Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(23)

Suddenly, Steve started down.

“No,” she screamed at him. “We need to keep going. They’ll come after us!”

He didn’t listen, but continued down and landed in a dark alley much like the one they’d been in last night. Six-foot-high wooden fences lined the pathway, as if too keep riffraff out. The overflowing garbage cans that smelled like spoiled fruit seemed to hold up the fences, some of which looked rotted. By the time she landed, Steve was already human.

“Shit,” he said, grabbing her arm. The sweet smell of her own blood chased away the smell of garbage and filled Della’s senses.

“You know,” she said, flinching at the pain both in her arm and her upper chest, “you did good.”

“You are not going to die!” he seethed.

“Who said anything about dying?” She found it hard to focus on him and she blinked a couple of times.

“You just complimented me,” he said in a low growl. “That tells me how seriously hurt you are.”

She grinned and she couldn’t hold the gesture in place. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“No, you’re not that bad. Just stubborn…” he met her gaze, “and perfect,” he said, but his voice sounded distant. “I need to get you to a hospital.”

“No,” she said, feeling her knees weaken. “I need blood and I’ll heal. She didn’t hit any major organs, or I’d be dead. Just get me blood, Steve. That’s all I need. Vampires heal really quickly.”

He frowned and pulled his phone out. “Don’t you dare call Burnett!” she seethed, but her knees folded and she dropped to the ground. “Please,” she begged, feeling tears fill her eyes. “I want to impress him. I can’t let him down.” She batted at her tears and saw Steve looking down at her with compassion.

Relief fluttered inside her when she saw him put his phone back into his pocket. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you,” she repeated, but she’d no more gotten that last word out when she smelled the dirty scent that hinted at rotten meat. They had company. Not the rogue vamps.

Weres.

Oh, shit! She really didn’t want to die today.

She stood up, her whole body trembled. She prayed she looked a lot more menacing than she felt. There were three of them, big mean-looking dudes. Hair so dirty she couldn’t distinguish the color, and clothes that looked just as unclean.

They’d obviously smelled her blood and came looking for a bite to eat.

“Leave,” Steve growled at them. “Or I’ll kill you.” Sparkles started popping off around him. A loud roar filled the dark alley. The lion had returned, only this time it was even larger, the size of a small van.

Two of the weres backed up, but one, obviously the most stupid, started running at Steve, his canines extended, his eyes glowing orange. Steve swatted one paw and knocked the were across the alley. He hit the fence with a loud thud. The two smarter weres ran like hell was on fire and chasing them.

It took Della a second to realize she hadn’t done anything. She hadn’t even growled at the intruders to help Steve stand against them. But how could she when it took everything she had to stand?

With the echo of the fading footsteps running down the alley, she watched the lion charge at her. But what she didn’t understand was why everything was spinning. Round and round the world goes, where it lands nobody knows. Her mind created the singsong words in her head to go with the light-headed feeling washing over her. Just when she was about to get used to the light-headedness, black spots started popping off like firecrackers in her vision.

The last thing Della remembered was falling against the big beast and thinking that even as a lion, Steve smelled like some spicy male soap.

*

Della felt someone lift her head up.

Then she heard a male voice with a Southern accent as sexy as the voice was deep. “You either wake up and drink this or I’m going to have to call Burnett. You hear me? Wake up, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart? Della lifted her eyelids and looked up at the dark-haired, soft brown–eyed guy sitting next to her on the huge bed. He had one hand behind her head and the other holding a cup up to her mouth. It took her a second to realize who he was. It took another one for her to remember everything.

The mission.

The vampires.

The weres.

Steve’s kiss.

Oh, yeah, she remembered Steve’s kiss.

“Thank heavens,” he muttered when he saw her looking at him. “Can you drink?” He pressed the cup to her lips. “Just a couple of sips.”

The sweet smell of blood filled her nose and she opened her mouth and sipped. It tasted so good, she took another sip.

Steve lowered her head on the pillow that was so soft it practically swallowed her head. She glanced up at his smile.

“I think you need to drink more, but we’ll give you a few minutes,” he said.

The silky feel of the sheets against her bare back and the soft pillow surrounding her head told her two things. One, they weren’t back at the cabin, and two, she was practically naked.

She moved her gaze around and took in what appeared to be a fancy hotel room. Then she reached down to the sheet that covered her chest and lifted it up an inch to check for clothes.

Yup, naked. Well, practically naked. She still had on her red silk panties. And a bandage over her wound.