pride?”
“Who are you calling a bimbo, you bloodsucking skank,” Laura snarled, sliding out from behind Shon.
“Stay where you are,” Shon demanded, moving to block Laura from standing.
He kept his gaze on Calimari. “If I go with you, no harm is to come to Laura. Ever.”
“Ever?” Gina whined, her bottom lip forming the perfect pout.
Laura grabbed on to the back of his shirt. “What are you doing?”
“Protecting you,” he answered, without breaking eye contact with Gina.
Laura began to scramble to her feet in earnest. “Have you lost your mind? She’ll kill you.”
He finally glanced in Laura’s direction. “But she won’t kill you.”
“No. I won’t let you—”
“Shut up, Laura,” Shon hissed, taking Gina’s hand and blurring from the cabin before the evil elder changed her mind and killed Laura for sport.
Chapter Thirteen
Laura stumbled toward the door in a panic. Her mind whirled with images of Gina Calimari’s cruelty to her in that grove house over a year ago. The elder had tormented poor Ember and would have killed her before killing Laura, had Angel not shown up when he did.
Now, the sadistic Calimari had Shon.
Snatching up her cell phone, Laura dialed Ember.
“Laura? Thank God, you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, but Gina has Shon.” Laura’s stomach heaved with the knowledge that none of this would have happened if she had stayed at the condo last night. Shon would be safe right now instead of in the company of Calimari.
“What? How? And where are you?”
“I’m at my parents’ cabin on the lake.”
There was a brief pause. “I didn’t know they had a cabin.”
“It was a recent purchase. Look. I came here this morning to be alone. But then I texted Shon this evening to let him know where I was staying. I invited him to come talk. Gina showed up not long after he arrived. She demanded he go with her or…”
“Or she would hurt you?”
“Yes,” Laura choked out. “If I hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened.”
“Don’t blame yourself, honey. You had no way of knowing Gina would find you.”
Laura wiped at her damp cheeks. “We have to do something. She’ll kill him, Em.”
“She won’t kill him. At least not yet. Grab your things and get back here. Do not stop for any reason. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Give me the address to the cabin, and stay on the phone with me until you are safely inside your car.”
Laura rattled off the address before darting into the one bedroom to grab her bag. Thankfully, she hadn’t unpacked yet.
Locking up the cabin, Laura darted across the yard to her car and slid behind the wheel. She started the engine and backed out of the drive with the efficiency of a professional driver. “I’m on the road.”
Ember’s sigh of relief could be heard over tires squealing as Laura floored the gas pedal and shot down the street. “Save your phone battery, Laura. But remember what I said. Do not stop until you get here. Not even for the police.”
“I remember. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.” Laura ended the call, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat.
Gina had Shon, Laura’s mind repeated like a mantra. What would happen to him now?
Jealousy warred with fear inside Laura’s chest until she found it impossible to breathe. Was he now feeding from the beautiful, evil vampire? Or worse, lying somewhere in the woods….dead?
Laura couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible was about to happen. And Shon’s life lay at the core of it all.
The rest of Laura’s drive back to the condo was spent fighting traffic as well as nerves. Her dinner had threatened to come up more times than she could count.
I’m sorry, Shon, she silently repeated. I’ll make things right with you, if it’s the last thing I do.
Pulling into the condo parking lot, Laura jumped out, nearly running into a hooded Vlad. “Jesus, you scared me.”
“I never had the pleasure of
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