Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2) (22 page)

“If you’re trying to sneak up on me, you have failed miserably,” he said, not changing his position.

“If I had intended to sneak up on you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You should get some rest,
mi guerrera
. You’ll need all your strength for the fight.”

“What are you? Really? And don’t give me some vague answer.”

His eyes filled with appreciation as he turned to glance at me. “What do you think I am?”

“A Cazador. Lea thought there might be another. So she’s not alone?”

“No,
mi amor
. She is not.”

“So you’re along for the ride because you want to kill Stravinsky and every vampire we find in the facility? Like we’re handing you a Disney Fast Pass?”

He chuckled and straightened, moving slowly toward me with the grace of a panther. “I like you more than I expected.”

“I have no idea what that means, but you better keep your fucking hands to yourself, Antonio.”

He stopped in front of me, resting his hand on the driver’s door. “You are this delicious combination of bark and bite.”

“You haven’t fully been introduced to my bite,” I said with a sneer. “But I can pull it out for you if you’d like.”

He chuckled again, then snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest. But I was ready for him. I spun away from him and assumed a defensive stance.

“Why can you not give me a chance,
mi amor?
We are good together.”

I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Save the happily ever after shit for someone who buys it. Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Like surviving.”

“I fully intend to survive, Rachel. And I fully intend for you to survive as well. I need a partner who is my equal.”

I snorted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I already have a partner, thank you very much.”

“A partner or a yoke?”

“What the hell does that mean?” I shook my head. “I would love to leave you behind, but we need all the help we can get. So—against my better judgment—you can stay.”

A slow grin spread across his face. “I thought that was a given.”

“Nothing is a given.
Nothing
.”

His smile faded.

“When this thing is done, you fucking walk away, do you understand? You walk away. You touch a hair on Lea’s head before you go, and I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and kill you myself. Go it?”

His eyes darkened. “You don’t know what you ask,
mi amor
. I must free you of your bond.”

“That’s my decision,
Cazador
,” I snarled. “Not yours.”

“It was never your decision,
mi guerrera
. It was made for you.”

“What does that mean?”

But his body had stilled, his muscles tensed. He balanced on the balls of his feet, his fingertips twitching.

“What’s out there?” I whispered, letting my hands relax at my sides as I slowly dipped down. The tips of my fingers brushed the top of the blade in my boot. I didn’t sense anything, but he obviously did, and while I didn’t like this cocky bastard, he had far more experience with the supernatural realm.

He looked me square in the eye, his eyes full of…was that pride? “Werewolves.”

“How many?”

“Six.”

“Can you take them?”

His mouth curved into a sexy grin. “No,
mi amor
. But we will together.” Then he charged.

LEA

Werewolves were not to be trifled with. Werewolves on leashes held by men I wasn’t entirely sure were human posed a whole other problem. From a low rolling hill, I watched them sweep the area. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were after.

Six pairs fanned out across a swathe at least the length of a football field. No matter how clever Antonio thought he was in covering our tracks, there was no way the wolves would miss our scent.

The werewolves were in wolf form, their noses to the ground, muzzles latched over their elongated snouts. The low whimpering in the back of their throats, the way they pulled on the chains; they already had our scent. I had hoped for a little more time.

“Shit.” I rose to a crouch. If Rachel had a transport coming at dawn, we had to wait. Which meant I had no choice. I had to kill the werewolves and their handlers. And I had to do it before—

“The dogs have the scent. Release B3, B7, C9.”

The click of chains being unlatched sounded as loud to my ears a bullet report. Three of the werewolves leapt forward. They tore each other’s muzzles off and then the center one tipped its head back and howled. The sound wasn’t the cry of a normal wolf—it was more of a guttural roar that twisted into a high-pitched scream.

I bolted parallel to the wolves; slow enough so they would see me, fast enough to stay ahead. If I could draw them away, Ivan might be able to handle the remaining three. At least he’d have a chance.

The wind shifted, bringing me the smell of their fur—musky and rank with urine. That was not natural to werewolves—by nature they were clean, almost fastidious in their...I shook my head. Not the time for tangents. The wind shifted again and brought me a scent that snapped my feet to a standstill. “Rachel, what the hell are you doing out here?”

Now that I knew she was outside, it only took me a moment to pinpoint her and Antonio down at the edge of the village. But in that moment of stillness, the first werewolf launched at me. Full of the shepherd’s blood, I was too fast for it. By a fraction of a second. I threw myself to the ground as I spun, driving my boot into the wolf’s ribcage as hard as I could.

Ribs exploded under my boot, shattering like glass, and the beast’s side split open. The scent of decay rolled over me. The werewolf didn’t even whimper. It landed and immediately spun and faced me, its side hanging open, teeth bared, eyes glassy with a death it didn’t know it held.

“Fuck me, zombie werewolves?” I whipped my stake out as a second wolf shot forward, its belly skimming the sand as it lunged toward me. I stabbed the stake down hard and fast right before the wolf reached me, driving it through the creature’s brain until I felt the crunch of sand on the tip. A burst of blood, bits of flesh and a bright green liquid I couldn’t identify spewed out of its mouth, and I gagged on the rancid scent that coated my tongue.

The moment of distraction cost me.

The first werewolf grabbed my leg and jerked me off my feet. I hit the ground on my left side, and it dragged me, shaking me hard enough that the stars above blurred into white streaks. The third wolf bit down on my left shoulder, teeth driving through flesh and cracking the bone. Pain arched my back and a grunt escaped me as I swallowed the scream. No, if I screamed, it would draw them to me.

Away from Rachel and Ivan. I screamed, the sounded echoing into the night. The chorus of wolves that answered was loud enough that I knew it would work.

Now I had to move my ass.

I reached up with my free hand and grabbed hold of the wolf whose teeth were still locked into my shoulder. I dug my fingers into the thick, rotting ruff of fur around its neck, searching for the windpipe. The corded muscle quivered under my fingers and I grabbed hold, ripping it free.

The wolf didn’t let go.

“Fucking mutt!”

The wolf on my leg jerked hard enough that my knee popped out of joint. The scream this time was not intentional. One more pull like that and I’d lose my leg.

Wrapping my free hand around the neck of the wolf on my shoulder, I sat up and yanked it with me. Its body flipped over and landed on my legs, knocking its buddy off my foot. Then I booted its head with my good leg and scooted back on my ass.

With as much speed as I could, I grabbed my dangling leg and jammed the knee back into the socket with a grind of bone on bone. A hiss of pain escaped me, but at least my leg was mine again. For the moment.

The sound of paws thumping across the sand behind me sent a shiver down my spine. The two wolves in front advanced, their red eyes glowing, their teeth clacking together over and over. I pushed myself to a crouch, my stake gripped in my right hand. What I wouldn’t give for another weapon or two.

“Come on, boys,” I beckoned to them, and they obliged.

A dark furred shape shot between us, tackling the two wolves at the same time. His scent was as clean and pure as theirs was rancid and foul.

“Ivan! Take their heads. It’s the only way.”

I had to trust he could handle them. Because the other wolves hadn’t shown up, and the sound of fighting from the edge of the village was all I needed to know that Rachel was in trouble. Limping, I ran toward the snarling and snapping of teeth, the sound of Rachel cursing out the zombie wolves.

“You fucking bastards!”

Shouldn’t have been funny, but it made me smile for a split second.

I ran over a low hill, and there they were in front of me. Antonio and Rachel were standing back to back, each facing a wolf. There was no sign of the sixth and final wolf. Not good, but I would deal with it after—

Rachel spun away from Antonio, drawing the wolf she faced with her. The werewolf followed like a good doggy, and she caught it under the jaw with her boot, snapping its head back. Before it could even recover, she leapt forward and drove the silver stake through its brain.

“Good girl,” I whispered and made my way down the slope. Antonio...I didn’t really care if he survived or not, but if he fell, the wolf would be at Rachel’s back. I crept up behind the oversized canine and grabbed its tail. It let out a yelp as I reeled it in to me. Climbing onto its back, I clamped my legs around its torso and drove my stake sideways, in through the right ear and out through the left. The wolf slumped under me, blood and that strange green liquid pouring out in a rush of sewage that made me gag.

“Shitty time to have highly tuned senses, isn’t it?” Ivan said from behind me—back in human form. I nodded and stumbled off the wolf’s body.

“There’s one more. I counted six,” I said.

Rachel nodded, her whole body vibrating. “We caught the first one off guard. It’s dead.”

“And those who held the leashes, did anyone see them?” I asked.

Ivan shook his head. “There was no one else, Lea. Just the wolves.”

I blinked and touched the side of my head. I was not seeing things. I couldn’t be. Because if that started…

I swallowed hard, but Antonio spilled my secret.

“If she’s seeing things, she’s more dangerous to us than ever before. Vampires, as they age, grow stronger. But the years they live weigh on them and they slowly lose their minds. Isn’t that right, bloodsucker?”

Fuck, I did not want to have this conversation, certainly not in front of Ivan and Rachel, both of whom were staring me down.

“Partly true, Cazador,” I said, letting myself slump to the sand. “Partly true. With great age, a vampire can lose their mind. But not if they know what they are doing, and I assure you, I know what I am fucking doing.” I lifted an eyebrow at him. “Rachel, walk with me a minute.”

“Do not do it, Rachel. She’s not safe.” Antonio stepped between us, but Ivan dropped a hand on the Cazador’s shoulder and yanked him back.