Page 70 of Twice Bitten

Beckett’s skin peeled and turned black, flaking away from his cheeks and chin. Revulsion filled me. Seizing Beckett’s distraction, I brought the flower toward him, the sharp pin scoring a deep line down his face. He jerked at the last minute, so I just missed his eye, but the damage was done.

The vampire howled and scrambled away, slapping at the black skin on one side and yanking at the pin stuck in his other cheek. His skin sizzled where the pin landed. Blood dribbleddown his face. I rolled to my feet and hauled ass for the front door.

It opened the second my feet hit the porch, slamming with a loud boom the moment I crossed the threshold.

“Alex! Are you alright?” Edmund’s voice cut through my panic.

Blood poured down from both cuts in my arm. I hissed and hurried to the sink, turning the cool water on to wash the crimson rivulets away.

“You’re going to need stitches,” Edmund observed.

“I’m not going to the hospital.” The absolute last thing I needed was to make a report about a vampire attack. As long as I honored the agreement I’d made with Alric to keep my mouth shut about what happened in the alley, he wouldn’t come after me. Hopefully. Besides, this wasn’t the first time Beckett had attacked. What could anybody actually do about it?

Pain pulsed through my arm in time with my heartbeat. “I can do one side, but I can’t stitch the other place one-handed.”

“What about Marinka?”

I sighed. “She never leaves her studio.” But I knew someone I could call, even though I didn’t want to.

I heard something slamming to the floor toward the back of the house. “I’m bringing the first aid kit,” Edmund said.

I pulled my cell out and dialed Tiegan. She answered on the first ring. “Alex? Everything okay?”

A floating first aid kit bobbed and weaved through the air before settling by my elbow. I had no idea how Edmund moved things around, but I wasn’t complaining. At least not right now.

I let out a shaky breath. Something had happened out there. Something concerning. I would need to deal with that eventually, but the blood loss needed attention before I passed out. I could freak out later. “I need assistance. Can you come by my house?”

“Of course. Should I bring anything?”

I appreciated that she didn’t pepper me with a thousand questions. “Extra silk thread if you have it.”

Her silence was telling. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Give me your address.”

I rattled off where I lived.

“Be there in ten.” Tiegan disconnected, and I got to the bloody task of awkwardly stitching myself up.

A knock on the door came shortly after.

“Stay quiet, Edmund. Tiegan has been helpful, but I still don’t know anything about her.”

“Mum’s the word,” Edmund said. He fell silent as I went to answer the door.

Tiegan blanched when she got a good look at me. “Are you alright?”

“I’m getting there.” I led her to the kitchen where I’d left the first aid kit. “Are you any good at stitches?”

She set down the small leather bag she carried and winced when I unwrapped my arm. “Who did this?”

“Vampire,” I said, careful not to jostle my arm around too much.

Her eyes snapped up to mine. She clicked her tongue. “You got lucky.”

“Yeah. You should see the other guy.”

Tiegan snorted and gently took my arm. She studied the stitches I’d already done and frowned. “Sloppy, but they’ll keep the wound closed. You’re going to have a hell of a scar.”

“Yes, but my neck is still intact.” I gave her a lopsided smile, but Tiegan didn’t smile back.