Darkness Dawns by Dianne Duvall Read Free Book Online

shifted in the chairs positioned in front of his desk.
    “You have something for me.”
    They leapt to their feet and spun around at his words, faces paling. These two would do just about anything for him in hopes of earning a taste of the vampire’s gifts. It was why he had chosen them to complete this task.
    “Where is it?” he demanded.
    The twenty-somethings exchanged a terrified look. Bobby had a large bruise in the center of his forehead.
    Derek, the one with the bolder nature, girded his loins and spoke. “He, uh … he escaped.”
    A haze of fury instantly filled Bastien’s vision, painting the world around him red. In a heartbeat, both men were lifted and slammed to the surface of the desk. His hands tightenedaround their throats, restricting their airways and pinning them in place.
    “He was completely immobilized and at your mercy when we left,” Bastien snarled at the quivering lumps. “What did you do?”
    “It wasn’t us!” Derek cried hoarsely as Bobby whimpered and wet himself. “We were watchin’over him like you told us to and were attacked!”
    “By whom? He had no way of contacting his fellow Guardians.”
    “I don’t know.” He gagged and coughed until Bastien loosened his hold minutely. “I didn’t see who it was. Bobby said it was some crazy bitch with a shovel. She knocked us both out and helped the Guardian get away.”
    “A woman?” he growled furiously. “A mortal woman armed with nothing but a gardening tool bested you?”
    “W-we didn’t hear her coming,” he blurted. “She was … she was crazy quiet.”
    One of the immortals’ Seconds, perhaps?
    If so, why hadn’t she been better armed?
    Bastien lifted the men and slammed them back down again hard enough to crack the heavy wooden surface of the antique desk. “Damn you! We had him!You say you want to be one of us, but when I give you a task—one
simple
task—you
fuck it up!
”
    Incensed, his wound from the previous night still paining him, he roared his fury so loudly he woke the slumbering vampires below.
    Fangs exploded from his gums.
    Derek and Bobby began to scream.
    Uncaring, Bastien bent and sank his teeth into Derek’s throat.
    Hunger clawed at Roland with razor-sharp talons as he slowly came awake. The need for blood was strong. Hiswounds had not healed as he slept, as they would have if he had had a few units on hand. He should have taken a minute to feed on the punk who had stabbed him.
    But then Sarah would have been afraid of him.
    Sarah.
    Eyes flying open, Roland saw her in the kitchen. She was closing the oven door and reaching over to return a pot holder to its hook on the wall.
    Her bloodstained clothing had been replaced with pale blue, low-riding jeans and an olive green T-shirt that hugged her shapely figure, emphasizing a small waist, full breasts, nicely rounded hips, and a tempting ass. Her hair was still damp from a shower and spilled in thick waves down her back.
    He frowned. Was one of her elbows scraped? Had that happened when she’d saved him?
    She glanced at him over her shoulder, looked away, then did a double take. Face brightening, she spun around. “You’re awake.”
    “Yes.”
    Brow furrowing, she crossed to his side. “How are you feeling?”
    “About the same.” May as well be honest whenever he could. “How long have I been out?”
    “Almost four hours.”
    It wasn’t until then that he realized the blood and dirt that had coated him had been washed away. He now sported numerous neat white bandages and was covered with a sheet.
    “Did you do all this?”
    “Yes.”
    He tested the bandage wrapped around his left hand. “Nice field dressing. Are you a doctor?”
    She offered him a wry smile. “Not the medical kind. I have a doctoral degree in music theory and teach over at UNC Chapel Hill.”
    Beautiful
and
smart. A marvelous combination. “Well, you did an excellent job. Thank you.”
    Her kindness continued to astound him. Even a Second wouldn’t have cleaned