Frost Burn (The Fire and Ice Series, Book 1) by Erica Stevens Read Free Book Online Page B

to never see yours again,” Scully grated from between his teeth.
    “This,” Julian said and waved his hand in front of his face. “Is far from ugly.” Scully’s eyes flashed red, Chris and Melissa made a disgusted sound. “What are you doing here?”
    “Anything pertaining to vampire business stopped having anything to do with you when you turned your back on us.”
    “I did no such thing.”
    “You helped to destroy The Elders.”
    “Zane and his cohorts got what they deserved and you know it,” Julian retorted.
    “You’re killing us off one by one.”
    He shifted his feet, his gaze slid toward the girl when she took a step back and adjusted her hold on the two stakes in her hand. His attention returned to Scully when the other vampires moved further away from her. “Only the ones who deserve it.”
    “Who are you to judge?” Scully’s eyes turned a volatile shade of red. “You were one of the worst of us.”
    “I still am.” Julian gave him a smile that revealed his elongated canines. “I just play by a different set of rules now. A moral code of conduct, you could say.”
    Scully’s upper lip began to twitch. His buddies looked as if they were actually contemplating plowing through the wall in order to get out of here, but no one moved. “You’re a pussy,” Scully spat.
    “I can still kick your ass all over this bar,” Julian assured him.
    For the first time fear flickered over Scully’s face. Julian knew he was going to make a move before he did. He rushed forward as Scully spun to the side. Scully grabbed one of the high top tables, lifted it over his head and heaved it at him. It flew through the air with the deadly trajectory of a missile. Julian flung his arm up to knock the table aside. The fifty-pound wood and metal table slammed off of his forearm. One of the wooden legs shattered on impact and the rest of the table spun away into the wall with a loud crash. A snarl tore from Julian as pain lanced down his arm; his hand flipped over to catch the broken leg of the chair before it could fall to the floor.
    Pulling his arm back, he flung the leg sidearm at Scully. The vampire flung himself toward the ground, but the broken end of the leg still drove into his arm with enough force to bury itself halfway into his flesh and bone. Scully let out a yelp; he tried to roll away as Julian leapt at him.
    Shoving his foot into Scully’s back, he pushed him so hard into the ground that the piercing crack of one of his ribs breaking resonated through the barroom. Squealing like a trapped rodent, Scully’s arms and legs flailed at the floor. He tried to get his hands under him, but Julian forced him down again. With Scully firmly pinned to the ground, Julian lifted his head to take in the others. Melissa had one of the vampires pinned against the wall; the girl had two cornered in the poolroom. Julian almost laughed at the spectacle of the men cowering against the wall in an attempt to stay away from the woman who had killed their friend. Luther and Zach closed in on her right and left; they were giving her the same look they would a hungry anaconda.
    Chris stood over the body of the other one, a stake protruded from the center of the vamp’s chest. Julian turned away from them, he bent down to get a better look at Scully. Rabid dogs would have been afraid of the look on Scully’s face; Julian simply smiled at him. “What were you and your friends planning here, Scully?”
    Scully spat at him, but in his position, the liquid didn’t get very far. “Not smart.” Julian pressed his foot into Scully’s back hard enough to crack more of his ribs. Scully let out a low moan, his fingers left scratch marks as they dug into the dark wood beneath him. “Now why were you looking for this girl?”
    This time when Scully tried to spit at him all that gurgled up from his mouth was a stream of blood. He could pull the answers from Scully by touching him, but he found this a much more preferable way to