Tall, Dark & Lonely (Pyte/Sentinel #1)(92)

“Release him. What about the woman and this man?” Eric ran his eyes over Ephraim’s torn and bloodied back. The other man grabbed Madison by the arm, yanking her to her feet. Ephraim rolled off her onto the ground without a sound.

“Hey, be careful with her, she’s pregnant,” Chris snapped.

“Sorry,” the man mumbled. He looked Madison over for bite marks. “One last thing.” He pulled out a cross and pressed it to her forehead.

Nothing.

“She’s human.”

“Good, get those chains off her then,” Eric said.

“What do we do with this one?” The blond man pushed Ephraim over. He pressed the cross to his head. “I think he’s human.”

Eric sighed as he bent over and pushed Ephraim’s lips apart. “Pretty big fangs for a human, wouldn’t you say?”

“Holy shit!”

“What is he?”

“He’s some kind of bloodsucker.” Eric looked Ephraim over.

“What should we do?”

“What you’re supposed to do. Stake him.”

“No, stop!” Madison pushed away from the man and dropped in front of Ephraim. “Stop!”

“Oh great, a fang banger,” the blond man said with obvious disgust. “Move, we have a job to do. I don’t know what this creature has told you, but you are in very real danger.”

“Ma’am, I really need you to move,” Eric said as he tried to grab her.

“No! He’s one of you! He’s a Sentinel!”

“No, ma’am, he’s not. He’s a vamp or a demon,” Eric said softly, probably hoping not to frighten her.

Madison wiped her face frantically with the back of her hands. “No look.” She pushed Ephraim over onto his back with great difficulty. Chris grabbed a shoulder and helped. “See?” She pointed to his tattoo.

“Ma’am, all I’m seeing is a bloody tattoo,” Eric said.

“What?” She looked closely only to realize it was completely covered in blood. She used her hand to try to wipe it away only to smear it worse. She saw a large bottle attached to the man’s belt and grabbed it.

“Ma’am, wait!” She didn’t listen to him. She flipped open the cap and poured the liquid over his tattoo. The blood washed away, revealing his tattoo. Then she poured the liquid over his face, washing the blood away from his face and body until his wounds were visible against tanned skin.

“Wasn’t that holy water, Eric?”

“Yeah,” Eric’s voice was shallow.

“Then why isn’t he screaming and bursting into flames?”

“Because he’s a Sentinel! I keep trying to tell you. Look at the tattoo! He’s marked. He’s a Pyte!”

“A Pyte? No f**king way.” Eric stepped closer and looked over the tattoo. He ran a finger over the intricate design. “I’ll be damned. He’s one of ours. I haven’t seen this mark in fifty years.” Madison’s brows shot up. The man didn’t look older than twenty-five at most. “I can’t believe we have a Pyte. I thought that was make-believe shit. John, look at that.” He pointed to the symbol in the middle of the tattoo.

“Please, help him.” Madison took Ephraim’s hand and hugged it. She was so tired so utterly tired. “Please.” She leaned over Ephraim’s unconscious body and began sobbing. “Please, just help him.”

Chapter 24

He woke up gasping for air. Someone was going to shoot her. Someone was going to take away his Madison. He’d waited too long. All those months of waiting until she was ready for nothing. She was going to die.

“Madison?”

His eyes quickly adjusted to his surroundings. He was in her room and in her bed. His hand shot out to her side of the bed to find it empty. He scrambled out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. Before he even opened the door he knew that she wasn’t there. Ephraim ran through the bathroom into his room and sighed with relief.

Madison was curled up on the overstuffed couch that took the place of his bed, sleeping. The coffee table in front of her was pulled forward and covered with stacks of papers she’d been grading. He moved into the room and noticed her desk was completely covered as well. That was no surprise. She was notoriously untidy when it came to her desk which was why when they decided to turn his room into an office for both of them he insisted on separate desks.

Ephraim walked quietly over to his desk and turned the large chair around to watch her. Right now she looked so defenseless and weak. His heart broke just to look at her and think about how close she’d come to death.

It had been a mistake to keep her in his life before he had Caroline handled. Europe had been a mistake as well. The Sentinels could have waited, there hadn't been any rush. Chris was safe and sound and he would have stayed that way if Ephraim’s presence hadn't attracted a f**king Master and her slaves. He dropped his head into his hands. Why didn’t he just go kill the bitch when she made her move back in January?

He’d been an idiot. He let his heart and c**k lead him around and now he had a sixteen year old boy on a Master’s wish list. It was going to be a race against time now. He had to get Chris completely trained before it was too late. For the last few months he’d taken it slow, trying not to tip Chris off to his plans, but now he had to f**king scramble to get his kid in full fighting mode before they tried to snatch him again and they most certainly would try.