Luther's Return

Why he’d let his baser instincts rule him twenty-four hours earlier, he didn’t understand. If prison had taught him one thing, it was how to control his emotions and his needs. But then, even the best had the occasional relapse. Didn’t mean it had to happen again.

Luther walked up to the door. A small window was cut into it, allowing him to look into the anteroom, which was equipped with carts and trays used to distribute the blood every day. He knew the schedule well. It never changed. In an hour, four guards would enter the cold storage and divvy up the rations, then distribute them to the ravenous prisoners.

At the thought of the blood, he felt an acute pang of hunger roil through his stomach. He’d gorged himself on a street person just before he’d been arrested by Scanguards, and considering the amount of blood he’d taken—more than he’d had at any one time during his twenty years in prison—he should be thoroughly sated, but he wasn’t.

Katie stood next to him now. Too damn close. He could smell her blood, hear it even as it was rushing through her veins. He could feel the low drum of her heartbeat, the tap-tap-tap of her pulse. Temptation gripped him. He wrenched himself away from it and turned the doorknob.

Luther stepped into the empty prep room. “Close the door to cold storage,” he said over his shoulder as Katie followed him. “If the temperature rises in there, the guards will get an alert and show up.”

Katie pulled the door closed. “Where to now?”

“Just follow me. And stay quiet. A vampire’s hearing is ten times more sensitive than that of a human. Even if you whisper, they’ll hear you.”

“I know that.” And her facial expression told him she didn’t appreciate the lecture.

He decided not to comment and opened the door to the corridor just a sliver. Enough so he could listen for sounds.

Footsteps. Coming closer, not retreating.

Luther put a finger to his lips and focused his ears on the sounds coming closer.

“…could take the time off.” The voice he heard belonged to Dobbs.

“What, and go where?” MacKay replied.

“To some cool place.”

“You mean like Norris? Did he tell you where he was heading?”

“Nope. He was all cryptic about it. He only said that he would leave everybody in his wake.”

“Whatever!” MacKay said.

Both vampires’ voices echoed in the empty corridor. They were almost at the door now.

“So what would you do on your vacation?” MacKay asked.

A chuckle broke from Dobbs’s mouth. “New York City or Chicago. With all those dark alleys at night, hey, that’s the ideal hunting grounds. Lots of chicks and junkies who don’t even see you coming. That’s what I call a vacation!”

Dobbs and MacKay were right outside the door now.

“Cool.” MacKay grunted. “Want a snack?”

Shit! Luther suppressed a curse. That’s just what he needed now: two heavily armed vampire guards raiding the fridge. His fingers automatically lengthened, and sharp barbs emerged from his fingertips, readying themselves for a bloody battle.

“You know they count that stuff,” Dobbs cautioned.

“We can always blame Summerland,” MacKay suggested.

“Don’t be stupid. That jerk’s gonna be up your ass so quickly, you won’t even see him coming.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Summerland.” MacKay laughed.

A growl came from Dobbs. “Do whatever you need to do, but don’t expect me to cover for you.”

Footsteps moved away.

“Hey, wait up, Dobbs.”

A second set of footsteps followed the first.

Luther waited until the sounds grew fainter, before he released a breath. Then he looked back at Katie.

Her eyes were glued to his hands. His gaze shot to them. They had turned fully into claws. Deadly instruments. Luther lifted his eyes, meeting Katie’s. There was no fear in them, but something he could only interpret as fascination.

19

Katie held Luther’s gaze. The orange-red rim around his irises slowly disappeared, turning his eye color back to a rich brown. She’d watched him closely when he’d listened to the guards passing in the corridor outside and seen the tension harden his entire body, readying himself for a fight.

Maybe she wasn’t scared of that side of Luther because he reminded her so much of her brother Haven at that moment, of how he’d used his vampire side to protect her. To save her from a human who’d meant her harm. Perhaps that was the reason why she associated glaring red eyes, piercing fangs and hands that took on the form of claws with safety rather than danger.