The Vampire's Release, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #4) Read Online Free PDF

else.
    Doubt had no place inside the chaos of Amanda’s head.  She sent me a tiny little smile across the space between us, as if assuring me that any reservations I had would be dealt with in time.
    The shiver that went through my body should have been sufficient warning of things to come.

 
    CHAPTER 5 – Sarah
     
    “Katie, don’t lie to me.”
    She was cornered.  Alex stood beside me in the gloom of the storage room in the basement.  It was the only place that might prevent her escape.  She glared at us both in turn with her chin up indignantly and her dark eyes burning.
    The betrayal and fear churning in me had dulled a little once Alex had arrived.  Maybe it was just the knowledge that he had my back.  But he also knew everything that had happened with Katie and me.  He approached the house with clear purpose, having already caught up with my sister and he had her firmly in his grip.  She had ceased to struggle against him, knowing it was pointless.  Nothing on planet Earth could match the strength in him.  Certainly not a fledgling vampire.
    So he had taken her into the basement and decided to interrogate her there, among the boxes of Christmas decorations, suitcases and tattered rugs that Nelly had declared unsuitable for the house.  The room had one door with ancient rusty hinges that had sat open for decades.  I wasn’t sure if it could even be closed after all that time.
    “How many?” Alex barked at her.
    “How many what?”
    “Ten?  Twenty?  How many have you killed?”
    Holy shit.  I felt a chill descend from my neck to my toes, as if someone had touched me with a want of ice , rendering my fingers and toes numb .  M y brain f ought to drive away the feeling but it was nearly impossible.  When my sister’s gaze slid over both of us dismissively and her face remained impassive and cold, I wanted to scream.
    “What’s going on?”  It was Jackson.  He had come down the stairs and stood in the doorway.  When he saw Alex, concern lit his face.  “What’s happened?”
    Katie laughed dryly . “Wonderful.  Yes, let’s be sure to fill Jackson in on my crimes.”
    “Why don’t you tell all of us, Katie?” Alex countered.
    “Why should I say anything?”
    “Because you’re my sister and I need to know if you’re in trouble,” I said.  There was a distinct tremble to my voice.  There was no getting around the emotion running out of contro l through me and the rest of us in that dusty room.
    “Why do you always think it’s your job to save me, Sarah?”  Her words were thrown at me like stones and her aim was perfect. “You were supposed to be my sister, not my guardian.”
    Why shouldn’t I?  Who else should I worry about?  Nelly was a rock—the cornerstone of our world.  And I had pushed everyone else away after Dad died.  If my concerns weren’t focused on my sister, it would force me to throw all that emotional bullshit right at the mirror.  The realization of it smacked me like a wet rag.
    “Maybe I shouldn’t always have to save you.  But this…” I wasn’t sure how to put the gravity of the whole thing into coherent words.  “People are dead.”
    “Yes.”  She stared at me directly, without any hint of regret.  “People are dead.  Yes, I killed some humans.  Yes, it’s horrible.”
    I covered my mouth with both hands and bent at the waist, desperate to contain the shock of her statement.  It was true then.  My little sister was a killer.   She had taken lives.  I shook my head and backed away, running into the cement wall behind me.  I felt the surface of it, rough and damp against my fingertips.  I didn’t want to look at her anymore.
    “You okay, Sarah?” Alex asked.
    “No.”
    “I’ll take her upstairs,” Jackson offered, lightly grasping one of my arms and wrapping me up against his side .   His strength lent me the ability to continue to stand.  My entire body felt strangely weak.
    “Wait.  She needs to hear this.”
    We