Elyse watched as the tall vampire approached the monster sprawled in the snow. The man staggered and almost went down before arriving at the side of the creature. Her hand clasped the maroon curtain as her heart hammered so loudly she was sure the vamp could hear it.
Chewing her bottom lip, she tried to decide what to do. Should she run for the car? Hide? Or maybe see what this vamp was doing here? He’d killed her guards, so he couldn’t be one of the ones who’d imprisoned her, which meant he could be an ally.
Or he could be something worse.
She didn’t see how that was possible, but she’d never imagined things could be this bad. This vamp may be about to turn her already shitty existence into a giant pile of dinosaur crap that would make her situation here seem like a party.
She gulped as the man moved beyond what she could see from the window. If she went into the next room, she could watch them from the windows in there, but she couldn’t make herself move. Her feet felt as if they’d melted into the floor as she gazed at the doorway across from her. No matter how curious she was to see what was happening, she couldn’t bring herself to enter that room.
Even if she didn’t look at the mantle, she wouldknowwhat was there.
Her gaze returned to the car. The vamp was distracted and injured, but she doubted she’d make it to the vehicle before he caught her. After seeing what he did to her guards, she couldn’t think about what he would do to her.
The bastards holding her prisoner had enemies; was this man one of them and had he come here to kill her?
Don’t stand here; do something!
She was wasting her first opportunity to escape, but she had no idea what to do. She’d never considered herself a moron, but being imprisoned here for months had stripped her of everything she once was and made her something else.
She was ashamed to realize it had made her someone who was terrified to act. But then, on the mantle in the next room was the reason for her indecisiveness. This wasn’t just about her. She wouldn’t be the one to pay the most for leaving here, but if she stayed, she could pretty much kiss her life and her dad’s goodbye.
However, she had no doubt their lives were already forfeit, and they were simply walking corpses now. They’d kept her alive this long, but once they finished with her, they would kill her; she did not doubt that. And it was only a matter of time before they finished with her.
If she fled here, she could find her dad, and maybe she could save him too. She doubted it, but she definitely couldn’t do anything for him if she remained here. But what would they do to him when they realized she was gone?
She shuddered at the possibilities, and bile rose in her throat. If she stayed, they would both die; if she ran, they would torture her father and punish him for her actions.
Rushing to the door, she turned the knob and inched it open. She ignored the bite of the wind and stuck her head out to watch as the vamp staggered toward her last guard. He knelt by the monster, yanked out the bolt, and sank it into the creature’s back.
Bowing his head, he rested his hand in the snow and knelt there for a couple of minutes. Then he rose and turned back to the cabin. The blood streaking his face made him appear more lethal as he wiped it away and flicked it into the snow. Drops of red stood out starkly against the pristine snow as they followed him toward the cabin.
Elyse closed the door before he spotted her and locked it. The lock would only buy her a couple of seconds against him, but it was better than nothing. She rested her hand on the door before turning and fleeing into the kitchen.
If she couldn’t decide what to do, she could at least get a freaking weapon. The other vamps hadn’t worried she might find something to use against them. They knew how to keep her meek, and as a human, they saw her as inferior, but this guy was severely wounded; she might have a chance.
A chance at what?
Just do one thing at a time.
The legs of one of the wooden chairs at the small kitchen table squeaked against the tan, tile floor when she pulled it away from the table. Lifting it over her head, she took a deep breath before bashing it against the floor.
The impact jarred her arms and nearly knocked the chair from her grasp, but it didn’t shatter.Damn it! Before being held here, she could have broken it in one try. She may be small, but she’d always been stronger than she looked; she couldn’t say that anymore.
Frustration propelled her across the room with the chair, and she lifted it again. Her arms shook from the weight as she brought the chair down against the edge of the green marble counter. The impact ripped the chair from her hands, but two of the legs broke off. One leg flew across the room; the other bounced off the cabinet and nearly hit her in the head before falling to the floor and spinning under the table.
The wooden leg stopped spinning as the first step sounded on the porch. Elyse shoved aside another chair and lunged for the leg. She nearly fell when her foot slipped on the tile and bit her lip to keep from crying out when her knee twisted to the side. And then her hand wrapped around the leg, and she lifted it before her while she listened to the approach of the newest monster to arrive on her doorstep.
Chapter Four
What have you done?
Glancing at the ruined chair, she fought against the hot wash of tears filling her eyes. Her captors would see this chair, and her dad would suffer because of it. Her emotions started to fray as the full horror of what she’d done sank in. A buzzing like bees filled her ears as the room blurred; she grasped the table to keep from going down.
A loud thud from the porch vibrated the cabin floor; Elyse held her breath as she waited for the front door to burst open. When the seconds ticked into minutes, and her chest began to burn, she released her breath. The door remained intact, and she didn’t hear the man again.
She dreaded going anywhere near that man or the door, but she had to know what was happening. Clutching the leg against her chest, she edged around the table and tiptoed toward the front door.
She looked out the windows on either side of the door but didn’t see the vamp standing there. Her breathing was abnormally harsh in her ears as she clung to the leg like a two-year-old to their favorite teddy.
