Page 152 of Red Rooster

Then both the weirdos growled.

“That’ll be all for today, Sasha,” Dr. Talbot said, a clear dismissal. He turned toward Major Treadwell. “Shall we?”

~*~

Adela Ramirez didn’t let fear rule her.

Or, at least, she never hadbefore. Before the explosion that–

She cut the thoughts off cleanly before the memories could sprout like poisonous mushrooms, shading out reason. She didn’t let fear rule her: end of sentence.

But something a lot like fear pulsed through her now, in time with her sluggish heartbeat, as a nurse cut away the leg of her tac pants while Vlad watched from his position leaning against the wall.

On the surface, he wasn’t frightening. She’d spent her whole Army career around tall men with big biceps. He was physically imposing, sure, but that was nothing new. The long hair was strange, but not scary. It was something in his bearing that raised all the fine hairs on the back of her neck. An aura of authority that no unranked foreigner should have been able to project. He lookedthroughpeople.

But he was lookingather now, and when she shivered, it was only in part because of the pain.

The nurse skated a gloved hand down Adela’s thigh alongside the knife wound, and even that much hurt terribly. She bit back a grunt; pinned the tip of her tongue between her teeth until she tasted blood.

“Hmm,” the nurse murmured. “Somebody got you good.” She leaned down to inspect it closer, and Adela found that she had to look away, her gorge rising when she saw the red and pink of skin layers in the clean slash where Palmer’s knife had bit deep. “The bleeding’s stopped, thank goodness. We’ll get you all patched up and put you on some antibiotics. How are you feeling?” She patted Adela’s hand. “Nausea? Headache? How’s your pain?”

She swallowed hard against another wave of sickness. “Bad. All of the above.”

“Okay. Hang tight.”

When the nurse moved over to the cabinet to get supplies, Vlad pushed off the wall and stepped toward her.

It took every last ounce of nerve not to shrink down into her jacket collar. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m fine.”

His gaze flicked over her dispassionately, touching her wound, the bare skin of her leg, in a way that made her want to cover herself, then her face. His eyes – a dark, unspecific color she couldn’t name – settled on hers and he lifted his hand – his wrist – to his mouth. He bared his teeth – his canines werelong, andsharp, abnormal – andbithimself.

“What the hell are you doing?” she snapped, and the nurse turned around, startled, arms full of supplies.

Thick red pearls of blood welled; a few lingered in the corners of his mouth when he drew back from his punctured wrist, and he licked them away with a quick flick of his tongue. “Here,” he said. “Better and faster thanantibiotics.” He said the word with disdain. And, impossibly, offered his bloodied wrist to her. Held it toward her face, like she would…like…

“What thehell are you doing?” she repeated.

His lips curved in what might have been a grin. Might. “Where do you think that medicine they pump into you comes from?”

Something a lot like fear thrummed in her veins. She thought she might pass out.

“What do you want me to do with that?” Her voice came out quiet and cracked, and not at all demanding like she’d intended.

“Drink,” he said, simply.

Oh God. Oh shit, oh shit,oh God.

When she only stared at him, dumbfounded, he finally gave up. With a shrug, he licked the blood from his wrist a few times and stepped back.

“Suit yourself.”

She took a few shallow breaths through her mouth. “What…what are you?”

He said, simply, “I am a vampire.”

“Oh.” Black spots crowded her vision. “Okay.” And she passed out.

~*~