Blood Doll Read Free Page B

made him laugh, but right now he understood. If they caught her, they would kill him too. Lana didn’t argue as he pulled on her wrist again, and together they started down the stairs. Some of the doors opened and faces appeared in the cracks, questioning their presence in the building so late at night, but no one made a move to stop them.
    Soon they were on the street, and the first drift of snow was just beginning to fall. The majority of the fog had cleared, but the haloes of the streetlights on the sidewalk showed a milky film beginning to build on the concrete. It would be another few minutes before the snow began to stick, if it did at all this close to the bay, but once it did they would be safe. Even vampires couldn’t track humans in snow.
    Still, moving at her pace was not moving fast enough. Without asking permission, Christian pulled Lana up into his arms, cradled her against his chest, and began to run. Her eyes went wide again and her face drained of color before she turned and tucked her head into his neck. She began to tremble, though whether from residual fear or the cold, he wasn’t quite sure.
    They crossed the city in a matter of minutes, disappearing into the thin strips of wooded space headed north toward Salem. As Christian ran, the snow grew in intensity, coming down in heavy, wet clumps that clung to his hair and nose. As they touched Lana, they melted. The heat of life radiated from her, pushing back the chill that followed him. He quickly warmed to her temperature, but being the parasite that he was, he would continue to drain that warmth until there was little left for her.
    When he finally placed her on her feet, they stood in front of his house, a small cottage tucked back in the woods. From here, they were roughly halfway between Boston and Salem, well out of the range of the watchers. Behind the house, a generator hummed and every light in every window glowed brightly. Harlan had left all the lights on again.
    “W-where are we?” she asked between chattering teeth. He draped his arm over her shoulders, knowing his death chill would do little to fortify her.
    “This is my home. You will be safe here until morning.”
    “I want to go back to my car.”
    Christian felt his temper rising, but cast a patient glance toward her. “I cannot do that, Lana. You are being hunted.” He pulled a key from his pocket and used it to open the door. “Now come inside before you freeze to death.”
    Lana stopped on the stoop, glancing back and forth between the overgrown driveway behind her, and the open door in front of her. She might have been a bit on the reckless side when she entered the building, but she was at least using a bit of caution now. Of course, seeing and being hunted by death could do that to a person.
    “Come on, Lana,” Christian urged, waving her forward. “I swear I won’t hurt you. But I can’t help you if you turn into an ice cube.”
    “I don’t like this,” she said.
    “I don’t blame you. But it’s the only option you have.”
    With great, frustrated reluctance, Lana started forward, careful to hug the opposite door frame so not to touch him as she entered. Her clothes were soaked through with melted snow, and even as she wandered over to the fireplace, he could see her shivering.
    “Stay right there,” Christian said as he closed the door. “Let me go get you some dry clothes. Then we can talk.” He started into the next room, then paused and turned back. “Harlan shouldn’t be home for at least another hour, but if he comes in, don’t be frightened. He won’t hurt you.”
    “O-okay.”
    He went down the hall into the back bedroom and pulled open the closet. She was a slip of a thing, but surely he had something that would fit her. He rummaged through the shelves, eventually turning up a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts. The socks he grabbed would certainly be too big, but they would help to warm her feet and hopefully ward off any cold she might pick