The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

"There's a knife in the kitchen?"

He shook his head, sending droplets of blood flying from the cut on his cheek. "Not strong enough. Bedroom."

I raised an eyebrow, though given his living arrangements, I guess it wasn't such a bad idea. Personally, I'd be keeping a few handy stakes within reaching distance, too.

I found several large hunting knives in the bedside table, along with several smaller throwing knives. I picked the biggest and headed back out.

To find we were no longer alone.

"Fuck," Ben said, his expression both shocked and angry as he stopped just inside the doorway. "I didn't expect this."

"No," I agreed. I waved the knife in the direction of his friend. "You want to support his weight while I cut him down?"

He moved forward quickly, his big arms going around the waist of his smaller friend and taking the weight off Ivan's torn and bloody wrists.

Ivan groaned, though I wasn't sure whether it was in relief or pain. I dragged a kitchen chair up to them both and climbed up.

"There's an ambulance coming. It should only be a few minutes."

"Good," Ben muttered. "But what about the vamp who did this?"

"Lost him."

"Shit."

"Putting it politely, yes."

I raised the knife and began to cut. The blade was razor sharp, and sliced through the thickly twined layers of rope with little effort. Ivan didn't say anything, and his gaze seemed a little unfocused. Maybe shock was starting to set in, either through blood loss or the sheer trauma of what he'd been through. His body had been shredded front and back, the rents jagged and uneven. No knife had caused them, that's for sure.

The last of the rope strands gave way. Ben carried his friend over to the ratty-looking sofa and gently put him down. Ivan hissed, his expression contorting with pain.

"Sorry, mate," Ben said, then looked at me. "You think he's going into shock?"

"Yeah." I glanced at my watch. "The ambulance shouldn't be far, but maybe we should give him some water to sip. If it's the blood loss causing the shock, we need to replace some of his fluids."

"I'll go get some." He rose and walked past me, smelling of blood and anger.

I knelt down in front of Ivan. He didn't react, so I touched his swollen fingers. He jumped, and his gaze swung to mine, momentarily filled with fear before he realized who it was and that he was still safe.

"I need to know what happened," I said softly.

He licked his lips and swallowed heavily. "He came in about an hour ago. Said he needed to talk."

"So you know him?"

He shook his head. "But he looked vaguely familiar, and Vinny had cleared him, so I thought he'd be fine."

I frowned. "Who's Vinny?"

"The head of the vampire group living here," Ben said, as he came back into the room. He squatted down beside me, the heat of him rolling over me, thick with the scent of barely controlled anger. He dribbled some water onto Ivan's lips, then looked at me. "Ivan's undergone the blood ceremony to become a vampire, which is why he's living here with Vinny and the vamps."

Confusion swirled through me. "Taking the ceremony doesn't mean he's going to die straightaway. Not unless he intends suicide."

And I very much doubt that had been his intent here. He wouldn't have called Ben for help, if that were the case.

"He's got cancer. Inoperable. He's been given a year to live, at most."

"Ah." At least that explained his living arrangements. It made sense to be close to his maker if he went sooner than expected. I glanced at Ivan. "So Vinny might know who the vampire is?"