Page 106 of Heartbeat Girl

Jayne.

I closed my eyes, picturing her reddened cheeks as she dashed away. We should have let her run far, far away.

I clenched my fists when Randy kicked Liam while he was unconscious. That fucker was taking advantage of the situation. He’d never been Marilyn’s favorite and loathed us because we got so much of her attention. Not that we fucking wanted it.

Marilyn ran her hand down the shirt. “You know, I kept you guys hidden in fear someone would hear how beautiful your voices were. But I can’t be too upset when you got me this beautiful home.” Raising her hands in a grand gesture, she smiled and spun around.

“It’s not yours,” I spat.

She stopped abruptly and beckoned me. “Come to me, Steve.”

Castle and Yuki removed their arms. I stood deathly still. “Fuck you,” I said with a smile.

Being able to deny her, even if only a little, was really fucking nice. Marilyn used to have control of my mouth and never let me utter a single bad thing. Thanks to Jayne, Marilyn’s control faded.

“Now,”she said.

I gritted my teeth as one of my legs obeyed. One foot planted itself on the floor.No, no, no!Placing my hand on my knee, I stopped myself from moving the other leg. It took all of my focus to do so, but eventually, my hand dropped, and the other leg raised. I couldn’t deny Marilyn when it came to my body. But I hadn’t been able to fight it at all before. Liam, on the other hand, had broken the chain completely. Nothing prevented him from trying to attack Marilyn when he woke. It was why Randy had to keep him unconscious.

She smiled as I stepped closer. “See? Why do you fight me, love? We’re all so good together. Look at the home we’ll share.”

As she spoke, Liam roared and lunged forward. Like me, he was weak, and it showed in his movement. He was far too sluggish to compete against a bunch of fed vampires. Randy punched him the second he got to his feet. With a groan, Liam fell to his knees.

“Don’t kill him again, Randy,” Marilyn warned.

The other vampire gritted his teeth.

Her smile returned when she glimpsed at me. “Well, after Liam gets over the human bitch, we can all go back to normal.”

“Don’t call her that!” Liam shouted.

Randy smacked him. My eyes widened when Liam tackled the bigger man to the ground. I didn’t how Liam had any strength left with all they’d put him through, but he pummeled Randy with his fists. Left, right, left, right. Blood spewed from Randy’s nose. Castle and Yuki rushed over and peeled Liam off the male.

Castle and Yuki held Liam down while Marilyn strode over. Her eyes narrowed, mouth tipped in a snarl as she grabbed Liam’s chin. “I’m disgusted with you. To think you bedded someone I didn’t allow you to. And you even dare to think you love her.”

“I do love Jayne. You know that.” Liam spat blood in her face. “I gave her what you could never get from me.”

Marilyn’s fists tightened at her sides.Oh, fuck.Liam would get himself killed if he didn’t shut up. We were possessions when it came to her. She wouldn’t ever accept Liam loving someone that wasn’t her.

“Marilyn,” I blurted.

Her head swiveled around. “What?”

“I didn’t bed Jayne. Shouldn’t I be allowed to eat?” I asked. I needed to get my strength up. I’d play whatever game Marilyn wanted to get us out of there to find Jayne.

Marilyn’s eyes roved over me cautiously. “You think I haven’t been inside your head, too? You loved the human.” She squeezed Liam’s chin until he winced. “Pete killed her. I watched it. He tried so hard, came up with all these scenarios in his head along the way of how he’d let her survive, but he couldn’t deny me…like you.” She pushed Liam’s face hard enough that it swung to the right.

At the mention of Pete, I glanced over at him. Resting on his knees, his eyes opened and shut. He shook his head and counted, then murmured some verses to our songs. He rocked back and forth until Wendell smacked him in the head for moving. Liam couldn’t see through his rage, but I could. I recognized what Pete was doing. Occupying his mind, filling his brain with any and everything to hide the truth. Jayne was alive. Wherever she was, our sire thought Jayne was dead. Thanks to Pete’s obsessive actions to block his mind, she was safe for now.

But only for so long.

Liam needed the opportunity to kill Marilyn before she found out about Jayne. If she peered into my mind, she’d know just because of my assumptions.

I glanced around the room. Two, three…five of Marilyn’s men were in the house with us. I counted four more voices as they prowled around outside.

Suddenly, Liam went deathly still. His blue eyes blackened as he looked toward the window, mouth parting. A single tear fell down his cheek.What?I narrowed my eyes and listened. It didn’t take me long to hear it. Marilyn and the others in the room, either. The unmistakable grunts and groans of people getting their ass kicked. There was a thump like someone dropped to the ground and shoes skidding across the pavement. Someone screamed. The howling of a vampire’s death whistled through the air. It happened several times in a row as I watched the window.

“Randy,” Marilyn said. “Go see what’s going on outside.”