human rules, and yet you expect me to follow the same courtesies. Rurik made himself perfectly clear when you came begging on your damn knees. Do you remember that day, Raymond? The day you stumbled into my office, begging and pleading, not just for revenge, but money and power? You’re just as pathetic today as you were when your third wife left you for the damn pool boy, and the last of your money rimmed your damn nose.”
I stepped over the twitching corpse, avoiding the vomit, and started toward Burrow. “The most dangerous thing you’ve ever done is underestimate me. If I were you, I wouldn’t do that again.”
“I’ll pay. I’ll pay.”
The wheeze was all I needed. I smiled and nodded, picking a piece of lint from his collar while the rest of his shirt remained splattered with food and spittle. “Now that’s more like it. See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
He shook his head, eyes wide, shell-shocked. I had that effect on most people, and mostly they ran. They didn’t stand their ground… except Nova Flynn.
That thought grew wings and took flight. A snarl slipped from my lips, dragging a cry from the human in front of me.
Nova Flynn.
Has anyone told you to never piss off a woman?
Burrow fumbled with his jacket, wrenching a phone from inside the pocket. His fingers tapped. I followed the movement, and, at the same time, taking in the four mercenaries who backed away slowly, their weapons lowered with little more than a passing thought.
But it was Nova who occupied the rest of the space in my head, the gutsy mortal who waltzed into a vampire bar with nothing more than a purse full of money and an acid tongue.
Nova … that’s exactly what the woman was, a damn supernova—blazing across my night sky, outshining everything else in my universe. Legends were built upon supernovas—lore crafted with them in mind—both filled with fear and excitement. I had to wonder, which one was she?
Would she burn me if I touched her? Would she turn me to dust? I thought about that, ceasing to exist, returning to the nothing.
“You missed a zero.”
The tapping stilled. Burrows jerked his head toward me. Sweat glistened on his forehead. The hollow under his eyes had become sunken and dark, turning his skin ashen—the man didn’t look well—no he didn’t look well at all. “What?”
“A zero. You missed one. One million with six zeros, not five. Be a good human and correct that before you confirm.”
His fingers shook as he pressed the damn screen. I’d already turned by the time his thumb left the greasy print behind. I stepped over the body and plucked a mobile from my pocket. A single word flashed CONFIRMED.
I slipped the phone inside my jacket and walked from the house. No one bothered to escort me when I left, unlike when I’d arrived. I guessed no one really cared anymore. Mortals… they were so obsessed with death—not dying to be exact.
I climbed into the Camaro and turned the key. Three hundred and twenty-three horses growled to life, whispering a language I heard with every ounce of my body.
All I could think about was Nova. Long auburn hair and the sweet scent of seduction flooded my senses like the accelerator of the beast under me.
A hard thud tore through my chest.
The sound was so alien I slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop just inside the estate gates.
My fingers were at my chest, delving through the buttons of my shirt to press against my skin. I had imagined it. The empty cavern I called my chest was barren, dormant like the earth would be long after the sun had died. I had no life… I had nothing, and yet….
Nova Flynn .
I closed my eyes, letting her flood my senses, letting her consume me. The sharp sting of my fangs was instant. I shifted in the seat, and shifted again as my trousers tightened. Jesus Christ, no.
The second heavy thud sealed the deal, echoing through the empty pit. My eyes flew open. My legs were fucking jelly as I tromped on the accelerator