Page 15

“Call Adam again. Tell him to send Doc Randal,” Jericho ordered.

“Already on it.” Colin’s face blurred into focus. “Shit, how many shots did he take?”

Too many.

Liam struggled to sit up, but the Buick parked on his chest pinned him down. Sludge filled his lungs, making each breath harder than the last.Not yet. Already failed so many. Alex will be my redemption. Have to protect her.The edges of his vision grew darker.

“Damn it, Liam. Stay with me.” A heavy palm cracked against his jaw.

“Alex,” he mumbled over the ringing in his ears.

Jericho shook his head, not understanding.

Desperation lent Liam a burst of strength. Muscles strained in his neck, and he fisted the front of Jericho’s shirt, pulling him in close. “He shot Alex.”

Jericho uttered a curse, his eyes darkening. “Once you’re stable, I’ll check on her.”

Liam knew the second she’d been hit. Chances were, so did every vampire in that room. Alex’s blood was a siren’s song. Thank the gods those fuckers couldn’t sink one fang into her—unless Liam died. Still, none of that mattered if the bullet she’d taken did her in. Because of the Chosen bond, Liam’s blood would heal her. Not that he could do a damn thing to save her in his condition.

But Jericho could.

If Liam died, Alex would be unclaimed and vulnerable again. He refused to let that happen. Alex was the one decent thing he’d done with his miserable existence. Pulling a wounded vampire out of the blazing sun ran a close second.

“End of the road. Death’s caught me this time,” he slurred.

Jericho wrapped his hand over Liam’s fist, squeezing as though he could will him back to life. “I’m not letting you die on a bar room floor.”

“You and your honorable death bullshit.” Liam coughed a laugh.

Jericho glanced at Liam’s chest, and his expression filled with anguish.That’s right. You know I’m fucked.Words that had gone unspoken for centuries hung between them.

And that’s where they would stay.

Liam was never good at the sentimental stuff. Actions spoke louder than words—like standing at a male’s back, knowing there was no reason to look over your shoulder. Both he and Jericho shared one hell of a history.

It was time the male stopped hiding in the shadows of his past.

Jericho would probably spit on his funeral pyre, but this was the only way.

“Need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” Jericho rasped.

Blood crackled in Liam’s lungs. “Swear to me you’ll protect her.Sanguis pro sanguine.” He began the first part of the ritual that would bind Alex as Jericho’s Chosen.

Jericho’s eyes flared. “Liam, no. I can’t.”

Liam understood the panic Jericho failed to mask. He also knew his old friend wouldn’t let him down. There was one word he’d spoken but a handful of times in all his years. One word Jericho wouldn’t dare to refuse.

“Please.”

Jericho dropped his head. When he raised it again, resignation darkened his expression. “I swear it.” He sank his fangs into Liam’s wrist, drawing deep before sealing the wound. There was enough of Alex’s essence in Liam’s system that Jericho would be able to feed from her and complete the bond.

Air wheezed from Liam’s throat. His body floated, weightless. Whether from his injuries or the release of Alex’s bond, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was he could rest now, knowing that both Alex and Jericho were in good hands.

* * *

Liam’s handwent limp in Jericho’s grasp.No!Liam couldn’t die. Not like this.