Once Bitten, Twice Burned (Phoenix Fire 2)

He heard the soft whisper of her breath, then her voice came, low and tight. “Since I became one.”

Rhett’s face went white with shock as he rocked back on his heels. “No!”

But she nodded, rather miserably, and wouldn’t meet her brother’s gaze.

Rhett turned his fury on Ryder. “You did this to her.”

Not a question.

And also, not wrong. So Ryder squared his shoulders and agreed. “Yes.”

The human could move fairly fast. Rhett spun away. Shattered a nearby chair, and came up with a chunk of the wooden leg held tight in his fist. “I’m killing you!”

He didn’t want to hurt her brother. Hurting him would only make Sabine angry.

But Ryder also wasn’t in the mood to get staked.

“Would you have been happier if I just let her die?” Ryder asked. He didn’t mention the part about Sabine just coming back when she died. Her brother was freaking over a bit of vampirism. Ryder wasn’t sure the man was up to handling the truth of a phoenix’s death. He also didn’t want to be the one to tell her brother about all that Sabine had suffered.

Rhett loved his sister. That fact was plain to see. It was the reason Ryder hadn’t already taken that stake away from the guy—and shoved it right into Rhett’s own chest.

I don’t take kindly to the threat of a stake in my heart.

If the man hadn’t been family to Sabine, well, there would have been plenty of blood flowing. But for her, Ryder held back.

Sabine raised her hand, stopping her brother’s advance. “I told you on the way here . . . where I’ve been . . . what’s happened to me . . . it’s a very long story.”

“I’ve got nothing but time,” Rhett threw back. “And I’ve been going insane worrying about you. Hell, Sabe, when you didn’t come home, when the days passed and no one could find you anywhere, Mom had a heart attack.”

Sabine’s body trembled.

“She’s fine,” Rhett said quickly as his friends watched the exchange in silence. “But she’s been crying herself to sleep every damn night since you disappeared.” Faint lines bracketed his mouth. “Why didn’t you just call? So you turned into a vamp. Not the choice I would have wanted, but you know I love you. No matter what you are, I love you.”

Silence. Heavy. Painful.

Sabine rolled her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have come back.”

A muscle jerked in Rhett’s jaw. Pain flashed in his eyes.

Ryder eyed the stake. For the moment, Rhett wasn’t attacking. But the moment he did . . .

Sabine cleared her throat. “How did you—how did you even know that I was back? How’d you find me in that alley?”

It was the dark-haired man who answered. The one she’d called Louis. The guy who seemed to be guarding Rhett’s back. “We’ve got eyes all over this city. Everyone has been looking for you. When we got word that you were spotted on the trolley near Canal, we hauled ass down there.”

Rhett nodded. “We hauled ass, and found you up against the wall, and that crazy bastard with the fire in his eyes was about to attack you.”

Crazy bastard with the fire in his eyes . . . Ryder’s body tensed. “Sabine?” When he’d seen her in the alley, he’d smelled smoke, but he’d just thought—hell, he hadn’t even thought. He’d reacted. He’d seen her and been damn relieved to have found her.

But now . . . was her brother saying that another phoenix had been in that alley?

Sabine glanced at Ryder from the corner of her eye.

“Was that another friend, Sabine?” Rhett demanded. “Another paranormal buddy that you picked up during your disappearance?”

Her gaze held Ryder’s. “I’d never seen him before, but, yes . . .” Now she looked back at her brother. “I think he may have been held at the same facility I was at.”

Rhett blinked. “Held?”

Behind him, Louis swore.

She nodded. Her shoulder brushed against Ryder’s. His chest wasn’t hurting anymore. The flesh was already starting to mend.

I want her blood. Nothing particularly new there. He always wanted her.

“I didn’t leave willingly,” she whispered. Her hands fisted by her sides. “I was taken, by a group called Genesis.”

“Those SOBs on the news?” the one who’d been so trigger-happy before demanded.

She nodded. “Yes, Vaughn. They kept me in their facility. I only escaped a few days ago, thanks to Ryder.”

Rhett’s gaze drifted between them. Measured.

“I wouldn’t be here without him,” Sabine said.

“Hell.” Rhett dropped the stake. It clattered to the floor.

“Why did they take you?” Vaughn demanded. He pressed closer. “I saw the news—they were experimenting on paranormals. Not humans. Why the hell would they—”

“It turns out that I wasn’t human. Not exactly.” Sabine’s sigh was soft. “And they knew it.”

Vaughn shook his head. “Son of a bitch.”

Exactly.

Rhett kept a watchful gaze on his sister. “But Genesis is gone now, right? You’re safe?”

“Yes.” Her chin lifted. “I’m safe.”

Her brother couldn’t seem to tell when Sabine was lying.

Odd. Ryder could tell instantly. Trying to protect the human, Sabine? If she’d wanted to protect him, she should have stayed the hell away from New Orleans and her brother.

The scent of smoke drifted into the room. Ryder spun around, following that scent back to the broken door just as that door was tossed aside.

“Fire!” It was the human he’d sent outside. Douglas? “There’s a fire in the bar!”

Rhett swore and stormed right toward the growing smoke. Ryder didn’t try to stop him, but he did grab for Sabine when she tried to go after her brother.

The other humans rushed out, following the cries that had erupted from the bar patrons.

“Let me go!” Sabine twisted in Ryder’s grasp. “I have to help! This bar . . . it’s everything to Rhett.”

No, it wasn’t. “You’re a vampire now,” he reminded her, holding her tightly. “That means you burn too easily. Fire can kill you now.”

She froze. Her eyes widened.

“And when it kills you, Sabine, you won’t be coming back.” There would be no more do-overs for her.

The cries grew louder. The scent of the smoke thickened.