Page 12 of Big Enough to Bite (Harmony Glen #3)

Chapter Twelve

Mari

T his is madness.

Darkness falls, and the moon's light is enough to give the cemetery an eerie glow that sends humans running. For me, it’s my favorite place. Quiet and serene.

The scent of clove reaches me first. “He’s here.

” I grip Sam’s hand for a quick reassurance that he can do all he promised.

Climbing from his lap, I step inside the wall as we discussed.

It should provide me the safety of vampire lore for now.

Sam’s phone is in my hand, and Officer Willa Williamson is on the other end listening.

The trees catch the wind and sway in the background. There’s a hint of movement in their shadow, but even with my keen eyesight, I’m not able to see more than two forms moving in our direction. There is no doubt it’s Pierre and Tilda approaching.

“Maria, I’m flattered you still know my scent.” Pierre’s sweet and terrifying voice emerges from the darkness. “I remember yours as well. Even through the filth of the giant you’ve been consorting with, I find your essence irresistible. Not to worry, though, his smell will fade with the memory.”

Sam remains sitting casually on the wall. If he’s affected by the insult, he shows no signs.

Stepping to Sam’s right side, with my body obscured mainly by his enormous arm, I watch the shadow become my nightmare.

Always enamored by the latest fashion, Pierre looks as if he’s going to a gala rather than a kidnapping.

His black trousers taper to just above his ankles, and his shoes, which probably cost what some people earn in a month, shouldn’t be worn in the woods.

The black button-down has the shimmer of silk, and he probably couldn’t resist the leopard-patterned sports coat.

His honey-brown hair is cut short on the sides and back, but long bangs are brushed to one side.

He may be six hundred-plus years old, but he looks twenty-five and ready for a night on the town.

“You really should grow up, Pierre.” I hope he can see my eye roll. “You look ridiculous.” I would wish him blisters from those shoes, but vampires are impervious to such minor maladies.

Stopping, he leans on a tombstone that has an angel statue at the top of a four-foot pedestal. He’s only about thirty feet from my property. “It’s time to come home now, Maria. You’ve had a good run, but you always knew I would come for you. I made you, and you are mine.”

“No. I’m not going with you. You made me because you gave me no choice.” I glance at Tilda, who stopped ten feet behind him, probably hoping to stay out of the line of fire.

“You had a choice.” He flips his hand in the air with the flourish of a dandy in King George’s court. “I didn’t force you to drink of my blood. Do you remember the rush of it filling you with a new life, Maria? I remember how ravenous you were when you became vampire.”

“I was a young girl on the verge of a great career, and you took that from me. That’s what I remember. I do not belong to you.” I clutch the back of Sam’s arm, drawing strength from him.

Rage flashes in Pierre’s eyes. He raises his voice. “Maria Ciobanu, I am your sire. You will return to France, or I will kill everyone in this town, starting with the giant.” His fangs grow past his bottom lip, and he turns a vicious look on Sam.

I hold the phone up to my ear. “Did you hear that, Officer?”

“Got it. Officer Gant and the chief are two minutes out.”

Eyes narrowed, Pierre looks from me to the phone now sitting on top of the wall. “Do you think some small-town law enforcement can stop me? Maybe you’ve forgotten what I’m capable of, Maria.”

Sam stands outside the wall. He towers over Pierre. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, vampire.”

Sneering, Pierre takes two steps closer. “Who do you think you are, giant? That vampire is mine. I own her. I love her.”

“You love nothing.” My voice is biting. “Go home, Pierre, and when you go, leave Tilda here. She doesn’t belong to you either.”

His smile makes my stomach churn. There is no joy in it, only torment. “Come here, my swan.”

“Stay where you are, Tilda.” Sam holds up a hand.

Tilda took a step at Pierre’s command, but stops and stares between the two. She looks at me.

I offer a comforting smile and a nod. “Stay where you are.”

Cocking his head, Pierre locks eyes with me.

“Come home, and I will give her to you. She can be your pet, Maria. She is quite beautiful, don’t you think?

” He moves like lightning in a blur and stops behind Tilda with his hand around her throat.

“She could be yours, and you would be happily home where you belong. Don’t make me kill all these people.

You don’t want their blood on your hands. ”

In one step, Sam closes half the distance between my wall and them. “Let her go. If you leave now, the police won’t be able to stop you, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

Pierre runs his tongue up the side of Tilda’s neck. “I’m going to enjoy killing you and then I’m going to relish fucking both of my females on a bed made of your bones.”

“Well, there’s an image I could have lived without.” Officer Maxime Gant steps beside me. “You okay?”

“So far.”

Chief Martinez takes a position at my other side. “Mr. Brochet, is it? You can’t make threats on the people or monsters of Harmony Glen and expect to walk away. If you’ll come with me, maybe we can sort this out down at the police station.”

Pierre pushes Tilda to the side.

She’s agile and quickly puts distance between herself and danger at the other side of my tower.

If I’d been smart, I would have given her permission to cross the boundary of my property. Damn.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” In a blur of black and leopard, Pierre moves toward us.

Sam’s arm reaches out like a battering ram and grabs Pierre.

His thumb and forefinger wrap around the vampire’s neck.

“I gave you a chance to leave.” Shaking his head, Sam holds Pierre off the ground at eye level with him.

“Now what am I going to do with a violent monster who threatens my mate and my town?”

“Let me go,” Pierre scrapes out, grabbing at Sam’s hand.

The chief steps as if he’s going to cross over the wall. “Sam? Don’t be foolish.”

I grip Jorge’s arm. “Don’t leave the property, Chief. Not yet.”

“I can’t stand here and let someone get killed.” Jorge looks at my hand and realizes I’m stronger than he is. “I’ll give them a little rope, but not enough to hang themselves.” He steps back.

Dropping my hand, I nod.

Pierre looks like a rag doll hanging from Sam’s fist. His eyes bulge out of his face.

With a sigh, Sam says, “My kind keep to themselves most of the time. Monsters don’t know much about us. They don’t know how strong we are or how fast we can be if necessary.”

Drawing his head back, Pierre’s fangs lengthen still. He surges forward and sinks his teeth into Sam’s hand. A look of victory lights his eyes as Sam cringes.

“That’s got to hurt,” Officer Gant muses, but only raises a bushy eyebrow and keeps his arms crossed over his impressive chest.

“You will put me down and give me the vampire I came for. You will tell the officers to retreat, or I will kill them as soon as I’m done with you.” Pierre’s command sounds strange coming from his choked throat while still dangling several feet above the ground.

Blood drips from Sam’s fist. “You know what else monsters don’t know about giants?” He lifts Pierre a few inches higher. “Giants can’t be put in thrall or be harmed by magic of any kind.” Sam reaches back and hurls Pierre against a giant oak growing at the edge of the cemetery.

Like a bird hitting a glass window, Pierre crumples to the ground.

Tilda gasps and stares until Pierre moans and begins to rise.

“Geez.” Jorge shakes his head.

Officer Gant makes a fist gesture, one that might be seen when a sports team does something noteworthy.

In a moment, Sam closes the distance and picks Pierre up in the same manner, this time pressing him against the tree.

Pierre gasps. Even a vampire needs to draw in some air, and his heart needs room to pump. From the looks of it, Sam’s got him squashed to the breaking point. “You can’t do this to me.”

Maybe I should feel remorse or empathy for the man who made me, but I only care about Sam, and I know he won’t take this too far. He said so, and I trust him. Trust feels new to me, but also perfectly right. Sam is the best person I know or have ever known.

“If you go quietly and politely to the police station and make no threats or acts of violence, maybe you'll live through the night, little vampire.” Sam presses harder.

What little color there is in Pierre’s face drains away. “I’m Pierre.” Gasp. “Brochet.” Gasp. “I’ll kill you all.” Long gasp. “I’m impervious.” His eyes bulge, and the vessels begin to burst.

“Sam…” the chief warns

Shaking his head, Sam says, “I’m barely trying here, Brochet. I’ve not even tapped into my significant strength. Do you still believe I can’t kill you? I could pop your head right off of your shoulders, and if memory serves, losing your head will kill you.”

Gripping and kicking, Pierre makes another attempt at biting Sam’s hand.

“Enough, Sam.” Gant steps over the wall.

Pierre goes limp and his eyes close.

“You’re right, it is enough.” Sam slams Pierre against the tree and watches him crumble to the grass and old leaves.

Chief Martinez jumps over the wall and runs toward Pierre, calling into the microphone on his shoulder for an ambulance. “You promised you wouldn’t kill him, Sam.”

Sam strides toward me. “He’ll live. It’s more than he deserves, Chief.” As soon as he reaches the wall, he draws me into a tight hug. “You alright?”

“Fine. You were wonderful.” I press kisses to his cheeks and lips.

A groan proves that Pierre is still alive.

“I’ve got to go with the police.” Sam releases me. “A cell won’t hold him once he starts to recover, and I don’t know how long that will take.”

Peering around my beautiful giant, I study the limp form of the vampire who made me. His body is likely battered and bruised. “Did you break bones?”

Sam shrugs. “A few. Maybe more than a few. Probably cracked that thick skull too.”

The sirens sound as the ambulance approaches. It’s ridiculous. I call out, “Chief, take him to a jail cell. The hospital can’t help him, and he’ll recover in a day or two and be starving for blood. You don’t want him in a hospital with humans or monsters.”

Tilda steps out from behind the tower. “And don’t give him blood even if he begs. It will heal him faster.”

“And we don’t want that?” Chief Martinez gives the three of us a hard look. “I’m not in the habit of letting anyone suffer.”

“We’re going to need help for this one, Chief.” Officer Gant picks Pierre up and carries him over the wall as the EMTs bring the medical cart. Putting him down, he shrugs.

As much as I don’t want to be near Pierre, I force myself across my back lawn. I ask the EMT with bright red hair and freckles, “Do you have any duct tape?”

“Um. Yes.” Her blue eyes are wide.

Turning to Gant, I say, “Two sets of cuffs and tape over his mouth. You don’t want him biting anyone on the way over to jail.

” I swallow my fears and address the chief.

“He won’t die, and though he may suffer without blood, Sam says help is coming.

You don’t have the resources to deal with a vampire as strong and evil as Pierre Brochet.

Trust me, Chief. He held me captive for many years and has held this woman for over seven.

He could destroy this town in a matter of days. ”

Gant snaps the second set of cuffs on and presses a piece of tape over Pierre’s mouth. He uses a third set of cuffs to bind him to the cart before turning to Sam. “You’re gonna drive yourself over, right?”

Sam nods. “I’ll be a minute or two behind you, Max.”

Chief Martinez is a good man with a high moral code. He’s also smart enough to know when he needs help. “I trust the two of you. I expect you at the station tonight to give statements.”

“Miss Shepherd!” The screams of the Manning twins sound over all the commotion. They run straight for me and wrap their arms around my waist. “Are you okay?”

Out of breath, Lori Manning runs behind them. “I’m sorry. They saw the lights and heard the sirens. Once they saw it was your house, they ran out the door before I could stop them. They thought something happened to you.”

My chest tightens and my eyes fill with tears. I crouch down and hug the girls. “I’m fine. Someone else is ill. He’ll be fine.” I brush their hair from their faces and wipe away the tears they shed for me.

Lori hustles them away, apologizing to her boss for crossing a police line.

Sam grins at me.

Tilda looks as if she’s in shock.

I know just how she feels. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would be a part of a community.

The love of those children means so much more than they can possibly know.

I bite my lip to keep more tears from falling.

My emotions are sky high, and I’m going to need to get them under control.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I never get sentimental or overwrought.

Sam puts his arm around my shoulder. “Come on. We need to give statements, and I’ll have to stay at the station and make sure he stays put.”

That hadn’t occurred to me. I’d hoped to slip into my bed with my giant tonight. With a sigh, I nod. I hold my hand out to Tilda and am just a little surprised when she takes it.

“This town is different.” She walks with us to Sam’s truck, her attention fixated on Max as he monitors the loading of his prisoner.

She’ll get no argument from me.