The Vampire Diaries: Bound By Blood (Kindle Worlds Novella) by J.R. Rain Page A

said.
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    “They have to be stopped,” I said.
    “I agree,” she said, setting her jaw. “I don’t much like vampires.”
    We had both forgotten our iced coffees by now. The sun had set a little more, shining even more in our faces. I relished the warmth, even as my mind raced.
    “They said something else, too.”
    Gracie looked at me. “Do tell.”
    “They said that it had come to their attention that I was much more than a private detective.”
    “Oh? And why would they say that? Do you have your own deep dark secret, Max?”
    God, I loved the way she said my name, drawing it out like a caress. I focused my slightly scattered thoughts. I debated how much to tell her. Really, really debated, then said, “I think so, yes.”
    And then I told her everything, I mean everything .

Dear Bloody Diary,
    We got a surprising visitor today. Imagine my astonishment when I opened our front door to find Gracie Lockwood standing there.
    “You killed my sister,” she said.
    “When? Who? You’ll have to be a little more specific.”
    “How’s this for specific?” she said, and proceeded to level a few devastating punches that sent me reeling across the foyer.
    I sat up, holding my jaw. “Let me guess,” I said, still feeling the effects of the blows. “You inherited the werewolf gene?”
    She was on me again, moving supernaturally fast. But I’d had enough of her little tirade and swept under her in a blink. I was behind her before she knew it. I grabbed one of her arms and pressed her against the wall. I leaned in. “I’m sorry if I killed your sister,” I said. “But if it’s any consolation, I’m sure she was delicious, whoever she was.”
    “The campers, last week.”
    “Oh, yes,” I said. “She was especially delicious.”
    She spun out of my grip, swept my legs out from under me, and, as I fell, I just managed to stop a wooden stake she had been wielding. Turns out, it wasn’t meant for my heart. Instead, she drove it deep into my gut, where it veered off my spine. I hate when that happens.
    I gasped and rolled over as Stefan came running in. He pulled out the stake and turned on Gracie. “What the hell is this all about?”
    “Your brother is a bastard.”
    “Tell me something I don’t know.”
    “I should kill him.”
    “Get in line, sister,” I said, still gasping. “Wrong choice of words.”
    Fury lined her face, and her pupils, I saw, had flared yellow. Oh, yes, she carried the Lockwood curse indeed. The werewolf curse.
    “Other than the obvious, you’re here for something else, or else you would have driven that stake into my brother’s heart.”
    “I should have.”
    “Well, maybe. So, why are you here?”
    The hellion Lockwood stared at me some more, breathing hard—and looking ravishing—and said, “I have a proposal for you, boys.”
    My brother and I looked at each other.
    “Go on,” said Stefan.
    She did … and what a proposal it was.
    D. Salvatore

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
     
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    I chose the spot carefully.
    Actually, the spot had been Gracie’s idea. She knew of a clearing in the woods that would be perfect. She liked my idea, and, after I had given her a little demonstration of what I could do, she was very enthusiastic about my idea. Boy, did she hate vampires—and who could blame her?
    I had brought Maggie, my .44 Magnum, which was in a shoulder holster inside my light jacket. Fat lot of good a gun would do. According to Michael, regular bullets only slowed a vampire. When I had asked what irregular bullets were, he had said “wooden bullets, of course.”
    “This is a crazy-ass world,” I whispered and stepped out into the clearing.
    Still, having the gun by my side felt comforting, although I knew I could do so much more than a gun could these days. I had mentioned to the two vampire brothers that they could be doing good in the world, rather than plundering the world. The truth was, that could be said about me, too. I now possessed