You’re more than welcome to watch.”
Anger rose to heat my cheeks. I stepped forward, but Quinn put his arm out to stop me.
“Janie, she’s telling the truth. Peter was all messed up. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore.
He’d started looking at vampire hunting as a game, not as a service.”
She snorted at that. “Yeah, and I’d believe you because? Last time I checked you were one of the bloodsuckers now,Michael . So save your breath, if you have any. I don’t know, do vampires need to breathe? Do they have heartbeats? I’m not up on all this new age vampire stuff. Last time I checked,
vamps were evil and needed to be snuffed out, not treated like equals and given free passes when it comes to murder.”
“I’m not asking for a free pass,” I said. “I’m just trying to tell you what happened. Peter tried to kill me.
Several times. He failed. When he tried again I happened to have a weapon and I fought back. He lost. End of story.”
She laughed. “End of story. Yeah, I guess it is, isn’t it?”
“Janie,” Quinn said. “I know you’ve had a hard life. It was just you, your little sister, and Peter after your parents died, right? I remember you used to play with your dolls while Peter and I hung out. You were a cute kid.”
She frowned at him. “I’m not a kid anymore, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“No, you’re definitely not. But I don’t think you’ve changed that much. Just stop being difficult. We’re not going to let you get away with this. We’re going down there to get Thierry and we’re leaving. Now you can either let us or you can stand in the way.”
“And what if I stand in the way?” She put her hands on her hips.
“Then we’re going to have a problem.”
She studied him for a moment, her brow creased with a frown. Then she glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “You’re helping Sarah get the other man? That’s so noble of you.”
He shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“You used to be so in control. Have to say I’m a little disappointed that you’ve turned into a sloppy-seconds-loving wimp who lets the world walk all over him. Too bad, really.”
His expression darkened. “You’ve got a big mouth, Janie.”
She laughed, a short staccato sound. “Is Sarah the one who made you into a vampire?”
“No.”
“That’s a rather short answer. No long, entertaining anecdote of how you became a monster?”
Quinn visibly grimaced. “Most vampires aren’t monsters.”
She nodded. “Right. Keep telling yourself that, handsome. And maybe you’ll believe it some day.”
His expression darkened even more. “Janie, just step aside, would you? I’m running out of patience here.”
She grinned at me. “You know, when we were talking the other day and I told you I used to have a big crush on one of my brother’s friends? Three guesses who it was and the first two don’t count. Small world.” She fixed him with an appraising look, up and down his frame. “You were a little skinnier then.
You’ve been working out. Is being a vamp really hard work?”
Quinn glanced at me, then back to her. “Janie—”
“Yeah, I was head over heels with you, Quinn. You prefer to go by your last name now, huh? When I saw you again the other day I have to admit it freaked me out. Made me remember how I used to feel when I was just a kid. Dorky and awkward. Just Peter’s kid sister. Every time you’d come over and spar with my brother, I was lurking about. Watching. Learning.” She sighed wistfully.
“Janie, we can talk about this—”
“I had the hugest crush on you back then.” She raised her hand from her waist. I noted with horror that it now held a gun. “But I’m over it now.”
She shot him in the chest.
Then Janie shifted her aim and shot George.
“No!” I screamed.
Both the guys’ eyes bugged and they looked down at their chests in unison. But there was no blood that
I could see. My heart beat so loudly that I could barely hear anything except its thundering sound, as I watched Quinn pull the small dart out of his chest and stare at it with confusion before he looked at Janie.
She slipped the gun back into her shoulder holster. “Geez, don’t look at me like that, handsome. It’s just a garlic dart. I wouldn’t kill you. Not today, anyhow. I’m not that much of a bitch. My issue isn’t with you, but I can’t have you spoiling all the fun.”
He frowned. “Garlic . . . garlic dart . . . ”
“That’s right. Works like a tranquilizer on vampires. You should remember that, silly. Night, night.”
I watched George and Quinn keel over, as if in slow motion, and hit the ground, before I ran over to check on them. Check their pulses. They seemed fine other than the fact that they were both unconscious. I picked up the dart on the ground and looked at it.
Garlic dart?
I was so happy it wasn’t a real gun that I felt like crying. That would have been it. I’d learned that silver bullets are enough to kill not only werewolves, but vampires, too. If she’d had a gun filled with silver bullets that would have been it. I would have just lost two of the most important people in my life. Just like that. The thought made me feel physically ill.
I turned around expecting to see her grinning at me, but Janie was gone.
I didn’t take the time to think things through. I turned, pushed open the door that led to the main theater,
and started down the aisle, keeping my focus directly on Thierry’s still form. It was so dark everywhere but on the stage itself that even with my new and improved vampire vision, I stumbled a few times on the steps, but I didn’t slow down. When I was down on the floor I grabbed hold of the edge of the stage and pulled myself up, breathing hard, and then I was there. I was right next to Thierry. I touched his shoulder.
Shook him.
“Thierry. Wake up.”
I looked at the back of the chair where his hands were restrained.
Silver handcuffs. What a surprise.
I pulled at them, hoping to use my Vampire Strength, and then realized I really didn’t have any and gave up. Plus, the silver hurt if I pressed against it too hard—as if it was sharp even though it wasn’t. If Thierry struggled too much against the cuffs, he might succeed in cutting his hands off trying to get loose. I shuddered at the thought.