I spun around, stumbling a little as I ran. Not for the hallway and exit beyond it, but for the pool table. Gotta help Mac, was my only thought.
The pool cues.
In my mind, I was getting one of the pool cues to crack some skulls. In reality, I never even came close. Strong, heavily muscled arms shot around me from behind, yanking me backwards into a rock-hard chest. Dimly, I was startled by how hot his skin was against mine - dry, but incredibly hot. I screamed, trying to rear up with my legs. My right sneaker scraped the edge of the pool table, then slipped away.
Liam huffed a laugh, squeezing me even tighter against his body.
"Sorry, love," he chuckled, turning me back to the others.
Mac was on his knees now, his face a twisted grimace of pain. Rowan and Torin each had him by an arm, keeping him in place. But although Mac's face was red with the force of his struggle, Rowan and Torin didn't seem to be expelling much effort to keep him in check. How are they doing that??
"What the f**k is going on?!?" I screamed. I was still struggling in Liam's iron grip. Wasn't doing a damn bit of good, but I kept trying. "Who are you people? What do you want from us?"
Declan tsked.
"Ah, Mac. How disappointing. You never told her, did you?" he said, with feigned surprise. "Even this close to her twenty-first? That hardly seems fair, now."
Mac's face flushed nearly purple as he glared molten lava at Declan. But he didn't answer.
"Mac, what's he talking about?" I asked tearfully.
Liam still had me by the arms, but my hands were free to an extent. And the butterfly knife was in my right front pocket - I'd managed to slip it in there just before Mac's last shove.Maybe... I let my tears come harder, even as I slowly moved my fingers towards the slight bulge in my pocket.
"Tell me what, I don't understand."
"He's been hiding you,ceann beag," Declan said patiently. "And himself, like the pathetic half-breed he is. But time's up. We're taking you back to where you belong, Abigail."
"Don't you f*****g touch me," I snarled.
" Oh, touching you, I can do, " Declan said, sauntering to me.
He reached out a hand, running it through my thick brown curls. They'd mostly come loose from my hair clip by now, and fell haphazardly down my shoulders.
I tried jerking back, but there wasn't much I could do. And I was desperate for him not to notice that I had almost reached the folded knife in my pocket.
I did turn my head away, though, as his fingers
(why are they so HOT)
traced along my collarbone and down over my thin top, between the area of my breasts. He leaned closer, putting his mouth close to the shell of my ear. Hot breath against my skin made me shudder as I squeezed my eyes shut.
"As for the other," he murmured, "that pleasure is not to be mine. Just yet."
Mac let out a roar. He shouted something in a language I'd never even heard before-
(Mac speaks another language?)
-but whatever he said had some kind of effect. Even Declan and Liam looked his way, and I instantly took my chance.
In one quick motion, I yanked the butterfly knife out of my pocket, gave it a few practiced flips, and buried the now-unfolded blade up to the hilt in Liam's right thigh.
He let out a scream that didn't even sound human-literally. It was like the roar of a very large animal. As he let go of me, I yanked the knife back out-another roar from Liam-ducked under his arm, and bolted. Much as it pained me, I understood the reality of our situation. I needed to get help.
Declan slammed into me like a freight train. The knife went skittering across the floor. All the air whooshed out of my lungs. I would've smashed my face into the hardwood below, except Declan hauled me up by the back of my shirt and threw me.
I hit the wall full-force. Framed photos fell and shattered around me as I slid to the floor in a daze. He picked me up, one hand fisted in my shirt. I was vaguely aware of the fabric ripping as he pulled me further up the wall, until we were literally eye level and my feet were dangling off the ground.
Declan's eyes were glowing.Actually glowing. Twin silver lights, burning with rage. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, and even in my stupor, I could see how elongated his canines had become.
Oh my God.
"What are you," I whispered thickly.
He smirked. Those glowing eyes flared even brighter.
"Ah, lass - the real question is who you are," he whispered. His mouth was so close to mine that he could've kissed me. "But first, a lesson."
Declan lowered me enough for my feet to hit the floor again. He jerked me forward and then back into his chest, one arm keeping mine pinned at my sides, his free hand holding me by the throat.
Liam was stumbling back up to his feet, and boy, did he look pissed. One hand clamped to his wounded leg, he snarled at me, his eyes the same glowing silver as Declan's, his canines just as long.
To my horror, I saw the same in both Rowan and Torin, who each still had Mac trapped on his knees. The only difference being that Rowan now held my knife to Mac's throat. How he'd gotten it so fast, I had no idea, but the implication was clear.
Oh, Christ, please no.
"Fuckin silver!" Liam snarled, taking an unsteady step toward us. "You fuckin cunt- "
"Oy,quit ya bitchin," Torin said, grinning at me. "Lass has got some bollocks. I'm impressed."
Liam fired something back in that other language that made both Rowan and Torin roar laughter. I barely noticed-all I saw now was Mac. And the knife, the tip of which was now inches from his heart.
"Mac," I whispered, blinking back tears. "No."
He smiled.
"I love you, kid."
Rowan lowered the knife, and for one delirious moment I sagged in relief. It was apparently me they wanted, after all. Surely, they'd let Mac go.
Then Rowan's hand made a quick, deft movement, and just like that-the knife was buried in Mac's chest, just to the right of his heart.
"MAC!" I screamed. ""Oh God, Mac!"
Liam and Torin released him and stepped back. Mac slumped to the right and then down, landing on his side. I screamed and screamed, pulling as hard as I could in his direction.
Declan let go. Not prepared for that, I crashed hard on my knees. I skinned my palms scrabbling across the battered wood floor. Mac's eyes were glassy but aware. I didn't have the strength to pull him up, but I held him as tightly as I could, stroking his hair and face.
" Mac, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I sobbed. " Please stay with me."
"Oh, he's no dying yet,' Rowan said casually, dropping into a crouch beside me.
"See, ole Mac here tisn't exactly one of us, but he's not full human, neither. Besides, be no sense in ending him just yet. Not with the leverage he's worth."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I sobbed, pressing my cheek to Mac's hair. "I'll do anything you want, just don't take him from me."
"That's more like it," Torin said cheerfully.
He and Rowan got me back up to my feet, their hold on my arms gentle but firm. I cried harder, trying (and failing) to pull free.
I was pushed/pulled back to where Declan stood waiting. He had something in his right hand, but he held it down and slightly behind him, where I couldn't see.
Declan reached out, wrapping his free hand around the back of my neck. In this way, he reeled me in, until my body was pressed to his. I tipped my head back, tears streaming freely down my face.
"What do you want from me?" I begged.
Declan smiled. He wiped my tears with his left thumb, then gently kissed my forehead. At the same time, he brought up the hypodermic he'd been hiding in his right hand. A quick flash of pain in the side of my neck, and it was done.
A strange heat spread quickly through my body. My already wobbly legs weakened more. Declan caught me as my knees gave way, lifting me effortlessly into his arms.
"It's not me you've to worry about, lass," he said quietly, his lips to my ear. "Though you may soon wish it were."
Suddenly, it seemed like too much work to keep my eyes open. My head fell against his shoulder as I let out a shuddering breath. I was dimly aware of tears still slipping down my cheeks.
And then I knew nothing, at all.