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‘Worse. I know you’re a vampire.’

‘I’d never try to convince anyone I’m a saint, but I’m not a fucking savage.’ He shakes his head, looking bewildered. ‘Look, I’d love to continue this chat about how terrible you assume I am, but I’d prefer if we could just come to some sort of arrangement that involves you letting me out, and me owing you. It’s not a bad idea to have a vampire indebted to you, you know.’

‘Over my dead body,’ I gripe.

And it might be because suddenly, we are not alone.

5

THEO

The Captive

Her scream is as pretty as her face.

She looks at me as though I’m the devil incarnate. I sense that she’s not completely terrified, though, and perhaps curious.

She’s pressed against the far wall, her breath shaking, hands clenched. The delicious sound of her heartbeat is thick in my ears, almost consuming my thoughts entirely. Her skin is rosy from the blood and I’d love nothing more to slit open her skin and have a taste.

There’s dirt in her hair and a cut on her cheek, but she hasn’t run. She’s looking at me as if she’s never seen a vampire before. This girl has me intrigued. I’d love to know what’s going on inside her head.

She stands just beyond the bars, arms folded across her chest protectively, her face guarded.

‘Might have been the wind,’ I say with a lazy grin.

She glowers at me. ‘I heard something. Someone else is here.’

‘Oh, I don’t doubt it, but not in here, Cupcake.’

She narrows those pretty, pretty eyes at me, clearly not enjoying my nickname for her.

‘I have a question,’ I say.

Turning to face me, she arches a brow. ‘Do you?’

Nodding, I lean on the bars. ‘What’s above us?’ I ask, keeping my voice light, hoping I don’t scare her off. I’m determined to find out what I can from her, but I need to be careful with my approach.

She doesn’t answer right away. I level her with a deadpan stare – a stare that usually makes people tell me whatever I want them to. She gives me an equally deadpan stare. It’s clearly not working on her as effectively as I hoped it would. ‘Dirt.’

‘Yeah, no shit. What else? What were you doing before you fell through here?’

‘Coming back from class. I heard a scream and then someone was chasing me. A vampire. He followed me home.’

I straighten. She hesitates, as though even that answer was giving away too much.

‘I live not far from here. There are woods all around my house. It’s secluded. People don’t come out here.’ Her voice is steady, but there’s a flicker in her eyes as though she’s not sure if she should be telling me anything at all.

I tilt my head. ‘We’re in Red Thorne?’

Slowly, hesitantly, she nods. My muscles tense. Red Thorne. I haven’t been taken far. Questions stir inside me.

A prickle of awareness inches down my spine. I can feel something in the air, as though the temperature has dropped ten degrees – even though us vampires don’t feel the temperature like humans do. The playful smile on my face fades.

‘Move,’ I say sharply, standing as far as the chains allow. ‘Get away from the tunnel.’

She flinches. ‘What? Why?’

He comes out of the dark like smoke. A vampire. I’ve never seen him before. He drops down from the ceiling much more gracefully than she did.