Save the Last Vamp for Me Read Online Free Page B

Whitehaven supplied everyone with guns and had paid for our concealed carry classes and licenses. Though I’d turned out to be a fair shot, I didn’t like guns. When you pulled one out, you had to be ready to kill someone. I preferred knocking them unconscious if at all possible. Still violent, sure, but a lot less final than death.
    Exception: Vampires. I’m fine with putting them out of everyone’s misery. They’re just walking, talking corpses. Predators that see people as prey. Parasites who feed on the blood of the living.
    Yes, I’m prejudiced against them.
    It took about twenty minutes to reach Derrick’s estate. The two goons on guard at the gate didn’t want to let Leglin in. I crossed my arms. “If he’s not going in, neither are we. Better call your boss.”
    “That won’t be necessary, Miss Jones.”
    I started, not having heard a third vampire arriving. And nearly peed myself when I turned to check him out, because he was every bit as big as the douchebag who wanted to kidnap Terra, with short, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Hoping no one heard my gulp, I asked, “And you are?”
    “Stone. I’ll be your guard while you’re assisting my master.” He half-smiled. “Open the gate. I’ll escort Miss Jones and her companions inside.”
    “With my hound.”
    Stone inclined his head. “Of course.”
    The other two didn’t argue, opening the gates to allow us through. Stone offered me his arm, but I pretended not to notice. I don’t like touching vampires because their memories can be overwhelming and are usually bloody with a side of sex. The kinds of sex I wasn’t interested in and didn’t want in my head.
    He changed the offer of his arm to a gesture to follow him after a second or two. We did, though Nick took hold of my free hand while I slipped the fingers of my other through Leglin’s collar. I shot Soames a look, and he proved himself quick on the uptake by hooking one of his fingers through the hound’s collar on the other side.
    With all of us in contact, either Leglin or I could pop us all out of there in a blink.
    It wasn’t as though I doubted Mr. Whitehaven’s judgment, but I’d rather be safe than sorry if the case turned out to be some elaborate hoax to get me into the Barrows. I had vampire enemies, and didn’t trust Lord Derrick any further than I could throw him without my telekinesis. Kate had tried to research the vampire, and had come up empty, so we didn’t know much about him.
    Plus, Stone could break me in half, and as much as I protested being thought helpless, physically I was the weakest in our foursome. The guys and Leglin might be able to move as fast as vampires, but I wasn’t going to count on that.
    The vampire led us down a path of stone, bordered on each side by a hedge. Over the hedges, I could see gardens spreading out. I looked up at the eternally moonlit sky and the few streaky clouds. “How does anything grow down here without sun?”
    “Magic, Miss Jones.”
    Of course. The Barrows was a pocket realm, and by then, I should’ve been used to the fact pocket realms had their own skies and weather, not to mention rules. It was kind of hard to comprehend though, because I also knew we were in a cavern, and that there were smaller caverns and tunnels beyond it, running all over, under the city.
    I stopped thinking about it, because the end result was always a headache. It’s magic. Best to leave it at that.
    Instead, I focused on the castle ahead, a two-story pile of gray stone with a nearly windowless tower rising from the center. Though I’d never been inside, I could guess at the layout thanks to trips inside a few other castles. At least two levels of cellars; even in the Barrows, vampires seemed to prefer sleeping underground. The first would be more of dungeon than storage or sleeping space. The deeper level would house Derrick’s minions during their required six hours of deady-bye.
    Two more vampires, dressed in blue satin coats, short