Read Online Darklove by Elle Jasper - Free Book Online

and gutters. I’m following the young woman’s heartbeat. Thank God there’s still one to follow. Might not be for long.
    We haul over four buildings before the park is in sight. I make one final lunge and land in the branches of an old oak. Quickly I find solid footing, and I swing down.
    When I land, it’s just in time to see a dark head lift from the woman’s neck. Her body is limp in his arms. She’s blond, petite, maybe midtwenties. Wearing a pub T-shirt and jeans. The light from the streetlamp perched on the sidewalk close to the grass illuminates her face. Terror is frozen in her dead expression. Eyes wide. Eyebrows pinched. Mouth wide open in a silent scream.
    The vampire holding her is in shadows. Slowly, he turns his head toward me. I see nothing but one corner of a fanged mouth tip upward into a smile.
    A heavy, sickening wash of familiarity comes over me, and before I blink, he drops the dead girl and takes off into the darkness. I don’t even hesitate. I follow.
    â€œRiley!” Noah calls, and starts off behind me. The one I’m chasing is fast, and I’m having to kick in the extra energy to keep up. I can hear Noah’s footfalls fade a little with each step.
    The park is deserted, and I’m chasing this vampire into the shadows at the far end when suddenly, he has stopped, turned, and is facing me. I stop, too, and stare, peering into the shadows obscuring his features. I see his silhouette, though, and my insides feel sickened. Six feet. Broad shoulders. Muscular thighs. Arrogant stance.
    The grass crunches behind me, and I turn my head. It’s Noah.
    â€œRiley, I asked you not to take off alone,” he says, distracting me for a half second.
    I glance back at the figure. The vampire that has just killed a young girl.
    He’s gone.
    I feel my knees go weak, and I want to sink to the ground, maybe even scream. I inhale instead and take off in the direction the vampire disappeared. Vampire. Killer. Bloodsucker who’d just stolen a life, ruined others because of it. That girl’s family will never be the same, always a hole ripped in their lives. I hate it so much it makes my insides roil with rage. I hear Noah swear and he’s right behind me again.
    Without thinking, I crank up the speed, and I’m bounding over parked cars, rebounding off buildings, and next I’m leaping rooftops again. I scan the shadows, searching for the least amount of movement. I startle a flock of roosting ravens, and their wings sound like drums going off in my head. They slow me just enough for Noah to get his hands on me and yank me to a halt.
    â€œRiley!” he says harshly, and snatches me toward him. Both of his hands grip my shoulders. “Stop!”
    I look at my partner’s face, and shadows fall across most of it. It’s Noah, though. I know that. For a second, I’m dazed. What the hell’s wrong with me?
    Who was I just chasing?
    I shift my gaze across the city’s skyline. Down the river, the castle lights are still on. Dawn is close to breaking, and I see the river Ness moving like a black eel below me. I look at Noah, who is studying me with a cautious look.
    â€œI’m losing my mind,” I say, barely above a whisper. “It has to be residual from entering that alternative plane.” I shake my head and lift my gaze to meet Noah’s. “Why do I keep seeing Eli?”
    Noah’s brow furrows. “You thought that vampire back there was Eli?” He shook his head. “Come on, Riley. Eli Dupré? Your fiancé? My closest friend? Original guardian of Savannah? Entrusted by Preacher and Estelle? Forsake his parents? Eli, turned dark?” Again, he shakes his head and lets go of my shoulders. “No fucking way, Riley. It wasn’t him. Your mind’s playing tricks on you.”
    â€œThen what’s wrong with me?” I ask. “Why, ever since St. Bueno’s, am I seeing him, Noah? Am I