Read Online A Kiss of Blood: A Vamp City Novel by Pamela Palmer - Free Book Online
Authors: Pamela Palmer
Ads: Link
probably the most dangerous place in existence for a human, there was no denying it was where he needed to be right now.
As Quinn dug her fingers into a warm, soft roll and spread a dollop of what appeared to be freshly churned butter on one side, she eyed her brother thoughtfully.
“What is it?” Zack asked, catching her gaze.
She hesitated to bring up the questions that had been weighing on her since his revelation earlier, but decided if he could eat like a four-hundred-pound weight lifter, he could answer some questions, even tough ones.
“Tell me about Lily, Zack. Was she . . . okay?” In many ways, she didn’t want to know the answer to that. It was hard enough watching the torture of strangers, but hearing about the suffering of a young woman she’d already begun to think of as her future sister-in-law was going to hurt.
But Zack just gave her his customary shrug. “She looked tired.”
Tired. “That’s all?”
“And sad.”
Okay. “But not bruised? Or hurt?”
His brows lowered, then lifted as understanding widened his eyes. “God, no.”
Quinn released the breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. “Good. That’s good.”
She took a bite of lasagna, but Zack’s gaze fell to his own plate, his hand turning a soft roll into a hard ball of bread.
Slowly, he looked up again, staring at nothing. “The first time I saw her, she was standing in the upstairs window with a load of towels or sheets or something. The second time, she was in the kitchen carrying a bucket and a mop.”
“So they were using her as a housemaid.” Quinn didn’t voice out loud her fear that the girl had been used for far more. For far worse. Many vampires were depraved in the extreme. The way Zack was mangling that roll told her he was thinking the same.
“Zack, why didn’t you tell me you saw her?”
For several moments, he didn’t respond, didn’t act as if he’d heard her. “I don’t know.”
When he failed to expound, she suspected that was the only answer she was going to get. In his defense, he probably didn’t know why. She remembered how down on himself he’d been after they were reunited. How Arturo had told her he blamed himself for not being able to save the women he cared about.
And what if he had told her he’d seen Lily right after they’d escaped Vamp City? Would she have tried to go back in after the girl? The thought of it weighed on her like a pile of bricks. Selfishly, she was glad she hadn’t been forced to make that decision.
Until today, she’d suspected Lily was somewhere in Vamp City, but she hadn’t known for sure. Now she did. If Arturo could spring Zack from the gladiator camp, he could find a way to get Lily out of Castle Smithson. And he would. Because they were partners now, God help her.
The next time she escaped Vamp City, it would be with Zack and Lily.
She just hoped there was a next time.
L ily Wang slid her hand across the gold satin sheet, smoothing it across the modern mattress, satisfied that there were no bloodstains. She moved quickly, efficiently, silently, as she changed the sheets in the upstairs bedrooms . . . bed chambers . . . of Castle Smithson, as she had every day since her capture. Changing the sheets, working in the bedrooms at all, was a tricky proposition. She’d yet to be caught, yet to be raped. At least that she knew of. With the vampires’ ability to enthrall and steal memories, it was always possible she’d experienced things she didn’t remember.
But she was nothing if not prosaic. If she didn’t remember, and had been left with no injuries, then nothing had happened. Period.
The trouble was, if she stayed here long enough, something would happen. It was just a matter of time, she knew that. She’d already been bitten several times. That was unavoidable in a coven . . . kovena . . . of vampires. More than once, she’d been grabbed from behind as she walked through the halls, doing her chores. It never took long
As Quinn dug her fingers into a warm, soft roll and spread a dollop of what appeared to be freshly churned butter on one side, she eyed her brother thoughtfully.
“What is it?” Zack asked, catching her gaze.
She hesitated to bring up the questions that had been weighing on her since his revelation earlier, but decided if he could eat like a four-hundred-pound weight lifter, he could answer some questions, even tough ones.
“Tell me about Lily, Zack. Was she . . . okay?” In many ways, she didn’t want to know the answer to that. It was hard enough watching the torture of strangers, but hearing about the suffering of a young woman she’d already begun to think of as her future sister-in-law was going to hurt.
But Zack just gave her his customary shrug. “She looked tired.”
Tired. “That’s all?”
“And sad.”
Okay. “But not bruised? Or hurt?”
His brows lowered, then lifted as understanding widened his eyes. “God, no.”
Quinn released the breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. “Good. That’s good.”
She took a bite of lasagna, but Zack’s gaze fell to his own plate, his hand turning a soft roll into a hard ball of bread.
Slowly, he looked up again, staring at nothing. “The first time I saw her, she was standing in the upstairs window with a load of towels or sheets or something. The second time, she was in the kitchen carrying a bucket and a mop.”
“So they were using her as a housemaid.” Quinn didn’t voice out loud her fear that the girl had been used for far more. For far worse. Many vampires were depraved in the extreme. The way Zack was mangling that roll told her he was thinking the same.
“Zack, why didn’t you tell me you saw her?”
For several moments, he didn’t respond, didn’t act as if he’d heard her. “I don’t know.”
When he failed to expound, she suspected that was the only answer she was going to get. In his defense, he probably didn’t know why. She remembered how down on himself he’d been after they were reunited. How Arturo had told her he blamed himself for not being able to save the women he cared about.
And what if he had told her he’d seen Lily right after they’d escaped Vamp City? Would she have tried to go back in after the girl? The thought of it weighed on her like a pile of bricks. Selfishly, she was glad she hadn’t been forced to make that decision.
Until today, she’d suspected Lily was somewhere in Vamp City, but she hadn’t known for sure. Now she did. If Arturo could spring Zack from the gladiator camp, he could find a way to get Lily out of Castle Smithson. And he would. Because they were partners now, God help her.
The next time she escaped Vamp City, it would be with Zack and Lily.
She just hoped there was a next time.
L ily Wang slid her hand across the gold satin sheet, smoothing it across the modern mattress, satisfied that there were no bloodstains. She moved quickly, efficiently, silently, as she changed the sheets in the upstairs bedrooms . . . bed chambers . . . of Castle Smithson, as she had every day since her capture. Changing the sheets, working in the bedrooms at all, was a tricky proposition. She’d yet to be caught, yet to be raped. At least that she knew of. With the vampires’ ability to enthrall and steal memories, it was always possible she’d experienced things she didn’t remember.
But she was nothing if not prosaic. If she didn’t remember, and had been left with no injuries, then nothing had happened. Period.
The trouble was, if she stayed here long enough, something would happen. It was just a matter of time, she knew that. She’d already been bitten several times. That was unavoidable in a coven . . . kovena . . . of vampires. More than once, she’d been grabbed from behind as she walked through the halls, doing her chores. It never took long
Similar Books
