Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas by Bartlett, Gerry (white hot kiss TXT) 📕

I couldn’t see. Couldn’t move. My head felt flattened where it rested against the cracked passenger side window. Blood ran into my eyes. When I tried to wipe it away with my right arm, I screamed. Trapped, my arm was trapped against the door. I used my left arm to wipe away the blood and shove aside an air bag until I finally saw… Jerry! He lay sprawled on the hood of the car. He’d been hurled through the shattered windshield, a broken toy, prostrate on the smoking metal. He wasn’t moving.

Moans from the back seat. Maggie and Fergus. Gods, I prayed they were all right. Couldn’t turn my head to look. My neck. No, my back. Had to get to Jerry. I screamed again when I used my left arm to push up. Heal. I needed to heal. Blood. Needed… help. Where?

The truck that had hit us backed up with a screech of torn metal and sped away. The driver must not be hurt. Wait. Where was he going? Help us. We needed help.

“Aw, does the little vampire feel bad?” Davenport ripped away the remains of the shattered windshield and tossed it aside. He stared at me with a smile. “Want me to fix you?”

“You! You did this!” It wasn’t a question. I bit back more screams as I leaned toward him. Holy water. I reached for the floor. Felt for it with my foot. Not…there. Every bone in my body felt broken. “Why?”

“You think I didn’t know what you were planning? Asking everyone you knew how to get rid of a demon.” He grabbed my other arm, twisting it while I fought not to scream. He would like that. I finally swam back to consciousness when he released me.

“I’ll beat you yet,” I croaked, barely above a whisper, but I know he heard me.

He hissed, a sound straight from Hell. “You owe me! Don’t try to cheat the Devil, Gloriana St. Clair.”

Footsteps were running towards us and Davenport disappeared. Alex and Harry peered at me through the window.

“Dear God in Heaven. Don’t move. We’re calling for help.” Harry had a cell phone in his hand.

“Not yet.” Alex waved over someone. “You there. Give me your arm.” He pushed the man into Harry’s arms. “Close your eyes, Glory, I’m breaking this side window.” Glass breaking. “Open your eyes. Take this.” He handed me the stranger’s wrist. “Drink.”

I didn’t hesitate with a mortal’s arm in my face.

“Hurry, he can’t feel a thing.” Alex stared at me. “More are coming. This is going to take some fancy magic.” He left the man’s side after he saw me bite into the man’s wrist.

Could the man afford to lose blood? I couldn’t worry about that. I drank. I had to heal and heal fast. I was vaguely aware of Harry and Alex talking to people. Harry turned Jeremiah’s head and placed a mortal wrist against Jerry’s mouth. Could he drink?

I closed my eyes and kept drinking, feeling strength return to my broken limbs. The pain brought tears to my eyes. I dropped the wrist when the car moved suddenly.

“Gods!” I held onto the crushed dashboard and looked over to see Fergus, Harry and Alex pulling the car away from the building. Fergus. One of his arms hung uselessly by his side. Where was Maggie?

“We’re opening your door now. This will hurt.” Harry’s voice calmed me until the screech of metal tearing shocked me into falling out of the car. “Glory, can you hear me?”

“I, I am going to be sick.” I leaned over and threw up on the pavement. Thank the gods I felt air on my face and the nausea disappeared as fast as it had come. Strange that I had felt that at all. Then again, the blood I’d just taken had been strange too. I saw the man who’d given me his wrist sitting in the parking garage, a bottle of juice in his hand. Harry picked me up and laid me on the pavement.

“Sorry about that man’s blood. We realized after we chose him that he’d been using drugs. I’ll get you a new donor right now.” Harry frowned when a police car pulled up. “Well, this one will be drug free.” He walked up to the officer and began talking. Then he led a policeman to me, his sleeve rolled up. He’d obviously been mesmerized.

“Harry? I didn’t know shifters could do that.” Then I took that nice clean wrist and bit into it. B negative. Very nice. I drank and my limbs began to heal more rapidly. My arm that had been crushed against the door tingled as the fresh blood did its magic. I moved my fingers first, then my wrist. My ankle had been broken, but now I could feel it healing as bones knit together. I heard the cop’s radio going off from where he wore it on his belt. He ignored it, staring blissfully into the space above my head.

Sirens filled the air. Someone had called an ambulance. This time it was Alex who took the two paramedics and placed them with Jerry and Maggie. Fergus must have pulled his wife from the wreckage. He was talking to her as she lay on the pavement. I could see her moving but carefully, as if she too had broken bones.

A crowd had gathered and Alex was busy mesmerizing all of them. This was the performance of his life and I could tell he was actually enjoying it. When I finally let go of the policeman’s arm, I gently pushed him away and got to my feet. I was weak and wobbly as I walked around the sad wreckage of what had been a very fine automobile. I was desperate to get to Jeremiah’s side. Damn Davenport. I was even more determined now to not only outsmart him, but to make him pay.

“Gloriana. Are you all right?” Jeremiah released the paramedic’s arm and sat up very carefully. “We were hit. The truck came out of nowhere.”