Running Scared

“I originally came here to blow this place up. The C- 4 is in my trunk.”



Joseph was still for a moment; then he slowly pushed himself away from the doorframe, his face getting darker and darker with every passing second.



Zach moved his body so he was between Joseph and Lexi, and he put his hand on his sword. “Stay where you are,” he warned Joseph.



That furious stare swiveled around until it was squarely on Zach. “You brought her here.”



“I did.”



“He didn’t know,” said Lexi. She was at his side, trying to get past Zach, but he didn’t budge. “None of this is Zach’s fault.”



Joseph’s words came out like slabs of ice—cold and heavy. “You’ve committed an act of war.”



“No, she planned one. She didn’t actually commit it.”



“Bullshit,” growled Joseph. “She brought explosives onto our property—into our homes. There are humans here. Children.”



“I know,” said Lexi. “That’s why I didn’t follow through. I’d never hurt kids. I thought you were all monsters. I see now I was wrong. I’m so sorry.”



“Sorry doesn’t mean shit, little girl. Your action is punishable by death.”



“Over my fucking corpse,” said Zach. He pulled his sword and held the naked blade with the tip pointing at Joseph’s heart.



A movement from the doorway caught Zach’s eye, but he didn’t turn. “Apparently, I’ve come just in time,” drawled Logan from the doorway. “Someone care to fill me in?”



“Zach was just sealing his fate by siding with the enemy,” said Joseph.



Lexi slipped out from behind him and wrapped her hand around the razor-sharp steel. If Zach so much as breathed hard, it would slice right through her delicate skin.



“Stop it with the macho shit,” she ordered him. “You’re making it worse.”



Anger and a sickening sense of dread rolled around inside him, making him queasy. He couldn’t let Joseph hurt her, no matter how much she’d messed up.



Lexi turned to Logan, keeping her hand on the sword’s sharp edge. “I made a mistake. A big one. Joseph flipped, which is totally understandable, and now these two are leaking testosterone all over my new place.”



“Perhaps we should start by putting the weapon away,” suggested Logan.



Joseph’s jaw bulged, but he lifted his hands, palms out, and took a long step back. “I’m not going to hurt her. Yet. She deserves a chance to speak.”



Zach gathered every strand of control he could find and pulled hard. Lexi looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him, though for what, he wasn’t sure. Put the weapon away? Get her out of this mess? Go back in time so they’d never met?



“Shit,” he spat. “Get your hand off my sword, and I’ll back down.”



Lexi did and Zach sheathed the sword.



His protective instincts were still running hot, pounding through him like a jackhammer. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to control himself enough to think rationally, but he had to try. For Lexi.



“Good,” said Logan. “That’s a good start. Now, my lady, if you please, can you give me a little more detail?”



“I brought a trunkful of explosives here to blow you all to hell. Needless to say, I’ve changed my mind. I’m not really a big fan of killing, so it works for me.”



“Why did you want to kill us?” asked Logan with only the faintest interest coloring his cultured voice.



“Because I thought you were the bad guys.”



Logan nodded. “Given the way these two were acting just now, I can hardly blame you.”



“She’s committed an act of war,” grated out Joseph. “She was going to kill the children.”



Logan’s voice poured out like cool water over scorched earth. “I understand how upset that must make you, Joseph, but I think we can make an exception, considering the circumstances. We need her, and she did confess.”



“That doesn’t make it okay. Not by a long shot. We don’t even know if she’s lying,” said Joseph.



“Zach will know. They’re connected. He’d be able to see if she’s lying.” Logan turned to Zach. “Isn’t that right?”



“No,” said Zach, feeling like a traitor to the one woman who could save his sorry ass. “I tried to get into her head, but it didn’t go so well.”



Logan’s gaze narrowed with suspicion and he swiveled his head around toward Lexi. “Is this true?” he asked her.



Lexi shoved her pointed chin up and looked Logan right in the eye. “I’m too thick-skulled, I guess.”



“You had to have been blocking him. Keeping him out,” said Joseph.



“I didn’t mean to.”



“She tried to let me in, but it didn’t work,” said Zach. “She’s built up too many mental defenses or something.”



“Whatever defenses she has, they won’t work on me,” said Logan as he glided closer. His lips lifted just a fraction of an inch—enough for Zach to see the pearly gleam of his fangs.



Instincts swarmed up inside Zach, filling him with a potent, feral rage. Lexi was his. He’d vowed to protect her and he meant to do just that. No matter who he had to slice down to do it.



“No fucking way,” growled Zach as he shoved Logan back. “You’re not getting her blood.”



“It’s the only way to be sure,” said Logan.



“Then you’re just going to have to keep wondering, ’cause no one is making her bleed.”



“What is he talking about, Zach?” asked Lexi, her voice thinned by a hint of fear. She was at his side and took a half step closer.



“Logan here wants to suck your blood and take a walk inside your head.”



“Let him,” ordered Joseph. “It’s the only way you’re going to get out of this alive.”



Lexi’s hand wrapped around his biceps. Her fingers were cold and trembling. “There’s got to be another way.”



Joseph came forward, looming over her, making him look bigger and meaner than Zach had ever seen. He was typically a reasonable, gentle man, but all that had fled as he faced down Lexi. “There isn’t, and I won’t take a chance you’re going to hurt my people. You do this or I’ll kill you myself.”



“You’ll have to kill me, too,” said Zach. “You’ve been out of the field so long, it’ll probably be the last thing you do.”



“Enough!” shouted Logan. “No one is dying here tonight. There is a simple way to settle this.”



“One that involves you sucking her blood, leech?” said Zach.



Logan’s pale eyes flared brighter for a second, giving off an eerie glow. “I believed us to be friends, Zach. I’d hoped that you’d trust me not to injure your woman.”



He didn’t. He didn’t trust anyone enough to let Lexi bleed.



Zach’s body tightened and his hand strayed once again to his sword. He was going to have to cut his way out of here.



He was going to have to kill his friends.



As he moved to do just that, Lexi put a staying hand on his arm. “Don’t,” she said softly. “I know what you’re thinking, and you can’t. I’ll let him have my blood.”



“No.”



Lexi stepped in front of him. Her eyes roamed over his face and she offered him a brave smile. “It’ll be fine. I was the one who made the decision to come here under false pretenses. I was the one who agreed to kill people before I had all the facts. I’ll be the one to deal with the consequences.”



“You’ll be perfectly safe,” said Logan. He put his hand on her shoulder and she flinched slightly before allowing the touch.



Zach hated this, but what choice did he have? She’d agreed. She’d sealed her fate.



Zach gave Logan a hard stare, full of the promise of vengeance. “She’d better be.”



Logan decided that his smartest course of action was going to be to make this as quick as possible.



Zach was seething with barely controlled rage. Joseph had maneuvered so that he could restrain Zach if necessary, and Lexi—brave child that she was—had squared her shoulders and was staring Logan right in the eyes.



“This won’t hurt,” he assured her as he lifted her wrist to his mouth. No sense in tempting fate by putting his lips to her throat. Logan wasn’t entirely sure that Joseph was strong enough to hold Zach back if things turned difficult.



“Just do it,” she growled at him.



Such a cute little thing. Her dainty chin was high, and her dark eyes were set on kill. It was entirely possible that she was still planning to destroy them, but given that she’d agreed to this treatment, Logan doubted it.



He took a firm hold on her wrist and stepped so close she had no choice but to keep looking into his eyes. Logan gathered what meager power he had left and let it bloom in his eyes, sucking her in. Capturing her.



Her glare faded and a sleepy weight lowered her lids. It took only a brief second to ensnare her, but he could feel her starting to fight against him as she realized what had happened.



Before she could react, he bit into the delicate skin of her wrist, piercing her vein. Sweet, hot blood poured over his tongue like the purest rain. She’d never been bled before. Logan was her first, and the power filling him was a heady mixture of innocence and strength.



The starving monster within him roared to life, taking over his body. He drew from her wrist, sucking down her power in huge gulps. He didn’t waste time breathing. Every second counted, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that Zach wasn’t going to stand by and allow him to feed for long.



Her heartbeat thrummed across his tongue as she became part of him. Wherever she went, for as long as she lived, he’d be able to find her again so he could feed on her.



He felt her weaken, and his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her upright. She struggled, but he didn’t relent. He needed more. So much more.



“Enough,” he heard in the distance, but ignored the command in that voice.



All that mattered was the warmth of her blood pouring into him, filling up all the empty holes in his belly.



Logan’s head spun as his power returned. His body warmed and his skin prickled as he was restored to his true self, not this frail, gaunt body starvation had wrought.



Muscles swelled and his bones hardened. The constant, nagging hunger that plagued him dissipated more with each gulp.



The weight of the woman in his arms increased as she weakened, but it didn’t matter. Logan was strong now, easily able to support her meager weight.



Her heartbeat fluttered and Logan’s head started to spin.



He still hadn’t started breathing and his lungs were burning for oxygen.



“Stop!” The imperious shout shocked him back to himself. He was supposed to be doing something—something important.



Treachery. He was supposed to be searching inside the woman for signs of treachery.



Before he lost his chance, Logan shoved himself into her mind, slamming through the formidable shields she’d built up. They were thick and strong, but Logan was much stronger now, thanks to her blood. He had no trouble breaking down what had taken years to erect.