why. In the end, his loyalty lay with the ones like him. He had a slightly better opinion of humans than Patrick did, but when it came time to make a choice, there were no questions as to where his loyalties were.
Death took a step closer.
Belle was still frantically trying to work a miracle, but the flow of blood was constant. It was also slowing down. Not because what she was doing was helping, but because the girl was running out of blood.
Marcus shook his head. “Let her go, Belle. There’s nothing else you can do.”
“No.” The certainty in her voice was in part conviction and in part challenge. She was telling him to stay out of it, to let her make her own decisions. But Marcus knew it was all just a waste of time and he just wanted to get her away from there.
He wasn’t used to women—or to anybody, for that matter—telling him “no.” And right now, with all the chaos of the attack, it was the last thing he wanted to deal with. He had to get back to Miles and figure out exactly what had happened. He also needed to get her into a secure area so he could go out to attend to his business without having to worry about her.
He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. “Belle, let her go.”
“No!”
She tried to jerk her arm free, but Marcus anticipated her move and held on to her tight, dragging her towards him and away from the table.
“She’ll be dead in a minute,” he told her and that seemed to work, because Belle stopped resisting and eased back against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her and felt the soft tremor running through her body. He half-expected Belle to start crying, but the slight shivering was the only indication of how she was feeling.
He remained still, holding on to her and feeling the warmth of her body slipping into his. She fit perfectly against his body, every curve sliding into the right place and producing the right amount of electricity. Her body was struggling to remain still and it was obvious she was making a tremendous effort not to show any emotions.
Without letting go, he leaned his head forward, moving his lips towards her ear. Even now, her smell was intoxicating, the softness of her essence sending an electric pulse down his body.
“It’s OK, Belle. You don’t have to be brave.”
Her body tensed for a second, then relaxed back into his arms.
“I want to get out of here.”
He let her go so she could turn around to face him. “I’ll get somebody to take care of this.”
She swallowed hard and took a step backwards. “How?”
“We have to burn the bodies,” he explained. “Burying them would attract the rabids. They can track smells underground.”
Her whole face contracted in a gesture of revulsion, but she said nothing. Instead, she looked at the girl one more time, frozen forever in a gesture of pain and desperation. She extended a hand forward, as if she was planning on checking for a pulse one more time, but the movement stopped before she reached the bloody skin. “I want to get out of here, Marcus.”
He didn’t have to be told again. “Let’s go.”
Before she had time to think, he grabbed her hand and walked towards the tunnels. She flinched for a second but made no effort to get free. Instead, she moved closer to his body as they approached the darkness of the underground.
And Marcus found himself thinking that he actually relished the protector role much more than he had expected.
Chapter 11
The idea first crossed his mind the second he had seen her working on the girl on the gurney. Now that she was back in her room and he had a chance to think things through, the idea was back and stronger than ever.
Not that he needed to explain his decisions to anybody, but Miles wouldn’t be happy to hear what he was thinking.
Because he was seriously considering bringing Belle into the lab.
He had a lot of great scientific
Death took a step closer.
Belle was still frantically trying to work a miracle, but the flow of blood was constant. It was also slowing down. Not because what she was doing was helping, but because the girl was running out of blood.
Marcus shook his head. “Let her go, Belle. There’s nothing else you can do.”
“No.” The certainty in her voice was in part conviction and in part challenge. She was telling him to stay out of it, to let her make her own decisions. But Marcus knew it was all just a waste of time and he just wanted to get her away from there.
He wasn’t used to women—or to anybody, for that matter—telling him “no.” And right now, with all the chaos of the attack, it was the last thing he wanted to deal with. He had to get back to Miles and figure out exactly what had happened. He also needed to get her into a secure area so he could go out to attend to his business without having to worry about her.
He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. “Belle, let her go.”
“No!”
She tried to jerk her arm free, but Marcus anticipated her move and held on to her tight, dragging her towards him and away from the table.
“She’ll be dead in a minute,” he told her and that seemed to work, because Belle stopped resisting and eased back against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her and felt the soft tremor running through her body. He half-expected Belle to start crying, but the slight shivering was the only indication of how she was feeling.
He remained still, holding on to her and feeling the warmth of her body slipping into his. She fit perfectly against his body, every curve sliding into the right place and producing the right amount of electricity. Her body was struggling to remain still and it was obvious she was making a tremendous effort not to show any emotions.
Without letting go, he leaned his head forward, moving his lips towards her ear. Even now, her smell was intoxicating, the softness of her essence sending an electric pulse down his body.
“It’s OK, Belle. You don’t have to be brave.”
Her body tensed for a second, then relaxed back into his arms.
“I want to get out of here.”
He let her go so she could turn around to face him. “I’ll get somebody to take care of this.”
She swallowed hard and took a step backwards. “How?”
“We have to burn the bodies,” he explained. “Burying them would attract the rabids. They can track smells underground.”
Her whole face contracted in a gesture of revulsion, but she said nothing. Instead, she looked at the girl one more time, frozen forever in a gesture of pain and desperation. She extended a hand forward, as if she was planning on checking for a pulse one more time, but the movement stopped before she reached the bloody skin. “I want to get out of here, Marcus.”
He didn’t have to be told again. “Let’s go.”
Before she had time to think, he grabbed her hand and walked towards the tunnels. She flinched for a second but made no effort to get free. Instead, she moved closer to his body as they approached the darkness of the underground.
And Marcus found himself thinking that he actually relished the protector role much more than he had expected.
Chapter 11
The idea first crossed his mind the second he had seen her working on the girl on the gurney. Now that she was back in her room and he had a chance to think things through, the idea was back and stronger than ever.
Not that he needed to explain his decisions to anybody, but Miles wouldn’t be happy to hear what he was thinking.
Because he was seriously considering bringing Belle into the lab.
He had a lot of great scientific
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