Blood Doll Read Free

they looked very sharp.
    What the hell have I walked into , she thought as a wave of panicked nausea rose in her gut.
    “Good luck getting her out of here.” One of the others snarled, sharp, gleaming teeth bared, and lunged. What happened next was over before Lana could process the events, even as the one they called Christian caught his attacker by the throat and with one hand lifted him from the floor. He took the dark-skinned man’s head in his free hand, and with one sharp movement, twisted his head completely off. Dark, thick blood spattered the concrete floor, and the sick crunch of bone filled the air as his skull was rent free of his spine. The decapitated body crumpled to the ground with a muted thump, the head rolling into the booted feet of one of the others. Lana surveyed the carnage from atop his shoulder, where he had turned and lifted her before starting for the door at a run. Horrified, she realized there was little she could do except hold onto his shirt and pray she wasn’t next.

Chapter Two
     
    Christian set Lana on her feet and leaned her back against the wall. They were seven blocks away from the club, but he could still hear the music thumping through the air. He could also hear the snarls and growls of the watchers as they hunted the alleys near the club for him. They would find him soon, and when they did, they would kill the girl.
    She was such a pretty one, and obviously a good one to be worried enough about her sister to willingly walk into a den of vipers. She looked just like Sarah—tall and slender with curly, brown hair, and large, green eyes. But the way she looked up at him, those green orbs round and dilated, her chin trembling just the slightest, told him that in this moment, she was terrified of him.
    And she had every right to be. He’d just ripped the head off of one of the Xanthe’s bulldogs in front of her. By the following dusk, he would be forgiven, but if she went within five blocks of that building again…
    Christian was willing to bet that she had absolutely no idea what he was. Or any of them, for that matter.
    “Keep breathing,” he said, his voice echoing loudly off the walls of the alley. “You’re safe with me.”
    “Who the fuck were those people?” she nearly shrieked, “and who the fuck are you?”
    “My name is Christian Sterling, and I am probably the only person in that club that doesn’t want you dead right now.”
    “What the hell makes you think I’m going to believe you?” she snapped as frightened tears streamed down her face. It was a bullying move, he knew it as he did it, but Christian turned and crowded into her personal space, pressing her hard against the wall as he raised one hand toward her. For a moment, he held her throat between his fingers, sensing and savoring the strong, rabbitlike pulse there, then lifted his hand and grazed his fingertips across her cheek.
    “Because if I wanted you dead, I’d have drained you dry and left you in a heap on the floor of the club.” She froze, and her scent changed just the slightest bit. Fear mixed with confusion—it was such a heady cocktail. He was so hungry… and she would make a divine meal.
    After several long moments her eyes softened, and her shoulders relaxed. He heard the tiny release of breath as she gave her silent consent that he was telling the truth.
    “I know where your sister is, and if you ever expect to see her again, you will do exactly as I tell you.”
    “She is in that club,” Lana said defiantly. “I know she is.”
    “Yes, she is,” he confirmed, then lifted a hand to hold a finger up before her eyes, “but, you can’t save her on your own.”
    “Save her?”
    “You saw the kid at the door, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “She’s like him.”
    “What? A junkie?”
    Christian shrugged. “In a manner of speaking. Do you have any idea where you just were, Lana?”
    “A nightclub called The Mausoleum.”
    Okay, so she had an idea of her location… but that told