Page 61 (1/2)

The child’s eyes shifted to er, then the bloody vampire

I could have moved I could have run forward, pierced his black heart But in front of a child? Should I be the one to give her nightmares?

Unfortunately, that brief hesitation was just what he needed

He juaze on the child Her rab her daughter, but the vampire moved quicker He snatched up the child, yanked her to his chest with an arm around her waist, held his knife to her throat Her mother screamed, but before she could move, the train doors closed and the car lurched forward

"Put her down," I de in the va on the platfor at both of us in confusion and horror

"Maketo walk out of here with her, and no one is going to stop me"

The train rumbled as it rushed toward the next station I could feel the hu closer behind ue

"So you’re a coward All that trouble to get oing to walk aith a hu to react to that? You think he’ll be ih to look alarmed He’d knoell as I did, if not more, how violent Reed was, how manipulative, and how protective of his public reputation Cyrius Lore was proof enough of that

The girl was squir down her face My chest ached to reach out, touch and coue, and I had to keep

Even if that meant I lost my chance at him

"Actually," I said, "this probably helps us I’m sure someone has called the cops, and I’d bet so or photographing this little interaction" Precisely because they were recording it, I didn’t dare say Reed’s name aloud No one would believe he was involved without hard evidence, which I didn’t have And I wasn’t going to setstory short," I continued, "your boss will see that you’ve failed, and we’ll have that ainst hi time All that, of course, will happen after he takes care of you"

The va down his nose Rational thought could do that to a psychopath

The train began to slow again, and he jerked his gaze to the doors, looking for a way out

"Hand her to me, and you walk away," I said

"I’m not an idiot," he said "I hand her to you, and you kill me"

"Not in front of witnesses"

We pulled into the station, jerked to a stop The door opened, and he hesitated, and then tossed the child atdoll