The Vampire Hunter by LISA CHILDS Read Free Book Online Page B

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    She gasped in fear because he stood no chance against the obsessed vampire. She’d tried to save him by turning him, but she’d only made him more vulnerable.
    â€œNo!” she screamed again as she rushed at Roger. She caught him around the waist and dragged him away from the bedroom, back across the living room. He pulled at her arms, trying to free himself from her grasp. But she was strong. She wasn’t powerless anymore.
    Cursing her, he swung his elbow into her side.
    Her breath rushed out in a gasp of pain, but she didn’t let go. As they struggled, they fell into her paintings. Wood splintered as the frames around the canvases cracked beneath their weight.
    â€œGet out!” Liam shouted, drawing their attention back to him. But he wasn’t looking at the intruder; he was staring at her. “Get out!”
    She shook her head. “No…” Had he overheard the lies she’d told in order to protect him? And, worse yet, had he believed them?
    Roger laughed at her confusion and took advantage of her distraction to pull free of her grasp. “He doesn’t want you around, Jennifer. He doesn’t realize yet that he’s the one who needs to go. But he will.” He surged to his feet then into the air, flying at Liam full force.
    Her heart beating with fear and dread and the love she’d only just realized for Liam, she screamed in horror as the two men connected. Liam, in his weakened state, was no match for the vampire’s strength. The two bodies fell to the floor, Roger lying atop him. But neither moved.
    Rage, even fiercer than the rage she’d felt when she’d come upon Liam threatening her sister in the alley, overwhelmed her. Maybe she’d somehow instinctively known that Eve hadn’t been in any real danger. But now…
    Red heat blurring her vision, she vaulted to her feet and flew across the length of her living room. She clawed at Roger’s back, dragging him to his feet. She whirled him toward her, ready to pummel him, but his body was limp. Blood gushed from around the stake impaled in his heart.
    Eternity had ended for Roger Milliken; he was dead.
    â€œLiam!” She dropped the vampire and turned back to her lover. He lay yet on the floor, that strange gun clutched in his hands. He might not have been strong enough yet to fight Roger, but he’d been strong enough to pull the trigger. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
    He shook his head. “No. Is he…?”
    She nodded. “Yes. I’ll call the doctor.”
    â€œTo resurrect him?” he asked, his light blue eyes widening with horror.
    â€œI don’t think even Dr. Davison could save him, and when he learns what Roger did, he wouldn’t want to. I’m going to call him to check you out,” she said, as yet again tears of relief and apprehension stung her eyes. Roger hadn’t harmed him, but she was afraid that she had. “You’re not well. I didn’t do it right.”
    â€œI’m getting stronger,” he said. And as if to prove the point, he stood up. But he staggered and leaned against the doorjamb again.
    â€œYou’re not well,” she repeated. “You need to see the doctor.” Her hand shaking, she reached for the phone. “He’ll take care of you…and Roger’s body. He’ll dispose of it.” She shuddered at the thought, at the incinerator that disposed of vampire remains so that the society’s secret was protected. She quickly placed the call, summoning the surgeon to her apartment. “He’s on the way.”
    â€œYou need to leave,” Liam said, as he had earlier, with the same amount of coldness and resolution.
    And she had the answer to the question she’d asked herself earlier. He had believed the lies she’d told Roger. Liam didn’t trust that she hadn’t tried to kill him. “I need to stay and explain what happened to Dr.