Undead Or Alive (Bad Things #3)(20)

Gregory stopped. He lifted one hand and pointed at Amber. “I want her.”

“Tell him that he’s not getting me,” Amber said, her lips moving close to Cass’s ear.

Cass’s lips almost twitched. “You’re not getting—” he began.

“I want her!” Gregory bellowed.

“Over my dead body.” And his lips weren’t twitching any longer. Red hot fury filled him and he held out his right hand. Power pulsed, trailing from his tattoo to his hand, growing, surging…

“Um, what’s happening?” Amber asked. Her hold on him tightened. “Because you just got a whole lot warmer.”

Yes, he had. “I won’t hurt you, just keep holding on.”

He spun the motorcycle so that he was facing Gregory. Cass drove toward him, gaining speed. He knew the vamp would try to jump out of his way.

So he was bringing in a new weapon.

His scythe appeared in his right hand. He saw the fear flash on Gregory’s face. Gregory had seen him use the scythe in the past, so the guy knew just how dangerous it was…particularly to a vamp.

Are you in the mood to lose your head? Because Cass was betting that Gregory wasn’t.

“Holy hell!” Amber gasped.

The vampire was running, moving at his super human speed, so Cass threw the scythe, and it hurtled, tossing end over end in a fast arc, right to his prey. It sank into the vampire’s back and Gregory fell to the ground.

Cass clamped both hands around the handlebars and turned the bike to the left. He didn’t look back.

But Amber must have because she suddenly cried out, “That…that thing just vanished!”

Yes, the weapon would have vanished after it found its target.

“You have light that shoots from your hand, and a magical scythe? A tattoo that turns into a real weapon?”

“I have a few more tricks,” he growled back at her. Maybe his words were a warning. And maybe he was just bragging because Amber had sounded impressed.

“Damn, Reaper, you are scary.”

Yes, he was.

But she was still holding him tight. So maybe he wasn’t too scary for her.

***

Fucking hell.

Gregory groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. Cass had actually used the scythe on him. Talk about hitting below the belt.

Or stabbing me in the damn back.

And to think…they’d once been best damn friends.

Friends always made for the most dangerous enemies.

He rubbed his back. The scythe would be gone now. He knew how that shit worked. Cass had that freaking magical tattoo on his back, and it let him call up the weapon whenever he wanted it. The weapon was his alone to command—another gift from Luke.

Talk about being the teacher’s pet.

Gregory rolled his shoulders. His back hurt. He’d need even more blood now, but at least that blade hadn’t severed his spine.

This time.

Once the scythe found its target, it vanished after impact. Very powerful magic. Magic that Cass shouldn’t possess. He’d done a few favors for Luke and been rewarded too well.

I’ll have those rewards. I’ll be the one who sits at the devil’s right hand.

Then…he’d be the one to take out the devil.

He could still hear the growl of the motorcycle, but he could barely stand, so chasing Cass and the mysterious Amber wasn’t an option. Not then.

But I know how you think, Cass. You’ll want the fastest mode of transportation. You’ll want to fly away with your prize. Cass was heading back to Key West. Back to Luke.

I just have to stop you before you get there.

“Hey…buddy…you okay?”

A human male had just appeared to his right, clutching a garbage bag.

Gregory smiled at him. “Not yet, but I will be…” After I take a bite.

***

Cass drove fast and he drove hard and he took them away from the city and down a long stretch of dirt road that seemed to shoot into the middle of absolutely nowhere.

When Cass braked the bike, Amber knew her reckoning had come. She’d been trying to think of lies to tell him.

She’d just come up with jack.

As soon as the engine died, she jumped from the motorcycle. His hand flew out and locked around her wrist. “Going somewhere?”

“I wish,” she mumbled, but then she notched up her chin. “I can’t, remember? ‘Cause you used some kind of mumbo jumbo magic on me, and now I’m practically chained to your side. Not cool, by the way. So incredibly not cool.”

He stared at her. His blue eyes gleamed. “I want to know everything.”

Trust me, you don’t.

He shoved down the kickstand. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

“Tell you what?” She yanked her wrist free of his hold. “My life story? Sorry I don’t feel like sharing with the man who has basically kidnapped me.”

He rose and faced her. His arms crossed over his chest. “I would think you’d want to spin me some sympathetic story, maybe try to get me on your side so I won’t hand you over to Luke.”

Like she hadn’t already considered that idea a dozen or so times. She glanced around the woods—they were dead silent. Almost eerily so. Amber swallowed. “Would that work? Would you really want the big, bad Lord of the Dark as your enemy because of me?”