Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire (Love at Stake) Read Online Free PDF

ceiling. She untied the cord, and with a whoosh, the silk unfurled down the wall. The outline of a man had been painted in black on the white silk. She planted a few books along the hem to keep the silk banner stretched taut against the wooden wall.
    After a quick run back to her stash of knives, she grabbed one and twisted toward the silk banner, letting the knife fly. Thunk. A direct hit to the man’s heart.
    “Try to stop me again, vampire, and this one will be for you.” She hurled another knife, and it lodged in the man’s head.
    She winced. Not his handsome face. With a groan, she turned away from the silk banner. His name was Russell. The best tracker in the world. Don’t think about him. But what if he was searching for Han right now? What if he found Han and killed him, stealing the vengeance she’d promised her family? How could she live with herself if she failed the mission she’d spent thirteen years preparing for?
    Dammit, he needed to let her work with him. It didn’t matter if he was a cold, heartless worm of a vampire, not when he represented her best chance at actually completing her mission. And surviving it.
    She shuddered as the memory of tonight’s fiasco flooded her mind. Not only had she failed to kill Han but she’d also panicked when the soldiers had come after her. Never had she experienced so many men intent on killing her. And how could she blame them? She’d killed two of them.
    Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the floor next to the trunk. For more than half of her life she’d dreamed of avenging her family. In her mind she’d always envisioned it as a lofty, noble quest and imagined herself a noble warrior.
    But because of her, two men had died. They had families.
    Tears stung her eyes. I had family, too! She reached into the trunk for the red silk bag that held her most prized possession. Carefully she removed the two ornate, cufflike bracelets made of hammered gold and decorated with inlaid jade. Her father had given them to her mother as a wedding present. They were all she had left of her parents.
    Taking a deep breath, she clasped the bracelets onto her wrists. “I will avenge you, I promise.” She would kill Han. Even if he had a hundred soldiers guarding him, she would plow right through them. Nothing would stop her.
    Not even Russell.
    A knock sounded at her door, and she leaped to her feet.
    “Jia!” Rajiv called out. “Can we talk a moment?”
    “Just a second!” She grabbed the knives and jammed them into the chest, hurriedly throwing a half-finished embroidery project on top, then closing the lid. She ran to the screen and stretched it out across the room to cover up the silk banner she’d used for target practice.
    She unbolted the door and cracked it. “Yes?”
    Rajiv pushed the door open and entered. “We didn’t get a chance to talk earlier. And I thought you might be hungry.”
    She was starving. For the last few days her rations had been a pouch of dried beef, nuts, and berries. Her mouth watered as she watched a maidservant enter, carrying a tray of rice, soup, and fresh steamed buns. Another servant brought a tray containing a teapot and two small porcelain cups.
    The servants set the trays on a low table, then bowed.
    “Thank you,” Rajiv told the women. “Could you light the candles, please? And bring the gifts that came today.”
    “Yes, Your Eminence,” the women murmured and left.
    “Gifts?” Jia asked.
    “I’ll explain later.” Rajiv looked her over. “Are you all right? Did any harm come to you?”
    “I’m fine.”
    He frowned at her. “Do I have to tell you how much you frightened us? And how angry I am that you disobeyed—” He halted when one of the servants returned with a lantern and long narrow stick.
    Jia was grateful her cousin wasn’t going to reprimand her in front of a servant, but even so, it irked her that she should be in trouble at all. If a male were-tiger had taken off like she had to accomplish a