She was about to kiss him when she came back to hersenses and jerked away. “Sorry.”
Julian buried his disappointment. “Neverapologize for trying to kiss me, Aida. I’ll welcome your kiss atany time.”
He’d only been back in her life for two days,and she was already seeking comfort in him. Her gaze drifted pasthim, and she felt the inexplicable urge to flee. “I have to go tothe bathroom.”
Before he could reply, she released his hand,jumped up from her seat, grabbed her purse, and hurried toward thehallway where the bathrooms were located. She dodged a couple ofpeople on her way and stepped around the wall separating the hallfrom the bar. Once she was out of sight and away from the noise,she inhaled a deep breath as her shoulders sagged forward. She wasready to go home.
She pushed open the door to the women’s roomand stepped inside the soft pink room with pictures of flowers onthe walls. As far as public restrooms went, it was one of thecleaner ones she’d ever used. There were two stalls, and she usedthe one closest to the door before emerging to wash her hands.
She lifted her eyes to stare at herreflection in the mirror. The shadows under her eyes had darkened,and the frantic look in her eyes reminded her of a mouse before aprowling cat. She splashed water on her face and patted it dry witha paper towel before tossing it in the trash can.
She left the bathroom and was walking downthe hall when a man emerged from the men’s room. There was nothingunusual about him, but a trickle of apprehension ran down herspine. Before her kidnapping, she never would have considered thepossibility he might attack her, but now she looked at everyonelike they were the enemy, until they proved otherwise.
She pushed open the latch on her purse anddipped her hand inside. He probably assumed she was looking forsome lip gloss or something, but her fingers curled around herpepper spray as she sidestepped to avoid walking into him. The facthe remained standing there set off alarm bells in her head, and sheslowed her step.
He was three feet away from her, but shenever saw him move before a hand enveloped her throat and he liftedher off the ground. His fingers tightening around her throat chokedoff the startled scream she started to issue.
Clawing at his fingers, she shredded the skinfrom them. They dug deeper into her throat, cutting off her airsupply and her strangled cries. The strength he exhibited made herblood run cold. She was small, but no normal man could lift her andhandle her the way this one was.
Vampire!She didn’t have to see hisfangs or reddened eyes to know it was true. He was a vampire and amonster.
Instead of dragging her into the men’s room,he hauled her down the hallway and into the employee’s room. Hestalked toward the metal back door leading into the alley betweenthe buildings. Despite the fact she couldn’t breathe and her bloodpounded in her temples until she thought they might explode, shethrashed more.
If he got her outside, he would kill her.
She pulled the pepper spray from her purse asshe gripped the door handle. Turning her wrist, she aimed it at hisface, ducked her head, and closed her eyes as she unleashed atorrent of spray. At least she didn’t have to worry about holdingher breath, his death grip on her throat took care of that.
She wasn’t sure she hit him until he releaseda strangled howl. His hand fell away from the knob, and slappingsounds filled the air as she imagined him beating at his face andeyes. His fingers tightened on her throat, and warm blood trickleddown the side of her neck as his fingers pierced her flesh.
She was afraid he would crush her windpipe,but she couldn’t stop fighting. Keeping her head turned away andher eyes closed, she slammed her elbow into his ribs. He gruntedand jerked her forward as she swung her leg to the side and caughtthe back of his knee with her calf.
It wasn’t the most graceful of defensivemoves, but it caused his knee to buckle, and her feetfinallyhit the ground again. She drove one of her feet intothe front of his other knee, causing it to bend back as the vamphowled again. Throwing herself backward, Aida managed to tearherself free of his hold.
She kept her eyes closed as she staggeredback, tripped over something, and sprawled across the floor. Thebreath burst out of her, and her tailbone felt as if someone hadtaken a hammer to it, but she didn’t dare stop moving.
On her hands and knees, Aida scampered in thedirection of the door, or at least she assumed the door was in thatdirection. Fire burned her lungs, and white light burst behind herclosed lids as her oxygen-deprived body begged for air. If shecould make it to the hall, she might not breathe in the pepperspray, and the longer she held out, the more it would disperse onthe air.
Convinced she was heading for the door, shewasn’t expecting to crash into something. Without intending for itto happen, her eyes flew open, and she involuntarily sucked in abreath. Her lungs and eyes burned, tears spilled down her face assnot poured from her nose, but she refused to give in to the paintrying to encompass her.
Rubbing at her eyes, she realized she’dcrawled into the table Cassidy and some of the others used to fixtheir makeup and clean themselves up during their shifts. When shechanced a glance over her shoulder, she spotted the man five feetaway and scrubbing at his eyes. Her heart sank; she thought she’dmade it a lot further away from him.
She was about to leap to her feet and fleethe room when he lowered his hands to expose his tearstained face.The wrath in his bloodshot eyes made her throat go dry. When hecharged at her, she knew she didn’t have enough time to get awayfrom him.
Releasing her purse, she grasped the table,lifted it, and flipped it over as he lunged at her. The tablenearly smashed into her face when he threw his weight on top of it.Her arms screamed in protest as his hands swung for her.
She wasn’t ready to die. There was still somuch she wanted to experience; she still had so many unfinishedthings to do. Yet, as the vamp’s red eyes filled her vision, shesensed her life coming to an end.
CHAPTER 21
Julian tapped his fingers on the bar while he waitedfor Aida to return. A growing sense of unease filled him as one ofthe women standing at the bar edged closer to him. “I haven’t seenyou in here before,” she said.
Judging by the gleam in her eyes, Juliansuspected, if she had seen him before, she might have tried todevour him. He glanced at the hall where Aida disappeared but stilldidn’t see her.
“I’m new to the city,” he said.
“I could show you around,” the woman offeredas her fingers crept closer to his.
Julian moved his hand off the bar and thrusthis thumb at Kyle. “My brother is handling that.”
