Page 72 of Bonded By Blood
Joe blinked and became immediately convinced he’d hit his head a lot harder than he’d realized on the sidewalk. Because, surely, he was hallucinating.
“Bri?” Kendall asked, almost hesitantly.
Joe released a breath. He and Kendall weren’t likely sharing the same hallucination, no matter how surprising. Brianna really had just shown up out of nowhere. No. She’d tracked Kendall’s phone, probably. Only, back when he’d theorized that possibility, he hadn’t imagined it going this way. He smiled at her. “Yeah,” he said.
Kendall rushed forward and threw her arms around Brianna. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry. I was angry, and being dumb, and I’m sorry.”
Brianna gave her a squeeze before pushing back and brushing her fingers down the side of Kendall’s cheek. “I only care that you’re okay.” She smiled at each of them in turn. “Both of you.”
“I never thought I’d be grateful for the interference of a vampire,” Colt said as he collected his first stake.
“Oh, Bri, this is Adrian Colt,” Kendall said, gesturing.
“I put that together, thank you,” Brianna said. She stepped back from Kendall, and Joe, and turned around.
“Goddamn,” Tobias groaned from the pile he and his brother had become, “princess.” He shoved his brother off him and spat on the ground in her direction, as if he hadn’t already made his disrespect clear.
Brianna adjusted to face them. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t just rip off your heads and bring them home as trophies?” She asked the question so coldly Joe was a little surprised. He knew she didn’t care for violence, and he’d certainly only glimpsed that side of her, a while ago. He supposed it had been easy to forget exactly what his new lover was really capable of.
Tobias actually smirked at her. “Killing us would only delay the inevitable.”
Brianna started forward. “What inevitable?”
“That would be me, dear.” This was a voice Joe did not know, but the sound of it immediately made his blood run cold.
The Wilsons froze, their eyes wide, as if even they were surprised by the presence of the newcomer.
Colt twisted around, whipping a collapsible crossbow from inside his coat, and leveling it at the speaker.
The man approaching them was as unassuming as they came. He was older, with thinning silver hair, and a slim build. He wore dark gray slacks with a sleek, black turtleneck sweater. He wore no hat, no hood, no glasses of any kind. He didn’t look at all imposing, yet the sight of him sent a wave of dread washing through Joe that couldn’t be explained.
Colt aimed his crossbow squarely at the older male’s chest. “Don’t know who you are, vampire, but stay the hell back.”
The older man, who was an inch or two taller than Colt, narrowed his eyes. Then, suddenly, he was on the Slayer and ripping the crossbow from his grip. He bared his long, white fangs at Colt in a cliched vampire hiss and reached for Colt’s throat.
Brianna pulled Colt out of the way, forcing him back toward Joe and Kendall, putting herself between them and the newcomer. But something was wrong. Her posture was rigid.
Joe took a half-step forward as Colt caught his footing. “Brianna?”
She held her hand out in a gesture meant to keep him back and kept her focus forward. “You’re … you’re supposed to be dead.”
The older male closed his lips over his fangs and smoothed out his shirt. “One of many lies you were told, I imagine.”
“You’re behind all of this?” Brianna asked carefully.
He extended one hand, arm out, in the direction of the Wilsons. “I’ve had some help.” His dark gaze flicked to the side. “Take what I promised you, boys. I need to have a long overdue conversation with my niece.”
Joe felt his stomach bottom out. Niece? But … that would make this man … another Original. Something that was supposed to be impossible.