Page 5

Ezra

Ezra effortlessly cleared the ten-foot fence, protected by the darkness of night.

He now walked towards the mansion where that bastard vampire had been hiding for the past week.

They’d cut the power to the villa, creating the perfect cover for them to gain entrance.

Losing his patience, Ezra had swallowed a tincture of vampire blood and silver: enough to poison his prey, but not enough to make him sick.

“Sweet Valentine,” he purred. “Or do you go under a different name now?”

Three men came out of the villa guns drawn but Ezra executed them right on the spot. And although all of them now lay lifeless before the entrance, the last one had somehow managed to hit a bullet through Ezra’s shoulder.

“Bitch,” he hissed, popping the capsule of vampire blood stashed in his cheek.

The sweet liquid trickled down his throat, healing the wound almost instantly.

His preparation in taking the tincture helped as well, but now his mind felt all warm and fuzzy—even as he stepped over the corpses in the entryway.

“Oh, my sweet Valentine!” he cajoled, a deep, booming laugh rumbling his chest.

Ezra choked on his next breath, his feet jolting from the ground.

He soared, landing with a sickening crack on the marble staircase.

Ribs snapped, and the breath whooshed from his lungs.

When his eyes focused again, he couldn’t see his prey anywhere, but Ezra knew that was just a defence tactic, Valentine knew the second he exposed himself, Ezra would fire silver bullets at him.

“Oh, c’mon! Is that all you got?”

Ezra grunted, an invisible force slicing his neck.

He fell to his knees, blood spurting from his neck like a pig at slaughter.

The last blood capsule popped, but Ezra hit the ground before it could take effect.

He choked, eyes threatening to shut. Pain ripped through his body.

Then his muscles went slack, his gun slipping from his fingers.

Once the fucker thought Ezra was unconscious, he began to feed, sucking the blood and silver from Ezra’s veins.

Ezra kept his body lax, tactfully slipping his dagger into his palm.

When the moment was right, he snapped his arm back, sinking the dagger into the first piece of Valentine he found.

He pressed the button on the hilt, releasing the liquid silver hidden inside.

Then Ezra was flying again, shooting through the air and smashing his hip on a concrete wall.

Fuck!

But he could feel Mateo and Vince by his side.

He pried his eyes open. Vince appeared first, cracking a silver-coated arrow across Valentine’s skull.

Mateo shattered the bastard’s kneecaps with two more.

Without taking his eyes off his target, Vince threw a flask in Ezra’s direction.

It hit the ground, a hair out of reach. But Ezra knew that he needed it.

He crawled across the floor, snatching the flask and downing the blood in three large gulps.

By the time he was back on his feet, the vampire lay unmoving on the ground, an arrow sticking out from between his eyes.

“Worked like a charm,” Ezra chirped, pulling a backpack free of Mateos shoulders.

“You look like shit.” Despite the jab, Mateo’s voice was laced with concern. He thrust another flask into Ezra’s chest. “Drink.”

Though Ezra did enjoy pain, now wasn’t the time. He emptied the flask, his ribs snapping and cracking back into place. Vince had already taken the backpack, lacing a thin silver cord around the vampire’s neck with a beheading device attached to it.

“Time to take a look around.” Ezra turned his back to the duo, grinning over his shoulder at Mateo. “Coming?”

The mansion was big and filled with all kinds of antiques.

Expensive ugly shit . In the master bedroom, Ezra found a chest filled to the brim with jewellery.

After a moment of peering through the gems, he deemed it worth taking.

As he made his way back to his friends, Vince called for them from the library.

Vince stood in front of a bookcase, pressing down on an engraved rose to reveal that it was a secret entrance. Of course, the carpenter in him always caught small details that others would’ve missed.

With a new kind of excitement buzzing through his system, Ezra placed the jewellery chest on the ground and withdrew his weapon.

He followed Vince down a dark set of stairs, illuminated by nothing but the small flashlight Vince held.

Mateo stayed up top, making sure they couldn’t be caught by surprise.

The two men reached the bottom of the stairs, taking in their surroundings. The room reeked of death, and it didn’t take long to find the source. There was a stone mausoleum in the midst of it.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Vince inspected the dark corners of the room before stepping closer to investigate the grave.

It was a simple stone, with no pictures or even an engraving.

Vince tossed Ezra a curious glance, then shrugged his shoulders and pushed the lid aside.

Once they’d managed to remove the top enough to peek inside, Vince lowered in his light.

“Fuck, that’s disturbing,” Ezra said. “Even for me.”

There laid the embalmed body of a young woman dressed in silk. Her hands folded over her abdomen, with exquisite jewels around her neck and both wrists. Without another word, they slid the mausoleum shut again and left.

Once the dead bodies of the guards were out of sight, and their prizes were loaded up—including the beheaded vampire—they drove off. Vince had found some letters and diaries, and he’d taken them to see if they’d reveal anything about their next target.

Ezra dozed off as they merged onto the highway.

Though his wounds had healed, the adrenaline was fading, and he started to feel the blood loss.

Before he could fall into a deep sleep, he shot awake at the feeling of Mateo’s fist slamming into his shoulder.

Poised to fight, he backed down once a bag of food landed in his lap.

He stuffed his mouth, his energy replenishing with each bite.

“Should we text her?” Mateo asked, eyeing the disposable phone in his hand. “I mean, so she knows that we’re okay.” They each had their own untraceable phone on the off chance that Scarlett did reach out to them.

“Oh, is someone missing our sweet little toy?” Ezra teased.

“We all know you’ve been on edge too. The second we unload the truck you’ll be the first to drive to Brighton.”

Ezra only saw that as a challenge. Once they’d unloaded and hung the beast to be drained in their secret slaughter room, Ezra beelined towards the truck, with the other two on his heels.

Though when they arrived at the Moonlight Building, they could barely feel her.

It made Ezra uneasy, and the second they were parked in their usual spot, he leapt out to investigate.

“Ezra,” Mateo sighed and rolled his eyes “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

Ezra didn’t care. He stormed down the street, directly to the mall a few blocks away.

With each step, he could sense her even less.

Maybe she was at the park. Ezra redirected and sure enough, his mate’s presence grew stronger.

He didn’t have to search long, finding her at a small ice café.

The sun streamed through the trees, bathing the area in a golden light.

She was picking out ice cream flavours to fill her chosen cone with.

Ezra dropped into a chair facing Scarlett and as she turned, the smile on her face faded.

“What an honour,” he mocked. “The princess has left the building.”

The blond man with her stepped in front of her protectively. His broad figure hid her tiny frame easily. Ezra recognised him as one of the warriors from the mall. He’d always been close around her—probably her detail. “Fuck off.”

Ezra chuckled and crooked his eyebrow with a devilish grin. “Or what, dog? Going to bite me? Or are you all bark?” Another chuckle, and his eyes found his pretty little toy peaking round the dog’s arm. “C’mon, little princess. Don’t be shy. Show me that pretty face of yours.”

Scarlett’s eyes widened in fear. Part of him liked it, but a much larger part enjoyed teasing the dog much more.

“Let’s go,” she coaxed, tugging on her guard’s wrist. “Come,” she urged when he didn’t move.

“Listen to her, pretty boy,” Ezra taunted, turning his attention to Scarlett. “How will you ever thank him for protecting you so well? Maybe you’ll fall on your knees and suck his cock.”

Her jaw dropped, tears filling her eyes. The dog’s fist flinched, but she tugged harder on his arm and tried to drag him away. “Come,” she begged.

“Oh, is that what you’re going to tell him when you stroke his dick and kiss his balls? Do you like it when they come all over your face?”

Scarlett blinked, triggering the tears to run down her cheeks. A sharp pain in the back of Ezra’s mind accompanied them, but before he could play a little more, a hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed.

“You should go,” Mateo softly said, though Ezra could feel his anger boiling beneath his facade.

“Come,” their little princess repeated, pulling on the dog’s arm.

He stared them down for a moment more, but then turned and ushered her away, using his body to protect her.

Mateo stormed away, his anger burning through the bond like lava.

Ezra followed, but didn’t see Mateo’s next move coming.

He spun, landing a blow to Ezra’s jaw. Another, and blood filled Ezra’s mouth.

Ezra stumbled, landing hard on the ground and giving Mateo room to crack his ribs.

It took at least ten blows before Vince decided it was enough and pulled Mateo off him.

Without another word, they both walked off and knowing them far too well, Ezra knew that he’d better haul his sorry ass off the ground if he wanted a ride home.