On the Prowl (Bad Things #2)(5)

His face hardened. “Rose…”

“Get your hands off me.” Fear and fury exploded in her. “Get away from me, now!”

Slowly, his hands fell away from her.

“Change me back,” she pleaded once more as the bloodlust rose within her. A hunger that made her want to attack.

“I can’t.” Pain was on his face, but it was nothing compared to the pain that seemed to rip her apart.

“Then stay the hell away from me,” she told him and then she was running again. Fast and hard and she didn’t look back.

You are the nightmare now.

***

Julian surged forward, but a hard hand clamped down on his shoulder, stopping him.

“I think the woman wants space,” Luke Thorne murmured. “So I’d advise you to back the hell off right now.”

He didn’t want to back off. Rose was in pain. She was terrified. “I have to help her.”

Luke laughed. “I think the lady feels you’ve helped enough. I warned you…playing God with someone else’s life has consequences.”

He knocked Luke’s hand aside. “I wasn’t going to watch her die!”

“Technically, she did die. And I brought her back because I am the all-powerful Lord of the Dark.” His words were mocking, but Luke’s face was grim. “I broke the rules when I did that. The price paid won’t just be yours alone, remember that. She’s the first vampire that was created not by birth or by bite. Darkness created her, and darkness will have its due.”

His claws were out. “I need her.” For the first time in his life, Julian had found something—someone—worth fighting for. And fate had tried to take her away from him.

“She doesn’t need you. At least, not right now.”

“Bullshit. She’s scared. She’s desperate. She might hurt someone.”

Luke didn’t appear concerned. “Vampires always hurt people. It’s what they do. Get it in your head, panther. The woman you knew is long gone. From the minute she sprouted fangs, she became someone else.”

His hands were shaking. It felt as if someone had ripped his heart clear from his chest.

“Now, about that deal we made…” Luke’s voice was harder.

Luke Thorne…shit, the guy was trouble. Julian knew it. Every dark paranormal who walked the earth feared Luke, and for good reason.

But I had to make a deal with him.

“Let’s see if you’re really as good of an assassin as the stories say.” Luke inclined his head. “I’ve got some beasts who haven’t been following the rules. It’s time for them to be stopped.”

“Let me just talk to Rose again, I need to—”

The air around them seemed to heat. “A deal is a deal,” Luke murmured. “Time to pay the price.” Then he laughed. “Besides, it’s not as if you won’t have time to woo your Rose again. She’s a vampire now. She has eternity waiting on her.”

She’d vanished from the little road. He still had her scent, though. He could track her. “She didn’t even know about monsters.”

Luke laughed once more. “She does now…”





Chapter One


She was evil, straight to her core. A monster to be feared. A creature of incredible power.

She was evil, all the way to her soul. She feared nothing. No one.

So why were her knees shaking? Dammit.

Rose Kinley paused just outside of the loud club. The music was making her ears ache and the thick crowd inside had her wanting to turn and run away. She’d never liked crowds. Not in life and not in her undead existence, either. But crowds made for the best hunting grounds, and she desperately needed to feed.

So she had to woman-the-hell-up, dig deep to be her new evil self, and go in there and find some prey. Simple enough. Her high heels clicked as she headed toward the bouncer. He was a big, burly guy, a fellow who sported a whole lot of tats and looked as if he feared nothing on the face of the earth.

I want to be like him.

She was down in Key West, a place she did not want to be, and her immediate priority was getting enough blood so that she could amp up her power. Once she was operating at full capacity, she’d be fleeing the scene as fast as possible. She had too many enemies in the Keys. Distance was a necessity for her.

The bouncer’s gaze swept over her, lingering just a moment on her breasts and her legs. She’d stolen the scrap of an outfit from a nearby shop, knowing it was exactly what she needed to gain entrance to this club. After that brief survey, the bouncer gave a nod. “You’re in, lady.”

She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, unable to shake the sensation that she was being hunted. Only…no one stared back at her from the shadows.

Her imagination. These days, she always saw monsters.

Rose eased into the club. The music was even louder. A band was on the stage, bouncing around, and the crowd was going wild. The scents of alcohol and sweat were heavy in the air. Couples were making out. The drinks were flowing. And it was feeding time. For her.

Rose found her prey easily. She picked a man on the edge of the crowd, a man who was watching the dancers with a faint smile on his lips. He was handsome—tall, blond, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

Do this. Don’t hesitate.