Page 60 of Taming His Vampire Mate

And come hell or high water, I’d convince Thierry to admit to himself that he liked me, too.

I wasn’t going to rest until he was mine.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN || THIERRY

Quinn woke up again right before we got to Nathaniel’s Place.

“He’s a screamer,” Jeremy commented mildly.

“Indeed,” I replied grimly. I directed him to pull right up to the entrance of the bar. “Next time, remind me to bring a ball gag.”

He gave me a sideways look. “Do you own a ball gag?”

I didn’t, actually, but I batted my lashes at him innocently anyway. “What do you think?”

Jeremy rolled his eyes and shook his head, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

I wished he would knock that sort of thing off.

Before I could set the wolf straight, our captive began yelling again. “Help! Anyone! Please! They’ve got me tied up!”

Jeremy sighed, rubbing his temples. “You ought to break his neck again. And, for the record, I’m picking the activity next time.”

I ignored that last part. But he wasn’t wrong about incapacitating the vampire. Carrying a chained-up, struggling creature of darkness, bound head-to-toe with silver, into Nathaniel’s Place wasn’t exactly discreet. Once I broke his neck, we could unbind him and carry him in with one of his arms slungover each of our shoulders. To anyone watching, we’d look like very good friends, getting him home safely after way too many drinks.

“Fine,” I said, unbuckling myself. I opened the door and walked at human speed for the benefit of any poor mortal who might glance out their window and see something they couldn’t explain. When I made it around to the back of the vehicle, Jeremy popped open the rear door, revealing the struggling attendant. His chin was still covered in dried blood, but he stopped screaming immediately, eyes wide and pleading, like he was terrified of me.

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. The victim act might’ve worked on the average mundane mortal, but I certainly wasn’t that.

“Hello, sunshine,” I said brightly, winking. “Time for another nighty-night.”

The transformation was instant. Wide-eyed fear vanished, replaced with murderous rage. Even bound in silver, he lunged at me—about as threatening as a caterpillar struggling to break free of its cocoon. When he couldn’t reach me, Quinn’s fangs dropped and he snarled, lips contorting like a wild dog ready to rip its prey apart. His gaze was empty, devoid of anything resembling human emotion.

“There he is,” I said, my voice deceptively soft.

Then, lightning quick, I reached out and snapped his neck.

“Think anyone heard that?” Jeremy muttered as he exited the vehicle, casting a wary glance at the surrounding apartment buildings. “Pretty sure it echoed. Twice.”

“This is the middle of the city. The neighbors will assume it’s a bad drug trip and ignore it.”

“I meant the very loud, unmistakable sound of bones snapping,” Jeremy said, staring at me. “Also, remind me to take you to the commune sometime. It’s quiet. Peaceful. Very few folks having a bad drug trip. Just a whole lot of trees.”

I thought immediately of the grassy fields behind the church, the narrow stretch of woods, and my childhood home on the other side. In the midday hours, between services, with everything hushed and expectant, it had seemed like a place just for us, both magical and liminal. As though Nicolas and I were the only people in the whole world and anything at all could happen.

The longing struck so suddenly and sharply that it almost felt physical, a savage blow to my chest.

Naturally, I compensated by shooting Jeremy an angry look—or at least, I hoped it was angry. “And what makes you think I even like the quiet?”

He sighed, exasperated. “Right. You love the sound of sirens and the ear-piercing wailing of the damned. Reminds you of home. I keep forgetting.”

His sarcasm was cutting when he opted to use it. A man after my own heart. Except, absolutely not.

I pursed my lips, nodding to Quinn’s unconscious form. “Do you mind terribly if we focus on the body at hand?”

He rolled his eyes but helped me unbind the vampire. We half-carried, half-dragged him around the side of the building and unlocked the back door.

Pierce was waiting. His amber eyes narrowed at Jeremy in instant fury before raking to me. “What the hell is he doing here?”