A blond male had his arm around a female as he dragged her backward in Eclipse’s direction. The streetlight glimmered off dark metal in the male’s hand.
A gun. Great.
Good news was, the human male had no idea Eclipse was there, even as he jabbed the muzzle into her kidney.
“Don’t you dare scream, Amber,” he seethed. “I’ll shoot you where you stand. Dear old Dad won’t be too happy about that, will he?”
The female whimpered, but she didn’t scream.
“I figured for sure Daddy would keep a better eye on his little girl, so imagine my surprise when there you were.” The male backed her toward the wall, spinning her away from him and pinning her there with his hand around her throat, gun aimed at her chest. His smile was grotesque, as was the scent he put off.
Nothing good was going to come of this.
“Not sure why he never mentioned how pretty you are,” the male taunted, his thumb scraping over her chin.
“What do you want?” she asked, eyes wide.
“To warn your father. He owes me quite a bit of money, sweetheart. Makes me angry when he tries to hide from me,” he told her, his smile morphing into something vile. “Though a conversation could cover it, I’m thinking something a bit more … tangible.”
“I don’t know where he is.” Her voice was barely audible, distorted by the hand still around her throat.
“No matter. Once I’m done with you, he’ll find me.”
The female glared at him, even though her life was at risk, the muzzle of the gun pressing against her chest as the male stepped toward her. His hand shifted from her throat to her jaw, gripping firmly and forcing her head into the brick at her back.
She inhaled sharply, the crack of her head against brick making Eclipse wince.
“Bet you’ll be nice and sweet, huh?” he snarled.
“Fuck you,” she snapped.
The male cackled. “Got some backbone in there, do you? I look forward to beating it out of you. But first, perhaps we’ll have a little fun.”
The instant his hand lowered between her legs, Eclipse willed him backward with his mind.
The human stumbled a few steps, then spun around, aimed his gun at Eclipse. “You better back off, man. I won’t hesitate to shoot you in the face.”
“Too late. You already hesitated,” Eclipse snarled.
“Last chance.”
Exactly.
Something compelled Eclipse to look over at the female. Their eyes met, held, and in that moment, he felt a strange constriction in his chest. He’d never felt anything so potent in his seventeen hundred years, but how could that be? She wasn’t the female he was looking for.
Was she?
A gunshot rang out, and it was then Eclipse realized he’d taken a step forward. The bullet slammed into his shoulder. He stumbled back from the force of the round. The bullet wouldn’t kill him, but it damn sure had the ability to piss him off.
He glared at the male.
“I warned you. Back off or you’ll get another!” The male’s voice trembled.
In a move not visible to the human eye, Eclipse moved behind him. Without hesitation, he snapped the little fucker’s neck, allowed him to fall to the ground.
The female’s terrified eyes landed on him, widening in horror. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she fought for air.
As though pulled by invisible wires, Eclipse took a step toward her. She didn’t move, regarding him closely. He watched as his hand lifted brushing over her temple before curling behind her head. Something warm and wet met his touch and he pulled back, the scent of her blood sending all sorts of red flags.
