We were debating our favorite ways to eat potatoes when a visibly pregnant woman walked by, her hand grabbing the table for support. She moved slowly, probably on her way to the bathroom, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Suddenly she grabbed her belly, cried out, and fell to the ground. Everyone froze, then Ulrich sprang into action, shoving Marilee out of the booth.
“I must help!”
Marilee stumbled, landing on her knees on the floor next to the woman. The woman grabbed her hand, screaming, “The baby. Oh my God! Is my baby okay?”
People swarmed around them, blocking Marilee from my view. I stood up to help, then I felt a hand move over my mouth at the same time an arm banded around my waist. I glanced down to see perfectly manicured nails.
“You’re coming with me, Moira,” Greta whispered in German.
Greta was one of the bad guys?
She started walking backwards, bringing me with her. Everyone in the restaurant was focused on the pregnant woman and Marilee was blocked from view, so I knew I had to act. I dragged my feet and tried to pry her arm off my waist, but Greta wasmuch stronger than she looked, pulling me through the door of the restaurant and onto the street before I could get away.
Drawing on my self-defense training, I stopped pulling away and instead I went slack, forcing Greta to lean forward to keep her hold on me. I dropped my head, then brought it back quickly, smacking her in the face hard enough that my teeth rattled. I heard the crunch of bone right before she yelped in German, “You bitch! You broke my nose!”
I kicked back at her shin, catching her with the heel of my boot and dragging it down her bare legs. She released me finally, sending me sprawling to the pavement. Before I could get up she landed a hard kick to my side, no doubt bruising a rib. I rolled over, staggering to my feet just as Marilee burst out of the bar, releasing an inhuman growling noise.
She’d released her vampire.
Her eyes and lips were blood red, fangs hanging down from her lips, long claw-like nails extending from her fingertips. Maybe it was my imagination, but she looked at least a few inches taller. Greta took one look at her and took off running, racing down the sidewalk. I saw Marilee debate chasing after her, then decide to stay with me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, one hand coming up to cup my cheek. “I’m so sorry, I lost sight of you for one minute and then you were gone.”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
My heart was racing and I was shaking from the adrenaline dump, but I was proud of myself for breaking free of Greta. I wasn’t sure what she’d planned, but I had no doubt it involved moving me to a secondary location.
“Let’s get back to the hotel,” Marilee said. “I’m not getting a response from the rest of the team. Something’s going on. I have a bad feeling about this.”
We’d taken maybe three steps when I heard something that made my blood run cold.
“Moira,mo stóirín. Nice job head butting that bitch. Glad to see you can still take care of yourself.”
Marilee
Hazel stiffened, closed her eyes briefly, then huffed out an aggravated breath.
“I just wanted to go out and have a drink,” she mumbled. “But no, I can’t have one relaxing night without it going to shit.”
She turned to face her parents, and I positioned myself a half a step behind her right shoulder, silently telling her that I had her back. I slid my hand inside my jacket, resting my fingers on the butt of my gun. I didn’t think her parents would be so brazen as to snatch her right off the street, but then again, someone had just staged a fake emergency and dragged her out of a crowded bar, so you never knew.
“You don’t have a hug for yourmamandda?” her father asked in a faintly mocking tone.
Colm O’Brian was tall, with red hair the exact shade as Hazel’s. He wasn’t bulky, but he was definitely wiry and fit, despite the fact that he had to be in his mid to late fifties. On the surface he looked perfectly casual, but he was radiating with coiled energy and his shrewd brown eyes missed nothing.
“I see you’ve been eating well wherever you’ve been hiding,” her mom spoke up.
She was a hard looking woman, thin and angular. Elizabeth’s hair was darker than my mate’s, almost black, but she had green eyes and a freckled complexion that matched her daughter.
“What do you guys want?” Hazel asked with exaggerated patience.
“The money you stole from us, for starters,” Colm said. “But we’re willing to forget all that if you come home with us and take your position in the organization.”
“Hard pass.”
My mate had what my father would call balls of steel. I’d come out of the bar just in time to see her head butt and kick that German bitch who was trying to kidnap her. The only thing that stung more than realizing she didn’t need me to save her was knowing that I’d fallen for the distraction that allowed Greta to get to her in the first place.
She didn’t appear at all affected by her parents being here, even though with my enhanced sense of smell I could tell she wasnervous. She stood with her legs wide, shoulders back, fingers curled into fists, ready to fight.
