“Yes,” he replied. “Don’t forget that they can’t get in the house unless invited. If anything goes wrong, that is where you go.”
Liamnodded briskly, his eyes dark and turbulent as they met Stefan’s. “That goes for you too.” Stefan nodded sharply. “Don’t do anything stupid Stefan. I won’t lose my daughter because you do,” he growled.
“I won’t,” he assured him.
“They’re here,” Brian said softly.
Stefan turned as three men materialized in the middle of the yard. He could sense their power, but it wasn’t as strong as he had thought it would be. He glanced sharply at Brian. “You couldn’t have handled this?” he snarled.
“There’s more.”
Stefan turned back around. He shut out the presences of the men before him in order to search the night. He could sense them out there, waiting in the shadows. “Fools,” he muttered.
“How many more are there?” Mike asked.
“Four,” Brian answered.
“Two in the woods, two more behind the house,” Stefan supplied.
“How do you want to do this?” Brian asked.
Stefan was silent as he watched the three men on the lawn move slowly forward. He didn’t want the others getting off the porch. These vampiresweren’t as strong as he had thought they would be, but they were stronger thanthem. If they got off the porchthey would be putting themselves in danger. Isabelle truly would hate him forever if something happened to anyone in her family.
“Wait for them to get closer,” Stefaninstructed. “I don’t want you guys leaving this porch unless you have to.”
“We can handle ourselves,” Ethan said coldly.
“You can, but we’re going to need you at our backs, and if you split up you’ll be shredded. Stay on the porch,”Stefan growled.
The men in the field stopped twenty feet away, and stood waiting. Stefan glanced back over at Brian. “After this...”
“I’m gone,” he assured him.
“If you find me again Brian, I’ll kill you myself.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“So I mean!” he snapped.
Brian turned to look at himandnoddedbriskly. “I know.”
“Let’s go.”
Stefan stepped off the porch, strolling out to the center of the field with Brian at his heels. The men were foolish enough to rush at them. The fight was swift, brutal, and vicious. Between the two of them, the three men never stood a chance. By the time that Stefan had dispatched the first one and turned toward the second, Brian was done with the other. The two from the woods came rushing out as the last of the first three went down.
“Idiots,” Brian muttered as they spun to face them. Stefan tore out the throat of one as Brian slammed a hole through the chest and ripped out the heart of the other.
Stefan stepped back, slightly breathless as he spun toward the porch. They were all still standing there, watching them in wide eyed amazement. Stefanfocused his attention on the two that had been behind the house, but they were gone. “What the hell?” he muttered.
Brian took a step closer to him as he dropped the heart and stomped on it.Hewipedthe blood absently on his jeansashe quickly scanned the night. “I guess we scared them off,” he said.
Stefan frowned as he shook his head and looked at the five scattered behind them. “They should have attacked when we came out here.”
“Come on Stefan, you have the two of us, plus seven vampires standing on the porch. They realized it would have been suicide. Thanks for the help,”Brian said with a bright grin.
“You didn’t need it,”he growled.
“I would have if they had all attacked at once, and you know it.”
