The Blackest Night (Dusk Before Dawn 3)

A dark-skinned, yet still pale—being undead tended to do that to a person—male vampire smiled evilly, his expression cocky. Imbecile. “Hand her over, and we won’t get your blood all over your pretty clothes, daywalker.”

I heard the woman gasp from behind me, but thankfully, she stayed put. Being forced to chase after her while trying to fend off two nightwalkers would have been a pain in the ass.

I rolled my eyes and twirled one of the stakes in my hand. “You must be newly bitten if you think you can take me, bloodsucker.” I looked at the other vampire—a tall, skinny blonde with red-eyes—who was hanging back slightly. “Ah, I see. Your friend here is using you to distract me. She’s counting on my killing you to give her an opening to get to the female she’s after.”

The male looked back at his companion, who was too busy glaring at me to try to convince him I was lying. She was the real threat. Never removing my eyes from her, I launched one stake at the man and heard a pop before the thud of the wood hitting the ground.

“Next?” I taunted.

Her thin lips pinched, and her eyes narrowed, rage burning in their depths. “I won’t be so easily taken out, Bancroft,” she sneered.

It wasn’t shocking that she knew who I was; the Bancrofts were a well-known, established bloodline among the daywalkers. In addition to our own reputations, our father had seven siblings, all boys, and they’d provided us with a plethora of cousins who lived up to their heritage. In fact, I’d been known to get wasted with a few of them when the sight of the only Bancrofts in our generation with mates became too much to handle. We were also enabled by the fact that our cousin Liam—who lived two towns over—owned a company that produced high-end whiskey.

Angling my head a tiny fraction, I didn’t break eye contact with the female vampire as I spoke to the angel. “Do you see that house down the road?” I asked her. It was the only one around since I owned the ten acres it stood on, but I wasn’t sure how frazzled she was and wanted to be very clear. “The one with the winding drive at the square turret?”

“Yes,” she whispered in a trembling voice.

“Head over there, and I’ll be right behind you.”

“Alone?”

I hated to send her off without me, but this female vamp was clearly very old and likely quite powerful; I didn’t want my angel distracting me. I was a little startled at the possessive adjective I used so thoughtlessly. I had no idea where it had come from. If a nightwalker was chasing her, it almost certainly meant that she was someone’s consort. Daywalkers were very possessive and jealous of their mates. Whoever she was destined for would tear off my head for thoughts like that.

“I promise I’ll be there before you even reach the front door,” I vowed.

She started to protest, and I cut her off with a firm tone and command. “Go, angel.”

Her warmth disappeared from behind me as she complied with my request. I felt a little bereft at the loss but shrugged it off.

I cocked my head to the side and studied the vampire who was glaring past my shoulder. She became a blur so suddenly that most night or day walkers would probably have missed her as she slipped by.

A snort escaped my mouth as my arm shot out. My strength and toned muscles acted like a steel beam when she ran straight into it, slamming her forehead and bouncing back from the impact.

“Son of a bitch!” she snarled as she tried to steady herself while gingerly checking her forehead for injury.

“My father would take quite the exception to that characterization of my mother,” I chastised her using the same tone I used when scolding my niece and nephews.

Again, she became a blur, but this time, I delivered an uppercut that drove a stake up through her ribs, straight into her heart. A cry of fury had barely escaped her mouth when she burst into flames and disintegrated into ash.

Glancing down, I cursed as I was yet again covered in cremated nightwalker. “Athan is going to have my head on a platter,” I grumbled as I teleported to my front door. The angel was a few steps away, and when I appeared, she screamed as she came to a grinding halt.

“What? How did you? But you’re the same—”

I shook my head and hurried to her side, grasping her arm to keep her stumble from turning into a fall. “Don’t compare me to them, angel,” I demanded, though I deliberately kept my tone soft. “You are very special, and my kind are here to protect you. Even if it wasn’t my job, I would never hurt you.”