Page 38 of Fire in My Blood
I wish I could let Erica forget what happened to her, but unfortunately I can’t. At least not yet. “I need to tell Lyn what happened to you in order to explain this whole situation. Is that all right? I promise you can trust her. If anything, she’ll want to avenge you.”
Erica’s lips tighten almost imperceptibly, and I move my hand to gently caress her shoulder. Looking up at me, she gives me a small smile. “Okay.”
I squeeze her shoulder to reassure her before I turn to Lyn. There’s no nice way to say this, so I decide to be blunt and get it over with as fast as possible.
“Erica was attacked and raped by a vampire four years ago.” Her body goes rigid beside me, and her fingers dig into my thigh, so I massage her shoulder and neck to try to help her relax.
“He bit her shoulder, and it healed without any scarring within a couple of days. She told her brother what happened, and he obviously realized it was a vampire that attacked her. He must have been on the lookout for one in the area ever since.”
Lyn’s eyes are narrow with fury, but she stays silent.
“About a week ago, I was investigating a lead on a rogue vampire, carefully asking around to see if anyone had seen anything that might point me in the right direction. Next thing I know, I wake up in chains in a room with a sore head. David,Erica’s brother, and a guy called Stuart were there. They kept asking me questions about an attack on a young woman four years ago and wanted me to confess to the crime. I tried to find out more about the attack, but they wouldn’t give me any details. And they knew not to meet my gaze.”
Lyn frowns and cocks her head, her gaze darting to Erica for a second before coming back to mine.
“Erica inadvertently opened the door and found me. She kept coming back every afternoon after that to bring me water and talk to me.”
I turn to look at the strong woman who rescued me, but her gaze is on the floor at her feet. This is taking its toll on her, but I can’t stop now.
After wrapping my arm around her and pulling her more firmly against my side, I continue. “Sunday night the same vampire that assaulted Erica four years ago broke into her apartment and attacked her again. Thankfully, a neighbor knocked on her door, and he ran off before he could rape her again. But now she can’t return to her apartment. He knows where she lives and probably her name.”
Lyn shoots up from the couch. She looks furious. “I’ll get him.” Her gaze is locked on Erica, and the woman next to me lifts her head to meet Lyn’s gaze. “I promise you, Erica, he’ll die for what he’s done to you. I’ll track him down and kill him myself.”
Erica looks a little stunned, but then she smiles. “That’s really nice of you, but Lucas has already promised to kill him for me.”
Lyn lets out a bark of laughter, and my jaw drops. After all these years of never hearing the woman let out more than a soft chuckle, it takes Erica less than twenty minutes to make her laugh.
Chapter 23
Lucas
“You don’t think I’d be able to take him out, do you?” Sitting back down on the couch, Lyn grins and shakes her head. “Well, you’re not the first one to underestimate me, but you sure are the one to point it out in the nicest way.”
I chuckle and squeeze Erica’s shoulder. “Lyn is one of the best fighters I know, male or female, and she’sveryprotective of humans.”
Erica glances at me, her brows wrinkling in confusion, before she turns back to Lyn. “I thought you were human. Are you an elemental as well?”
Lyn’s gaze snaps to mine, her mouth open in shock. Then she closes her mouth, and her face smooths into a neutral expression while she studies Erica’s face. “So, he told you what he is. Have you given him your blood?” Lyn’s body goes completely still while she waits for Erica’s answer.
I feel the urge to take over and explain, but I hold myself in check. Drinking blood from a human isn’t forbidden. Having sex with one, though, is. But Lyn hasn’t asked about that, and I’ll deal with that if it comes.
Erica glances at me with one eyebrow raised in question, and I give her a small nod.
Her hand smooths down my thigh like she’s trying to comfort me, and I fist the hand not touching her to stop myself from cupping her face and giving her a kiss.
Erica nods as she turns to face Lyn. “Yes, he was hurt. My brother shot him in the chest. He needed to heal, so we could get out of there.”
Lyn’s lips thin. “Have you drunk his blood?”
Erica frowns. “No, why would I? I’m human. I don’t drink blood.”
Lyn visibly relaxes and puts a smile back on her face. “Good point. Why don’t you tell me how Lucas got shot?”
Erica nods. “David, my brother, apparently thought Lucas had something to do with what happened to me, even though he was locked in a room and in chains when I was attacked on Sunday night. My brother is more than a little protective of me, and the attack on me on Sunday must have been a shock to him as much as it was to me. I didn’t think my brother capable of shooting someone so viciously.” She looks at me. “And seeing you like that, I—” Her voice chokes off and her fingers dig into my thigh again.
“It’s okay.” I give her shoulder a gentle squeeze to reassure her. The anguish in her eyes floors me. I already knew that believing I was dead affected her, but I didn’t expect the feelings to linger after I healed.
“No, it’s not. I thought you were dead. You were lying there in a pool of blood.” Tears are coursing down her face now.