“You wouldn’t dare!”

He jumped and stood only inches from her now. His breath ghosted over her face, and she felt bile rise. “Wouldn’t I?”

“He’ll kill you.” She knew Gabriel would—whether she was still alive by then, she wasn’t sure, but she knew Gabriel would not stop until Ricky was dead.

“He’ll never find us. We’ll be long out of the country by the time he even knows you’re gone. And then we start our lives together, just like we would have if those idiots hadn’t interrupted us when I turned you. You would have woken up in my arms and looked up to me as your protector. But I’ll rectify that. You’ll be mine, and nothing in this world will stop me from making you mine. Don’t you ever forget that.”

The threat hung heavy in the room, poisoning the atmosphere around her. She understood only too well how serious he was. Not even rape was beyond him. She could see the madness in his eyes. No, he wouldn’t stop at anything.

That’s why she had to stop him.

Determination spread within her, and her mind cleared itself of everything else but the thought of getting away from him. Just the way she approached any research problem, she assessed her options one by one and determined the probabilities of succeeding. Her mind raced from one scenario to the next, her heart pumping rapidly to provide her brain with the needed oxygen.

Sweat built on her brow, but she ignored it. Let him think she was scared: it would only serve her purpose. She was beyond fear now—she was in survival mode, and instinct and logic were her best friends. The knowledge that Ricky had killed her two best friends fired her resolve.

“You killed my friends.”

“Useless humans. They knew too much. You gossiped about me to them. Their blood is on your hands.”

Maya pushed the guilt away. Ricky was the culprit, and she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into his trap. He was the evil one, and she would make sure he paid for his deeds. “I’ll make you pay.”

He only laughed at her threat. Then he turned serious again and gripped her arms. “I should like to see you try, but later. We’re leaving. Now.”

She heard the faint beeping sound coming from the iPhone in Ricky’s pocket and knew Gabriel was on the move. And he knew it too. The time for stalling was over. Maya tried to push against him and wiggle out of his hold, but he only tightened his grip on her wrists. He would break them if she gave him any more resistance.

“I’m stronger than you,” he gloated.

She knew that already. But she was smarter. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace where a poker leaned against the mantle. She concentrated on the long metal stick with its sharp two-pronged tip.

Then she funneled all her pain and the hatred for Ricky into her thoughts and directed them toward the poker, willing it to move. But it didn’t budge. Her forehead furrowed as she concentrated more. She had to succeed. It had worked in the bar when she was with Thomas. She knew she could do it, if only she could concentrate hard enough.

Ricky pulled at her arms. “Move!”

Maya didn’t obey the command and went rigid. A flash of anger washed over his face, before a wicked grin stole onto his face. “Fine, then how about this?”

Before she knew what he was about to do, he’d pressed his lips onto hers. Bile rose and anger churned in her belly. She clenched her jaw, keeping her lips firmly pressed together as she tried to push him away. But even her vampire strength was no match for his.

Despair and hatred mingled in her head as disgust for him made her feel nauseous. When he pulled her flush against his body and pressed his hips into hers, it was as if he’d flipped a switch inside her brain. She suddenly remembered him.

For weeks he’d chased her, pursued her first with gifts and fancy dinners, then with threats. She’d immediately seen it in him, the fact that he was obsessed. And it had scared her then. She remembered the one night when he’d come to the hospital, the night when he’d almost raped her. Had her unconscious patient not suddenly flatlined, and the monitor he was hooked up to not alerted the Code Blue team, which had shown up within seconds, he would have succeeded.

Instead he’d wiped her memory right there. But her memories were back now, and she wouldn’t let him succeed now. He would never touch her again.

She concentrated harder, remembering the poker near the fireplace. All her energy went into this one item. Her body tensed from the effort.

With a surprised grunt, Ricky suddenly let go of her and pulled back. His face distorted in pain and disbelief as he turned his head and looked at his flank. Maya followed his gaze and saw the poker lodged in his side, blood trickling from the opening.