Page 141 of Red Masquerade

This was the beast that came back for me.

This was the beast I loved.

I reached for him, hand outstretched over Marcel’s shoulder. “Vince!”

We were outside, on the front step, moving further and further away—

In a flurry of movement, Dixon was suddenly on top of Vince, wrestling him to the ground.

I screamed, watching Vince’s body hit the floor with a sickeningthud.

He bared his teeth, all that rage directed at the one man. He punched and clawed and there was blood everywhere, spatter flying away from the fight, landing on other guests, who cried out at the fight.

But Dixon was a Born vampire and had about twenty years on Vince.

In moments he had Vince in a headlock, arm wrapped tight around my lover’s neck from behind. Vince kicked at the ground, clawed hands tearing at Dixon’s arms.

So much blood.

“How could you?” I sobbed, even though Dixon couldn’t hear me, my vision growing blurry.

Marcel pulled me away, turning, so he blocked the view with his body. He rolled his eyes at my tears as he led me away. I wanted to collapse, to fall to the ground and let it swallow me whole, but he kept me upright, dragging me on.

“You’ll learn that love is dangerous,” he said with grim finality. “It forces your hand.”

Forty-Eight

Marcel hauled me away from the house, ignoring my cries, my curses.

No one around us batted an eye as he dragged me down to the lawn, around the gravel drive leading up to the house. The gravel gave me something to dig my heels into. I kicked out my legs, no longer caring if anyone saw up my skirt.

I had no idea what Dixon would do to Vince.

I had to get Marcel’s hands off of me, had to get back to Dixon and Vince, to stop their fight—

“Cut it out,” he hissed, adjusting his grip, hoisting me higher so I couldn’t reach the ground anymore. The good humor he had earlier was gone. His face morphed back into the serious, self-important man I knew before. Deadly contempt in his eyes, that flash of lust that zeroed in on my throat.

“What did you do?” I pleaded, squirming, trying to twist in his arms, to make him lose his balance. The words coming again and again in succession, begging for the truth.What did you do, what did you do, what did you do?

Whatever he had said inside—it had to be a lie. Lies to make me stop in my tracks, to doubt Vince.

None of it made sense.

My heart raced, my breathing coming in quick, shallow gasps.

Where was Marcel taking me?

He was going to hide me away, and no one will be able to find me.

What is he going to do to me?

“Nothing that no one shouldn’t have seen coming.” He glared at me, lip curled, before he stooped down and threw me onto his shoulder.

The world turned upside down. Another scream was ripped from me.

Slumped along the veranda around the house, in her deep blue dress, was Veronica. Her head hung back, throat exposed, eyes half-shut. Looking just like all the other drunk men asleep on the lawn by the end of the evening.

“What did you do to her?!”