Objects within her range of vision looked vibrant, almost unreal. Every detail, no matter how tiny, was distinct. Right now she could see her binder working on another victim’s headstone. His name was Jon. Cassie never knew that hate could devour. She didn’t need a Second One urging her to kill the binder bitch. She’d put her shiny new fangs to good use if she ever got free.
No smells seeped into the sealed coffin, but if fear had an odor, she was suffocating in it.
At least they weren’t starving her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a stand with a bag of blood hanging from it. The blood was draining down a narrow tube that had been inserted through a small opening in the coffin. Since her arms were at her sides, she couldn’t see it flowing into her body.
Cassie closed her eyes, the only physical power she still controlled. She would survive on blood until . . . Would some merciful person eventually remove the tube? Did she want to die from starvation? Would she die? A question she hadn’t asked. Maybe even starvation wouldn’t kill her, just torture her forever.
What about her family? She’d never see them again. They’d grow old wondering what had happened to her, imagining her lying dead somewhere, never knowing that her fate was much worse than that.
And when she thought she couldn’t bear the parade of horrendous possibilities one more second, she thought of Ethan.
Ethan who had dragged her from that nightmare basement in Eternal Rest. Ethan who loved his brother, cared about the death of his neighbors, and who rescued a bad-tempered cat that no one else would have wanted.
Ethan. The man she wanted to sleep beside for the rest of her lifetimes and now never would. The realization that she loved him came too late, much too late. A tear slipped down her face and she couldn’t even freaking wipe it away. How pathetic was that?
The sounds of raised voices yanked her from her pity party. Damn, she wished she could turn her head. Everyone was yelling at once. She could just see Garrity.
“What do you mean they killed all the guards? There were two dozen of you up there. How did they get past the fucking beasts?” Garrity was shouting into his cell phone.
The binder crouched, whimpering beside Jon’s headstone.
Cassie pictured herself bringing the stone down on top of her murderous head. And then she forgot about the woman. Was the place under attack? Finally, she dared to think the impossible.
Had Ethan found her?
Garrity cursed as he shoved the phone into his pocket. He ran toward the other side of the room, but Cassie couldn’t see what he was doing. Then she heard the sound of a door opening.
“Cut the crying crap and get over here. I always have an escape route. This tunnel will bring us out one street over. Once I close this door behind me it’ll lock. I won’t wait for you even for the Collector.” Fear lived in Garrity’s voice.
“Then maybe you’ll wait for us.”
Cassie would’ve laughed if she could. She recognized the voice of Ethan’s friend. Stark.
“We figured you’d have a secret hole to crawl into, so we looked for it.”
Garrity came back into view as he scuttled away from the door. He grabbed the screaming binder and yanked her in front of him. Then he dragged her back toward his desk. Cassie could hear him pulling a drawer open.
Frustrated, Cassie lost sight of him again.
“I won’t need a sword. This gun will splatter your skulls all over the room. No regenerating a new head.” Garrity’s voice shook. “And I have her in front of me. I’m walking out of here and you’re not going to stop me.”
Stark’s laughter rang with wicked anticipation. “Oh, I’m not going to kill you. Someone else wants that pleasure. But forget about walking out of here because . . .”
Cassie rolled her eyes to the left in time to see the hall door implode.
“My buddy’s here to send you to hell.” Stark’s voice ended in a snarl.
Whatever Garrity saw in the hallway, it sent him stumbling over to put her coffin between himself and the door.
Cassie was still thinking about that snarl. That sound couldn’t have come from Stark’s throat. Cassie mentally cursed as she made a desperate attempt to see. She needn’t have bothered. Suddenly, a tiger leaped into view. It faced Garrity across the width of her coffin. It rose onto its hind legs and put its freaking front paws on the coffin and growled at him.
“Look at me.”
The new voice came from the doorway. Cassie knew that voice. Ethan.
“Don’t look.” Garrity sounded as though he were in full panic mode as he warned the binder.
Too late. The binder had looked. Cassie watched her die. And as much as Cassie wanted to feel sorrow at another death, she could only remember what they’d planned for her.
The binder’s death freed her. Cassie pounded on the coffin and shouted for someone to let her out. She watched in horror, unable to help, as Garrity’s finger tightened on the gun’s trigger.
Then he was yanked from her view. She twisted her head in an attempt to see what was happening at the same time she heard one blood-chilling scream. Then silence.
Zareb loomed over the coffin and lifted the lid. “Ethan really should have made it last a little longer. But the Second One was impatient. It doesn’t understand the beauty and satisfaction that come from a lengthy vengeance.”
Ethan shoved Zareb aside and lifted her from the coffin. He’d remembered to put his glasses back on and he’d pulled his hood as far forward as he could.
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” He grabbed a sheet from the nearest gurney and wrapped it around her.
Then he gathered her close to his body and she could hear the rapid beat of his heart against her cheek.
How to tell him—what she was, and how she felt about him. But she didn’t have to bother with one of those disclosures. He lifted her chin and stared at her.
“You’re vampire.”
She nodded. Would that make a difference?
“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft with his regret.
What should she say? It’s no big deal? Hey, I was ready for a lifestyle change anyway? There was no good response, so she simply nodded.
Cassie felt dazed as she looked around her. A bunch of vampires and four tigers were crowded into the room. Some of the vampires were smashing coffins and equipment while others searched through file cabinets and Garrity’s desk for information. The tigers just lay there looking bored.
“Tigers?” The word came out as a squeak.
Ethan laughed. “Those are our four guards. They’re shifters. They wanted in on the takedown.”
She swallowed hard. Vampires and shape-shifters were real. What other myths and legends were real? “Can we find somewhere to talk alone?”
“Let’s go home. They don’t need us here. I came in Zareb’s car. I’ll borrow it and he can get a ride with one of the others.”
She waited while he retrieved the key and then followed him back to the car. As if by mutual agreement, neither of them spoke during the drive. Once back in Zareb’s home, he heated some bagged blood for her and drank some himself. Then, still silently, he led her to their bedroom.
Cassie really wanted to just jump into bed with him and make love forever. But that would be impulsive. This was one of the most important decisions of her life, and she had to take her time. She took a shower first and then waited while he took one.
He came to the bed naked except for his dark glasses. It wasn’t hard to keep her gaze from his face. She had other interesting places to look, scenic views to enjoy.