Page 143 of Red Masquerade

“Just—put me down!”

I needed to get back. Needed to get back to Vince.

As he walked, the garden became more and more empty of partygoers, until eventually I couldn’t see anyone, just the huge sycamore trees and the night flowers bobbing in the breeze, going on as if nothing was amiss this night.

But I had been taken by a vampire—Vince’s enemy—and I had no idea what he wanted with me.

The path was familiar. I’d walked this way a few times now.

He came to a stop right before a vine and moss-covered wall. Bending over to set me down, once my feet touched the ground, a dizzying rush of air filled my lungs—and suddenly I was against the wall, cornered by a fanged predator.

Marcel’s eyes shone in the moonlight.

He stared at me for a moment, and I couldn’t stop the tremble to my hands, fisting them against his chest. He leaned close, one hand on either side of my head. A glance down to my lips, the smudged rouge there.

“Would you really give yourself up for him?”

“What?” I was breathless, trying to calm my racing heart while keeping him at bay.

His dark hair shined with gel, the white of his collared shirt luminous under the moon. “Would youreallygive yourself up for him?” He inspected me, like the answers were there in my eyes. “Would you really sacrifice yourself for Vince? After everything he’s done?”

I shook my head, willing fresh tears away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Marcel hummed. Waited a moment longer. Then moved back, just an inch. “Pity.”

Leaning back into the wall, I tried to put as much space between us as possible. The leaves on either side of my head crunched as he tightened his hands, crushing the vines. He pushed off, and suddenly I could breathe again, now that there were a few feet between us.

I glanced to where we came from, that path clear. Maybe if I just—

“Don’t think about running,” he said, gazing at me through half-lidded eyes, his pupils dilated.

I lifted my chin. “And what if I did?”

He smirked, eyes tracing down to the flimsy skirt barely brushing against the tops of my thighs. “Unless you want me to chase you.”

My cheeks turned aflame at the notion.

I wished he would just get it over with. Press me against the wall and drain me. I’d only been back in Vince’s life for a few weeks. He had all the time in the world to move on, to find someone else to love, and I could be just the girl he thought of fondly from his youth.

Marcel pulled open a stone door, the lock busted and hanging as though it’d been forced open not too long ago.

The mausoleum.

The color of rust streaked the stone, a deep red stain that soaked through. In the moonlight, I couldn’t tell if the dark liquid had spilled on the ground as well—and I didn’t want to know what dark liquid that was.

“Come on,” Marcel said, holding the door open.

He watched me, eyes narrowing, and I knew if I turned and ran, he’d bring me to the ground just as Dixonhad Vince.

And he really wouldn’t hold back this time.

It was a truth I felt in my bones.

All my thoughts turned to just hours ago—my time with Vince. Whatever coursed between us was palpable; I felt it every time he was within me, a heat rushing through my veins. We were made for each other, but maybe we were truly star-crossed. I told him I’d go to Flora’s. I lied to him. And the relief he’d felt at those words…

It was an utter betrayal.

It was my fault this all happened.