Christine Feehan - Dark Secret

I'm protecting you. Paul is playing me and he's nearly as good a tracker as I am. This man isn't going to get close to either one of you.

I forbid this.

"Forbid away," she muttered aloud. He was weak, nearly the walking dead, his body so ravaged and torn, but he was too stubborn to admit it. He needed help whether he knew it or not. She crawled closer to where her quarry had settled into the rocks, waiting for her. Waiting to kill her. A chill went down her spine as she realized that was the man's single goal-to get to her.

Colby… There was a warning note in Rafael's voice, a promise of retaliation.

Just do your thing and let me do mine. This is who I am, Rafael, so if you're thinking about hooking up with me for any length of time, get used to it.

This is who I am, Colby. You put yourself in danger at any time and I will wrap you up in an impenetrable barrier where nothing can touch you. It will take a great deal of my strength when I need it elsewhere.

She muttered an imprecation under her breath, calling him several names, none of which were complimentary. The man was impossible, even when he was on the verge of death.

She had pushed through the bushes a little farther and saw the vampire's puppet. It was definitely the same man who had been with Tony Harris on her property near the mines. Her stomach lurched as the thought came unbidden that he had tried to feed on Pete's body, that he must have been the one to kill him. Ernie Carter looked enormously strong, but disheveled, his clothes torn and rumpled. He was drooling and one eyelid drooped over his eye. He watched Paul through a pair of binoculars, but continually wiped at his streaming eyes.

Colby felt sick that she had to do the same. She was somehow related to the man. Once, he'd been just like Paul, innocent, until the vampire had taken a hold of him.

Not so innocent, Rafael denied. His mind and memories are rotten. Stay still, he is suspicious. Paul does not move as you do and he is noticing something is not right.

Ernie suddenly cursed aloud, tossed the cigarette to one side, and lifted the rifle to his shoulder, aiming at Paul.

Colby tucked her rifle into position, finger on the trigger. She was an excellent shot, but she'd never killed anyone before. With a sinking feeling, her finger began to tighten. She knew she didn't have a choice. The sun blinded her, coming out from behind the cloud and striking her in the face. It was all she could do not to cry out in pain as thousands of needles seemed to penetrate her eyes. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision, desperate to get off a shot before the stalker could hurt Paul.

"Paul! Get down!" She screamed the warning, knowing she was giving away her position, but uncaring.

Ernie immediately turned toward the sound of her voice and fired off several shots. The bullets whined through the air, thudding into the dirt feet from her. Colby squeezed the trigger, half blinded by the sun but determined to lay down covering fire for her brother.

Simultaneously, she heard the rifle fire from two other guns and knew Julio and Juan were doing the same. The vampire's servant slipped back into the trees, crawling on his belly through the brush toward his horse. Colby caught glimpses of him, but couldn't get a clear shot. Her heart nearly stopped when Rafael stepped into her line of fire, his back to her. Fresh blood was a giant pool on the back of his shirt.

No! No, Rafael. He was too weak. She could feel the terrible drain of energy. Nicolas! Oh, please, tell me what to do! She screamed for his brother in her mind. Colby got her feet under her and ran, clutching her weapon, determined to help Rafael. She could see Juan and Julio sprinting down the slope, converging from two directions, trying to get to him. She hit something solid and fell backward, finding herself seated on the ground, a barrier blocking her. She could touch it, but she couldn't see it.

Ernie lumbered to his feet, his red-rimmed eyes swollen nearly shut, but his head snapped around as he located his target. He brought the gun to his shoulder, although Rafael was only an arm's distance from him. Rafael caught the barrel and twisted the weapon from the man's grasp, tossing it away.

The vampire's puppet screamed, a ghastly sound of rage and hatred, and rushed Rafael like a linebacker. He managed too wrap his arms around Rafael, sinking his teeth into the hunter's chest and his fists into the wound in his back. He tore a chunk of flesh from over Rafael's heart and spit it out.

Colby tried the rifle, shooting at the barrier, hoping to shatter it, but it remained in place. She could only watch in horror as the mutated human tore at Rafael a second time.

Rafael didn't flinch away, but rather caught the man's head in his hands and wrenched hard. The sound of Ernie's neck snapping was loud in the early morning air. Colby drew air into her lungs in relief, but to her horror, Ernie didn't fall. Rafael shoved him backward. The zombielike creature lurched forward, his head twisted at a peculiar angle. He roared, spewing spittle as he attacked.

Colby's heart pounded in her chest. Her fists gripped the rifle so hard her hands went numb. She'd never felt so helpless in her life.

Surprisingly, the vampire's servant was fast, but Rafael sidestepped, slamming his fist deep into the man's chest. He stood there, eye to eye with the puppet, his hand buried deep, then he withdrew it. The sound was loud in the still morning air, a sucking sound that made Colby sick. Rafael stood there with Ernie's heart in his hand, blood running down his arm. The body swayed and folded in on itself in slow motion.

Colby turned her head away from the sight, her heart slamming in her chest. She didn't belong in a world where men tore the hearts out of chests and bit each other in the neck and turned human beings into cannibals and puppets. She felt faint and dizzy, pressing her hand to her forehead, wiping the beads of sweat away.

I am sorry you had to witness such a destruction of life, meu amor.

Rafael's voice brushed along her nerve endings, a sensuous touch of velvet over her skin, in her mind. Seducing her senses. She shook her head, wanting to think clearly. Needing to think clearly. Part of her felt she might be going insane.

A flash of lightning drew her attention. Rafael drew from the sky the same orange-red ball of energy that Nicolas had manipulated, incinerating the man who had once been a human being. He tossed the heart to the ground and did the same to it, also bathing his hands and arms in the energy.

He took a step toward Colby and staggered. Gasping, she slammed at the barrier with the rifle butt. "Get it down now!" Her third swing met with no resistance and she ran to him. "Damn you! Don't you ever do that again. Don't you ever take away my choices like that. I could shoot you myself."

Juan and Julio were nearly to them. "Find Ginny," she yelled and caught at Rafael. "You take my blood right now. This second."

He shook his head. "It is too dangerous, meu amor. I need too much. Hunger claws at me. I could hurt you. I will not take the chance."

Colby was so angry adrenaline surged through her blood-stream. She yanked the knife from her belt and slashed her wrist. "Damn you, don't say no to me" It hurt like hell, and turned her stomach over so she had to fight against the waves of nausea. She thrust her arm to his mouth. "Take the blood before I pass out or get so mad I stab you and finish the job."

The smell of blood hit him hard, and before he could stop himself, Rafael grasped her wrist and latched on. The adrenaline-laced blood hit him like a fireball, rushing through his system, giving him a false high instantly. He gulped at the liquid, his cells crying out for sustenance. The red haze spread through his mind and the beast rose up, roaring for more. His ravaged body demanded the means of regeneration and the blood poured into him, hot and sweet and addicting.