There’s a long stretch of silence and my head begins to spin from the lack of oxygen.
“What the fuck?” the stranger chuckles in disbelief.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Nikolaos sighs then his hand relaxes, his fingers loosening enough for me to gasp in a breath.
I consider screaming but quickly decide against it. No help will come. If anything, it would probably attract more vampires.
“Where did you find her? Is she marked? She fucking reeks of cinnamon,” the stranger asks, and I sense someone moving closer.
“Back off,” Nikolaos snaps, and I finally gather up enough courage to peek my eyes open.
A man… no, a vampire with long, black hair tied back at the nape of his neck, dressed in a dark suit like Nikolaos, throws his hands up in the air and slowly backs away from us. “Sorry. I just wanted to get a better sniff.”
I watch Nikolaos squeeze his eyes shut like he’s in pain. “It’s okay, Knox, it’s just…”
Voice trailing off, Nikolaos opens his eyes and looks at me. His gaze full of confusion and accusation. As if I’ve done something…
“Just what?” Knox asks, looking at me as well.
Nikolaos shakes his head. “Again, I don’t fucking know.”
Knox nods as if he understands, his eyes never leaving me. “What do you know?”
Meeting his eyes to check the color, I see that they’re blue like Nikolaos’s and the not the green of my nightmare phantom.
So that makes two vampires I’ve happened to stumble upon. Great.
Rolling his shoulders as if he’s trying to work out some tension, Nikolaos says, “I found her here, and she obviously belongs to the Order. I’m unsure if she’s marked, though I suspect she might be. I was just about to check when you arrived.”
Knox smirks and throws his hands up again. “Sorry. You told me to get here as soon as possible so I got here as soon as possible.”
Nikolaos sighs and nods his head.
“Speaking of which,” Knox prompts when Nikolaos falls into thoughtful silence. “Why the rush? Because of her?”
Blinking as if he’s pulling himself out of thought, Nikolaos finally looks away from me. “No. Fuck. I almost forgot. I received word an hour ago that we’re about to have visitors from out of state. Asher and his coven are on their way.”
Knox frowns, and I try my best not to squirm. Uncomfortable with the way Knox continues to stare at me like he can’t take his eyes off me while he talks to Nikolaos.
“Word got out that quickly?”
“Yes, it appears we have a weak link. One I will quickly remedy,” Nikolaos says, and frowns as well while eyeing Knox with suspicion.
“What?” Knox asks, noticing the frown directed at him. “It’s not me. You know I’d never fucking—”
“It’s not that,” Nikolaos nearly hisses, showing a bit of fang. “I know you’re not the leak.”
Knox’s brows knit in confusion. “Then what?”
Nikolaos closes his eyes again before he grits out slowly, like it kills him to speak the words, “Stop. Looking. At. Her.”
“Seriously?” Knox says, appearing stunned.
Wincing, Nikolaos confirms, “Seriously.”
Speechless, Knox finally drags his gaze from me and purposely looks away. Focusing his attention on something down the street.
Relaxing his grip around my throat even more, Nikolaos’s posture slumps and he lets out yet another sigh. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Knox says, shifting from foot to foot in impatience or discomfort. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
“Yes,” Nikolaos says eagerly, and a spark of hope sizzles to life inside me.
If Nikolaos removes his hand from my throat, I might be able to catch him by surprise again. If I time it right and I’m fast enough, there’s a real possibility I could make it inside my house, where he can no longer get to me…
Relaxing even more, Nikolaos begins to do exactly as I hoped. Pulling his hand away from my throat before seemingly thinking better of it.
“I almost forgot,” he says ominously, staring into my eyes like he can read my thoughts. “Charity, come to the front door.”
The spark of hope inside me flickers and dims but doesn’t completely extinguish. There’s still a possibility that he’s bluffing. That he’s only trying to scare me.
A possibility that she’s too far away to hear him…
“Charity?” Knox asks, still purposely avoiding looking in my direction.
“The other Order girl,” Nikolaos answers.
Knox perks up with interest. “Is she like this one?”
“No, thankfully not.” Nikolaos smirks at me.
“Oh,” Knox says with disappointment then I see him look toward the front door.
I know it before Nikolaos confirms it, but my hope still lingers for a futile second before fizzling into dread.
“That’s a good girl,” Nikolaos purrs over my shoulder, and I want to burst into tears. “Come out here, close the door, and follow that man with the black hair to the car.”
I hear the click of the door then Charity appears in the corner of my eye. Doing exactly as she was told, she walks up to Knox, her stride oddly robotic.