Just the blood loss. She had to stop that.
And she had to forget the pain. If Simon could stand there, with the hell he had to be feeling, then, somehow, so could she.
“Dee?” Tony’s voice, hoarse. Sad.
She couldn’t deal with him then.
“They’ll all turn from you now,” Leo taunted. She faced him. His feet touched the ground. “Every one you care about—they’ll turn away. They’ll see what you are, and they’ll come to kill you.”
Zane.
“You’ll be the one hunted now. You’ll be the one who’s scared and desperate and—”
She stepped forward. Smiled a bit. Then sank her teeth into his throat.
There was an instant of revulsion. Of horror. Of what-the-hell-am-I-doing.
Because she didn’t want his blood. Not like she’d wanted Simon’s. Didn’t want his taste in her mouth.
She’d longed for Simon. No revulsion. No fear. She’d been desperate to take from him.
This—this was just business.
And the woman inside, the woman who’d feared and hated vampires for so long, she shuddered and a scream rose in her throat.
Can’t do this. Can’t live like this. No. No.
Images came to her then. Flashing one right after the other.
Leo, covered in blood and grime, standing on an old battlefield. A sword lay cradled in his hands. The dead surrounded him and a wild smile stretched his face.
Dee forced herself to take more. Keep. It. Down.
Leo, drinking a woman dry as she screamed and screamed—a woman in a long, flowing white dress, with her hair so long and loose around them. A tall man with bright blond hair, braided on the sides, watched, a smile on his lips. “The first blood taste is always the sweetest.”
Leo lifted his head.
“Want more?” the blond man asked.
A quick nod, but a tear leaked down Leo’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, your wife doesn’t even feel the pain now.”
Laughter.
Madness.
Rage.
Pain.
She ripped her mouth away from his flesh. Her lips were wet. Blood trickled down Leo’s neck. His eyes had gone glassy and the guy had stopped laughing. Finally.
“The voice is quiet…” Leo spoke, a whisper.
Okay, so he seemed to be calming down, always a nice bonus and—
He lunged forward and sank his teeth into her shoulder. Dee howled and shoved him back. He shot away from her, but the chains groaned and jerked him up short.
Leo licked his lips. “Got you.”
Her teeth snapped together. “You—”
A shake of his dark head. “I-I can remember her…now.”
Dee rubbed her throbbing shoulder, then she punched him, because that shit hurt.
“Dee.” Simon’s voice. Steady and too controlled. Where was her big, bad protector when she’d actually needed his butt? She fired a glare at him, then nearly winced. Still damaged.
“Dee, he needed your blood, just like I did.”
She blinked.
“What the hell is going on here?” Tony shouted.
“I’m a vampire, you just tried to kill me, and I’m having one real pisser of a night.” Good sum-up. Dee narrowed her eyes on Leo. “And if you come at me again, I’ll take your head.”
A tear leaked from his left eye. “I can see my Sonja again.”
Uh, great.
“Your bite and blood diluted Grim’s control,” Simon said. “Ask him now, he’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
Really? That easy? Well, not really easy considering she’d had to bleed for her answers. “Are you one of Grim’s Taken?”
“He changed me.” Whispered. “Bound by his blood.”
Vampires. Couldn’t they ever just say things simply? “Okay, you’re one of his goons. Were you in on the setup? Did you kill that woman and leave me in her blood?”
His eyes squeezed shut, then flew open. Midnight black. “She was easy to kill. She thought I’d give her forever.”
“Guess you did, didn’t you?” Forever in a pine box somewhere.
“It was quick.” A shrug. “She didn’t suffer.”
“Yeah, I’m sure there were plenty more who suffered over the years because of you.”
His lips trembled. “Not what I wanted. Never wanted.”
What? “Listen, buddy, you were the one killing. The one biting and draining—”
“Wasn’t strong enough.” His gaze darted to Simon. “You know what it’s like. When he gets inside…”
He. Grim. The big badass that Simon had warned her about.
“He takes control,” Leo said, giving a slow shake of his head. “His needs became mine. You have no idea how strong he can be.”
Footsteps shuffled closer behind her. “Tell me this freak Grim isn’t in my town.” Tony’s voice cracked a bit. Fear would do that to a guy.
Leo didn’t answer.
Dee grabbed his bloody shirt front. “Where is he?”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Fled. Knows what you will do.”
Okay, so now his voice was getting a bit sing-songy. Was she doing that? Or was it his blood loss? Maybe both.
“Uh, what’s she gonna do?” Tony asked.
Simon and Leo answered in unison. “Kill him.”
Simon caught her hand. “Or at least, I hope to hell that she will.”
“If not,” Leo breathed, staring straight at her with his hunting black eyes, “then he’ll tear you apart, Born. Rip your world away and tear you apart.”
Ah, nice visual.
A shrill beep cut through the air. Tony swore and jerked out his phone. Leo sagged back against his chains. “Death,” he whispered.
This was the tough SOB who’d nearly taken her out earlier? He looked…beaten.
No, broken.
“It’s your blood,” Simon said, his voice carrying only to her ears. “It’s diluting Grim’s hold on him, making him remember who he was and everything he’s done.”
Tony let out a hard expulsion of air. “What? When? Christ. How many dead?”
Dee ran a hand over her face. “If Grim has this much power, why weren’t you like”—she shot her thumb toward the trembling vampire—“him?”
Simon’s face had begun to heal. The blisters were starting to vanish, the skin lightening to pink instead of the fiery red. “Grim didn’t change me directly. Leo did. So the bond was weaker.”
“Liar, liar…” A weak chant from Leo. “I know what you did, Simon. I know, little brother.”