Page 109 of You Only Love Twice
Gemma squirmed. Knife in her boot, mysteriously missing. Thigh holsters gone. Nothing up her sleeves. No jewelry.
Good grief. Her favorite stiletto was still in her hair. How the devil had they taken everything else and missed that?
And they must have cut her thigh holsters off her, which was quite vexing. They'd been custom made, curse it. Did they have any idea how much she'd paid for those damned holsters?
The chair first.
Her ropes next.
And then the guard.
Gemma's gaze focused on the solitary guard slumping in a chair against the wall, his chin nodding onto his chest. For a second there were two of him, then she blinked and her vision cleared again. This might be a bit of a problem. His hair was the color of bleached bone, and his skin maggot-pale.Dhampir?Or a blue blood well into the Fade?
And just what sort of condition was she in?
"Hullo," she called, snagging his attention. "May I trouble you for something to drink?"
Her mouthdidtaste like several of the pigeons overhead had made good use of it, but honestly, she just needed to lure him closer.
Thedhampirjerked his head up as if embarrassed to be caught napping on the job. He looked young. And suspicious. "I'm not supposed to talk to you."
"What are they afraid of?" she asked. "I appear to be tied to a chair."
Completely helpless. She batted big, innocent eyes at him.
"Youkilledtwo of my brothers. I know what you're capable of."
Hmm. The twodhampirObsidian had dispatched. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.Please.You can point a gun at me. I'm just so thirsty."
He considered her request, then reached into his coat and produced a battered leather flask.Dhampirthirst was much stronger than a blue blood's, so she'd been counting on him having one.
He avoided the patches of sunlight that gilded the floor, wincing at their brightness as he moved closer. The middle of the day by the look of it. Somewhere up there, some god was smiling upon her. Unscrewing the flask, he drew his pistol and then stared at her.
"I promise I won't bite," she said, with what she knew was her most becoming smile. "You're the one with the teeth."
Thedhampirheld the flask to her lips and the pistol to her temple. His nostrils flared nervously. "I'm not supposed to kill you yet. But if you move a single muscle...."
"I understand."
The taste of blood filled her mouth, and Gemma's nerves relaxed as the hunger whispered through her veins. No point in wasting it, and it would assist with her healing. Even now, her vision was becoming a little clearer, though the back of her head still throbbed.
"Enough," he murmured after she'd drunk her fill. He tipped the flask away from her mouth.
She let some of the blood dribble down her chin, as if he'd surprised her. It splashed across her breasts, and his gaze jerked unconsciously lower.
Gemma kicked the pistol out of his hand, and then slammed her heel into his knee. Shoving herself into the air, she threw herself backward, smashing the chair to pieces and flipping to her feet. The suddenly loose rope sloughed from her wrist, and Gemma wasted no time. She had a sharpened stake from the chair in her hand, and she slammed it through his chest as he threw himself at her.
It all happened in an instant.
The youngdhampirgasped, his arms wrapping around her and his weight sending her staggering backward. Gemma angled the thrust right up beneath his sternum, knowing she hit the heart. She worked it a little deeper as he coughed, black blood spraying across her cheek.
"Never presume a pistol gives you the upper hand," she whispered, but the lesson came too late as the light faded from his eyes.
Gemma eased his body to the floor. She almost felt a little guilty. He barely had fangs. Just these little baby canines with the faintest sharp edge. Obsidian had said there weredhampirin training. Had they left one of them to guard her? It made no sense, which meant her suspicions were confirmed.
She wasn't the target.
She was the bait.
