Page 24 of A Bond Beyond Blood (The Butcher’s Daughter Trilogy #1)

The way she held my hand in a vise grip during my father’s funeral and wake, fierce and determined to remain by my side even at just ten years old.

The next time she allowed me to kiss her, years later, when the press of her lips stole my breath and I knew my life would never be the same.

Junior prom, when I finally asked her to officially be mine even though she’d been mine since we were kids—

Then later that night, when she became mine in every way humanly possible.

But eventually the slideshow of memories slowed, dulled, then died altogether, and, I believe, so did I in that moment.

When I awoke much, much later, too weak to move and starving with a hunger more intense than anything I’d ever felt before, one memory stood out among the blurry snapshots of that night, stark and stunningly clear in contrast to the rest of the night:

The way he hummed contentedly as he bled me dry.

I’ll never forget that sound.

The shocking blare of a car horn snapped me out of my reverie and back into the present, where I stood on the fourth-floor rooftop of an abandoned warehouse on Christmas Day, as snow fell in gentle flurries around me for the first time in six years.

Right. Time to test this shit out.

I’d either find freedom or die— again —trying. I couldn’t find it in myself to care either way.

I strode to the edge of the building, braced my hands on the short wall, and breathed deeply, steeling myself for what I had to do next.

But I was just as frozen as each flake of snow falling around me.

“Goddammit, Hayes, just look !” I growled, then forced myself to peer over the edge.

My stomach swooped and my breath caught. I pushed off the wall and hurried backwards, nearly falling on my ass in my haste. Four stories. Fuck. What was I thinking coming up here?

Fisting my hands into my hair, I spun in a slow circle.

Fuck it. I’d either land on my feet or... I wouldn’t. And, really, what did I have to lose? Dad was long gone, Mom was afraid of me, and Jackie... Well, Jackie had moved on, hadn’t she?

No one would miss me if this didn’t end well.

With that pleasant thought, I ran toward the edge and propelled myself over it, realizing a split second before impact that I’d overshot the mark. Rotating my body, I turned just in time to avoid slamming against the brick wall of the neighboring warehouse.

Then, just as shocking as the first time it happened back at Jackie’s place, I landed on my feet in the alley below.

I waited a few beats, then pumped my fist into the air and crowed loudly, the sound echoing against the brick walls of the alleyway. “Fuck yeah!”

I’d landed on my feet. No fucking way .

And I hadn’t even puked up my dinner.

Looking up, I took in the looming building, then surged forward when a rush of adrenaline coursed through me. One more time, I hauled myself inside the building through the busted window and made my way up the stairs to the roof, this time without hesitation.

The best way to get over fear was to go through it, right?

Well, I was about to tear through my fear of heights like the freaking Kool-Aid man.

Flying through the air and surviving the fall was freeing in a way I hadn’t expected.

I wanted to be fearless, and this was the first step.

Once I made it to the rooftop, I charged toward the edge of the building and leapt over it, grinning as I plummeted downward, then I curled my body in on itself like a cannonball, wrapped my arms around my legs, and—

Holy shit.

I still landed on my feet.

“How the fuck?”

Shaking my head, I jumped over the windowsill and raced upstairs again.

This time, I changed my tactic.

As I ran toward the edge of the roof, imagining the way my skull might crack open this time and splatter my brains across the snow-dusted ground below, I dove head first, tucking my arms tightly against my body like a torpedo, and holding my breath as I waited for the impact—

And, once again, I landed on my feet, the soles of my sneakers making a soft thump in the deserted alleyway.

“Oh, come on ,” I grumbled—

Behind me, someone cleared their throat and I spun around, bracing myself for a fight.

A tall, slender man emerged from the shadows, his eyes a striking ice-blue and his shock of white-blond hair slicked back neatly. “Do you wish to die the final death?”

My brows furrowed, then I straightened and shook my head, hands curling into fists at my sides.

“No.” I braced myself for whatever came next.

He’d witnessed me propelling myself off the roof, sticking the landing every single time, then easily determined I was a vampire—which, from my experience, meant he’d either leave me the fuck alone, or make a move.

Growing up where I did, I’d fought plenty. But since I’d turned, I didn’t enjoy brawling like I once did; humans were no match for me, which made the fight end too damn fast, and other vamps tended to kick the ever-loving shit out of me.

But that didn’t mean I was going to bow out if this guy wanted to throw down.

His eyes narrowed as he approached me, then his nostrils flared and he tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he breathed deeply. When he met my gaze again, his lips quirked up to one side.

His presence threw me off kilter almost as dramatically as the drop from the fourth floor. My blood vibrated as he grew closer. My knees felt pulled to buckle, to give out on me and drop me to the ground. To fail their one goddamn job.

What the fuck—

“Tell me what you know about the butcher’s daughter.”

I tensed, eyes widening as my pulse sped. How did he know Jackie? “W-what—?” Annoyed by that tremor of fear in my voice, I cleared my throat and shrugged. “What butcher?”

The man— vampire —leveled me with a look of amusement, then rolled his eyes. But in the blink of an eye, his features hardened; the planes of his face looked chiseled from actual stone, his eyes so cold a shiver actually raced down my spine.

My useless knees tried again to force me down at his feet.

“Let’s not pretend. I followed you from her home.”

I swallowed hard and took a step back, but when he lifted his chin, looking down his nose at me, I froze. I couldn’t say why exactly, just that I knew.

I knew .

Somewhere inside, deep within my very core, I knew not to run from this vampire. Not to try a goddamn thing in his presence.

Somehow, my body recognized the need to remain still.

To kneel .

Self-preservation on a cellular level that I didn’t understand, but couldn’t ignore. My legs ached painfully as I battled to remain upright even as every cell begged me to kneel before him, and so I finally did.

I could beat myself up about that later.

“You followed me all night?” I asked.

He inclined his head and fear sent another chill skittering down my spine. That meant... shit . He’d seen what I did to the security guard, and knew where Ma lived.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

The man bowed with an unnecessary flourish, then was in front of me before I even realized he’d moved.

“Elias Bristol.” He scanned my face quickly, considering something, then gave a curt nod.

“But I doubt you’re old enough to recognize that name.

No matter.” He flashed a sinister grin. “I’m no one of importance. ”

I snorted. As surely as I’d known to stand down when faced with this vampire, the truth behind his lie resonated deep within my bones. He was absolutely someone of importance.

“Up you go.” When I was back on my feet, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and began to lead me toward the avenue like we were old friends on a leisurely stroll. “Now, tell me everything you know about the girl.”

And so I did.

In fact, as we walked, I couldn’t stop the onslaught of stories that spilled from my lips.

From the first moment I saw Jackie to the day I decided to leave her—and everything in between, mundane or monumental.

By the time we reached the vampire’s home far outside the city limits, he knew about the time I filled her bathtub with lightning bugs when we were five years old, and the time I tried to cop a feel in the movie theater when we were twelve. ..

The Duff , that’s what was playing on the screen when my girl gave me my very first black eye. And then a few minutes later, when her cheeks blushed something fierce and her teeth dug into that full bottom lip to keep her smile at bay.

He knew about the night she gave herself to me, and how doing so changed me forever, making me hers in a way I could never belong to anyone else.

Our matching tattoos. The time we cried over the neighbor’s dog getting run over.

The night she got grounded and we tried to run away, only to chicken out and wind up sneaking back into my bedroom window and sleeping with our heads smashed together on top of our duffels.

The day I turned my back on her and destroyed two hearts at once.

This mysterious stranger managed to pull everything I knew about my ex-girlfriend from my mind, leaving me confused and wary.

I’d just spilled my guts to a terrifying vampire—ripping open old wounds and experiencing the shame of my betrayal all over again—and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why .

But he seemed pleased, and, as he led me inside, something about that brought a smile to my lips.

This might have been how horror movies began, and if I died here, I’d deserve my demise.