What are you going to do? Her weakened voice whispered into his mind, and she fought the panic that welled up inside. She felt like she was dying and deep down she knew that she was. Telepathy was all she could manage.
Trust me and hope that Suzie gets away from the door.
“Now you’re hiding?” Doug taunted him and shouted into the pulsing lights. All of his experience as a cop taught him that guys like Brutus were impotent losers, and if you egged them on a bit, they’d come running. “All this time, you wait for revenge, and now you’re hiding like a little bitch in the shadows. What a pussy.”
Snarling, Brutus appeared ten feet in front of them. When his boot-clad feet thundered onto the floor, with Suzie still in his grip and bleeding from the neck, he grinned, his fangs dripping with blood as he stalked toward them.
“Hiding behind a girl?” Doug glanced at Suzie and then to Brutus. “What a pantywaist. Some two-thousand-year-old vampire you are. I was hoping for a fight, but it looks like you’re too much of a chickenshit to take me on.”
“Please,” he sneered. “I could dust you in under a minute.”
“Oh yeah, Brucilla? Looks to me like you only take on little girls. Hey Liv, wasn’t that one you told me about only twelve? Nice. You’re a coward and a pervert.”
Doug let Olivia go, and as she slipped from his grasp to the floor, she prayed his gamble would pay off. Brutus was far older and stronger, and by all accounts, Doug shouldn’t stand a chance, but then again, nothing about Doug was standard issue.
“Where’s your dress?” Doug mocked him as he backed up to the large wooden doors. “Your daddy’s dress is real nice. Maybe you could borrow his.”
Brutus screamed in rage and tossed Suzie, who went flying across the room. Her petite frame slammed into the bar, and she landed in a motionless heap. Olivia watched through fading vision as Brutus flew at Doug with remarkable speed and force. He grabbed him by the throat, but just before Brutus leaped, Doug propelled himself backward with all of his strength, and the two men burst through the wooden doors like a couple of torpedoes.
Olivia instinctively rolled away from the rays of sunlight as an ear-shattering explosion rocked the air. As they landed on the sidewalk in the dawn of early morning, a high-pitched shriek of agony and defeat pierced the air as Brutus burned and exploded in a noxious cloud of black smoke and ash.
At least, Olivia prayed it was Brutus… and only Brutus.
The pulsing lights of the club mixed with smoke and the golden rays of sunshine, which fleetingly reminded Olivia of a dreamscape she once shared with Doug.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she waited and prayed for Doug to emerge from the light, and like an answered prayer, the hulking shadow of Doug Paxton stepped into the club amid the smoky glow.
He picked her up and cradled her to his chest as he strode with her into the warm beams of sun that streamed into the club.
“You looked like you could use a little sun,” he whispered as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
For the first time in three centuries, the prolonged exposure to the rays of the sun didn’t burn. She smiled as it bathed them, and tears fell as she reveled in the miracle of their love. In the miracle of him.
“Secure the building.”
A familiar, deep baritone that Olivia hadn’t heard in over a century filled the room as the music shut off and the lights ceased flashing. Doug’s muscles bunched as he prepared to fly into the daylight. Doug, wait.
A minute later, the house lights came on, and twenty special-ops sentries charged into the club with guns drawn. Olivia watched with relief as some of them tended to her coven, Damien, and even Van Helsing.
Covered from head to toe in protective sun gear, a soldier zipped behind them like a ghost. In a matter of seconds, he hung a blackout curtain across the broken doorway and stood guard to handle curious humans who may want to investigate.
“Well, since you probably could’ve killed us by now, and it looks like your boys here are helping our friends instead of staking them into oblivion, I think it’s a safe bet you’re an ally.” Doug’s fingers pressed into her as he held her tightly. She knew he was scared for her, but to his credit, he didn’t let it show. “However, the woman I love is dying, and I don’t have time for pleasantries or vampire bureaucratic bullshit,” Doug stated bluntly. “So let’s have it. Who the hell are you? And why couldn’t you and your recon squad have shown up five minutes ago?”
“I am Emperor Zhao,” he said with a regal bow. He walked over to them calmly, bared his fangs, and made an incision in his pinky finger. He held his hand in front of Doug and tipped his head. “If you would allow me? It will heal her swiftly.”
Doug glanced at her, looking for reassurance, but all she could manage was a weak smile. Olivia had heard tales of the emperor’s charity and kindness, but some thought it as much of a legend as the bloodmate stories. He gave the emperor a curt nod and watched as he held his finger over Olivia’s mouth.
The rich, decadent scent of his ancient blood filled her nostrils, and she opened her mouth like a baby bird. As soon as the first, fertile drop landed on her tongue, his age-old power surged through her body like an electrical current. Icy-hot sensations flickered through her system as he healed her. Within seconds, the deep wounds on her throat closed, and she was rejuvenated.
“Thank God,” Doug whispered as he rained kisses over her face and hugged her.
“Actually, it’s Zhao,” the emperor quipped.
“Thank you, Emperor Zhao.” Olivia placed her hand on Doug’s shoulder as he put her down, and she once again stood on her own two feet. She bowed her head in gratitude but remained in Doug’s comforting embrace. “And thank you for helping my coven. Forgive me for asking—how did you even know about this or where we were?”
“My cousin, Jerry, informed me of what was happening.” He smoothed his red tie and glanced over his shoulder at the flurry of activity behind him. “He said you spared him in spite of the fact that he betrayed your trust.”
“Jerry, huh?” Doug gave Olivia a sidelong glance. “He’s quite a character.”
“Yes,” Zhao mused. “Every family has at least one, even us vampires. Speaking of family, we will see your coven is brought to full recovery, Olivia. It’s the least I can do for the two sentries who put down this rogue coven and stopped what could have become a slaughter of this great city.”
“If there’s anything I can do to repay you—” Doug said as he pulled Olivia against him and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t thank you enough for helping Liv.”
“Yes.” He flicked his dark eyes back to Olivia. “Actually, there is something. Detective Paxton, you and Olivia are going to be my new Czars of New York.”
Chapter 17
Doug looked the massive vampire up and down, trying to figure out if he heard that correctly. The emperor exuded power and radiated authority, which was partially due to his physical size; the man had to be six foot four, and beneath his expensive navy suit, he looked like he was in incredible shape. His air of sovereignty and control went beyond the physical, and if Doug had to guess, Zhao was even older than Augustus and Brutus.
He had a head of thick, jet-black hair and sharp, dark eyes that didn’t waver from Doug and Olivia. Doug held her tighter as he surveyed the heavily armed military escort Zhao had with him and noted that both of the girls and Damien were loaded onto stretchers and had blood drips hooked up. Looking at Olivia, there was no denying that this Zhao guy had an ancient vampire whammy cure in his blood.