Til Death (Jane #5) Read Online Free

three at
once. They started overlapping and soon the room was in chaos. The
humans were running toward the exits, trying to escape the unseen
attackers. A body flew up over the crowd, thudding heavily on the
floor behind me. I squealed and pressed closer to Felipe.
    The crowd began to separate itself. While
most of the guests were heading for the doors, leaving trampled
bodies in their wake, a handful were going against the flow, making
their way toward us. Before I knew it, we were surrounded by half a
dozen vampires, all bloodied and snarling.
    Jax pulled a short sword from underneath his
jacket while Benton brandished a handgun. Even Annie reached
beneath her dress to extract a knife. They circled us, protecting
us from the attackers.
    One vampire dressed in an expensive suit
pushed through the crowd. His hand was wrapped tightly around the
collar of Father Bellini, dragging the unconscious man onto the
dance floor. He tossed the priest at our feet and a bloody streak
marred the wood where my mentor had slid.
    "What do you want?" Felipe growled the words
through gritted teeth. He was tense and gripping me too tightly,
but I barely noticed.
    The man laughed, and I swear he had taken
acting classes on how to laugh like a super villain. He even threw
his head back. When he exhausted himself, he looked at me, all
humor gone from his eyes.
    "Your wife."
    Felipe squeezed me so hard I squeaked and his
snarl would rival a lion. "You will not touch her."
    "On the contrary, I'll do exactly that. You
and your little group nearly brought an end to my plans in Europe.
It was so kind of you to come to my home and offer yourselves to
me."
    He looked around and waved a hand at the
diminishing crowd. Bodies were strewn across the floor and blood
stained the walls. In addition to those directly around us, there
were nearly a dozen vampires blocking the exits and a couple were
feeding on still-warm humans.
    Felipe snorted, a sound I completely did not
expect. I looked up at him and he was shaking his head in
disbelief. "You. I should've known. You always were ambitious, but
I never thought you to be evil."
    "I am not evil, Felipe. I am practical.
Vampires are the smarter, stronger, better race. It is time we stop
hiding from the humans."
    He spat on the floor and lifted his hand. The
other vampires started toward us. Felipe shoved me behind him,
facing off against the man in the suit. I slipped in some blood and
was thrown off balance, coming down hard on the wooden floor. A
hand grabbed me from behind and I fought to free myself, but my
limbs refused to work properly and my flailing did nothing to aid
my cause.
    I was dragged backward, kicking and
screaming, toward an exit on the far side of the room. Several
pairs of hands hoisted me into the air and my feet and hands were
tied as a cloth was stuffed in my mouth.
    I could see Felipe fighting the vampires that
swarmed him, screaming my name. Jax and Benton had their hands full
with more vampires than they could manage. Annie was lying on the
floor, unconscious or dead, I did not know.
    The man in the suit hefted Father Bellini
over his shoulder and stalked toward me as his minions held Felipe
at bay. He gave me a little grin as he walked past me and out the
door. I screamed for Felipe through the gag until my captors shoved
me into the back of a van, shutting the door on my freedom.
     

Chapter 4
     
    The van was one of those that caterers often
used and there were no windows. A heavy cloth blocked the view to
the front seats and the overhead light cast a dim glow on my
surroundings. There were no seats and three vampires sat on the
floor by the door. All three of them had procured machine guns from
somewhere and one had several stakes attached to a military-style
vest. A big, black, lumpy bag was shoved in the corner behind one
of the seats.
    I used my elbows and brute strength to push
myself into a seated position and leaned against the cold metal
wall. I could feel blood dripping from my