Blood Guilt Read Online Free PDF Page A

him. I don’t like to talk to the bastard. Are both your legs broken?”
    “Only one leg.”
    Though who knew in how many places. Or however many other bones. No wonder there were layers of pain in his eyes. And it would get worse.
    ****
    Afterward, she was never sure how they managed it. He didn’t even seem inclined to cooperate at first, and it struck her that this enigmatic being had grown too used to not giving a damn. A strange thought concerning a species she’d always known cared for nothing but blood and continued existence. Until Elizabeth had fallen in love with the Ancient vampire Saloman and shown her that, like humans, vampires were not all the same. But she wouldn’t think of that now.
    She opened her mouth to command him, but abruptly, before she could speak, he pulled himself up, took his own weight on one leg, and leaned his better arm across her shoulders. Like that, they walked and staggered out of the yard and along the street, Maximilian dragging his broken leg behind him. It must have been agony, but no sound of it passed his lips. The only sign of his pain was the trembling of his whole body.
    It felt weird, holding the cool, hard body to her side. Never in her life had she been this close to any vampire, except in combat; and now that she was, she wished it was any vampire but this one. She tried to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, on finding the closest hotel to drop him at. She couldn’t take him to the hospital. Too many questions would be asked, and they’d spot pretty quickly that he wasn’t exactly human. The resulting furor might please Saloman, but Mihaela was not yet ready to have the reality of vampires thrust on the world at large.
    Fortunately, the first person she asked directed her to a cheap Travel Lodge only a couple of streets away.
    “Your man all right there?” he asked, nodding at Maximilian. “You want a hand with him, aye?”
    “Oh, no thanks,” Mihaela said hastily. “He’s sprained his ankle, that’s all. Had a few too many. He’ll be fine.”
    She kept a close grip on Maximilian during the encounter, half expecting him to lunge at the stranger for blood, despite his weakness; but oddly, when she could spare him a glance, his gaze was on her face.
    He didn’t speak throughout the entire journey. By the time they found the hotel, her body felt on the verge of collapse. Everything ached. Only the fact that Maximilian must be suffering considerably more kept her going. Leaving him propped up against the wall at reception, she went and booked a twin room in her name, since that seemed easiest. His head leaned back against the wall; his hair fell over his eyes. And yet, as she came back to him, she could feel him watching her every move. If he was recovering already, she would have to watch her back. Or at least her neck.
    It was unspeakable relief to drop him on the bed. He landed with his back propped up on the pillows and his uninjured leg half on the bed. As she fell back to draw breath and rub her aching shoulder, he leaned forward and with his good arm lifted his broken leg onto the bed, straightening it into position at the knee and pushing at his thigh. It made ominous cracking sounds that caused her stomach to heave.
    Next, under her appalled but fascinated gaze, he took off his woolen jacket with quick, awkward movements, pulling it over his broken arm, which he twisted into position in his lap. Then he fell back against the pillows with his eyes shut. His jeans and black T-shirt were torn and stained with blood and dirt. In the harsh, electric light he looked as white as the bedsheets. But then, when she glanced in the mirror, so did she.
    Hastily, she walked to the cupboard and found a glass, then went to the bathroom to fill it with water. It seemed the least she could do. When she returned to the bedside, his eyes were still closed. A lock of straight, dark hair had fallen across his face, adding a misleading impression of boyish