Once Bitten, Twice Burned

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

They’d made it to the couch. Lost the rest of their clothes. Her body was so sated that she never wanted to move, and Sabine could admit, she rather enjoyed the way Ryder’s arms felt around her.

“What’s going to happen?” Sabine asked him because she couldn’t help herself. “Is there any way out for us?”

Frowning, he raised his head to look down at her. His fingers skimmed up her arm. “We’re going to kill our enemies.” Said with perfect certainty. “Make them beg for death. Then we’re going to walk away.”

Her lips had curled into a smile at first, then she realized he was dead serious. “Uh, I haven’t exactly ever made anyone beg for death.” Her smile dipped down. “Genesis . . . that lady there tried to turn me into a weapon, but I couldn’t even carry out one job. The werewolf . . .” Her fingers rose to her stomach. The wounds were gone, but the memory would always be there to terrify her. “He just ripped me open.”

Ryder shifted their positions, moving so that she lay beneath him on the couch. Then he slid down, pushing between her legs. His mouth lowered over her stomach, and he pressed a light kiss to the skin there. “You scared the hell out of me then.”

She stared at his bent head. To be so fierce, he had his tender moments. She’d never felt more cherished in her whole life than she did in that moment.

She could feel his arousal, but he wasn’t pushing her. He was just . . . kissing a wound that wasn’t there. And his kisses were making it all better, well, almost all better.

“I would have just burned,” she said, and her fingers brushed through his hair. “Even if your blood hadn’t turned me, I would have come back.”

His head lifted. “You were terrified. You didn’t want to die.” His jaw locked. “So I didn’t let you.”

His words sent a whisper of cold blowing around her heart. “You can’t always stop death.”

“I can try.”

She swallowed. Trying and succeeding were two very different things. “What happened to the werewolf?” She hadn’t cared to ask before. Sabine had just been glad to get away from the beast.

“Why? Do you want me to kill him for you?” Said so simply.

Sabine couldn’t speak.

“He wasn’t always like that,” Ryder said. His fingers brushed lightly over her stomach. “Wyatt experimented on him, too. Pushed his beast into taking over. I’m not even sure that any part of the man is left within him now.”

“Is he loose?” she asked, as her heartbeat kicked up and she finally found words.

Ryder nodded. “Him . . . and dozens of other monsters that Wyatt played God with in his labs.”

Other monsters . . . like the primal vampires.

“Do you want me to kill him?” Ryder asked again. “Because I can hunt him. I can—”

Sabine put her fingers to his lips. Part of her wanted to kill the wolf herself. A very, very big part. But another part of her had recognized the animal in him. An animal that had been in such horrible pain. She’d looked into his eyes. Seen rage and hate and fear. He hadn’t been trying to kill her. She’d been in his way. But . . .

“We deal with the immediate threats,” Sabine said, because they had to create a plan. “Then we’ll start dealing with Wyatt’s mess.” Someone would have to clean up after him.

Why not them?

Clearing her throat, she said, “W-we can’t hide here forever.” Our enemies will find us sooner or later.

He blinked at her. “I’m not hiding. I hide from no one.”

Now she did smile. “Of course you don’t. We came here because—”

“Because you needed to remember your life. Who you are on the inside hasn’t changed.”

Her smile faded.

“You’re still the girl who fished with her father. Still the girl who jumped from the pier. The girl in all those pictures that line the walls.” His gaze searched hers. “And you’re also the woman that I fucked so well here all morning.”

Okay, now that sent a ripple of surprise through her.

“You’re not some monster. You’re still you. And, Sabine, that’s—” He broke off as his head jerked up. Then his gaze flew to the door.

She strained, trying to use her new, enhanced senses. Yes, she could hear a car’s engine, but the sound was faint, still far away.

Ryder was on his feet in an instant. He yanked up his jeans. Sabine scrambled for her clothes. The last thing she felt like doing was facing an enemy naked.

She hopped as she put on her jeans and snatched the shirt over her head. Ryder wasn’t waiting for the enemy to come in. He’d already run out the front door.

Typical. Her vamp always attacked first, then asked his questions later. Provided, of course, that his enemies were still breathing and could answer any questions.

The engine had come closer. A few moments later, a car door slammed. She caught a raised voice, a male who asked, “What are you—”

Her blood froze. She knew that voice.

Sabine raced outside. The two men had stilled, facing off against each other.

Ryder and . . . Rhett?

She didn’t realize she’d whispered her brother’s name, but then she was running as fast as she could and throwing her arms around him. He staggered back when her body collided with his, but then his arms wrapped around her. She smelled blood and ash, and she was afraid for him and so happy and she was laughing as she held him.

Not dead. Not dead. Not dead. The litany repeated over and over in her head.

“It’s okay,” Rhett told her. “Sabe, you’re squeezing the life out of me. I swear, I’m all right.”

But she didn’t want to let him go.

She also didn’t want to hurt him.

So she eased back, just a little bit. “How are you here?”

His face was pale and tired. “I tried to figure out a safe place you’d go.”

Where’s your safe place?

She glanced back at Ryder.

He gave her a little nod.

Her breath heaved out. Ryder had known. She swallowed. He’d known that her brother might break free of whatever prison held him. And he’d wanted to take her to a place where Rhett would be able to find her.

He’d found her.

She squeezed him again.

“Don’t break my ribs!” Rhett gasped out.

Whoops. “Sorry,” she mumbled. She’d have to be more careful with that vamp strength.

“We should move this inside,” Ryder said, his voice mild. “There’s always the chance that he was followed.”

She eased away from him, but Sabine kept a strong hold on Rhett’s arm. She didn’t touch his bloody wrists or the blisters on his flesh. Sabine was as careful as she could be.

“There’s no chance I was followed.” Rhett came easily with her. “I staked the bastard who came for me.”

Her gaze met Ryder’s. “A vampire attacked you?”

“No, that asshole from The Rift—the SOB who burned down my bar. He can touch things and they burn.”

Dante.

Ryder let them enter the cabin first. His gaze swept behind them.

“You killed him?” Sabine asked, just to be sure. “You saw him die?”

“I drove a chunk of wood into his heart.” Rhett’s shoulders sagged as soon as he was in the cabin. As if he thought . . . I’m safe here. But he wasn’t. “The fire was burning all around us. He was dead when he fell, I know he was, and the fire was just going to burn right over him.”

Not exactly.

Sabine’s gaze met Ryder’s. “Was he followed?”

“I wasn’t!” Rhett immediately huffed. “He was dead, I tell you, he was—”

“He’ll come back.” Sabine tried to keep her voice steady. “That man, his name is Dante, and he isn’t dead.”

Rhett shook his head. “Bull. Even vamps can’t come back if you stake their hearts. I took out that guy and—”

“He wasn’t a vampire. You killed him, yes.” She cleared her throat. “But after he burns, he’ll come back. He’s a phoenix, and death doesn’t stop him.”

It just pisses him off.

Her brother shook his head. “That’s insane! A phoenix? Like the myth? The big bird that burns and—”

“Not exactly like the myth,” Ryder interrupted as his gaze studied Rhett. “But close enough.”

“He’s dead.” Rhett was definite. A faint flush stained his cheeks. “We have other things to worry about instead of focusing on a corpse. Like Dad—he’s gone. The house is empty. What if Vaughn grabbed him, too?”

Tell him. “I know Dante isn’t dead because”—she inhaled slowly and made her gaze hold his—“because I was like him.”

Rhett had finally stopped talking. His head tilted as he studied her.

“Dad isn’t in town,” Sabine continued. “He’s gone because I told him to leave. I didn’t want anyone coming after him.”

“And he just what—picked up and left? Left you? Left me? That’s not the way this family does things!”

“He sent Mom out of town to keep her safe. He’s gone to be with her.” She straightened her shoulders. Tell. Him. “He’s the one . . . he’s the reason I vanished, Rhett. Dad knew what I was. All along, he knew.”

“Yeah, he knew you were his kid so—”

He wasn’t listening. After everything that had happened, did he just not want to hear this? Denial could be a powerful thing.

“Dad knew that I was a phoenix.” She kept her voice calm because she had to, but Sabine wanted to scream. “He thought . . . he said he thought that by sending me to the Genesis facility, he’d be helping me.”

Rhett’s eyes had widened. “No, you—you were missing. We were all worried. Mom . . . she went in the hospital—”

Ryder crossed his arms over his chest. Watched. Waited.

“He didn’t tell you what he’d done. Didn’t tell Mom. Didn’t tell me.” She pressed her lips together and remembered the terror of waking up and being tossed at a vampire. Her gaze slid to Ryder’s.

The memory was between them.

A muscle flexed in his jaw.

“Dad said he wanted to help me, but, Rhett, Genesis didn’t help.”

“I saw the news,” he muttered. He ran a shaking hand over his face. “They were torturing—” He broke off and sucked in a ragged breath. “Did they hurt you, Sabe?” Now he was the one to grab her. To hold too tight. “Did they?”

“Yes.”

He blanched.

She wouldn’t tell him what had been done. There were some things that a brother didn’t need to hear.

Some things that a sister couldn’t say.

But Rhett was a smart guy. Always had been. “You know . . . you know the phoenix guy is coming back because they killed you and you came back.”

She nodded.

“Dad . . . he did that to you?” Whispered. Humming with fury.

“He thought . . . he said he wanted to help me. To make me normal.”

He yanked her against his chest. Almost broke her ribs with his fierce grip. “Fuck normal. You’re perfect just the way you are, even if you burn.”

Or bite?

Over Rhett’s shoulder, her stare met Ryder’s. “I want you to leave town, too, Rhett,” she whispered.

He pulled back, fast. “Hell, no.”

“Hell, yes,” she shot right back, voice gaining strength and volume. She eased away, putting some space between them. “You can’t handle this fight.”

His chin notched up. “It sure looked like I handled that Dante fellow pretty damn well.”

Had he? Or had it been a trick? Was Dante tracking them even now? And why? Why wouldn’t he just let her go?

But Ryder strode to her side then, and he faced off against her brother. “You can’t handle vampires. Can’t handle the flames when they come. You’ll die. She’ll mourn. Is that what you want?”

“I want my sister back! I want our life back!”

But Sabine had realized something. Something Ryder had told her before, but she just hadn’t been ready to hear it. “That life is over.” Even once the bastards after them were gone, returning to her old life . . . not an option. “I can’t be the same any longer.”

She looked down at his hands. Already, she’d brought him pain. “You need to get away from me.”

“No, I need to stand by you.”

Didn’t he see? “Vaughn was your friend. He—”

“Was?”

Hell.

Rhett’s whole body had tensed. “Did something happen to the jerk?”

“A vampire happened,” Ryder told him, and Sabine was glad he took that burden from her. “One with a very powerful strain of infection.”

“So vamps have an infection now?”

“These do,” Ryder said, voice flat. “Wyatt created them. Screwed with things he should have left alone. One of those vampires attacked Vaughn.”

Rhett rocked back on his heels. “That’s why he didn’t come back for me.”

Because he was dead.

And if Rhett didn’t get far away, he’d be dead, too. “Please,” Sabine whispered. “Get out of town.”

Rhett shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”

They had to make him go. Had to make—

Ryder caught her hand. Her head turned toward him. She knew exactly what she had to do. What she had to ask. “Ryder, make him leave.”

“He can try,” Rhett snapped and he pushed his way between them. “But it’s not happening. I’m here, I’m staying in this fight, and, shit, that had better not be your panties on the floor.”

And in the midst of everything, oh crap, she’d forgotten her underwear.

Rhett was beaten, exhausted, and . . . furious.

He whirled on Ryder. “Did you just have sex with my sister?” His voice had dropped to a deadly whisper. “All this other shit, and you think you’re good enough to touch her?” His hands were fisted. “I don’t care if you’re a vamp, I don’t care if you’re the freaking king of vampires—”

Um, yes, well, he kind of was.

“—you don’t mess with—”

“He didn’t have sex with me,” Sabine said as she hurried to step between them. Rhett needed to seriously focus. Killers were after them. Life-and-death situations were happening every minute.

And she wasn’t sixteen. If she wanted to screw her vamp, then she would.

“Sabine,” Rhett began.

“I seduced him. And I liked it.”

Ryder gave a choked laugh. “Trust me, I liked it, too.”

But Rhett’s face was still flushed. Protective big brother. Trying to fight every battle for her. Not caring if she was human or phoenix or anything else.

Loving her, either way.

“I’m sorry,” she told Rhett, “but it has to be this way.”

“What?”

“Bite him, Ryder,” she said. She didn’t know how to control someone through the blood. Couldn’t even begin to figure that out right then. But Ryder knew just what to do.

Rhett’s face went slack with shock. “What?”

“I have to keep you safe.” There was no other choice for her.

Ryder grabbed her brother. Easily held him while Rhett thrashed. “Are you sure?” Ryder demanded.

“Sabine!” her brother snarled.

“Yes,” she said, staring into her brother’s eyes, “I am.”

And she turned away while Ryder took her brother’s blood.

Keith Adams pounded his fist against the front door of Bran’s Castle. He hated coming to this place, but his options were slim and fucking none.

The door opened.

A man stood before him. Tall. Bored-looking.

“Where’s Ryder?” Keith demanded. He didn’t have much time.

“Not here.”

Great. “He told me to come. I have information for him.”

“Do you now?” Still no real interest on the guy’s face.

Keith frowned at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Ryder’s friend. Name’s Grayson.” Grayson opened the door, indicating that Keith should come inside.

Why? Because he looked stupid?

“I’ve got five men with guns pointing dead-on at this place right now,” Keith snapped. “You make a move at me, vamp, and you’ll find wooden bullets in your heart.”

Now the guy didn’t look quite so bored.

“I need to talk to Ryder.” He needed the guy now. “I can help him, if he’ll help me.”

“And how can a human help a vampire?” the one called Grayson wanted to know. “Unless, of course, you’re going to bleed for him.”

“I know where Sabine’s brother is, okay? Tell him . . . I know. I can take him to the warehouse. I can get the dogs off Sabine and Rhett, but Ryder’s gonna have to do something for me.”

“Sabine,” the guy whispered her name. “Doesn’t she just come up a lot in conversation?”

“Ryder has to meet me. He and Sabine. Tell them to come to Forty-Nine Chartres. We can work out a deal.”

“Doubtful.” Grayson sounded dismissive. “Ryder doesn’t exactly deal with humans. Unless he’s eating them.”

“Tell him,” Keith snarled. He should be handling this better. He just couldn’t. Not with his son . . . Keith cleared his throat. “Tell him. Tell him to come at midnight. We can make this nightmare go away.”

“What if he doesn’t want to make it go away?”

“He will.” Then he played his trump card. Actually, the only card he had left, especially since he was bullshitting about Rhett. He had no idea where that guy was. Hopefully, the hell away from New Orleans. “And tell Ryder that Malcolm sends his regards.”

The vamp frowned at him. “What?”

“Malcolm.” He’d already been out in the open long enough. He didn’t trust the vamps not to attack. The primals were out there on the streets of New Orleans, two according to his intel, but if those two had already bit and infected other humans . . .

We have to stop this.

Ryder was his only hope.

Keith turned away. “The guns are gonna stay on you until I’m clear.” Not his first ball game with the undead.

But the coming battle might just prove to be his last.

“I’m going back to the bar,” Ryder said. He glanced at Sabine’s brother. The guy was pale, but not fighting.

Why would he fight now?

Sabine lightly touched Rhett’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

She kept apologizing to the guy.

Ryder shook his head. “Rhett, I want you to take your car and get out of New Orleans.” The link was effortless. Humans were so easy to control.

Rhett rose to his feet. His gaze drifted to Sabine.

“Go to Memphis,” Ryder instructed. He could just think the instructions and Rhett would obey, but he said them out loud so Sabine would know all of the plans. “Find a club called The Blue Jay. Tell the bartender that I sent you.” Rhett would fit right in there, and Jay would make sure the guy was safe, until Ryder sent for him again.

Rhett nodded. “I can . . . feel you.” He rubbed his temples. Almost clawed at them.

Stop.

Rhett’s hands dropped. “In my head. You’re . . . in my head.” His eyes were wide with horror, but he made no move to attack Ryder.

You want to fight me. You can’t. So you just need to walk out that door. Get in your car. Drive to Memphis.

Slowly, very, very slowly, Rhett started to walk. But then his gaze drifted to Sabine. Guilt was written all over her face.

Tell her you love her.

Ryder didn’t even know why he sent the command, but Rhett’s voice rasped, “I love you.”

Sabine’s eyes squeezed shut, as if she couldn’t bear to look at her brother. “I love you, too, and I swear, I’ll make this up to you. I swear.”

Rhett lifted his hands. Pushed hard against his temples once more. “In . . . my . . . head.”

Stop.

“Hurts,” Rhett whispered, sounding lost.

Sabine opened her eyes, frowning at him. “What hurts?”

Perhaps this human wasn’t as weak as he’d originally thought. Walk away, now. Ryder focused harder and actually got the guy to move. One foot. Another.

A few more steps, then Rhett opened the door.

Don’t look back.

Rhett’s body trembled. The human had one strong will. Stronger than any Ryder had encountered before. “Keep her . . . safe,” Rhett rasped. “Or I’ll . . . stake you.”

You can try. Ryder gave another hard mental push, and Rhett left the cabin.

Sabine stared after him. She didn’t speak until she heard the car crank up. Then drive away.

“Thank you.”

She shouldn’t really thank him. Once Rhett got far enough away, the guy might just be able to fight that compulsion.

And come back.

So they didn’t have time to waste. “We need to get to the bar.”

She nodded.

He crossed to her. Caught her shoulders in his hands. “I’m going to have to kill today.”

Her breath whispered out. “Keith—”

Perhaps, but first he had a few other priorities. “I can’t let my enemies go any longer.” The longer he waited, the more dangerous they became. When you were betrayed, you had to strike back. A fast and brutal strike. “If I don’t go after them, they’ll come for me. And for you.” Because needing her so much was a weakness that others would try to use against him. “Wyatt and his scientists used you against me in Genesis. No one else can do that. Ever.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Vampires sold me out before, so vampires are dying today.” The trap should be set. He’d given the orders. Put the plan into motion.

Now it was time to kill.

“If you don’t want to watch what’s coming, then you need to stay here.”

“They’re—you think they’re going to try and kill you?”

He laughed at that question. “You’re not the only one with enemies on your trail. They’ll try. They’ll fail. I’ll succeed.” Because the minute he got close enough to the traitorous vamps, the battle would be over.

He’d compel them. Control them. End them.

Maybe he didn’t want Sabine to see this fight. Watching him control her brother had been bad enough. Watching him get a group of vamps to stake themselves . . . well, that wouldn’t exactly be a warm and fuzzy memory for her.

“Stay here,” he said, voice deepening. Not so much a question any longer, but an order.

She shook her head at him. “You need me. I’m coming.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m coming with you, Ryder.” Shrugging, she said, “Besides, if I stay here, all alone, who knows what could happen? Maybe Rhett was followed, maybe—”

Hell. “Just don’t try to stop me.”

She shrugged again. The shrug was no answer. They both realized that.

“Sabine.” Her name came out on a sigh. “Don’t try to stop me. They’ve got this death coming.”

Her brows lowered. “How can you know that you’ll be targeting the right ones?”

“Because I have a spy in their camp.” One who had been assigned the job of rooting out the vamps who’d sent him to hell. “And that vamp is ready to serve the others up to me.”

He just had to go in.

And deliver his justice.