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Her bicycle sat on its side next to her, wheels still turning. Her tears dripped onto the ground, and the sound of her crying broke my heart.

She sounded so pitiful.

“Are you gonna be all right?” I called down to her.

She looked around, surprised, then looked up at me. Tears streaked her chubby, little girl cheeks. There was a scrape on her chin, too. Poor thing.

“My mommy’s at work all night,” she whimpered. “My knee hurts. I need a Band-Aid.”

“I have some,” I offered. “Do you want some help?”

“Please.” Her chin quivered, and fresh tears sparkled in her eyes.

I rummaged through one of the cabinets above the sink and pulled down a box of bandages and a bottle of peroxide.

Vale wouldn’t even be out of the shower by the time I got back—and he could kiss my ass if he had a problem with me helping a little girl that fell off her bike.

I hurried downstairs and out to the narrow passage between my building and the next one over.

The bike was still there, but the girl wasn’t.

“Hello?” I called out, looking up and down the street. How did she get away that fast?

“Hello.”

Not a little girl’s voice.

A man’s.

Deep, gravelly, knowing. Satisfied.

I turned. There he was, standing in front of me, blocking me from the street.

I recognized him from the club.

He was dancing with her.

Warmth trickled down the inside of my thigh, and I realized I was pissing myself.

Because he was going to kill me. It was all over.

“A soft heart,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Always the downfall of you women. Even some men, but mostly women. So easy to take you in with a crying child or a wounded animal. I’m sure your friend warned you against going out on your own, didn’t he?”

My friend.

He would be out of the shower soon.

He had to be.

And he’d come down when he saw me gone.

I only had to stall for a minute. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

“I didn’t even care for you, not really.” He was tall, so tall, and he towered over me.

Dressed in black, tight clothing that looked like something he’d wear to the club. He moved with unbelievable grace as he slid through the darkness, coming closer with every unhurried step. There was something sexy about him, a sensuality that seeped from him. His red-rimmed silver eyes flashed.

“She wanted you. My Desiree. Thought you would make a nice addition to our… family. And she felt what I feel about you now. That blood of yours. Powerful. So tempting. You’re not only human, are you?”