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the blood thirsty bastards. He’d tried to keep her away. But he hadn’t tried hard enough.
    He heard the torrent of her profanity, the laughter of the vampires
    who’d attacked. Blood scented the air as he neared. He reached the door, threw it open just as the taxi’s wheels spun, rubber burning in the night as he ran outside.
    The driver stuck his arm out the window, giving Navarre the finger
    like in some bizarre satire of a horror movie. But this was his life--and he was one of the monsters.
    He saw red--a haze of blood. He raced back inside to his viper,
    jumping inside and slamming the key into the ignition. His worst fears had just been realized. The vamps ... they’d taken her ... because of him.
    They were dead anyway, but if they hurt her ... he’d torture them for
    each drop of blood she shed ... for each bruise on her flesh....
    The viper barely scraped under the opening garage door, and it shot
    out into the night like a silver bullet.
    The streets were deserted on this end, empty as a ghost town. Within
    seconds, he caught sight of the red glowing tail lights, disappearing around the corner onto a side street.
    CARNAL KNOWLEDGE
    Celeste Anwar
    41
    They were headed out of town. Navarre increased his speed, pressing
    the narrow pedal to the floor. The sleek viper easily caught up to the old taxi. He pulled alongside it, glancing in the dark windows, trying to see her.
    Streetlight glanced off the glass, revealing nothing inside, but the car
    shook on the road as if she struggled with her captors. His ears perked to the faint sound of her voice, but he couldn’t make out her words, couldn’t reach with his senses. His inner beast raged, pumping the tempo of his
    blood to a furious pitch.
    His hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles gone white as he
    raced ahead of the taxi, pulling in front of them, forcing them to slow down.
    The taxi whipped around him in a sudden, maniacal swerve that caught him
    by surprise, and he heard the howling, mocking laughter of the driver
    through the window as he dragged ahead.
    Navarre tensed, unwilling to ram them here, with the road narrowing
    to a single lane. The dwindling street lamps disappeared entirely, going
    dark as they continued on their suicidal course. Trees rose up from the
    night like dark sentinels, obliterating the sky, closing around them like the ranks of an ancient army. He could not see the moon, but knew its full
    shape would soon be rising--and that light would only help him.
    The taxi fishtailed in front of him, taunting, forcing him back when he
    tried to pass. He gritted his teeth, having no choice but to follow, watching as the speedometer climbed past 60, higher, inching past 70. Killing speeds.
    Gravel spewed beneath the wheels in front of him, striking the windshield
    with a barrage, cracking the glass.
    The headlights bobbed as the taxi jumped a dip in the road. Navarre
    followed, saw the deer dart out in front of the cab a split second before
    CARNAL KNOWLEDGE
    Celeste Anwar
    42
    them. He slammed on the brakes, watching in horror as they struck the
    startled doe.
    Blood flashed in the headlights, spilling over the car like rain,
    throwing the animal away into the dark. The cab whirled on the gravel,
    flying at the shallow ditch. Mud sloshed as the wheels slammed through the soggy earth. The car flipped as the ground gave beneath it, rolling with a shatter of screaming metal and glass.
    The hood peeled back, crushed into the ground as it continued to roll
    and crash into an ancient oak before stopping, up-ended on the ground like an overturned beetle.
    Navarre hydroplaned, his brakes locking as the car spun in a wide
    circle as though the road were saturated with water. He gritted his teeth, compensating for the spin. The viper skidded to a halt, the high beams
    flooding the crash site. Navarre leapt from the car just as the dark haired driver emerged from the broken car--unhurt.
    Navarre stopped in the middle of the road, his chest