Page 102 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

Chapter Thirty-One

Reyna searched for Beckham in the crowd, but she was carried away by the mob. He was gone. He was lost. She couldn’t believe this. She should have listened to him. They should have gotten out earlier.

“This is further proof that these measures are necessary,” the mayor called.

Gunshots rang out in the crowd, and everything happened at once. People were yelling and running and crushing together. Some were trying to storm the stage, but the police were holding everyone back. All were quickly ushered offstage at the sound of the gunshots.

In the middle of the madness, the only thing she could think about was Beckham. She searched frantically for him. He was so tall that he should have been visible. But she couldn’t find him. She looked over her shoulder as she was pushed in the opposite direction.

Her feet couldn’t keep up with her, and she tripped, landing heavily on her hands and knees. Several people stepped on her as they rushed forward to fill her vacated spot. Someone kicked her face, and she saw stars. She cried out and tried to stand but kept being shoved back down to the ground. Finally, she lay there in a ball, trying to stay as small as possible as chaos erupted all around her.

Tears leaked out of her eyes as she lay on the dirty ground, her head throbbing. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She had no means of contacting Beckham without her phone, and she didn’t even know if she would ever get out of this crowd. It was an endless barrage of people running into her. She couldn’t seem to escape.

An arm reached down out of the abyss and hauled her up by her shoulder. Reyna grunted as her shoulder popped with strain. She stared up into the eyes of a female vampire.

“You smell amazing,” she growled. She reached out with her finger and touched it to Reyna’s forehead. Reyna cringed away from the pain as she realized she was bleeding.

“Let go of me,” Reyna cried, trying to pull free.

The woman ignored her plea and placed her finger in her mouth. She sucked on it, and her eyes grew ravenous. The vampire flashed her fangs at Reyna.

“This won’t hurt a bit.”

“You’re out of your mind.” Reyna clawed at her, but she might as well have been trying to move a mountain, for all the good it did.

“Stay still,” she snapped.

“Get away from her,” Reyna heard behind her. She sighed with relief. Beckham. “She’smine.”

The woman glanced over Reyna’s shoulder and then released her. It was clear that even in the midst of all the madness going on around them, fighting with a senior official of Visage would draw attention. Not to mention, there was no way she would win.

“Fine. She’s yours. But she does taste amazing.”

Beckham glared at her. “You tasted her?”

“Just a drop,” she said with a wink.

“Get out of here before I remove your head from your shoulders.”

Her eyes widened at the threat, and then she scampered off into the crowd.

“Reyna, I’m so glad you’re all right.” Beckham pulled her close to him. Her heart was beating fiercely, and in that moment, she was happy that he was there and had stopped the woman before anything terrible had happened.

He inspected the cut on her forehead. “It’s minor. Hold this to it.” He offered her a handkerchief, because of course he had one, and she held it to her head.

“You found me,” she breathed.

“I’ll always find you.” He kissed the top of her head and then reached down for her hand. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t want another close encounter.”

Beckham tightened his grip on her hand, then shouldered his way through the crowd. It took forever before they finally reached a city block that had thinned out. By then she had a headache. Her clothes were rumpled, and one of her sleeves was torn. Nothing she could do about that right now.

“This way,” Beckham said, directing them back toward the center of the city.

“How did you find me?”

“I could smell you,” he told her. “Your blood.”

“Oh.”

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