Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(6)

He stiffened. He’d just caught sight of a faint green light from the corner of his eye. A light that should not have been in that alley. His head tilted up, then to the left. There. Small, dark—a video camera. The faint green light was glowing from the bottom corner of the camera.

Someone is watching.

His eyes narrowed on that camera. Someone had been watching while Jane was attacked? While she lay on the ground, fighting for her life? And now…someone was still watching as he came to find answers.

“Uh, alpha…” Garrison began nervously.

Aidan leapt up into the air—far higher than any basketball player could ever dream. His claws drove into the camera and he wrenched it down.

No more green light. No more watching.

The wolves who’d come with him to that alley were dead silent.

A video camera…one that had recorded a vampire and a werewolf that night. “Trace it,” Aidan ordered. When it came to tech, his pack knew their shit. “Find out where the feed was going. Find out who the hell put this camera up there. Find out…” His voice dropped to a growl. “Who was watching.”

Who was watching while Jane nearly died.

***

The dream came again. Dream, nightmare, memory—to Jane, there was no difference.

She was tied down, secured on the top of an old table. In the basement of her house. When she turned her head, Jane could see her mom. Her mother was tossed on the floor, her limbs all twisted and a big pool of red underneath her body. Her dad…he was there, too. Another quick turn of her head showed Jane her dad’s form. The only father she’d ever known, not by blood, but by love. He’d loved her so much, all the way until the very end.

His eyes were still open, but she didn’t think he saw her, not anymore.

“There, there…no need for tears, little one. It’s all for you.” That voice was back. The voice she hated. Mean and cold and cruel and she wouldn’t look at him. She just wouldn’t.

“We waited a long time for you. You’d better not disappoint.”

She looked back at her dad. This was her house. Her mom’s house. Her dad’s house. They were supposed to be safe there. Why aren’t we safe?

“You can scream if you want,” that cold voice told her.

It was all the warning she got. Pain came then. So hot. Burning, branding. She screamed and screamed but it didn’t stop. And she could smell something—something funny. Something—

It’s me. I’m burning.

Her voice broke and her cries stopped.

“Good girl.”

She didn’t want to be good. Not if he liked that.

“I’ll be back soon.” He stroked back her hair, and his green eyes gleamed down at her. “We’ll take a little break. Let you get a bit of strength back so that we can finish things up.” His blond hair was swept away from his face. A face that seemed so normal.

It isn’t. He’s not normal. He’s evil. Monster. Monster. Monster!

Vampire.

There were no tears on her cheeks. She’d stopped crying after…Daddy.

The green-eyed man—monster—shut the door on the way out. Her home. He had taken over as if he owned the place. They had. In the middle of the night, monsters had come for her. Her mom had told her that monsters weren’t real. That she should never be afraid of them.

Her mom had been wrong.

She heard faint squeaks. The softest of rustles. Her eyes had closed. When had they closed? She should look around and see what was happening.

But she was afraid and she didn’t think she wanted to see anything else.

Her right side kept hurting. Throbbing. She could still smell that terrible scent in the air. I think that’s me.

“Mary Jane…” A soft voice called. Her brother Drew’s voice. “Mary Jane…are you okay?”

Don’t be here. Don’t. Run away.

“Y-you didn’t tell them I was here.”

Now she did cry. One long tear slid down her cheek.

“I’m gonna…I’m gonna get you out.”

She shook her head and kept her eyes closed. But she felt him pulling on the ropes that held her ankles down. There was a faint sawing motion. It sounded so loud to her ears. She was afraid he would hear. “Stop.” The barest of whispers.

But the rope gave way. Her legs were free and her feet hurt because it felt like needles were shoved into them. She bit her lower lip as hard as she could, trying to hold back her cries. Now wasn’t the time to scream. She knew that.

Her eyes opened.

Her dad’s sightless eyes stared back at her.

No, look away. Look away!

Then the rope was gone from her wrists. Sawed away. He’d cut her wrists with the knife he had, but she didn’t care about that small pain. Then he was pulling her, pushing her toward the window. Such a small window. They were in the basement. And that window was up high.

“I’ll go through first,” he said. He shimmied up and vanished.

I don’t want to leave mom and dad. But…they were already gone. They’d left her. They weren’t suffering anymore. No one could ever make them suffer again.

“Mary Jane!” Drew reached down for her. His hand was small, barely bigger than hers. Dirty. Bloody. “Come with me, Mary Jane!”