Page 11 of A Bond Beyond Blood (The Butcher’s Daughter Trilogy #1)

V inny

I dropped the smile as soon as she disappeared back into her apartment.

As I put the car into reverse and pulled out of the lot behind the butcher shop, I scanned the area.

The parking lot reeked of vampires—and none that I knew.

So, though it didn’t smell like Carmine’s usual goons, I couldn’t be too careful, not where Jacqueline was concerned.

Driving around the block, I parked out of sight, then climbed out quickly and hurried back on foot.

I’d just check the perimeter and the shop itself, make sure she was safe, then be on my way.

If Carmine or his underlings had tracked me to her place, whether last night or a few days ago, there was a very good chance she was now on the old man’s radar.

And if he or any of his men got close to her, close enough to scent that hint of vampire that ran through her veins even though she was wholly and inarguably human...

Well, I didn’t know what that meant but I knew Carmine would be intrigued.

And nothing good would come of a man like Carmine Donati becoming intrigued with my girl.

Again, I cursed myself for not being completely honest with her about her ability to fight. She was strong, sure, trained well enough, thanks to me, and could easily take down a human man with what I’d taught her. But a vampire was another thing entirely.

I needed to tell her the truth.

I’d been selfish with that information because of fear. If she learned that my training couldn’t save her against one of my kind—inevitably rendering her useless against the one she wanted to hunt—she’d likely stop coming to our sessions.

It made me a selfish bastard, I knew, but I couldn’t let her go. So I’d spent months training her under the false belief that anything I taught her would matter against one of my kind.

I crept silently along the edge of the building until I stood just beneath her balcony. Looking up, I smiled as I listened to her humming something as she moved about the apartment.

For now, she was safe. As far as I knew, she’d only invited one vampire inside her home—and I’d die before I hurt her.

So with one final glance above, I moved to the back door of the butcher shop and tried the knob, happy to find it locked this time.

I’d swiped her keyring while she wasn’t paying attention, too caught up in the Christmas display I’d created for her while she slept.

A small infraction when considering her safety.

I would return her keys once I’d searched the store and the perimeter to ensure her safety.

The butcher shop opened at nine, which meant I had a good thirty minutes before she would need to come down here and get the store ready for the rush of ham and turkey pickup orders that likely accompanied Christmas Eve.

I’d sneak in while she was getting ready for work, return the key, and leave without her knowing a thing.

As soon as I stepped inside Fiorino’s Meats, the door swung shut behind me and someone snapped, “Who the fuck are you?”

I turned toward the sound, ready for a fight. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“How do you know Jackie?”

I smirked, but didn’t answer the kid. He certainly wasn’t in the position to ask questions.

As my eyes adjusted to the pitch-black darkness inside the shop, I assessed my opponent, such as he was.

A bit younger than me—both in human age and vampiric years—he stank of immaturity and inexperience.

It was in the cocky lift of his chin and that fearless glint in his eyes even when presented with a vampire who was stronger and older than him.

He had black hair and eyes the color of coffee left too long in the pot. In jeans and a white t-shirt beneath a well-worn leather jacket, his clothes gave away nothing about who he was, but there was something familiar about his face.

I canted my head to the side as I studied him.

Those dark eyes... I’d seen them before.

Albeit, in the photograph upstairs, they hadn’t been full of pent-up rage.

As the pieces fell into place, I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. His photo had been on the dresser of Jacqueline’s old bedroom, though she’d flipped it onto its face to hide the image.

Was this the vampire she’d been training to kill? The douchebag ex-boyfriend who didn’t deserve her time—or the money she’d spent on my instruction?

This pucchiacc ?

If that was the case, my girl and I needed to have a talk about frivolous spending.

“She is not going to be happy to see you, kid.”

He growled and charged, but I had him on his back on the floor in the blink of an eye.

Struggling, he swung at me, fists pummeling my arm and shoulder.

“You can’t beat me. Stop trying.”

He snarled and I laughed. Before I turned, I’d been well on my way to beating Archie Moore’s world record of most knockouts for a middleweight fighter. And now I had the added advantage of immortality racing through my veins.

Had Jacqueline’s ex been turned centuries ago, he might have stood a chance against me.

When he finally stilled, I raised an eyebrow. “If I let you go, are you going to come after me again?”

“I can smell her on you,” he snarled. “She’s all over you.”

I licked my lips. “Yeah? You just missed breakfast.”

He fought harder at that, but I only laughed, holding him down as he swung at my arms, my sides, then reverted to girlish scratches down my forearm.

I hissed. “Fucking scratching ? Really?”

“Who are you?” he spat.

“Vincenzo Ricci.”

His eyes widened; whether due to my family’s infamy or my former fame, I didn’t know. His fingers stalled on my arm. Blood stained his fingernails even as the wounds healed beneath his hands. “No shit?”

“So you know who I am. Will you stop fighting now?”

He swallowed hard, then nodded. “Shit, man, I’m a huge fan.”

“And yet you didn’t recognize me.” I released his throat and stepped back, giving him space to stand and tensing for another attack. “Now, who exactly are you?”

“Gannon Hayes.” He straightened his jacket and shirt, then ran a hand through his mop of wavy curls. “How do you know my girlfriend?”

My jaw clenched and I tilted my head. “If you want to keep your head attached to your neck, I’d suggest not calling her that again.”

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue.

“Where have you been?” I flipped the light switch on and he flinched as the fluorescents buzzed to life overhead, then I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down my nose at the kid.

He ran a hand through his hair again, dropping his gaze. “I was... uh...”

“You were obviously turned.” I motioned toward him. “But only a few months ago at most. That doesn’t explain where you’ve been for a year—or why you left her when she needed you.”

He winced and I smirked. I hoped the weight of what he’d done kept him shackled with guilt and shame. Only a fucking chooch would turn his back on a girl like Jacqueline Fiorino.

“It was all so heavy. You don’t understand.” He shook his head, then finally met my gaze again. “I fucked up. Got scared.”

And that was exactly why he didn’t deserve her. “Why’d you come back?”

“I miss her. I love that girl.”

“She’s no longer yours to love.”

The way his eyes widened, I knew he understood.

“ She’s right here,” Jacqueline said from behind me. “And she speaks for herself.”

I closed my eyes and hung my head. I’d been too focused on the ex-boyfriend to hear her come down the stairs and sneak in through the back door of the shop.

Fuck me. What good were heightened senses if I ignored them?

“And she doesn’t appreciate people stealing her keys.”

I grimaced.

“Where the hell have you been, Gannon?” When she strode past me, I had to clench my fists to keep from reaching for her. He was a baby vamp, sure, but still stronger than she was, even with all of her training.

I met his gaze, a warning in my eyes, and hoped he wouldn’t force me to rip his head off in front of her. She’d suffered enough loss in her young life.

“Jackie—”

“Don’t call me that.”

He flinched at the venom in her tone.

Shoving her finger against his chest, she said again slowly, “Where. Have. You. Been?”

“Baby—” He reached for her and she growled. She fucking growled , and it was the cutest thing I’d ever heard. He dropped his hands and I had to roll my lips together to keep from laughing.

This wasn’t the girl he ghosted a year ago.

I met that girl, broken and beaten by grief and abandonment.

And then I trained her into this.

Fierce... and strong... and so fucking sexy it made me ache sometimes.

I showed her she could count on me. Gave her the stability she needed when she needed it most. We were finally getting somewhere, finally moving forward, and I wasn’t about to let a little nostalgia get in my way.

He didn’t deserve her then and he wasn’t getting her now.

“Jacqueline,” I said, taking a step toward her.

“Don’t you say another word.” She looked back at me over her shoulder.

“I’ll deal with you in a minute.” She returned her focus to him and leaned forward, lowering her voice as she said, “Get out of here, Gannon. I don’t care where you’ve been or why you’re back.

” She dropped her finger and crossed her arms over her chest. “I never want to see you again.”

“Jackie, come on,” he stepped toward her and I moved quickly between them, snarling when he bared his teeth at me.

“She’s said all she has to say,” I snapped, even though she hadn’t said the one sentence that would expel him from the shop.

His lips twitched on a snarl, baby fangs peeking out in a comical show of defiance.

I lowered my voice and leaned in. “I suggest you sheathe those before I tear them out of your skull.”

After a tense beat of silence, my threat hanging in the air between us, he nodded, then tucked his fangs away. When he spoke again, his fangs were retracted. “I’m so sorry. Please let me explain.”

“You’re a vampire,” Jacqueline whispered, shock trembling her voice.

The kid’s shoulders slumped.

“Gannon Hayes,” she said, and I couldn’t fight the smirk pulling at my lips. Poor fucker was about to learn the hard way who was in control. “I revoke your invitation to enter this building.”

His brow furrowed, but then he walked past us, movements stiff as the power of her words compelled him from the building against his will. We both turned slowly to watch him leave, and when he was gone, she spun on me so fast I nearly stepped backwards in shock.

“You too.”

“Jacqueline.”

Her eyes narrowed and she pointed to the door. “Don’t make me say it, Vinny.”

“I was trying to keep you safe.” I raised my hands in surrender. “I would have returned the keys.”

“I’ve been controlled by men my entire life. Good men. Men who just wanted to keep me safe.” She sighed, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling, and my eyes zeroed in on the pulse in her slender throat.

I licked my lips. My mouth watered at the beautiful sight, the promise of life pumping through her veins, the tease of what her blood might taste like.

I’d finally tasted the paradise between her legs, which had only deepened my desire for her blood.

Her ex-boyfriend’s unexpected reappearance made me burn with possessive need.

To claim. To take. To make her mine.

It thrummed in my blood.

Became a deafening demand in my brain.

My mouth watered as I watched the beat of her heart beneath the delicate skin of her throat.

I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth, waiting for the thirst to pass.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

I opened my eyes and she gasped, taking a step back.

“Don’t run.” The words were forced through clenched teeth and sounded like someone else entirely, thick with hunger... and terrifying—if the look in her eyes was any indication.

Jacqueline’s bottom lip trembled and I fucking hated myself for putting that fear in her. “You need to feed?”

I gave a curt nod. “I have to go.”

She nodded, eyes soft with understanding.

“I’ll see you at ten.” I left the shop so quickly all she probably saw of my departure was a blur of color. I needed to feed again, to sink my teeth into the neck of a willing donor and soon , because I meant what I said.

Not until she begged for it.