“What’s that?” Carter asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion. Before he realized what had hit him, Aaron had him from behind, the Vampire’s arms pinned to his sides. Carter was completely caught off guard, and Cadence seized the opportunity, rushing toward him, Van’s knife in her hand. She plunged it straight into his heart.
Furious at their deception, Carter used the strength he had spoken off to buck Aaron off. The Guardian went flying backward, slamming into the brick wall of the old, abandoned building on his right. Elliott took several steps forward, but Cadence held up her arm. The knife had slowed Carter considerably, and now that Aaron was out of the way, she had the shot. Her Glock was still in her hand, so she opened fire, unloading at least a dozen bullets into his torso.
And yet, Carter kept coming at her. Unlike the other Vampires, the bullets seemed to do little. He pulled the blade from his chest, dropping it, and swiped her gun out of her hand as Aaron regained his footing. Grabbing hold of Cadence’s neck, Carter began to squeeze. Cadence knew Elliott was about to launch at him when Carter screamed, “Enough! I’ll kill her if both of you don’t stop right now!”
He could do it, too. She was already having trouble drawing in any breath at all. Stars began to fill her peripheral vision. He could crush her windpipe in one palm. Cadence could see puffs of smoke pouring from the bullet holes, the knife leaving a gaping hole in his blue shirt that went clean through so that she could see the alleyway behind him. Yet, his strength was still evident in the grip he had on her throat.
Both men froze, and while Carter didn’t let up his hold, he didn’t squeeze any harder either. If he cut off her air, she’d begin to suffocate. And Jamie was miles away.
The sound of footsteps behind her made Cadence instinctively begin to turn her head, but she couldn’t get far enough to see who it was. She flicked on her IAC, realizing Aaron already had his back on, and saw Margie standing behind her looking pissed, but Elliott’s hand stopped her.
“You’ll never get out of here alive, Carter,” Aaron said.
“It’s Perses, damn it!” He gave Cadence’s throat a squeeze, and she sputtered for air. “And I will. You don’t know as much as you think you do.”
Cadence could see them now. How, she wasn’t exactly sure. Perhaps her sister was somehow letting her see her vision. But they were coming in mass, perhaps a hundred of them, from every direction. Even if they killed Carter, getting out of here would be nearly impossible. There was no point in prolonging things.
“Rush him,” Cadence insisted.
“He’ll kill you.” Aaron’s eyes flickered from the back of Carter’s head to her face and back again.
“Just do it. Count of three. All of you.” She had Elliott and Margie on as well.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Aaron began, but she didn’t give him a chance to even get the whole sentence out before she began to count.
“One….”
Carter’s eyes were dead inside. Even though all Vampires were undead, most of them still had a flicker of life, something that resembled the person they had once been. Not him.
“Two….”
She thought of Drew, how innocent she had been, how naïve, how all she really wanted was a good time. And then there was Jack. A good and decent person, the kind of guy a girl would be proud to call her boyfriend, her husband. He’d never get the chance to be anyone’s spouse, anyone’s dad. Thanks to this creature standing in front of her, crushing her throat, trying to end her as well.
“Three!”
With no regard for what anyone else on her team was doing, Cadence increased her grip on Carter’s arm, pulling down on it as she simultaneously brought both legs up in a circle, ensnaring his arm between her thighs as she turned, twisting his arm, spinning. The sickening sound of his ligaments tearing, bone shattering, filled her ears as his arm came free of his body, causing him to release her neck, and air began to fill the space previously choked off from life. She heard the sound of Aaron hitting Carter first, knocking him to the ground, and Elliott grabbed ahold of her, setting her aside before he rushed past her, along with Margie.
By the time Cadence turned back around, the three of them had Carter pinned to the concrete alleyway. His arm became ash in her hands, and she dusted them off, stooping to pick Van’s knife up from where the monster had let it fall.
He was strong and continued to struggle against them, but Cadence wedged a knee in between Elliott and Aaron so that she could leverage herself and began to saw into his sinewy neck. His cries for Asteria filled the air as he argued none of this was fair and finally began to beg for his life, shouting, “Please! I need to see her again. No! Let me go!”
“Did you give Drew the chance to beg for her life?” she screamed, sawing deeper as he continued to weaken. “Or did you suck the life out of her, all the while knowing I was the one you really wanted?” Before the last tendon broke, Cadence stopped, and looking him dead in his fading eyes, she said, “Well, I got you, Carter. I got you twice. Tell the devil I said hello, and save Holland a seat, ‘cause I’m coming for her next.”
With one more slice of the knife, the last tendon snapped, and Carter’s struggling was over.
The scream didn’t emanate from his decapitated head, though; it came from just down the street. Close, very close. Holland’s cry was chilling as it filled the air around them. Like a banshee haunting the Irish shore, she called out for her lost lover, and Cadence felt the hair on her arms stand up.
There was no time. The monsters around them were closing in. The four of them looked at each other, and Cadence assumed Aaron would start shouting orders, trying his best to save them, to save her. But a new sound caught her attention, along with the distinct smell of burning rubber.
The squeal of tires on the street behind her caused Cadence to spin around. “Dad! Come on!”
Cadence had never been so happy to see Brandon in her life. Not the time he’d shown up in their office when she didn’t know he existed. Not even the time he’d come back to Transform. She knew they weren’t out of the woods yet, and part of her wanted to yell an admonishment at him for coming back, but right now, her feet were telling her to move, and the four of them jumped into the SUV without a word.
