Her Vampire Ward Read Free Page A

making contact would open opportunities to
locate the motel. I worried about Daniel.
    Alek
and I played cards while I flipped through the feeds on my phone.
None but the magical detector showed any activity.
    I
taught the vampire gin rummy, more to keep him calm and distracted
than to pass the time. It gave me a chance to study his face as he
pored over his cards. He'd drunk the cow's blood, but still looked
haggard. I supposed the alarm wasn’t helping in that regard -
it was getting to me as well. I felt as if the whole room pulsed with
it. Like the motel itself was breathing.
    I
watched him consider his hand. His green eyes weren't as cold as I
was used to seeing in his kind. They were expressive, bright if I
managed to make him smile. And that smile caught me off guard every
time. It was warm, and contagious, and increased my anxiety. I did not want
to lose this one. We lost clients more often than we liked to talk
about, almost always because they broke our rules. If we lost Alek
tonight, though, it would be our fault alone. My failure. He’d
fought so hard to stay alive this long. I had to keep him safe, now.
    He
read the concern on my face.
    "What
happens to you if they find me here? Do you run?"
    "It's
not going to happen." I shuffled through my cards, not paying
attention to their faces.
    "Still,
though. What would happen? Would you leave?"
    "I
won't leave you." I made sure to look at him as I said it. "We
do not escalate to violence. The team will call the authorities for
that, if they hadn't been called earlier. My job at that point is to
try to negotiate or try to stall them."
    "Then
why the guns?" He indicated the pile of weapons on the bed next
to me.
    "If
they shoot first."
    His
hand brushed mine as he took a card from the deck. He kept his gaze
averted, studying my weapons.
    "And
the sword?"
    I
flashed him a grim smile. "Some things need to have their heads
removed to die."
    Then
the fourth alarm went off. The lights dimmed, and fog would be
clouding the windows outside if we opened the curtains to look. The
humming alarm's pulses sped up, though the tone dropped in volume.
    "What
is it?" Alek asked.
    "He's
suspicious. He's got eyes in the area. No physical beings, but he's
looking for visible signs, now."
    "That's
bad?"
    "It's...
a new challenge." I picked up the walkie. "Carolyn?"
    "We're
going silent," she said, "Stand by. Be calm." Don't
worry yet, but don't take off your boots .
But, watching the vampire, knowing they were trying so hard to find
him, I was worried.
    "What
happens if we need to leave?" he asked, putting down his cards.
    "It
won't happen."
    He
touched my hand. "Please."
    I
sighed, tossed my cards onto his pile. "Just a little night
stroll to a bunker in the woods. I'll cast as we walk. It will take a
couple hours, I can't run and-" He shook his head. "What?"
    He
avoided my eyes. "I've been on the run since long before you all
were called. I won't make it, unless..."
    Starving.
My suspicions were right. "You can walk?"
    "Yes,"
he said, "But not for long. I'm light-headed even now."
    "Shit."
    "I'm
sorry."
    "No,
no, that wasn't directed at you. I'm sorry."
I pulled my jacket off, revealing a black tank top and a harness
holding a knife below each arm. "Better to be over prepared and
ready to move. Though we won't need to." With my hair braided to
one side as it was, I was as ready as I could be. I turned my back to
him and tilted my neck.
    "This
is not what I meant." His voice was hard, angry. "I
wouldn't ask this of you."
    "No,
but I'm telling you to do it. We have no feeders, here," I said.
"This is part of the job. I can't keep you safe if you're too
weak to walk."
    I
felt the mattress sink as he knelt behind me. "I'm sorry I
brought this down on you."
    "Stop
it. You're doing the right thing. This is our business, we know the
risks." I didn't understand why he was so apologetic. Just
because of the warlock? It wasn't his fault that maniac had been
brought in to deal with him.
    He
touched