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  “I’m still not interested. There’s a bunch of girls in the club though who would be all over you, especially if you tell them you’re a lost boy. Everyone loved that movie. You should go find them.” She eased the knife free of the holster and maneuvered it from her skirt.

  “But you’re the one I plan to take to my master. He’s going to love you.”

  She clenched her teeth and adjusted her grip on the knife. “Listen up, Vamp Boy. I’m not interested in whatever freaky game you have going on. You touch me and you will regret it. Fair warning. Now turn around and go in the club. I’d hate to hurt someone on drugs. I’d feel even worse if you’re crazy but I’d get over it. Back off!”

  He grasped the hand on his chest and licked his lips. “I bet you taste as good as you smell. It’s a shame my master won’t let me fuck you, but I’ll be watching while he does. You’re going to get into your car with me quietly or I’m going to hurt you. Do you understand?”

  Fear and adrenaline jolted through her as she swiftly stabbed the knife into his side. She twisted her body at the same time as she shoved at his chest.

  Vamp Boy stumbled and almost fell. He reached down, his hand coming away coated in red blood.

  She put her left shoulder toward him, turning her body and freeing up her right arm to stab at him again if he came at her. “Get the fuck away from me. That was a warning. Next time I’ll go for a fatal spot. You don’t want to bleed out in this parking lot.”

  He lifted his head—and she stared in horror at his eyes.

  She’d seen Vamp fetish people wear contacts before, but no way had he put them in that fast, especially while bleeding…and they were actually glowing.

  That wasn’t right.

  “Drop the weapon, you bitch.”

  Chills ran down her spine at the hissing tone of his voice and, to her shock, her hand opened. The knife clattered to the ground.

  He reached out and grabbed her, his wet, bloody hand wrapping around her throat. “You’re going to pay for that. Sleep.”

  She blacked out in the next second.

  Chapter One

  The present

  “Do you ever come to the conclusion that our lives suck ass?” Mandy looked over at Olivia.

  Olivia sighed, shifting her body a little on the roof where they lay side by side. “Twelve more years. Then we are done with this shit. It’s not so bad.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “I see the bright side. We weren’t trapped in Cain’s harem of horrors until he grew bored enough to kill us. You got lucky when the council came for that prick the night after you were turned. He was waiting for you to completely transform before he introduced himself to you. He had me for almost a week before we were rescued.”

  The sadness in her friend’s voice prompted Mandy to reach out and place her hand on her arm. “I’m sorry. You’ve told me how bad it was.”

  “The worst part was coming out of bloodlust and remembering everything he’d done to me. I didn’t even try to fight him off because once he drew blood, I lost my mind. My body actually wanted that sick son of a bitch to degrade me. The council taught us control and gave us blood without doing that, Mandy. We owe them everything. You just don’t realize it since you never woke up naked and covered in blood, then had to live with the things that were done to you while you were feeding.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mandy repeated, averting her gaze but keeping her hand in place. “I just don’t like killing on command.”

  “It’s better to be an assassin than some sick bastard’s sex toy.”

  “Give me details on our target. That usually helps.”

  Olivia sighed. “Those morals of yours aren’t your friend. The council doesn’t like to be questioned and disobedience means torture before death. Don’t forget that.”

  “Just tell me something about our target that’s going to help me day sleep, okay?”

  “He’s a Were who started eliminating the local nest one by one.”

  “And?”

  Olivia turned her head, peering at her. She arched one eyebrow.

  “Oh, come on. Some of these pricks need taken out. I can only tolerate about one out of every ten Vamps I’ve ever met. The other nine, I wouldn’t feel an ounce of pity for if someone shoved them into the sun to fry.”

  “Vampires have the right to live, Mandy. Duh. We’re Vampires. This hunter doesn’t see it that way. Four Vamps in the local nest have been killed in the past week.”

  “If the local alpha has one of his enforcers targeting our kind, you know it’s got to be for a damn good reason. No alpha would want the council coming down on them otherwise. The pack would take out a rogue on their own.”

  Olivia hesitated. “I agree, but you know policy. An investigation was done. The local pack is involved. It’s not our job to question orders. We just do what we’re told. That’s to kill this enforcer to send a message to the pack to stop killing our kind.”

  “I have a brain, and I use it, Olivia. Maybe the investigator was lazy, or an asshole with something against Werewolves. I just can’t see them going after a nest without cause. Before we kill this enforcer, let me reach out to the alpha to talk to him.”

  “No way! For fuck’s sake, Mandy. Don’t make this another nightmare mission. We’re here to take out the target. That’s it.”

  “Hey, that human family was justified in killing that Vamp. He was tormenting them and keeping them prisoner! I would have taken him out too. It’s called self-defense. Their only crime was the prick hadn’t wiped their minds, so they went to the police when they escaped his lair, rambling about Vampires being real. Yeah, it was a mess to clean up, but the council ordering us to butcher those humans was wrong. And yes, that would have been murder. I’m willing to take the blame all over again.”

  “Was it worth the month you spent locked up for allowing the humans to escape?”

  “Absolutely. That family is still alive, and now they have a new set of memories that aren’t going to draw the council back to them. I removed the problem when I went into their heads, before I convinced that nice FBI agent they needed to be added to the witness relocation program.”

  “You’d better hope the mind work you did stays in place and they never remember what was done to them by that sicko. They pop up on the council’s radar again, ranting about Vamps being real, and you’re going to lose your head. The council will have someone digging into their memories to find out what you did. That was a huge risk.”

  “They were innocents.”

  “It’s not our job to make those decisions. We do what the council orders, damn it! You’re like a sister to me. My partner. We have a dozen years to go and then we’re out of service. That nest in L.A. we picked out is perfect for us, and Master Michael already said we could join. Don’t fuck it up.”

  “I’m not a monster, Olivia. I couldn’t live with myself if I killed someone without a good reason. What if this enforcer we’ve been sent to take out is protecting his pack from a predator? I couldn’t find out shit about this Master Marco who reported the killings. I asked some of the other assassins who’ve worked this area before. They told me they weren’t allowed to speak about him. What does that tell you?”

  “He’s probably a pure dick protected by someone on the council. Not our problem. We kill the target and get out. I want to go home.”

  Home. Mandy flinched. She wouldn’t exactly call the council house they lived in a friendly, safe place. Or warm. Ten assassins shared it. Olivia was the only one she trusted or liked. The other eight were nutjobs with major hard-ons for killing. Cold, brutal, and about as feeling as a stack of bricks. They loved it so much, all of them had stayed past their obligation time with the council. That proved they were nuts. She couldn’t wait to leave her job.

  Her friend’s arm tensed under her palm and Mandy was jerked from her thoughts, seeing movement on a lower roof across the street. It was a Vampire male. He leapt from one building to the next, easily making the eight- to ten-
foot distances. He paused and cocked his head, listening. He crouched down, watching the humans on the street below.

  Mandy clenched her teeth. It was obvious he wasn’t just patrolling but instead looking for a meal. Bastard. No wonder someone’s been hunting and taking out your nest.

  It wasn’t illegal for Vamps to feed from humans but the excited expression on his face may as well have been an admission that he enjoyed it a bit too much. There were smart ways to get blood and stupid ones. This guy seemed to randomly pick his donors. He ran the risk of finding someone immune to mind control. Not many humans had immunity, but he might have to kill if he ran across one.

  She glanced over at Olivia, seeing her friend’s distaste in the way her lip curled up. She wasn’t impressed either with the bastard.

  Movement drew her attention and the Vamp froze, his gaze trailing something on the street. He leapt to another building, watching someone below, until Mandy was able to figure out which human he’d chosen.

  Fury filled her.

  It was a kid. The girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen, maybe. The fact that her parents let her wander around alone at nine at night also made her mad. Didn’t humans know someone might hurt their child? She lifted up and backed away from the edge.

  “Damn it, Mandy.” Olivia rolled and sat up. “Don’t do it.”

  “Hey, he’s bait, right? Master Marco said he’d send out one of his nest to this location to see if the enforcer came after him. I’m just doing my job.”

  “You’re going to kill that jerk if he touches that little girl.”

  She didn’t bother to deny it. “Stay here. You can’t report what you don’t witness. Damn, is that Werewolf good—and fast. Too bad he killed another Vamp before we could get there. Such a shame.”

  “Mandy! We’re supposed to take out the enforcer. Not set him up for another death!”

  She was done listening. That girl would disappear as soon as she could be snatched. Vamps weren’t the most patient of hunters.

  She walked to the back of the building and dropped twenty feet, landed on a balcony, and then another until she reached the alley below. She rounded the building, hurried down the alley, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was just in time to see the girl turn a corner ahead. They’d be having a talk about using common sense once she took care of the asshole. The kid was dumb to go into an alley, and someone needed to give her some survival tips. Mandy appointed herself for that task.

  Some human jerk grinned as she walked down the sidewalk, blocking her way. “Hello, gorgeous. Want to go to my place?”

  “Screw off.” She shoved his body to the side, not willing to spare a moment to deal with him.

  He stumbled, tripped, and cursed as she kept going. She ignored him. The long alley the kid had gone into was dark, moving cars from a block down the only light source. Her vision adjusted to help her see better and she paused, listening.

  “I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.” It was the Vamp, judging from his hissy tone. “I hope you put up a fight.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes, moving forward silently. She hated the dramatic types. He didn’t just want to feed, but intended to terrorize and play with the kid first.

  She saw them when she reached a set of dumpsters. The kid had been backed against the wall, trapped between the two large trash containers. The Vamp stood with his arms open to snatch her if she tried to rush past.

  “Hey!”

  He spun, staring at Mandy. His eyes glowed and his fangs were out. He sniffed but then grimaced. She didn’t blame him, since the trash stench in the alley was strong enough to almost taste. No way was she going to breathe through her nose with her hyper sense of smell.

  “A kid? Really? What is wrong with you?” She let her own fangs slide out. “I hate perverts. You give us all a bad name. Why can’t you find some homeless person to help? Did that ever cross your mind? Give them some money so they can eat hot meals in exchange for a little blood. It’s not rocket science. Win for both of you. They get fed. You get fed. But no.” She stepped closer. “You went after a kid. Big mistake, asshole.”

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “You can call me pissed.” She gave a little curtsy. “I’ll call you Dusty. I’m about to dust your ass. It was so nice to meet you.”

  She lunged forward.

  He tried to rush past her but she grabbed his jacket and threw him at a wall. He hit it hard, grunting in pain, then glanced around for an escape route. She had a runner on her hands.

  “Admitting that girls over fourteen scare you is the first step to facing that you have a problem. Are you really going to run? You’ve got to outweigh me by forty or so pounds. I guess I should call you pussy instead, since you’re acting like one.” She snorted. “Does your master know you’re a coward who runs from grown women? I bet Marco would ash you himself if he saw your reaction to me. Pathetic.”

  Rage twisted his features when he glared at her. “How dare you!”

  She put her hands on her hips, slipping her fingers under the shirt that hung loose past her waist. Her fingers curled around the handle of the blade she kept sheathed tightly across her flat belly, and gripped it firmly.

  She lifted her other hand and waved him to come at her. “I have super-low expectations from you but you could at least try to give it your best to kick my ass.”

  He clawed his hands and stormed at her. She held still until he got three feet away. Then she reached out, grabbed him by the front of his jacket again and braced her arm, withdrawing the blade. The bastard went for her with his fangs.

  She tucked her chin to protect her throat, slamming her forehead into the underside of his jaw. He roared in pain and she shoved him hard. He hit the wall again before bouncing off and landing on his stomach. Blood ran down his chin.

  “Did you bite your tongue? Ouch.” She grabbed him by his hair before he could get up, stood against his spine, and swiftly moved to take his head.

  He threw an elbow, catching her in the thigh. Pain shot up her leg but she didn’t let him go. He hit her again in the same spot with every ounce of strength he possessed. Agony came next but she didn’t release him. She pressed the blade against his throat.

  He stopped slamming his elbow into her thigh, put his hands on the ground, and managed to flip onto his back in an attempt to keep his head. It tipped her off balance enough that it might have worked, but she twisted around, threw her leg over his body and just dropped onto his chest to straddle him. Her blade sliced until it hit his neck bone, and she began to saw. Blood sprayed her shirt. It soaked through to her stomach, breasts, and down the front of her pants. He bucked under her, trying to toss her off, but she squeezed her knees tightly along his sides until she managed to cut off his head.

  He went still under her.

  “Fuck!” She released his hair and got off as the crumbling body turned to ash. One glance down made her thankful she wore all black, but she could see the wet stains as well as feel them. “I’ve got bad guy grossness all over me. I think it’s in my underwear too.” Then she remembered she wasn’t alone. “Shit.” She looked between the dumpsters.

  The girl’s head jerked up from what remained of the Vamp’s ashes and she gaped at Mandy.

  Mandy lifted her shirt, sliding the razor-sharp blade back into the sheath. “Easy there, kid. You’re safe. We’re going to have a little heart to heart though about stupid decisions teenagers make. You should be at home watching something age inappropriate on the internet and texting your friends words your parents would ground you over. I’m going to have to wipe your memories, but be assured that you won’t be strolling around at night by your lonesome anymore or taking detours down alleys. That’s dangerous and dumb. I want you to grow up and hopefully live a long life. I’m going to implant some basic safety rules to follow while I’m in your head. It won’t hurt.”

  The “kid” started sprouting fur, fangs, and claws.

  Mandy’s mouth fell open. “Oh.”

/>   The girl snarled at her.

  “Stay.” Mandy opened her hands and backed off a bit. “Don’t attack me. I didn’t know you were a Werewolf.”

  There was a soft thud as something dropped from the building behind her. She didn’t want to take her gaze off the Were girl. “I got this, Olivia. She’s just scared.”

  She bit her lip and sighed. “Look, kid. You might think you’re a badass since that’s a Were mentality for the most part, but there’s a nest in this town. Vampires are bad. I’m probably the only nice one you’ll ever meet. I don’t want to bite or hurt you. I just want you to take some advice. Don’t leave home at night without pack mates. There’s safety in numbers. You can’t judge by looking at Vamps how strong we are, or how fast. That jerk I turned into ash was considered a baby in Vamp years. It was pathetic how easily I took him down, but the next Vamp who comes after you could be like me. I’m ten times more dangerous than that pile of ashes was. Do you understand? Never underestimate your enemy and stick with your pack. Two rules to never forget. Now go home.” She pointed toward the street. “I’m no threat.”

  “I am.”

  The deep male voice had her whirling around.

  Astonishment slammed into her hard at the sight of the big man standing so close she could have reached out to touch him. He definitely wasn’t Olivia. His hair had grown longer but that face was one she had never forgotten.

  He lunged at her, and the instinct to protect herself should have kicked in, but it didn’t. She remained frozen as he gripped her arms, jerked her off her feet, and the air whooshed from her lungs as he slammed her against the wall a few feet away from where she’d just killed the Vamp.

  “What kind of mind game are you trying to play, bloodsucker? Did your fang buddy go after your entertainment for the night, so you killed him? That’s fucking cold. Are you trying to give Teenie a nice sense of security, just so you can attack her once she feels safe? Does that flip your on-switch? You are all sick in your heads.”