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chest.
    No, she told herself. No, no, no, no, no .
    Vampires didn’t exist.
    But cold-blooded, psychotic killers did and that’s who she’d stumbled upon. Maybe the guy had been drinking the woman’s blood. But he was probably just some sick crazy. Or a cult member. Or a poor schmuck obsessed with the undead. That didn’t make him an eight-month-old vampire.
    It was the shock. She’d freaked at the sight of all that blood and so she’d imagined things. Like the growling and the fangs and the bloodred eyes.
    No way had she really seen a vampire , much less two.
    Cody’s image rushed at her, his eyes a hot, bright red, his fangs bared. She shook her head. No .
    It had been a trick of the light. A hallucination brought on by the trauma of facing death. Her own and the poor girl whose blood had spilled out onto the concrete.
    Christ, she had to do something. Call someone.
    Her brain raced as she revved the engine. She had her cell phone in her purse which she’d left in the glove compartment. Once she was a safe distance away, she could pull over and call 911. She shoved the car into reverse. Slamming her foot down, she stomped on the gas. The car jumped and swerved backward, tires screaming as loud as the denial in her head.
    This couldn’t be happening.
    Her hands tingled and she glanced down at the sticky red that caked her own fingers. She could feel the trickle of blood from her neck where the man had nearly ripped her throat open before Cody had stopped him.
    Cody had saved her.
    Or so she’d thought. But then she’d seen the truth. The rage in his eyes. The vicious curl to his lips. The fangs.
    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…
    Fear clawed at her, threatening to choke her. She swallowed. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel and she pressed on the gas, maneuvering down the row and barely avoiding the tail end of a Lexus that hadn’t pulled fully into its spot.
    She hung a left at the far end of the row and found herself driving down another row. Her gaze bounced around, looking for a way out—
    “ Easy .”
    The deep, masculine voice whispered through her head and her gaze snapped to the rearview mirror. She saw Cody standing in the middle of the lane several feet behind the car. His eyes gleamed a bright, brilliant blue.
    Which made absolutely no sense because he had silver eyes. Silver .
    A vampire .
    The notion struck just as a loud whoosh echoed in her head. Her head snapped back around and just like that, he was standing on the pavement in front of her.
    She slammed on the brakes. The car swerved around him. The right fender snagged an electric pole. The car lurched. The back-end slid around. Her forehead hit the steering wheel and pain exploded in her skull. A split second later, the airbag smacked her in the face, but not before she heard the driver’s door open and saw the large, strong hands that reached for her.
    Her head lolled to the side and she forced her eyes open despite the blinding pain. She caught a glimpse of dark hair and gleaming silver eyes.
    Silver, she reminded herself. Not the blue she’d seen a few seconds ago. Silver .
    And then the pressure in her skull overwhelmed her and she slipped into oblivion.

Chapter Six
    C ODY PULLED MIRANDA out from under the air bag, opened the rear door and settled her on the soft leather. Other than the oozing prick-points at her neck, a cut on her forehead and some swelling, she seemed unharmed.
    He turned to deal with the two security guards who’d heard the crash and barreled through the back door of the club.
    “What the hell’s going on?” The first guy’s name was Joe and he was an Austin firefighter. He had a wife, two ex-wives and six kids, and so he moonlighted on the weekends as a bouncer. He had his cell in hand and was about to call in the accident when Cody turned his full attention on the man.
    “Nothing,” he said. The man looked ready to call the police anyway, but then his eyes glazed over and he nodded.
    Cody went