Only once did someone try to enter the room. His back was to the door, so he couldn’t see who it was, but the scent was unfamiliar, so he assumed it was a servant. Hellina growled as if she meant to kill, and the person squeaked and ran, footsteps pattering.

Finally McKell could move. He worked his jaw, squeezed his fingers, arched his back, allowing his muscles to stretch. Every burn, every strain, tossed his fury to a higher level. He was fatigued, but that wasn’t going to detour him.

“Come,” he said to the dog, and she happily followed. As he’d suspected, the servants had returned, but no one tried to delay him. Not even when he stole a blanket from one of the bedrooms and draped himself with the material to protect his skin from the sun.

He compelled one of those servants into escorting him and Hellina to Ava’s apartment. On the way inside the building, he saw a glittery expanse of air opening up, and he skidded to a halt. Again? Really? When would it learn?

Come. Please.

Why so persistent? “I don’t have time for this,” he muttered, trudging back into motion and side-stepping the stupid thing. Once ensconced in the apartment, unburned yet harried, he cut his wrist and let the blood drip into an empty bowl. Only a little, a few drops at most. Then he dug inside Ava’s refrigerator and pulled out a tub of … yogurt. Did dogs like yogurt? He mixed the creamy concoction with his blood and set the bowl on the ground.

“Eat. It’s experiment time,” he said, and Hellina gobbled up every bite. Dogs liked.

He waited, watching her intently. She didn’t change. Didn’t suddenly grow fangs. Just kept staring up at him, wagging her tail, begging for more. So. Ava was wrong. Just as he’d supposed.

She’d find out she’d been wrong about other things, too.

“Stay here,” he ordered, and then stalked to the bedroom to sift through his bag. He withdrew a clean set of clothing, showered, dressed, then pawed through Ava’s weapon’s closet. Theirs now, he decided, since he lived here. He confiscated a pyre-gun and three blades.

Ava clearly assumed she could assault him without any repercussions. She assumed she could leave him behind. She assumed she was in charge. It was past time he showed her the error of her ways.

He stalked out of the apartment with only one backward glance at Hellina, who had followed him to the door. Still no fangs. Didn’t matter. “You’re mine now,” he told her. Payment for his mistreatment at Noelle’s home.

She wagged her tail.

“Stay here, and stay quiet. I’ll return shortly.”

As he strode down the plain, gray hallway that led to the elevator, a man exited his own apartment. He spied McKell and the weapons strapped all over him, and rushed back inside. Probably to phone the police.

Wise of him. In McKell’s current dark mood, anything could happen.

Outside, midday heat caused the air to ripple. And … the doorway appeared, of course, this time bribing him rather than pleading. If only he would enter, he would find shade, safe travels, a short cut, blah, blah, blah. He told the thing where to stuff itself and motored on.

He didn’t have sunblock, as Ava had recommended, not that he thought so simple a solution would work, but he did have the blanket. Once again, he draped the material over his head and trudged through the thick crowd on the sidewalk. His body temperature rose unbearably, and sweat began to pour from him.

Ignoring the discomfort, the stickiness, he breathed deeply, searching for Ava’s scent … the call of her blood … An hour passed with no results, and his frustration mounted. So did his irritability. Anyone who got in his way was shoved aside, hard.

Only one hour of the six remained, then Ava would return to Noelle’s. But he wanted to find her now, proving she couldn’t escape him. Ever. That trying to restrain him was useless.

A few times, he lost his grip on the blanket and felt blisters well up on his face. Not once did he consider giving up, though, and finally his determination paid off. He caught Ava’s scent.

Grinning evilly, he followed.

Twenty-one

Vampire hunting was not as rewarding as she’d expected, Ava thought darkly.

One, they’d most likely killed the night before, the bastards, so they weren’t thirsty while the sun dominated the sky. Meaning, no one stared at her pulse, no one sprouted fangs, and no one tried to mess with her mind.

Two, McKell was right; she couldn’t scent them.

Three, after hours of walking around aimlessly, Ava and Noelle pricking fingers on the tips of their knives so that there was always a bead of blood on them, just kind of hoping a vampire would jump from the shadows and attack—something that hadn’t happened in all the years of her life, so why she’d foolishly thought it would happen today of all days she didn’t know—had produced no results.

It had just given her time to feel guilty about stunning McKell and leaving him behind. Even though it had been for his own good. He would have blistered and weakened, and she needed him in top fighting form for his meeting at AIR. If they tried to hurt him …

Her hands fisted. She couldn’t do anything without jeopardizing her job, and she wouldn’t jeopardize her job. She hoped. Where McKell was concerned, she sometimes acted without thought.

Either way, if they tried to hurt him, she prayed he kicked ass and escaped. He was a nuisance, but a sexy nuisance who was at once selfish and selfless, giving her pleasure without taking any for himself, and besides, his shit was at her place. She didn’t want to have to store it indefinitely. There just wasn’t room.

At least, that’s the only reason she’d cop to for wanting him eternally safe.

He probably hated her. Would he ever return to her apartment, even if he escaped AIR? Even if AIR let him go freely, without restriction? Or would he avoid her forevermore?

She almost turned around and raced back to Noelle’s house. She’d known he would eventually tire of her, but she wasn’t ready to lose him yet.

“You listening to me?” Noelle’s voice dragged her from the dark mire of her thoughts.

Concentrate. “No. Sorry. What’d you say?”

“I think we’re gonna have to switch to Plan B.”

“You’re right,” she said confidentially, though inside she groaned. The daylight vampires might not be thirsty, but would they be able to resist an open, gushing wound? There was only one way to find out … a way she’d hoped to avoid. “Let’s do it.”

They stopped in the next alleyway they came across. On this side of town, even the alleys were clean. No trash littered the walkway, and no graffiti marred the buildings. Ava leaned against a hot metal wall, upper body falling into the shadows, and held out her arm.

Noelle remained in the sunlight and withdrew a tiny knife from her cleavage. The bright rays showed hints of uncertainty in her features. “You sure about being the one to bleed?”

No. “Yeah.” If this worked, no telling how many vamps would chase them—and no telling what kind of abilities those vamps would possess. She needed to be at top strength, but what good was being battle-ready if there was no one to fight? “Do it.”

The tip of the blade inched closer … closer … Noelle’s hand began to shake, and she paused just before contact. “Maybe I should be the one to take the slash.”

“We discussed this earlier and decided it had to be me. Obviously, vampires like the smell of me. Case in point, McKell.” My McKell. Still? “So it has to be me to drip all over the pavement.”

“And I am the better fighter,” Noelle replied in an effort to rally herself. “Therefore, I have to be the one to remain strong.”

“I’d argue the term better fighter, but you’re the one with the knife, so …”

They shared a smile, relaxing into their decided roles.

“McKell is going to kill me for hurting his property, but that just makes doing this a little bit fun, you know?” With a determined inhalation, Noelle slashed the blade from Ava’s elbow to wrist.

Ava bit her tongue to keep from grunting. Or screaming. Whatever. Her skin and muscle split open, and crimson blood flowed. “Bitch, did you have to go so deep? Damn!”

“You big baby,” Noelle muttered. “You wanted gushing, remember? ‘Don’t just scratch me,’” she said in a mocking parrot of Ava’s earlier words. “Take that shit to the bone.”

“You should know me well enough to know when I’m mouthing off.” But this was another reason she’d stunned McKell. Noelle was right. He wouldn’t have let her do this. He was too protective.

Although he might not be so protective anymore.

She couldn’t hold back her grunt this time. Not of physical pain, but of mental.

“What?” Noelle asked, sheathing her blade. “I didn’t touch you that time, I swear.”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Ava held her arm against her middle, pressing the wound against her stomach. “Come on. We’re wasting time.”

They left the alley. There was a clinic two miles from here. They planned to walk to it, hopefully drawing vampires out in the open along the way. And if they didn’t, if they failed, well, she’d kicked Noelle’s ass for daring to agree to this shitty idea in the first place.

If she was going to lose McKell over this, she wanted something good to come of it. Not that any outcome would be good enough.

Maybe, if she apologized with a kiss, perhaps followed by some heavy petting, he’d be willing to listen to her side. Yeah, she’d jump on that grenade if necessary. Anything to keep him, just for a little longer.

What’s gotten into you?

“Nothing so far,” Noelle muttered.

People gaped as Ava walked by, but everyone jumped out of her way, as if she were an infected parasite. Bastards. Would a little compassion have been amiss? She could have been beaten by a boyfriend or have accidentally fallen into a window, for all they knew.

Worse, the more she and Noelle walked, the more brightly the sun shone, bouncing off glass and metal buildings and burning her skin. She wore her sunglasses, yet still her eyes watered. Why would the vampires want to walk around in this? She couldn’t even remember why she did. Heat seemed to seep through her shirt and jeans, and little beads of sweat broke out over her skin, burning her wound. If she were a vampire, she would—

Oh, no. No, no, no. She wasn’t going down that thought path. As she’d told McKell, she liked being human. Didn’t she? And she still liked the sun. On every day but today.

“Anything?” she asked.

“Anything since sixty seconds ago, when I said nothing so far? Nope.” Noelle was the lookout, searching for hungry gazes as they walked. “What if we’re going about this the wrong way? What if vampires work at hospitals, where they have an endless supply of blood?”

“An endless supply of bagged blood and constant temptation from the injured? No. They’d give themselves away, and they’re afraid of that.” Well, afraid of being found by McKell and those like him.

“Good point.”

“Of course. I said it.”

“Remind me never to cut you again. You get grumpy.”

They turned a corner and hit a crosswalk. They stood there, waiting for the streetlight to switch to red so they could cross. One minute, two, Ava’s legs beginning to shake, but finally the signal flashed, allowing them to pass.

A car eased to a stop, honked at them, and the driver’s side of the window lowered. A female head peeked out. “Hey, do you girls need a ride to the hospital?”

“No, thanks,” Noelle called, and they continued onward.

Compassion at last. Still. “I’m starting to get pissed. And offended! Here I am, bleeding all over the place, yet no self-respecting vampire views me as appetizing.”

“Maybe we should have used my blood. Clearly, I smell better than you.”

“Then why didn’t McKell call dibs on you?”

“Because he has no taste.”

“Bitch.”

“Stinker.”

Laughing, they pushed through a throng of people and rounded another corner. Ava tripped over her own boots, the shaking in her limbs more noticeable. Cold seeped into her fingers and toes, and despite the heat, she actually quaked.

“So you really like McKell, huh?” Noelle asked. “And don’t try to deny it. He’s lasted days without you kicking him out of your life for good.”

She didn’t want to talk about him. Not when she could only picture him frozen in place, cursing her very existence. “Maybe I just can’t shake him loose,” she said, hoping the subject would drop.

Stubborn Noelle never let anything drop. “Please. You could shake your teeth loose if you wanted. You like him. Just admit it before I remind you of how I found you when you pulled into my driveway. You know, on your back with your hand down his pants.”

“Fine.” She might not want to talk about him, but maybe she should. Worry about him and how he felt about her was eating her up inside. “I … like him.” There. She’d admitted it. And lived. “He’s just so … I don’t know. Strong.”

“Not strong enough. You’ve stabbed him and stunned him twice.”

“I only got him that last time because he trusted me not to hurt him,” she practically shouted. Why was she defending him so forcefully? Against Noelle, of all people?

Because she was weakened, she immediately rationalized. And because she didn’t like the thought of anyone, even her best friend, viewing him in such a disparaging way. He was a good man. With faults, sure, but good all the same. And for whatever reason, he clearly did trust Ava. He’d slept at her house, had moved in, made out with her. Hadn’t yelled at her for enjoying satisfaction, yet offering him no release after they were interrupted.