The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters: Secret McQueen Story by Sierra Dean Read Free Book Online Page B

distinguish what I was, but it was pretty obvious he’d figured out I wasn’t human.
    And based on the wicked gleam in his eyes, he liked what he tasted enough for it to not matter.
    He dove to bite me again, but I tugged my arm free and dropped to the ground. I rolled across the slate balcony floor and knocked the top off the travel tube so I was able to pull out the katana as I regained my footing. The blade was unsheathed and gleamed a warning in the moonlight, which gave him pause. He seemed to be wondering if he could get the bite on me before I reached him with the sword.
    “I fucking dare you,” I snarled.
    He smirked.
    Large hands grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the ground. I hadn’t anticipated the damn guards reacting so fast, especially given how well-trained they were in ignoring everything. The mammoth of a man was crushing me, and the pressure on my broken bone brought pink-hued tears to my eyes.
    Vampires cry blood. Half-vampires cry something a little more diluted. Neither variety cried often, but when someone is squeezing you so hard your broken bones grind together, it’s sort of hard to stop yourself.
    I gave myself points for not dropping the sword when the guard got a hold of me. He lifted me high and walked us towards the edge of the balcony. It didn’t take a genius to know what he was planning to do with me, and a sword isn’t much of a defense against a forty-story drop. But the guard was in a hurry, and he was a little too sure of his plan. He threw me before I was clear of the railing.
    My ribs smashed into the glass edge of the wall, and my own weight tipped me over the edge, threatening to drag me down. Thankfully I’d known what was coming, otherwise I would have bounced off the edge and fallen the whole way, meeting a grisly end on the sidewalk below.
    As soon as I hit the railing I caught the sword, despite my broken arm. I knew I’d still need it when I made it out of this mess. Even holding the lightweight weapon sent fresh shock waves of pain through my shoulder. With my free hand I grabbed the slick wall and used the momentum of my body to swing myself upward and over. I moved in a smooth arc, sweeping across the glass, until I could hook my knees over the edge of the railing and propel myself back onto the balcony, where I landed behind the stunned guard.
    I rose from my crouched stance, transferring the sword back to my good hand, and didn’t waste time waiting for the guard to turn for a second attack. He spun on his heel to face me as the sword sliced through the air, and it didn’t falter as it bisected his head from his shoulders. My arm was still extended, sword out and glistening with blood where it had gone through the vampire.
    For the briefest second it didn’t look like I’d done anything to the guard. He blinked and his lip curled in disgust. Charlie watched with detached amusement, and I knew he thought I’d missed until he saw the blood on the sword.
    We both watched the guard as his eyes widened before they went dull. He fell to his knees, and with the force of his big body hitting the ground, his head lolled to the side, then toppled off his neck where it had been severed with surgical precision. It landed at his knees, his unseeing eyes staring at my feet.
    “ What are you? ” Charlie roared.
    “My name is Secret McQueen.” My broken arm was held against my stomach. I rested one of my gold Jimmy Choo heels on the severed head of the vampire guard and pointed my sword at Charlie. “I’m here to kill you.”
    He hadn’t recognized my face, but he knew my name. Most vampires did because it had become vampire legend. This time I didn’t think he’d forget it so easily.
    “I didn’t leave L.A. just to get killed by some council lackey.”
    It never ceased to amaze me that no matter how familiar rogues were with my name, they always believed they’d be the one exception to the rule. No rogue got away from me, but I guess I shouldn’t expect