Undying Thirst (Crimson Coven #2)

2. Catalina

TWO

catalina

Incessant, rhythmic beeping infiltrated my ears and burrowed into my mind.

I clawed back to consciousness and sucked in labored breaths. Something tugged at my philtrum. I scrunched my nose, triggering a coughing fit, and my eyes watered. I couldn’t breathe, but this time it wasn’t because of my lungs—a mask covered my nose and mouth. I smacked at the plastic and yanked it off. The band popped off from behind my ear.

A stabbing pain struck through my side and raced down my leg to my knee. I whimpered, struggling to catch my breath. Everything burned. But on the bright side, I wasn’t dead if it hurt this bad.

The flip book of the last few moments before I blacked out poured into my thoughts. The vampire coming at me, the car hitting me—it whirled in my brain and a sour taste coated my tongue. I attempted to scoot higher on the uncomfortable mattress, but sharp pin pricks of agony coursed down my spine.

I swallowed hard. That evil bastard that held me captive, feeding on me until I couldn’t even move . . . I shivered, nausea rising.

Had it been him? Had he found me?

Death should have swallowed me whole.

I slumped, panting and weak. An empty bed sat a few feet from mine, the white bed sheets neatly wrapped around the thin mattress. Linoleum floors, pale walls, and the television mounted on the wall across from me all pointed to a basic hospital room. The scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils.

My legs rested at an incline; the left one wrapped up in a cast all the way to my knee. The small of my back pinched uncomfortably. I needed to stretch out, but every twitch sent pain to my ankle and my right wrist, which was also in a cast and lay in a sling close to my chest. Using my good hand, I braced myself and attempted to scoot higher on the bed. I didn’t budge.

Wait, there had to be a button to adjust the bed. Just needed to find where it?—

The door creaked. The nurse was just in time . . .

“Cat.” Ren’s voice sent chills up my spine. Then he was in my face, grinning down at me as he bared his teeth.

I screamed and jerked back. Ignoring the agony spiking to my injuries, I dragged myself back, cringing away from him. His palm settled over my mouth, cutting me off. Ren lowered his head—long, smokey eyelashes rimming chocolate-colored eyes. His eyes held no emotion of any kind, akin to a serial killer. A ball of fear jammed my esophagus, making it difficult to breathe.

“You say or try anything, I will kill her in front of you. And it will not be a peaceful death.”

I whimpered, nodding frantically with his hand over my mouth. The door creaked and he let me go in a smooth motion, crossing his bulging arms.

“Hi hun, glad to see you’re awake.” She strode over to the side of the bed and checked the monitors.

“How long have I been out?” I croaked with my abused voice. Probably from the screaming.

“You slept for roughly eighteen hours.” She clicked her tongue as she studied the screen. “Your husband showed up a few hours ago. Just in the nick of time before visiting hours ended. He hasn’t left your side since.” Husband. Ha. Ha.

“Oh,” I mumbled, eyeing Ren. He looked much too calm for my peace of mind—like a snake before it struck. “How long will I be here for?”

“You best prepare to hang out with us for a while,” she said, sympathy coating her voice. “The cops wanted to talk with you about whether you saw the person involved in the hit and run.” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “If a passerby hadn’t called for help, you could have bled out in the middle of the intersection.”

I heard the words and I understood them, but I still felt like I was floating outside of my body. The bright lights . . . the impact . . . excruciating pain, then nothing.

“I’ll let them know you’re awake when they?—”

Ren straightened, arms dropping to his side.

“No.”

I stiffened, my stomach dropping.

The nurse frowned and looked up from her computer to Ren standing before her. He’d moved impossibly fast. She visibly startled, but quickly collected herself.

“She will be discharged tonight,” Ren announced.

“It’s the middle of the night—” His finger went up and I shut up.

Lovely. Bitterness spread through my chest, mingling with defeat.

“Do whatever you have to, but destroy the record of Catalina Herrera,” he continued, his tone remaining simultaneously soft and demanding. I gritted my teeth; there was nothing I could do. Helplessness gnawed on my insides. “Now.”

The nurse stiffly strode toward the door like a puppet. I dropped my head forward. I could feel his gaze on me.

“Up, human, we have to get back before sunrise.”

Why was he so cheerful? I gritted my teeth, wanting nothing more than to cuss at him, but I had a feeling he’d just get off on it. Gingerly scooching to the edge of the bed, I slipped my good hand under my thigh and braced to lift it off the mattress. My leg hung off the edge, the weight of the cast shooting agony into my bones. I hissed out a breath to hide the whimper.

The room spun so I focused on my surroundings to ground myself. I sat on an abrasive bed sheet, the nightstand held a large plastic container with water, and . . . my phone rested on the side stand, the screen shattered.

“If you don’t keep up, I’ll get bored, and when I get bored, I start killing,” Ren announced matter-of-factly with a slight shrug.

After sliding the broken phone into my pajama pocket, I plucked the single crutch leaning against the wall and dragged myself after Ren. Nausea twisted my stomach. Everything hurt so badly, and the pain increased with each beat of my heart. Whatever drugs I’d been given were likely leaving my system and now I felt like nails were being hammered into every inch of my body. The crutch creaked with my quick step and hop. The smooth material of my pjs rubbed between my thighs.

Ren’s stride was much too long. Was he doing it on purpose? A woman rounded the corner, attention fastening on him. His rumbling voice echoed to me, but it was too low for me to make out the words. The woman straightened and continued walking past me, a stiff expression fixed on her features. Her appearance offered me a reprieve in the sense that I’d managed to catch up, or to at least not be fifteen feet behind him.

“Please, just let me leave. I won’t tell anyone about your existence.” I huffed between words, gritting my teeth at the creak of my limb’s protesting movement. He suddenly stopped and my forehead smacked right into the middle of his back. I hissed out a breath, wincing from the impact.

His neck bent and the full weight of his dark, almost black eyes seemed to spear into my chest. With my next breath, he was in my face.

I gasped, jerking back.

His finger hooked into the collar of my shirt, stopping my tip backwards.

“The stupidity of humanity will never cease to amaze me.” I audibly swallowed. The corner of his lips slowly lifted like the Cheshire cat. “I would have already killed you if you had not . . . intrigued me. So instead of whining, you should be thanking me.”

He let my clothes go, and fortunately, I’d already caught my balance. I reigned in my flight instinct, since it was bound to trigger my asthma. I inhaled sharply, taking as much oxygen into my chest as possible. Even if I did run, I wouldn’t get far. The dull clicking of my crutch hitting the tile mingled with my puffing breaths.

Ren moved with such ease; it looked like he was almost floating. The top of his head almost reached the high ceilings. I had been so foolish; what had I been thinking trusting fucking vampires? I ground my teeth, sucking in the wracking sob urging to break free. Affection wasn’t something I even thought I wanted. I just wanted to survive, but the possibility of experiencing the sweet gestures—of relaxing in someone’s presence—had been too tempting, and I’d lowered my guard.

But not having to worry about anything wasn’t a privilege I could afford.

“Are you going to kill me? Will you?” I sucked in a lungful of oxygen, and it sent jagged agony into my ribs.

“Not yet.”

His stride didn’t shift. He hooked his arms behind his head and stretched. Such a laid-back air to him while he’d talked about my death.

If this was the end of me, everything was settled for Peter in my will. I’d prepared for my death since I’d escaped the vampire that almost murdered me. My lawyer had a string of instructions to keep him in boarding school abroad and then provide him all the information to my accounts.

The only other person who would reach out to me was my agent because she expected my draft submission.

Other than that, no one would question my disappearance or death. Peter was all I had.

Another thrum of hurt travelled through my chest. I really meant nothing to Asher and Jax. I’d thought it was different between us. Jax had softened toward me—I could have sworn it, but he proved me wrong.

A silent sob wracked my shoulders, and I pressed my lips together to stifle it, keeping my head down as I struggled to keep up with Ren’s wide stride. He stayed a few feet in front of me, compelling any human we crossed.

The low hum of music swelled.

Each step I took not only throbbed through my entire body, but it also enhanced the agony pulsing through my heart.

I’d been such an idiot.

Caring about vampires turned out to be my downfall, and I hated myself for being so weak.

I was nowhere near special to Jax. My eyes dropped to my clenched hand. The vampires next door shouldn’t have this hold on me.

They’d shown their true colors.

Calliope had done me a favor by forcing me to steal the urn. Even though I wasn’t going to go through with it—God, I hadn’t even known what it was, I’d just been lashed with accusations and hateful looks. They didn’t bother hearing me out.

I clenched and unclenched my teeth. The shard of pain that traveled up my arm reached my elbow and I winced. This was a lesson I never should have had to learn, because I never should have allowed myself to weaken to the vampires.

A sad, heart-breaking lesson. They would never have valued a weak, pathetic, useless human. I exhaled slowly.

Jax was right. Who was I kidding?

Finally, the glass panes framing the front door came into view. A few more steps and I’d be exiting my last semblance of safety, but even that was an illusion. Humans could do nothing to them and just as Ren had threatened me with the nurse, he’d kill any other person that tried to get involved. I couldn’t have that on my conscience, so I would meekly follow.

A cool breeze billowed in and flittered my hair around my face.

Ren gripped the back of my neck and guided me toward the vehicle parked along the curb. I hobbled toward it as fast as humanly possible, unwilling to trigger Ren into lashing out.

“In,” Ren ordered, taking the crutch from my hand.

Grunting, I opened the back door and dropped on the edge of the cushion then awkwardly dragged my leg cast in after me. Ren handed me my crutch and slammed the door shut, cutting off the chirping crickets.