Younger, Bree - Burn [All American Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

“Unreal.” RJ sent a look of admiring interest in Libby’s direction.

“Lib’s off-limits, pretty boy. Find some other chick to charm.”

RJ smirked.

Ty stared him down. “I owe her, man.” He turned to Hawk. “She’ll need to see a doctor as soon as we get to the Moon.”

“Is she injured?” Hawk wanted to know.

“Not injured but—I—” Ty didn’t want to confess the truth but did anyway. “I bit her while I was out of it. Took too much blood.”

“Right.” Hawk remained poker-faced but he could see that RJ was surprised.

“She might need a transfusion. I don’t know.”

“You just bit her once?” Hawk asked.

“Ah…no. I bit her again earlier tonight.”

One of Hawk’s eyebrows rose. “All right then. And what about you? You feeling okay?”

“I had Lib’s blood and some deer. But I’m still not completely up to speed. I could definitely use some.”

RJ gestured to one of the vamps standing nearby. Within a few seconds, the vamp had handed Ty an amber bottle of what seemed to be beer, but Ty knew it was actually bottled blood. Probably B negative, his favorite. He twisted the top off and swallowed it in just a few gulps. When he’d passed the empty over, the man handed him another, which he downed just as fast.

“Thanks, man.” He turned back to RJ.

“Better?”

“Hell, yeah.” He could feel his body absorbing the blood greedily.

“So do you have any idea who would want to kill you, buddy?”

“Not a fucking clue.”

RJ gave a brief nod. “Okay.” He looked back toward the cab of the truck.

“And your friend? Does she know about us?”

Ty nodded, aware that that knowledge would tie Libby to them forever. They would have to keep her under surveillance, if nothing else, just to make sure she didn’t tell anyone, whether intentionally or accidentally. Not that he thought she would. Still, it was standard procedure whenever a human found out about them. “It was impossible to keep it from her as much as we’ve been together. But also, the first time I bit her, I didn’t blur it. I was completely out of control. Feral.”

“Damn. Did you inject her?” Hawk shot him a penetrating look.

“Maybe. Honestly, I’m not sure. It’s all pretty hazy to me.”

RJ sent another glance toward the truck as the door opened and Libby stepped out. Ty moved slightly to place himself between the vampire and Libby. A slight tilt of his lip told Ty that RJ found his action amusing, but he didn’t really give a shit. Libby was his to protect.

“Is everything okay, Ty?” He felt her move to stand beside him, and he reached out to pull her against him.

“Everything’s fine, Libby. I’d like you to meet RJ. He’s a very good friend. And Hawk, one of the best private detectives around. Guys, this is Libby, the woman who saved my life.”

RJ reached out his hand and Libby shook it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Miss…”

Ty realized he had no idea what Libby’s last name was.

“Shaw. Elizabeth Shaw, actually, but my friends call me Libby.”

“Well, Ms. Shaw, we’re all very grateful for what you did for Ty, and I look forward to hearing the whole story.” He motioned for the other vamps to come forward. “But right now, I think we need to head back to Biloxi. These two will drive your truck.”

“It’s not my truck. It’s a stolen vehicle.” She shot an accusatory glance toward Ty. “It needs to be returned to its owner,” Libby stated firmly, and RJ nodded, grinning widely.

“Absolutely. As soon as we figure out who that is. You and Ty will ride with me and Hawk.”

Hawk nodded, his face its usual inscrutable mask.

Ty saw Libby smile a greeting at Hawk.

“Nice to meet you all. And please, call me Libby.” She looked over at the others. “All of you.”

“Of course.” RJ smiled. “Now, let’s load up.”

In no time at all, they were on the interstate and headed to Biloxi. Ty and Libby were in the backseat, and Hawk and RJ sat up front. Hawk drove while RJ spoke on his cell to Quinn to let him know they’d be there soon.

Ty could tell that Libby was nervous. She kept clenching and unclenching her hands. He reached over and clasped one loosely in his own. She shot him a look half-grateful, half-panicked, and he tried to smile reassuringly.

“Everything will be fine now, Lib. We’re safe from those vamps. Even if they found us, there’s no way they’d try anything. Hawk and RJ are pretty tough. They take no prisoners. And with me and the other two, well, it’d take a pretty stupid fool to even think about trying to take us down.”

She nodded her head in understanding, but still seemed tense. When she whispered, “Are they all vampires?” he knew what had her so uptight.

He just nodded and pulled her close, whispering in her ear, “They would never hurt you, Lib. You have my word on it.” He held her eyes for a moment, wanting her to see the truth of what he had said. Finally, she seemed to relax. The drive passed pretty quickly, and about thirty minutes later Ty could see the sign of the casino blazing above the beach.

Turning at last into the casino parking lot, Hawk maneuvered the vehicle to the family’s private parking garage. The door opened immediately when he pulled to a halt, and there was Quinn along with several others. He quickly climbed out and met his brother.

“Fuck, Ty. You scared the hell out of me.” He reached out and hugged him tight.

Only Quinn
, Ty thought, and smiled at his brother. “Well, bro, I didn’t exactly plan it.”

“And the girl?” Quinn’s gaze had darted past him.

“She saved my life, Quinn.”

He saw Quinn nod his head indicating that he understood the debt they both owed to Libby. He walked over to Libby and introduced himself before directing his men in getting both Ty and Libby inside and up to their suite where the doctor and nurse were waiting.

Ty watched as the nurse led Libby into a spare bedroom. She cast a worried glance back at him, and he smiled encouragingly before consenting to move into his own room. The doctor quickly performed his examination. “You’re a lucky vampire, son. From what I understand, a few more hours, and it would have been too late to save you.” Ty nodded. He was well aware of how close he’d come to dying. The doc looked over at Quinn. “He’s fine. Needs a good rest, but that’s about it.”

“Now, I’m going to see what I can do for the young lady. I need to know, son. When you bit her, did you inject her with your venom?”

Ty shook his head, hoping he hadn’t done that to her. “Honestly, Doc, I don’t know. I was pretty out of it. It’s possible.”

The doctor just nodded and picked up his case.

“You’ll let me know about Libby, won’t you, doc?”

“Libby? Oh, the woman. Yes, yes. I need to go and check on her now.” With another brief nod, he exited the room.

Ty met his brother’s concerned gaze. “God, Quinn, I’m sorry as hell I let myself get caught like some infant. It was fucking stupid, and it won’t happen again.”

Quinn held up his hand. “Not yet, Ty. I want RJ and Hawk here. We need to know exactly what happened to you.”

“I was an idiot, that’s what happened to me. Jeez, I still can’t believe it. If Libby hadn’t found me, well, I don’t think I could’ve gotten free, Quinn.” Ty was furious, mostly at himself. All he could think about was the utter stupidity of what had happened to him. He’d always believed himself to be pretty fucking invincible. But this had taught him that that wasn’t the case. It made him feel vulnerable, and he didn’t like the feeling. Not at fucking all.

Just then, the door opened and RJ looked in. He hesitated on the threshold, as if he didn’t want to disturb them, but Quinn just raised his hand and gestured for him to come in and shut the door behind him.

“How you feeling, Ty?” his friend asked, and Ty shrugged.

“Like an idiot, if you really want to know.” Ty saw RJ’s eye roll toward his brother and heard Quinn’s muffled grunt.

Then Quinn asked, “Do you feel up to telling us about it, Ty? We can wait a bit if you don’t feel up to this yet.”

“Honest, I’m okay. Just sore and pissed.”

His brother pulled over a chair. Just then Hawk walked in, closing the door and taking up a position nearby. “Okay, then, let’s have it. What the hell happened?”

The two men listened intently as Ty told them everything he could remember. When he’d finished, he looked at his brother.

“You’re sure he said ‘my mistress?’” Quinn asked him.

Ty nodded, noticing the odd expression on his brother’s face. “Do you know who did it?”

He saw Quinn and RJ exchange a loaded glance. Hawk’s face was, as always, inscrutable. Then Quinn said, “We don’t know who, but we think we might know why. Those bodies you were investigating over in Waveland. I think they were bloodslaves.”

He just sat there, stunned. It was the last thing on earth he had expected to hear. Quinn began to explain what he had learned.

“Son of a bitch!” Ty couldn’t hold back the angry bark.

“Yes, but,” RJ added, “we have absolutely no proof that we could take to the Council. Just our suspicions.”

“Too bad the vamps didn’t use a name.” Hawk commented.

Quinn stood and began pacing and Ty could tell he was mulling something over. After several minutes of silence, he finally spoke. “Well, we might not be able to bring it to the Council, yet, but I am positive that Cumbest and probably McElroy are involved. There’s just too much here to be coincidence.”

“I agree,” Ty volunteered. Then he looked around at the hard faces of his friends, seeing the same revulsion on their faces as he knew must be on his own. “Bloodslaves. Fuck. So what are we gonna do about it?”

Chapter Ten

Libby sat on the side of the bed and allowed the nurse to take her temperature and check her pulse and blood pressure. Surreptitiously, she studied the woman’s features, trying to figure out if she was a vampire as well. Her complexion was a smooth olive and her hair was a silky chestnut. She was quite striking-looking. Probably a vamp, then. Seems like they all looked like fashion models.

Libby became aware that the nurse was studying her just as closely. She met her eyes questioningly.

“Sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to stare. I was just curious about the girl who rescued Ty Buchanan.” Libby wasn’t quite sure how to take that. She thought she detected a little condescension in her attitude, but she could’ve just been imagining it.

“That’s okay.”

“So is it true, then? What Doc said?” She pulled out a syringe and began efficiently taking some blood samples. “Well? Did you really rescue him?”

Libby shrugged. She felt a little embarrassed. She certainly wasn’t any kind of hero.

“He must have been very grateful to you.”

Grateful? Hmm
… “I guess.” She was uncertain how to answer the question.

“Well.” The nurse smiled. “Surely he thanked you for what you did?”

Had he? She didn’t really remember. He probably had when she was having her fit of hysterics, but she hadn’t been paying attention at the time. She just smiled and shrugged. “Well, he didn’t kill me.” She half laughed when she said it, but the nurse didn’t smile back.

“I know he did more than that.” She leaned closer to Libby and sniffed her skin, loudly. “Smells like you got a sample of Ty’s special thank-you.”

“What?” Libby was a little taken aback. What the hell? The nurse could smell Ty on her? Could all of them? Oh, God. Did everyone know she and Ty had slept together? She could feel the blush that flooded her cheeks.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed. You’re not the only female to have received Ty’s special attention. He does like to spread it around. In fact, I don’t think there are many females in the tri-coastal counties that haven’t had their own little taste of that vamp.” She laughed again, but the sound jarred Libby’s nerves.

“I really don’t think that is something we should be talking about …”

“You’re exactly right.” The voice from the doorway startled Libby, and she could tell it surprised the nurse as well. “Gossip is just that—gossip. And completely inappropriate in a professional health worker. Right, Maria? We have more important concerns right now. Like tending to our patient. I’m assuming you finished getting the blood samples. Perhaps you could take them and run those tests I asked for.” Libby could see Maria was chagrinned at being scolded by the doctor, especially in front of an audience. She immediately began gathering up the blood samples and moving across to a small table where she had set up some vials and tubes. He turned to Libby. “So, young lady—Libby, is that right?”

She shook her head, immediately liking this older gentleman with his messy white hair and horn-rimmed glasses. “Yes. I’m Libby. Libby Shaw.”

“Well, Miss Shaw, I’m Dr. Paul Broussard. But you can call me Doc like everyone else.”

Libby smiled. “Nice to meet you, Doc. And please call me Libby.” She studied his face. Was he a vampire, too?

He caught her eyes on him and smiled, a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “No, I’m not.”

She groaned, mortified at being caught staring. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”