Page 15 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

She looked away, unable to see the accusation in his eyes.

“Leave me alone.” But it sounded weak even to her ears.

“So you have. Let me see that neck.” He tilted her head, searching out the customary bite marks that signified someone was working for a vampire. She slapped his hand away, but he grasped it and pinned it to her side.

“You can be a whore for a vamp. You can be a whore for me.”

His lips lowered to her neck. His large body pinned her roughly against the wall. No matter how much she moved or squirmed or kicked to try to loosen herself, she couldn’t get away.

Tears flowed down her face. She had decided to go to Visage to help her family. She had worried the whole time that she would be used and taken advantage of by the vampire who took her in. But so far Beckham had done none of those things. He’d given her a place to live, a new wardrobe, and access to unlimited funds. He hadn’t even bitten her yet. Instead, her worst nightmares were coming true from someone she had known at home.

Her world had just flipped upside down.

Chapter Six

“Get off her,” someone cried behind Reyna.

She closed her eyes and tried to make it go away. This had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have come here. Not looking like this. But she had never anticipated that she wouldn’t even be recognizable. She looked different, but she was the same Reyna.

Steven was hauled off of Reyna, and she stumbled away from him, gasping. She covered her mouth and watched as he was pushed backward.

“Brian! Drew!” she cried. Her brothers had saved her.

But they weren’t paying attention now. They were focused on Steven. He was outnumbered two to one, and while they had been friends at work, her brothers didn’t take kindly to anyone disrespecting a woman. She had seen them come home bloody more nights than she could count. They were the only people around here that stood up for anyone. They had always stood up for her.

Steven threw a punch, but Brian grabbed his arm, twisted him around, and bent it behind his back. Drew landed a solid punch to his kidney and then another to his face. Then he swept Steven’s feet out from under him. Steven landed in a heap on the hard gravel. As he sputtered and tried to straighten himself, Brian kicked him hard in his ribs, and Drew got in a swift kick to the temple. Steven went slack, passing out.

“Oh my God, I’ve never been happier to see you,” Reyna cried.

They turned and stared at her. Drew’s eyes widened in recognition first. “Reyna?” he asked, confused.

Dear God, do I look so different in these clothes that even my own brothers don’t recognize me?

She rushed into Drew’s arms and buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and patted her twice on the back. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I can’t believe he would do that.”

“We can’t, either. Guy is a jerk. Forget about it. Just tell us where you’ve been. We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Brian touched her arm gently and pulled her back from Drew. “What the hell happened to you?”

Both of their eyes went wide when they got a good look at her. She couldn’t imagine what she looked like to them right now. She wasn’t in the fanciest clothes in her new closet, but it was nicer than anything they had ever seen before. Her skin was practically flawless. Her hair was shiny and smelled like lavender and honey.

“Let’s go home, and I’ll tell you all about it,” she promised.

Brian shook his head and crossed his arms. He was the older of the two, and he always played parent. He had worry lines in his forehead, and his mouth was set in a stern frown. It was clear that her absence had done a number on him. He looked too fatigued for someone so young.

“We need to talk now, Reyna. You scared the shit out of us. We had to miss work. We’ll never make that money up. There needs to be some real explaining.”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I can explain.”

“Then explain,” Drew said, trying to mold into the same stance as his brother. He had always idolized Brian, but he was so much softer and more artistic. If anyone in her family needed to get away from the warehouses, it was Drew. He was too smart and too creative to be stuck in a factory.

“Come on. I have a car waiting for us around the block.”

She glanced around anxiously at the people who were walking out of the factory. They kept looking down at Steven’s body and then up at her new clothes. Rich people were not welcome in this area. They were more likely to get mugged or killed. She should have thought better about this. But how could she have possibly known that she would be unrecognizable in the only home she’d ever known?

“We’re drawing a crowd,” she whispered.

---