into her leg caused her to hitch and nearly go down.Oh no. Oh no.The panicked words ran through her head on a loop as she gritted her teeth and determined to move faster but the vamp must have pinched a nerve when he hit her that made moving her leg difficult.
The only problem was that no matter how fast her mind urged her to go, her body refused to cooperate. Her leg was nearly useless as it dragged behind her. The crashing grew louder as the ground shook like an earthquake was rushing toward her.
Jack released the vamp as debris pelted his shoulders and back. Large stones fell and shattered on the ground; dirt fell in a tidal wave that threatened to bury Charlie as her limp hindered her progress. Nearly fifty feet separated them, but it seemed like miles as a cloud of dust rushed out of the darkness toward her.
No!Jack raced toward her as the cloud swallowed her within it.
