Page 31 of The Vampire Kingpin (The Vampire Syndicate #7)

Lark

I drank in the sight of Spider, my eyes locking onto him so that I barely registered the three men who ran up with him. He looked like he’d been in a fight. His hair was disheveled and red marks marred his brown skin in the shape of DeeDee’s mesh mask.

But he was okay.

He was okay.

I’d been so afraid ever since Jared had dragged me into the shadows and out of the building, where he’d pushed me into a waiting limo. The entire ride I’d fought a raw, terrible fear that something had happened to Spider, because otherwise he’d never have let Jared take me out of the ballroom.

Jared had been agitated. He’d taunted me that my lover had been staked, and I’d died a little inside, until it hit me that Jared was lying, because I knew that Spider was still alive.

Now Spider’s eyes burned into mine. Something passed between us and I felt his terror, a twin to mine. Terror, and a fierce determination.

I’m here, Lark, and I’ll burn Manhattan to the fucking ground if I have to. Because I’m not losing you now.

I drew a shaky inhale. Okay, then.

Jared snarled, “Come back, damn you,” and I cut my eyes to the side in time to see his bodyguards slipping away.

“No way,” one muttered. “This is Kral territory. They’re in charge.” He jerked his head at the three dark-haired, tuxedoed men with Spider, who now that I looked closer, appeared to be a trio of Greek gods come to life.

Zaq Kral sauntered forward, followed by a guy who had to be his younger brother Rafe. And the third had to be Gabriel, the Kral crown prince.

Holy crap, the Kral Dark Angels themselves had come to my rescue. What kind of favor had Spider done Zaq, anyway?

“Look, Zaq.” Jared pitched his voice to be heard about the helicopter’s engine. “I don’t want any trouble with you. The woman signed a contract with me.”

Zaq shrugged his big shoulders, but before he could speak, Spider moved into the light.

“She didn’t sign anything,” he said in ringing tones. “Her parents did.”

“That’s right,” I muttered, adding, “Without my knowledge or permission.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jared growled in my ear.

I scowled but obeyed. Jared was on a hair trigger. It wouldn’t take much to set him off.

“Look, dude,” said Zaq. “Spider’s a friend. Find another woman.”

Jared stiffened. He glanced at where Spider had moved into the light. “That jumped-up Underworld lord?”

That was a mistake. Zaq’s expression darkened, and Spider stiffened, his muscles hardening under the elegant tux.

“That’s right,” Zaq said. “Now let Lark go and maybe you walk out of here alive.”

“Not so fast.” Jared’s fingers dug painfully into my throat. “I want a guarantee.”

Rafe cut through the tension. “No problem, dude. We can work something out.”

Spider eased another step forward. He looked calm, almost bored, but I was picking up his emotions like I would a human’s, and he was literally vibrating with a savage, you-touched-her-now-you-die fury.

My mouth dropped open as the realization hit me. That was the mate bond I was feeling. It ran between us like a live wire, crackling with intensity.

We were mates?

So much of what had happened made sense now. The way we’d immediately connected. The constant battle not to fall head over heels for him. The way he was the most beautiful man in the world to me, even when surrounded by the Dark Angels.

His gaze held mine, and somehow, I knew that he felt it, too.

Spider’s protectiveness, his need, his rage, all of it surged through me, binding us together in a way that defied logic.

The world narrowed to the space between us, and I knew, without a doubt, that I was not alone in this fight, and that I wasn’t fighting just for my survival, but for Spider’s—and vice versa.

I stood a little taller, outwardly relaxed, but inside I was grinning like a freakin’ wolf because Jared Darkman was going down .

Zaq and Rafe spread apart. I sensed Jared’s distraction, his head turning from side to side, following them.

It was the chance I’d been waiting for. I slipped the dagger from my glove.

Neither Kral flicked an eyelid. But they knew. Zaq was talking again, soothing Jared without making any promises.

Rafe slid a hand into his front pocket. Jared jabbed the blade he’d been holding to my chest at Rafe, barking, “Keep your fucking hands where I can see them.”

Abruptly, the helicopter’s engine cut off. “What the fuck?” Jared shouted.

Anticipation buzzed through me, electric and fierce.

Now .

I drove my blade into his thigh with all my strength. His stifled scream echoed in my ears as I tucked my chin into my shoulder and dropped down, making a dead weight of myself.

“Bitch,” Jared spat out, fighting to regain control of me. “You’ll pay for that.”

I twisted and turned, trying to escape his hold.

And then Zaq Kral was there, shoving me behind him with a firm hand. At the same time, Spider rushed us, his motions a blur.

Jared brought his blade up but he was too late. With lethal precision, Spider shoved his lucky dagger into my kidnapper’s chest and gave a hard twist. “See you in Hades,” he gritted in Jared’s stunned face.

Velma skidded to a halt a few feet away as Spider jerked the blade free. Jared collapsed to the asphalt like his strings had been cut, the gaping wound in his chest spurting blood.

“Aw, damn,” she said. “You get all the fun.”

Spider swung around. His gaze settled on me, safely behind Zaq. His expression was feral, his irises rimmed with a blue so bright it was like a neon flashlight aimed into my heart. He dropped the dagger, letting it clatter to the pavement, and moved forward, his twists flying around his shoulders.

I launched myself at him, and he caught me in his arms, raining kisses over my face. “You’re free. I was afraid we’d be too late. But you’re alright. Tell me you’re alright, damn it.” He pulled back and leveled a furious scowl at me.

“I am. I am.” Legs twined around his hips, I hugged him back, my chest rising and falling in relief. Spider was unharmed, and I was free. Jared Darkman could never bother me again. “But what about you? You’re okay? I was so worried when I realized DeeDee had woven silver into your mask…”

He seemed taken aback. “You were worried for me?”

“Of course, I was. I knew Jared must’ve done something to you or else he’d never have gotten me out of the building.”

Spider cupped my face. “I’m fine, baby. The silver slowed me down a little, that’s all.”

I kissed him. “And you came for me.”

“Of course.” He caught my gaze, held it. “I’ll always come for you.”

My lips trembled. “I know,” I whispered.

“But just so you know,” he added sternly, “you’re not going anywhere. The hell with this leaving-in-a-month stuff. I’m keeping you.”

A sob escaped my lips. But I was laughing, too, as I brushed a lock back from his face. “I love you, okay? I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”

He gave me a quick, hard kiss, then touched his forehead to mine. “Say it again.”

“I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”

His eyes narrowed at my teasing. “Not that.”

I rubbed my lips over his. “I love you,” I said, enunciating each word slowly and clearly.

His breath sighed out. “Yeah, that.”

Zaq cleared his throat, and we turned to look at him. Beyond him, Velma was looking on like a benevolent South Asian goddess in her pressed Kral syndicate uniform. She caught my eye and gave me a short, woman-to-woman nod.

I winked back.

“We’ve got a limo here,” Zaq said. “You want us to send you home?”

Home? I blinked rapidly.

I guess I did have a home now.

And a family.

And Spider.

Emotion welled up in me. I got misty-eyed, even as my smile widened.

Spider shifted me in his arms so that my legs were over one of his arms, muttering something about me being barefoot. I slung an arm around his neck and swiped at my eyes.

“Hell, no,” I said with a sidelong grin at my own personal Underworld kingpin. “We have something to celebrate. I wanna dance. Let’s go back to the Masquerade.” I kicked my nylon-clad feet. “But I’ll need shoes. I think one’s in Jared’s limo.”

“I have the other one,” Spider said, and, with a flourish worthy of a Disney prince, pulled it out of his pocket and slipped it on my foot.

“C’mere.” Spider drew me into his office, closing the door behind him.

We’d stayed at the Masquerade until dangerously close to dawn, then returned to Chelsea in the limo Spider had rented for the night.

We’d stripped off our clothes and fallen into bed together, where we’d slept intertwined, my head on his shoulder and one of my legs bent over his.

I’d woken up to Spider making love to me, slow and sweet.

That night, Jared’s father, Primus Darkman, had flown to New York and tried to throw his weight around.

Karoly Kral, the Kral primus, had shut him down hard.

Jared had snatched a guest from a Kral event, after all.

Even his own people testified to that. Darkman Senior had put out feelers trying to locate me, but the Krals had told him I’d been staked while trying to escape from Jared, and Darkman had given up and returned to Vegas.

“What’s up?” I glanced from Spider to the empty office.

“It’s December first,” he returned.

I scrunched my brows together. “And?—?”

“And the thirty days are up. Our agreement is officially terminated.”

Annoyed, I folded my arms over my chest. “I thought it ended that night you staked Grim and Troll. These last couple weeks, that was me in your bed, not your thrall .”

We were mates, damn it. I’d never been happier, or felt more secure. Had it been different for Spider?

“I know, baby.” His gaze tracked from my face to my crossed arms. “I’m doing this all wrong,” he muttered and steered me to a drawer labeled ‘Lark.’ He jabbed a finger at it. “Open it.”

What now? Still grumpy, I pulled open the drawer. My jaw nearly hit the floor. “That’s—that’s a lot of cash. Way more than we agreed on.”

“One million.”

I picked up a stack of hundreds and fanned the corners. “This is mine? All of it?”

“Yes.”