Page 29 of Big Enough to Bite
“No. I’m not going with you. You made me because you gave me no choice.” I glance at Tilda, who stopped ten feet behind him, probably hoping to stay out of the line of fire.
“You had a choice.” He flips his hand in the air with the flourish of a dandy in King George’s court. “I didn’t force you to drink of my blood. Do you remember the rush of it filling you with a new life, Maria? I remember how ravenous you were when you became vampire.”
“I was a young girl on the verge of a great career, and you took that from me. That’s what I remember. I do not belong to you.” I clutch the back of Sam’s arm, drawing strength from him.
Rage flashes in Pierre’s eyes. He raises his voice. “Maria Ciobanu, I am your sire. You will return to France, or I will kill everyone in this town, starting with the giant.” His fangs grow past his bottom lip, and he turns a vicious look on Sam.
I hold the phone up to my ear. “Did you hear that, Officer?”
“Got it. Officer Gant and the chief are two minutes out.”
Eyes narrowed, Pierre looks from me to the phone now sitting on top of the wall. “Do you think some small-town law enforcement can stop me? Maybe you’ve forgotten what I’m capable of, Maria.”
Sam stands outside the wall. He towers over Pierre. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, vampire.”
Sneering, Pierre takes two steps closer. “Who do you think you are, giant? That vampire is mine. I own her. I love her.”
“You love nothing.” My voice is biting. “Go home, Pierre, and when you go, leave Tilda here. She doesn’t belong to you either.”
His smile makes my stomach churn. There is no joy in it, only torment. “Come here, my swan.”
“Stay where you are, Tilda.” Sam holds up a hand.
Tilda took a step at Pierre’s command, but stops and stares between the two. She looks at me.
I offer a comforting smile and a nod. “Stay where you are.”
Cocking his head, Pierre locks eyes with me. “Come home, and I will give her to you. She can be your pet, Maria. She is quite beautiful, don’t you think?” He moves like lightning in a blur and stops behind Tilda with his hand around her throat. “She could be yours, and you would be happily home where you belong. Don’t make me kill all these people. You don’t want their blood on your hands.”
In one step, Sam closes half the distance between my wall and them. “Let her go. If you leave now, the police won’t be able to stop you, and I won’t have to hurt you.”
Pierre runs his tongue up the side of Tilda’s neck. “I’m going to enjoy killing you and then I’m going to relish fucking both of my females on a bed made of your bones.”
“Well, there’s an image I could have lived without.” Officer Maxime Gant steps beside me. “You okay?”
“So far.”
Chief Martinez takes a position at my other side. “Mr. Brochet, is it? You can’t make threats on the people or monsters of Harmony Glen and expect to walk away. If you’ll come with me, maybe we can sort this out down at the police station.”
Pierre pushes Tilda to the side.
She’s agile and quickly puts distance between herself and danger at the other side of my tower.
If I’d been smart, I would have given her permission to cross the boundary of my property. Damn.
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” In a blur of black and leopard, Pierre moves toward us.
Sam’s arm reaches out like a battering ram and grabs Pierre. His thumb and forefinger wrap around the vampire’s neck. “I gave you a chance to leave.” Shaking his head, Sam holds Pierre off the ground at eye level with him. “Now what am I going to do with a violent monster who threatens my mate and my town?”
“Let me go,” Pierre scrapes out, grabbing at Sam’s hand.
The chief steps as if he’s going to cross over the wall. “Sam? Don’t be foolish.”
I grip Jorge’s arm. “Don’t leave the property, Chief. Not yet.”
“I can’t stand here and let someone get killed.” Jorge looks at my hand and realizes I’m stronger than he is. “I’ll give them a little rope, but not enough to hang themselves.” He steps back.
Dropping my hand, I nod.
