Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

The fire went wild. Uncontrolled, for that brief moment, the circle broke and the flames licked back toward Beth, turning on her. Delicate human flesh.

Beth didn’t get up.

But a scream rose above the flames. Pain filled. Afraid. Female. Not coming from inside—outside. Jana.

She’d gotten out, but what-who-had been waiting for her? Fuck, f**k!

Another scream broke the air. Then, “No, dammit, stop!”

Zane lunged for that hole in the wall, shouting her name. The smoke and flames chased him as he burst outside.

He flew forward, sucking the fresh air into his lungs.

“Jana!”

There. Jana was near the swamp. On the ground … with that ass**le vampire over her. His teeth in her neck. She was pounding his back, kicking, shoving, while her right hand struggled to reach a gun that was just a few feet away.

But where was her fire? Why hadn’t she just burned the ass**le to ash?

“Get the f**k away from her!” He roared.

The vamp didn’t stop. Snarling, Zane lunged forward and closed the distance between them in seconds. He grabbed the vamp by his neck and hauled the bastard back.

Jana cried out, and he saw the blood dripping down her neck. Her blood.

He threw the vamp into the muddy swamp water. “Baby, f**k, baby, are you okay?” Her face was stark white, and she was shaking.

And crying. Jana—crying?

He’d kill that bastard, and he’d make sure the vamp stayed dead. His fingers trembled when he touched her neck. Her blood stained his fingers.

The world went red.

Zane surged to his feet and locked his stare on the vamp. The bastard was rising from the water, his eyes open, his fangs bared.

Jana’s scream. Her blood. Fucking bastard!

Chapter 13

“No!” Catalina flew in front of him. Zane shoved her to the side. Now wasn’t the time for the witch to—

She grabbed his arm and held tight. “He didn’t know what he was doing, Zane! They bled him nearly dry! It was instinct. He needed to survive, he needed—”

“He attacked her.” And where the f**k had Catalina been while the vamp shoved his teeth in Jana? Water dripped down the vamp’s body as he sloshed toward the shore. His stare was still black and his fangs glinted.

Rip. Him. Apart.

Catalina’s nails dug into him. “Please, Zane, he-he didn’t mean—”

“Screw what he meant.” Jana’s voice. Strong. Angry. She ran up beside Zane. “I’m not on the damn menu.” She shot the vampire, blasted him right in the chest with a bullet from the gun she held in her trembling hands.

“ No!” Catalina screamed.

Too late.

Blood blossomed on the vamp’s chest. He stared at Jana a moment, his eyes flickering between blue and black, and he whispered, “S-sorry …” right before he toppled back into the water.

Catalina ran after him, chanting, whispering her spells- they wouldn’t do much good. Not with her being so weak. And if that vamp rose again …

He’s mine.

Jana’s hand was shaking so much. Damn blood loss. Zane caught her hand and took the gun.

An explosion rocked the ground. Jana slipped, tumbling to her knees. Zane glanced over his shoulder. The Perseus buildings had just blown to hell and back. Guards were running, screaming, and that fire was blasting out of control as—

Fuck me. Beth was running out of the building. The flames were chasing after her, and she was headed right for him.

He grabbed Jana, pulling her to her feet. He’d protect her, make sure that—

Those flames raced toward them. Beth shrieked, “I can’t stop it! Help! Make it stop! Make it—”

This time, Zane was the one who fired. His finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet thudded into Beth’s heart. She gasped, shuddered, then pitched back on the ground.

The flames sputtered, then began to die, burning down slowly.

“I made it stop,” he said quietly, staring at her prone body. He’d made it stop, the only way he could. His left arm wrapped around Jana and held her tight.

“Z-Zane…”

His head tilted down toward hers.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she whispered, and she blinked away the tears in her eyes. “It wasn’t …”

He kissed her. Because right then, he damn well had to. Vamp attacked her. Could have lost her. In the end, despite their powers, Ignitors were only human. Unlike the vamp ass**le, an Ignitor couldn’t take a bullet and rise again.

So easy to kill. Too easy.

His lips brushed against hers. Light at first because shit, she was delicate. So fragile. But her hands rose and sank into his hair and she arched up against him, kissing him harder, pressing her mouth tightly to his.

Zane’s tongue thrust into her mouth. His hold was too hard. He knew it, but he couldn’t manage to ease his grip. Can’t let her go.

The world fell down around them, but he held her close and wondered how in the hell she’d come to mean so much to him. So much that he was ready to kill for her.

“ Zane!” The shout broke through the chaos, but he didn’t let Jana go. Not yet.

“Zane, f**k!” Footsteps thudded toward him. “I come to save your ass and find you gettin’ ass!”

Jude. Perfect timing, as always. Slowly, Zane lifted his head. His gaze craned to the right and met the shifter’s. “Arriving late to the party?”

Jude whistled as he took in the scene before him. “What the hell did you do?” The question wasn’t for Zane, though. No, when he asked, his stare locked on Jana.

Tony ran up behind them. “Fire trucks are coming but- shit, Catalina? What are you doing here?”

“Like I said,” Zane murmured, “a party.” A death party.

Jana stiffened against him. “The cop?” Her whisper. She shoved against Zane, and he let her go, only because he knew there was a hell of a lot to work out. Sirens blasted in the distance. The fire trucks. Probably police cars, too.

Zane exhaled heavily. “You sure took your sweet time tracking me.” Jude was usually a much better tracker. He’d thought his friend would arrive sooner. Before the fire and screams.

Tony rushed toward Catalina. She had one arm around the vamp, and she was struggling to pull him out of the water.

“What the hell happened to him?” Tony demanded.

Catalina’s green eyes darted to Jana.

“I did,” Jana said, squaring her shoulders and stepping even farther away from Zane. What was up with that?