Angel of Darkness (The Fallen #1)(9)

The truck swerved and followed right behind her. She was fast, but not faster than a truck.

The bumper hit her and she went down. Nicole slammed into the dirt, but she rolled quickly so those wheels didn’t plow right over her.

Dirt filled her lungs. Blood poured from the gashes in her arms. And the thirst grew. I went too long between feedings. Shouldn’t have waited.

But she hated to drink blood. It reminded her too much of what she was. Monster.

And when she drank, the dark temptation to take and take welled within her.

A truck door squeaked open. “We hit her!” Not a Mexican accent this time. She recognized Texas when she heard it.

The other door groaned open. “Keep yer gun on her. It’ll take more than a smack from my Chevy to put one like her down.”

Yes, it would, but Nicole kept her eyes closed and kept her breathing light. The men eased closer. She could smell their sweat and their fear.

And excitement.

Other footsteps pounded in the distance—her would-be victim and his buddies must be coming in.

Then she heard the thunder of a gunshot. One. Two. But she didn’t flinch at the blasts. If they wanted to shoot at each other, fine with her. Infighting meant fewer guys for her to fight off later.

The ground vibrated with the footsteps of her hunters. She waited, held steady, waited and— The first man nudged her with his boot. No, not a nudge. The jerk kicked her with his boot. She turned, moving fast in an instant, and caught his legs. Twisting hard, she broke his right leg, then his left. He was screaming before he hit the ground.

And she was up. Nicole slammed her fist into the other attacker’s face. Bones crunched. Blood spurted, and oh, she would have taken a drink. Fitting punishment for them running her down like a wild dog, but ...

But she needed to get the hell out of there.

More bullets were flying, but they weren’t even coming near her. Someone must have real crappy aim. She darted around the truck and ran for the shrouding darkness once more. There’d better not be another truck waiting there.

Nicole risked one quick glance over shoulder, and when she did, shock had her tripping.

Only one man followed her now. What had happened to the others? She’d counted at least six before she’d run like the devil was chasing her.

Been there, done that.

The man striding so calmly across that barren field had a gun in his hand. But as she looked at him, he tossed the gun onto the ground. Wait, wait, that wasn’t the guy she’d intended to steal a few sips from in that dark lot. That was ... him. The stranger with the voice like thunder’s rumble. Deep and dark and, oh, damn, she was in trouble.

Nicole made it into the darkness in the tattered remains of the woods. She pushed inside the trees, still hurrying. She’d scouted this area earlier. There was a turn up ahead that would lead her back to old sedan she’d parked and— The thirst.

Nicole swallowed and kept moving. Her mantra these days was just keep moving. That was the way she’d been living her life. One wild step at a time.

As she broke from the woods, she saw her sedan waiting. Lucky for her, that beaten-up gray shell still managed to drive. Her breath expelled in a hard whoosh as she sprinted forward. She’d head to the next town. There was just enough time to get there before dawn. She’d drive over and find more prey.

Going without blood wasn’t a possibility that night. She couldn’t afford to be pushed to the edge. Not with the hunters after her.

“Nicole.”

A shiver worked over her at his voice. Don’t look back. She wrenched open the car door and jumped inside. Her hands were shaking when she shoved the key into the ignition. Hurry.

She slammed the car into reverse, spun it around and— Her headlights burned right on the man standing in the middle of the road.

Tall. Muscled. Dressed all in black, he should have looked like a devil. He didn’t. He looked like the best sin she’d ever seen.

And that fact terrified her. Because, until six months ago, Nicole had never sinned. Now she couldn’t seem to stop, no matter how hard she tried.

He tilted his head and his blond hair, too long, too thick, brushed against his sharp cheekbones. The man’s face was perfect. Better than any photo she’d ever seen in a magazine. Not handsome, perfect. He had strong, high cheekbones, a positively lickable square jaw, and wide, bright blue eyes. Oh, just a come-here glance from those eyes would probably be enough to seduce most women.

Good thing she wasn’t most women.

“Get out of the way!” She warned. Her foot lifted off the brake.

His lips curved slowly in a crooked half-smile that sent a chill over her.

“Move!” She yelled at him.

He stepped closer.

Her hand shoved out the driver’s-side window. She’d broken the window weeks before. “Don’t push me!” He’d already admitted to being a hunter, and she wasn’t going to sit back and let him haul her away.

This life might not be the one she would have chosen, but she wasn’t letting death take her.

Tall and sexy kept walking toward her.

Not human. She was ninety percent sure of that fact. She revved the engine and shoved down on the gas pedal.

He was headed right for her with that smile still on his face— Okay, she was eighty percent sure. And she wasn’t going that fast. If she hit him— Seventy percent?