Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

up my business.”
    “I knew you didn’t have the brains to pull it off yourself,” I interjected.
    He continued again as if I hadn’t spoken. “Hell, he also had a role in setting you up for those murders after you became such a nuisance to the business.”
    “You mean the trail of bodies you left in the streets,” I said evenly, but my palms stung when my fists clenched so tightly that my nails drew blood as they dug into the flesh.
    “Yes, good times. But having you in hiding from the cops got boring. Plus, the assassins were drawing closer, so I had to get you out on the streets again in order for them to find you.”
    “You used me as bait so you could feed off of them,” I noted.
    “And, boy, were they powerful. I was ready for your blood. I wanted to change you into a vampire myself to taste it in its most pure form. But my partner informed me that it would kill me to drink from you no matter how strong I got. Because our blood doesn’t play well together, baby. Such a waste, too.
    “That had been my original plan, but since it isn’t going to work out, I’ll have to settle for killing the two of you. Although, it did make me curious about how your boyfriend got so strong without dying from your blood. He even inherited your ability to walk in the light.” Shane flicked his eyes over my face. “Oh, did he not mention that to you?”
    I had suspected as much but never saw it with my own eyes. Yet another detail to add to the mystery that was Gavin West.
    “Before you ask, the answer is yes. I have already had a taste of your boyfriend’s blood. It burned like holy water going down, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I would make it through that one. Unfortunately, his little sunlight tolerance didn’t rub off on me. I already tried. No matter. I am, however, much stronger than before. Strong enough to kill you, and that’s all that matters to me after the amount of shit I put up with.”
    “So that’s it, huh? You’re just going to kill us both.”
    “Well, I would be willing to spare your boy toy if you helped me with one last thing.”
    He paused to let me consider another option. “The suspense is going to kill me before you get the chance. What is it you want?”
    “You bring me back the blood of the First, and I let him go.”
    He made it sound so simple, so black and white. But I knew it was never simple when it came to Shane.
    “You know, Shane, I’m really sick of being bribed and blackmailed. I hate being told what to do. I won’t be manipulated by you anymore.”
    “You mean by us,” he corrected.
    “Right. Who is this silent partner of yours anyway, and what does he have against me?”
    He smiled a wolfish and completely untrustworthy smile. “He’s shy, but don’t worry. You’ll meet him when the time is right. He and I share this common interest of killing you. We’re both kind of big on being the biggest badass.”
    “I’m the common enemy. So what happens if I die? You kill each other?”
    “You got it, baby.”
    I stood there weighing my options, but I refused to play any more of Shane’s games. So that left me with one option. Kill him before he killed me. The two things I wanted to do were to get Gavin out of here and inflict a lot of physical pain on Shane.
    I looked over at the lifeless form that hung from the beam and winced. He was completely out of it now. I thought about how Shane weakened Gavin, stripping him of his power and reducing him to a helpless victim while he stole his blood and took some of that power into him. I thought about Holly and all those brutal murders he was part of, and I saw red.
    “You may have stolen strength, Shane, but I think you forget one thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I am stronger and more powerful than you can imagine. And you made me this way.”
    For the first time, anger and a hint of insecurity flashed in his eyes before he raced across the room into the darkness. “We’ll see who has all the power.”
    A shadow