Burn For Me (Phoenix Fire 1)

Dammit. They had to tranq him. Had to knock him out before—

Thirteen looked up at the security camera and smiled.

Wyatt could see the flames burning in Thirteen’s eyes. The beast was out, and he was ready to destroy.

“Stop him,” Wyatt whispered into the intercom. His message would feed into the earpieces of every security guard in the facility. “Use the SP-tranq.” It was their all-purpose drug to take out the supernaturals. Sure, the weaker ones never woke up after getting an injection, and the stronger ones, well, it didn’t keep them out for long. . . .

But they didn’t need too long, just—

Thirteen wasn’t on the monitor anymore. Shouts and gunfire echoed through the facility, and Wyatt could smell smoke. Thirteen was leaving a path of fire in his wake.

He wasn’t just escaping. He was keeping his promise.

Sending us all to hell.

Wyatt wasn’t ready for hell. Not yet.

He sealed the door to his office.

Not yet.

There was too much work to do first.

Cain had just . . . incinerated the guard. Eve stared in horror at the pile of ash at her feet. He had touched Barnes and in the next second, flames had consumed the man.

Cain raced down the hallway, and fire seemed to be taking over the facility. Eating at the walls. Snaking up to the ceiling. Burning everything.

Eve jumped back, away from the flames.

“Run.”

Her head lifted and she found herself staring into Cain’s eyes. He’d turned back to look at her. Only . . . fire was in his eyes. She could actually see the flames burning right in his gaze.

“Run . . . or die,” he told her, the words more growl than anything else.

When he put it that way . . . Eve ran. The facility was going down, burning around her—some guards were fighting, shooting at Cain. But the guards weren’t the only ones in the facility.

If this place went up in flames, and it sure looked like it would, then all the other test subjects would die.

The corridor sprinklers burst on from overhead. About freaking time. They drenched her clothes and fought the fire. Some of the flames died. Some grew stronger.

Chaos reigned.

She grabbed a white lab coat from a storage closet. Yanked it on. Tried to blend with the other researchers who were running for the exits.

Only . . . Eve didn’t head for the nearest exit. She raced for the stairs that would take her down to the next level of the facility. The level she’d never accessed.

More test subjects waited down there.

She shoved her hand against the stairwell door. The alarm blared constantly, driving her crazy. She hurried, nearly fell, but caught herself as she staggered down the steps.

She opened the next door—and came face-to-face with an armed guard.

“What are you—” he began.

Eve hit him. Just punched him right in the face. She guessed that she hadn’t looked particularly threatening, because he sure seemed caught by surprise. She grabbed his gun when he stumbled back. “Now get the hell out of here!” she told him. Screams reached her from upstairs. “Before you burn.”

His eyes bulged, but then he ran up the stairs.

He was smarter than he appeared.

She hurried toward the guard station. Heard some order on the intercom system about using something called an SP-tranq. Whatever. She got down on her knees as she yanked open the drawers, shoving her hands in. She found key cards—had to be for the cells—grabbed them, and jumped to her feet.

More guards rushed by her, but she just tucked the gun down next to her leg, and they barely glanced her way. They were too busy fleeing to pay her much attention. No, they were hauling ass.

And leaving the paranormals as prisoners. Not on my watch. The test subjects weren’t just going to be left to die.

She found the first room down a twisting hallway. A two-way mirror let her see into his room. A man. Tall. Muscled. Pacing back and forth. Back and—

He whirled to face her, and Eve caught sight of his gleaming fangs.

Hell.

“Fresh blood . . .” he whispered.

Okay. Eve hesitated. Maybe freeing him wasn’t the—

Smoke drifted toward her. The vamp’s head snapped up. He wasn’t looking right at her, not the way Cain had, but the vamp sure seemed to be . . . smelling her. “Fire.”

Yeah, his sense of smell was working just fine.

And even though he was a vampire . . . I can’t leave him. Vampires were just like humans—some good, some bad. She just had to keep reminding herself of that. He doesn’t have to be bad.

Eve rushed around the corner. Flipped through the key cards and tried to find the one that would give her access to his cell. This holding room didn’t have a manual code, not like Cain’s. The door looked thicker, heavier, and—

The third card she swiped had the lights near the door’s handle flashing green. She brought her gun up in an instant even as the door flew open.

“Don’t bite me!” Her quick yell.

The blond vampire had already lunged forward, but he froze at her yell—or maybe he froze at the sight of her gun. Didn’t really matter why to Eve.

Freezing was good. Better than biting. “I’m here to help you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Says the woman with the gun aimed at my chest.” His fangs were way too sharp.

“Look, that’s just to—”

He ripped the gun from her hand in a lightning-fast move. Grabbed her. Shoved her back against the door and yanked her head to the side.

“Hungry . . .” Cain had said something like that, too, only he hadn’t raked his fangs against her skin the way Dracula was doing.

“I’m . . . helping . . .” Eve muttered. “Trying . . . to . . . help . . .” Damn the vampires. Always biting the hands—or the necks—of those who helped.

“Need . . . you . . .” the vampire rasped.

Then he was the one being yanked away. The vampire’s body hit the wall with a thud. “Too f**king bad,” Cain snarled at him. “Cause I saw her first.”

Uh, what?

Cain offered her his hand. Eve glanced at his open palm, then back at his blazing eyes. She didn’t move toward him. Right then she wasn’t sure who was safer—the guy who’d almost torn out her throat, or the man who was destroying the whole building.

“You have to get out of here,” Cain told her, a muscle flexing along his jaw.

The vampire rose slowly to his feet.

“Touch her again”—Cain’s deadly focus was on the vamp—“and I’ll turn you to dust.”