Page 25 of The Wayward Sons & The Vampires of Fortune (The Wayward Sons #4)

T ime was impossible to measure. I was so wound up and full of anxiety, fear, and adrenaline.

Every breath.

Every heartbeat.

Everything was loud and equally intense.

Inhale…

Exhale…

Find my calm…

I was no good to Nash or myself if I couldn’t maintain my focus. My hunter instincts buzzed against the back of my skull.

Another shriek.

A blast of… was that ice? How the hell was there ice? Hunters didn’t have ice power.

“Hallway to your left.” Nash’s voice interrupted my thoughts—probably for the better. I needed to focus. “I’ll go first. You follow. We’re goin’ up a floor and across the buildin’ to the opposite stairwell. That’ll take us to the roof.”

Before I could say anything, he threw open the stairwell door, and the world came to a halt. From the darkness, something rushed forward.

My heart stopped in my chest.

Nearly seven feet tall, the vampire wore tactical gear comparable to what Nash had—all black with a tactical vest and belt, boots, and gloves. The only thing missing was a mask.

And fuck, how it needed a mask.

Its head was nothing more than a skull. Gaping hollow eyes. Razor-sharp fangs. And so much blood. Whose blood? That was a question I wasn’t sure that I wanted the answer to.

It lunged straight for Nash.

One shot.

One spot.

That was all I needed.

Breathe in, aim, fire.

The vampire recoiled backward with the impact, its body seizing.

My breath caught in my chest as I waited. If I’d been off by even a hair, we were fucked.

Another seizure rolled through the vampire’s body. The skull cracked and fractured, turning to dust right in front of us and leaving behind a pile of clothes crumpled at the foot of the stairs.

Thank fuck for vampire-killing bullets.

“Holy shit.” Nash let out as the initial shock wore off. “Your record ain’t lyin’.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I replied. In a room full of superpowers, I had a gun. At least I was a damn good shot.

“Up.” He hurried ahead, taking the stairs two at a time. “One down, kid.”

“ One down, six to go, ” Riley said in our ear. I’d almost forgotten the kid was there.

Up one half a set of stairs.

Around the bend.

Up the second half.

Nash paused at the door, hand hovering over the knob.

“The stairs let out into a hall,” he told me quickly. “We’re goin’ right, and then an immediate left. We’ve got a whole goddamn floor to cross. Stick to the wall, watch—”

“Your six. I got it,” I interrupted.

“Good.”

“What about the others?”

“They’ll be behind us. You just worry about us gettin’ across the buildin’.”

Right. Easier said than done.

I stuck to his back, doing everything I’d already done once.

The silence was consuming as we stepped into the unlit hallway and took a right. My steps were in tune with his as I followed him, my gaze glued on the path behind us.

The short hall spilled into an open, unfinished building. Tarps, power tools, support beams. The set up meant it’d be a nightmare to get across.

We made it two steps before rhythmic clicking bounced off the walls around us. They came from everywhere all at once with no easy source identification. My heart lodged in my throat.

Nash’s hand latched onto my shirt at the waist, and he inched me closer.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

“Are they fucking dinosaurs?” I found myself saying, channeling a little bit of Gray impulsively.

“I fuckin’ wish,” he muttered. My gaze followed his, trying to track the sound without luck. The goddamn obstacles helped nothing.

And then the clicking stopped.

The air stilled.

The silence was deafening, taunting us about what was coming.

Was it one vampire?

Two?

All of them?

The not knowing threatened to take me out. I’d faced a lot of demons in my lifetime, but vampires were something else. I’d take werewolves or sirens or pretty much anything else any day.

“One step… real slow like…” Nash instructed.

He took one step, and the darkness snatched him up.