13. Knock, Knock, Who is there. Part 1

I silently stared out the window as we drove back to the lab. Adonis doesn’t speak all the way, which makes me wonder what he is thinking.

He strokes a hand down my thigh. He doesn’t seem to notice my stare.

I squirmed on his lap. His green, emerald eyes shifted to me.

“Thank you.”

His expression is neutral. “It’s nothing.”

At least he wasn’t rude with his response.

He gave me a long look. “Are you alright w—”

The cars halted so abruptly that even the wheels screeched against the concrete, making us fall forward.

Adonis' arms remained around me protectively as I let out a yelp.

Eyes wide, I stared out the window when sudden shots erupted around us.

I screamed, covering my ears as Adonis shouted over his shoulder.

Shots and screams were heard back. I kept my eyes closed and ears covered as fear crept into my body. My heart pounds loudly, numbing everything around me.

A shake of my body makes me open my eyes. Adonis' strained face looked at me. His hands held my face, so I could see him.

“Stay here, I will go and see what’s happening.”

Was he damn serious? He was leaving me alone.

I clutched his shirt. “No, don’t, please,” I begged, but he clasped his hands over mine. They were strong and firm, full of confidence.

“I swear I won’t let anything happen to you, trust me.”

I opened my mouth but closed it without answering.

Even as I tell myself to trust him, my fear rises with each passing second. I don’t want to be alone. I had no idea what was attacking us, or who.

Adonis kisses my forehead before he disappears. I was so distracted; I didn’t notice the rest of the vampires in the car had also left.

God, things keep happening too fast.

Shots, screams, and awful growls are heard all around me.

I remained in the corner of the opposite door, hiding away from the windows. A few shots resonated close by, making me scream, scared.

Today wasn’t the best day of all.

I leaned towards the door, curious to peer, when a bang was heard on one of the front doors. I instinctively looked over just to see an unfamiliar face, a human, trying to look inside.

Maybe not. I must have missed the face of that vampire, but as I sit back down, another person approaches the car and tries to open it.

I peeked from behind the seat, my hands trembling when a shot rang and the man slammed against the window, now splattered with blood.

I watched in horror as his eyes rolled back and he slid down against the door.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I stood and leaned over the seat to look outside the window.

The deceased body of the man laid awkwardly on the ground. That’s when I look around me, and spot other cars with people shooting back.

I shifted in the driver's chair, pressing my face against the window, reached down, hearing a sudden clicking sound falling in place and the door opening making me fall forward.

I groaned, then stroked my arm, which was now covered in blood. Noticing where I had landed, I crawled back, my head slamming against the car seat.

Panting, I tried to get back in when someone grabbed my arm, turning me around, then slamming me hard against the seat.

My back ached but that was the least of my worries because this man had placed a gun right between my brows.

“Monster,” a voice called as I looked at him, eyes wide. He paused, noticing my fear.

A few shots were fired from close by when he focused back on me. “You’re not one of them,” he frowned.

I tense.

He leans closer. His brown eyes searched my face before he dragged me so hard away from the car, I stumbled and scraped my knee.

I’m only vaguely aware of him pulling me away from Adonis and his people, I can’t help feeling a sense of dread.

“No.” I choked, pulling from him.

He halts, hesitating for so long, I think he might knock me off, just to drag me away. But instead, he says the last thing I expected to hear.

“Are you stupid?”

I pull from him, frustration getting the better part of me. “The stupid one is you!”

“I’ll deal with you once we get you out of here. It’s not the place or the time,” He turns, walking again.

“Drusilla!”

My head jerks as Adonis' voice echoes around the shooting and screaming.

I placed my hand over the stranger and scratched him so he could let go. He mutters a curse but keeps his hands around me, pulling me farther away from Adonis.

Looking back at Adonis, I see how they have surrounded him. Foolish or not, I trust he will come for me. That’s when I remember, I don’t have to be afraid. I am trained in defense, so why not use it now?

“Hey, you,” I called, making him look over his shoulder. My fist finds his nose, then my legs his stomach.

We both stumbled to the side as his grip loosened on me at the last minute.

“You crazy bitch, I’m trying to save you!” He retorted. I blinked, standing up slowly. “Can’t you see? We are the good ones, humans.”

I worry my bottom lip. “Humans.” The word alien but full of hope. The same hope and wish I’ve been trying to receive for the last few weeks.

For a moment, I hesitated.

This could be my chance to escape from their clutches.

I looked behind me, Adonis was surrounded by at least twenty men, all carrying guns.

They were weapons I'd never seen. With one glance around me, I noticed four of Adonis' men were down, meaning whatever weapon they were using could kill them.

“Don’t you see those monsters would do anything to exterminate us?” he says. “I am doing you a favor. I don’t get why you are hesitating. You surely seem weak and for some reason that bloodline seems eager to get to you.”

I don’t answer.

“Come, we have a place where we can keep you safe.”

His offer sounds tempting, but…

I look back at Adonis, he was biting the neck of one of them. Blood drenches his suit as other attacks him, but he uses the now deceased body of the human to block the shots.

This was my chance; I could get away. So why did I feel troubled?

I took one step back, then another until I turned and started following the stranger. He nodded and we made a run for it. That was until a familiar hiss and an aching pain made me sway to the side.

I halt, feeling pain all over my right arm. Behind me, Adonis blurs. One moment he is fighting, the next Adonis is right in front of me. Eyes pitch black.

I reached up with a cautious hand and stroked my thumb along his jaw. I registered for it before, but there’s an awful crease on his pale face.

“You’re wounded,” I choked, realizing the pain I felt was his.

“I know.” He grins. Then he is looking over me, straight at the stranger behind me. “If you don’t want to die, take your people and leave.”

Behind me, the stranger lingers with hesitation. His eyes went back and forth between Adonis and me.

Whatever he was brooding about would be the wrong hypothesis.

“Cease fire!” he yells as the remaining humans cease their shooting and retrack back to their cars.

The stranger looked at me once and I swore his eyes silently told me he would come back for me.

I had no idea who he was. Yet I find him intriguing.

As cars come to life, they all speed up. Adonis shouts something in French before he turns back to me.

Right. I’d almost forgotten about his wound.

He sifts his fingers through my hair. “You never listen, do you?”

“Stop worrying about me, you are bleeding,” I searched his body until I spotted the hole in his right arm. I touch it slowly.

Adonis reaches for my hand, curling his fingers around my hand and pressing it to his lips.

“I’m fine. It’s already healing.”

Lies. I can see he isn’t fine.

I blink up at him, a part of me wondering why he is lying. Before he could say more, I snaked my arm around his waist and turned him around.

“Get the cars ready, we are heading back to the lab,” I ordered.