Page 55

The faint roar of engines rattles the glass windows of the parlor, and my heart quickens. He’s coming.

Richard isn’t a dull man by any means, as he hauls me forward and rushes for the door. I feel the movement of air passing me before my eyes can catch up, and Harlan blocks the exit. Harlan carries himself as if he owns the space, despite being tiny compared to Richard’s towering frame. The effect is enough to make Richard take an unsteady step backward.

“What the fuck?” He hisses at Harlan. “Out of my way.”

Harlan holds a double-scooped ice cream cone and licks the boysenberry ice cream, allowing his fangs to descend slowly.

The rumble of the colony's bikes grows louder as they pull into the street, their headlights filling the road. I tug at where Richard clenches his fist around my bicep, and it twangs with a deep ache.

“I said move, you little twink,” Richard mocks, shifting to step around Harlan. Big mistake. Harlan moves in a blur, blocking him again before Richard’s human reflexes can catch up.

“Nope.” Harlan pops his lips around the word and takes another lick of his ice cream. His fangs are so long they make parallel dents in the side of the dessert. “You’re just the guy we’ve been looking for.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Richard’s voice rises and he tugs me deeper into his side. “I said, move your ass. Or I'll move it for you.”

Harlan’s eyes glimmer. “Kinky. But you won't be touching me. And I'd very much appreciate it if you let go of my friend."

“Let me go, Richard!” I pull my arm through the sleeve of my jacket and manage to slip away from his grasp, leaving him holding onto the material. My skin crawls as my bicep tingles with warmth as blood rushes back to the site.

Richard watches me, his stormy eyes darken, and he laughs. It’s not a kind or gentle laugh, but a torturing and berating noise that fills the parlor. “Fine.” He tosses my jacket to the floor. “Stay here and die, along with the rest of these monsters.”

Richard raises his hands to shove Harlan.

“Kneel,” Harlan hisses.

The air is knocked from my lungs and my ears ring at a pitch so high it makes me dizzy. Yet I watch as Richard freezes in place, his spine twisting aggressively, and a strained groan leaves his lips. But his legs bend one at a time, and he falls to his knees.

“What the fuck did you do!? You fucking monster,” Richard screams up at Harlan, who’s passionately licking at his dripping ice cream.

“Don’t say those mean things to me. I’m only a kid,” Harlan mocks.

Xander’s bike pulls up to the parlor, and in a flash, he’s bursting through the door and wrapping his hand around Richard’s throat.

A monstrous growl explodes through Xander’s chest as he lifts Richard into the air, his fingers tightly pressed into Richard’s neck before he throws my ex-boyfriend to the ground. Something makes a sickening crack before Richard screams in agony.

My stomach lurches, bitter bile burning the back of my throat as I stare at Richard’s arm, bent at an angle that makes my skin crawl. Xander stands over him, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. Fangs glint and chrome eyes glow.

“Lay a hand on my mate again and I'll rip them clean off!” Xander’s voice is gravelly and shakes the floor beneath my feet.

Ambrose flies in behind Xander, pulling his hand away from Richard's throat, and shoves him out of the way before pinning Richard down across the chest. “Let’s not kill our suspect before we interrogate him.”

Suspect? Interrogate?

Xander crowds me, his leathery scent filling my lungs and slowing my raging gasps. I didn’t realize I was hyperventilating until his hands gently grasp my jaw and his voice breaks through the deafening ringing in my ears.

“Breathe, sweetheart. In and out.” Xander coaches me back to a normal breath rate, all while Ambrose and Cassius pick up a thrashing Richard and haul him into the night.

“Where did he hurt you?”

Xander checks me over with careful hands, his touch surprisingly gentle for someone capable of so much violence. When his fingers close around my arm, he slowly pushes up my sleeve, exposing darkened skin and a bruise already beginning to bloom.

I hiss as the cold air touches my arm, and Xander swears under his breath. His entire body shakes and explodes with heat. “I’ll rip him limb from limb.”

“W-What are they going to do with him?” I stutter, falling into Xander’s chest and feeling the wetness of tears streaking down my cheeks.

“You have to be brave, little mate. Breathe for me, I've got you,” Xander hushes me while he sinks his nose into my hair and drags in a deep breath. “We’re just going to ask him a few questions. That’s all.”

I nod and clutch at Xander’s jacket. Every instinct within me just wants to crawl inside of this man and stay there, where it’s warm and safe and far away from all of this mess.