Addict (Hunter #2)(26)

I kicked out to get him off me and landed on my ass because Alan was already being assaulted on two fronts. Trent had his clawed hands around Alan’s neck. Somehow, Alan seemed to be pulling away from the big alpha. He couldn’t get away from Marcus, though. Marcus didn’t need to lay a hand on him. Alan stopped trying to pull away from Trent. His eyes went blank and glassy and his hands suddenly sank into his own belly. Blood began to flow from the wounds.

“Marcus, stop,” I yelled. Well, I tried. My face was totally f*cked up and apparently having working muscles aids in the yelling experience.

All around me the club was coming to a standstill as the blood started to flow. Quinn was on some sort of walkie-talkie and security had been called. Donovan was suddenly standing next to Alan, and I hadn’t even seen him move. He had his hands on Alan’s, trying to pull them away from his bleeding belly.

“Trent, take his left hand,” Donovan ordered.

Trent joined the effort, pulling at Alan’s claws.

Marcus’s eyes had gone pitch black, his face a mask of pure rage. He stalked toward me. I could see his mind was still inside Alan’s.

“Marcus, let him go.” The king was yelling now. He appeared to be having trouble holding Alan’s hands away from his body. You have to understand. I’m talking about the King of all Vampire. The dude’s kind of super strong, and he wasn’t able to break Marcus’s hold.

My vampire lover said nothing, merely tightened his fist, and Donovan was swearing again as Alan renewed his attempts to gut himself.

“Marcus, please.” I put my hands on either side of his face. I needed him to focus on me. While the idea that his brain could trump Donovan and Trent’s brawn did something for my girl parts, I had other problems to consider. First, getting clawed by a hopped-up-on-freaky-drugs shifter hurt like shit and second, I still had a job to do. “I need him. You can’t kill him. He has information I need.”

“He cut you.” Marcus’s fangs gleamed in the low light of the club. “He would have killed you.”

“And you can fix me,” I promised. “But if you kill him, I can’t get what I need out of him. Please. This is important to me, Marcus.”

The vampire flashed his fangs and waved his right hand in an almost dismissive manner. Alan went limp, like a marionette who’d had its strings cut. Donovan and Trent had to catch him before he hit the floor.

Marcus gently pushed my head to one side, studying what Alan had done to my face. It hurt like a motherf*cker, and I was pretty sure my face was a mask of nastiness. Blood flowed freely down my neck and on to my chest. My lover’s face turned savage. Not killing Alan had been an indulgent act on his behalf, and one it looked like he regretted.

“Does it hurt?” Marcus asked with a frown. I knew he was deciding how much blood I would need and if he should do it here.

“Not bad,” I lied, trying to smile. The muscles on one side of my face didn’t work anymore, but I knew he would prefer privacy. I would, too. For some reason, I didn’t want Trent to watch me sucking on Marcus’s chest. It’s weird, but knowing he would watch made me pause.

Marcus shook his head and took my hand in his. “Liar. Come along. It isn’t serious. We’ll fix it upstairs. I believe you will find the king now desires a word.” The king was, indeed, towering over me. Marcus waved him off. “Upstairs, Daniel. I need to take care of her, then she can answer your questions.”

Donovan nodded. He obviously didn’t like it, but he let it go. I seriously doubt he would allow his wife to answer questions while she was bleeding and half her face was slowly sliding off her body. “Fine. I’ll be up at your place in fifteen. I’ve called Henri and Alex. They’re the best doctors we have.”

Marcus started to lead me away. I turned back, trying to speak to the king. “He’s on something. I need a toxicology report. Also, check his clothes and shoes to see if we can tell where he’s been in the last twenty-four hours.” Something was seriously wrong with Alan and his body was my best evidence. “Maybe I should stay here until Henri gets here.”

Henri Jacobs was a doctor and an academic. He was also Marcus’s friend. I didn’t mention the other doctor. I’d been hoping to avoid Alexander Sharpe entirely.

“It’s fine, Miss Owens,” a softly accented voice said. Henri pushed his way through the crowd. His beautiful wife was behind him. Kimberly Jacobs had an ice pack in her hand. Henri looked at me and frowned. He nodded to Marcus. “Make sure she gets enough. I would not want that to scar.”

“Here.” Kim handed me the ice pack. “It’ll take the sting out until Marcus can fix it.”

I thanked her, putting the cooling pack to my face. Henri assured me he would get everything I needed. Marcus had enough of my stalling and simply lifted me up and started for the elevators.

As we passed Dev Quinn, it was hard not to notice the look of utter satisfaction on his face. I made a mental note to ask Marcus what he’d meant with that crack about “so-called destiny.”




Ten minutes later, I sighed as I pressed my mouth to Marcus’s chest and the rich velvet of his blood flooded my body. It was almost like a dark, deep chocolate, and I couldn’t get enough of it. At the heart, of course, it isn’t the taste that keeps you coming back. It’s what it does to your body. That blood gives you a hint of the vampire’s strength. You feel happier, safer, more alive than you could ever feel without it. It was the best drug I’d ever tried, and in my f*cked up youth, I’d tried them all.