At our feet, Achilles rolled over. “It was a gut wound. If he’s not dead, he will be.”

“Shut up.” Remo booted Achilles in the side, rolling him off the platform and into the mud.

“Here. You are distracting everyone.”

Remo slowly pulled his T-shirt up and over his head. A low whisper of female appreciation rolled through the crowd. He smirked as he handed me the shirt. I pulled it on, his smell enveloping me. I kept my mouth shut to keep from flicking my tongue out and tasting the air around me more fully.

The vampire wrapped an arm around my waist and jumped off the platform. The Bull Boys shuffled their feet, but none tried to stop us. “What, you don’t want to try to finish the job?” I bit the words out, a part of me wanting them to try. Just let them.

I’d snap them in half like two-day-old breadsticks.

One of Achilles’s minions grunted. “We’re cannon fodder. The rules are that when the hero goes down, we have to back off.”

“Sounds about right,” Remo said. He held me tight to his side, and while he didn’t hurry, we weren’t exactly going slowly as we made our exit.

“They aren’t following us.” I looked back. The Bull Boys were dismantling the platform, and one of them scooped up Achilles while he cried out that life wasn’t fair.

A roll of thunder rent the air, and I tightened my hand on Remo. “Stop.”

He turned as a woman appeared on the partially dismantled platform. Her silvery-white hair floated about her face as if a constant wind blew around her. She was tall and lithe, her body a perfect combination of slim and curved that her sheer dress gave credence to. Her blue-green eyes locked on mine. “We are not done, Drakaina.”

I had no doubt who she was. “Hera. Leave my family and me alone.”

Remo grunted. “Hera. You’re shitting me.”

“Your family will be the first to suffer for this.” She snapped her fingers, and an explosion rocked the stadium. The humans screamed and Remo dropped us to the ground, curling his body around mine. I really didn’t want to like him, but he kept doing things like this. Things that made me think he had potential.

Bad Alena. Bad. No playing with the vampires, you’re a married woman.

I wanted to slap my inner voice and tell her to shut up. But she was right.

We stood and stared into the now-emptying stadium. So it wasn’t the bombs going off? The humans filed out, and with the continued lack of explosions I guessed Max had managed to get the bombs defused. The big bang was just Hera making her exit. Score another one for our team.

Hera’s words sank in as we walked. “She’s going after my family; I have to get to them first.” I pulled away from Remo and ran through the dark halls of the stadium, following the flickers of fresh air that took me to the main doors.

The rest of Remo’s vampires waited for us outside, and they cheered when we appeared. I ignored them and ran for my car. I slid into the seat, my body shaking. Not with cold or adrenaline, but fear. Fear that I wouldn’t make it to Tad in time. Maybe he was like the vamps, and I could give him blood and he would heal up. I could only hope.

I refused to pray.

Remo slid into the passenger seat. “Do you even know where he is?”

“I assumed the safe house. That’s the only place Beth and Sandy would know to go.” I put the car into gear and hit the pedal, my bare foot gripping the edge of it.

Remo was thrown back in his seat and he grunted. “Ease off, crazy woman.”

I didn’t look at him. As I kept my eyes locked on the road, all I could think about was making it to Tad in time.

Whether it was to say good-bye or help him, I didn’t know. Either way, I needed to get to his side.

“You really love your brother, don’t you?”

“You sound surprised.” I spun the wheel and we drifted through a corner, barely losing speed, my seat belt the only thing holding me in.

Remo shifted in his seat, and the click of the seat belt made me smile for a split second. “Most siblings don’t get on that well. Rivalry and all that.”

We sped toward the gate at the Wall. The mass of supernaturals blocking the way was too much. I slammed on the brakes, and the car slid sideways as it lost traction on the slick road.

Remo reached across and took my hand. “Who taught you to drive like that?”

“Mario Andretti.” I glanced at him and his wide eyes and realized he believed me. “Never mind, it was a joke. A bad one.”

“I doubted you about Achilles, and that seemed far-fetched. Why not Mario Andretti? At least I know he exists,” Remo said.

I laid on the horn as I leaned out the window. “Get out of my way!”

The crowd rumbled and grumbled but slowly shifted as I revved the engine. At a crawl, we crossed through the gate. As soon as the crowd was clear, I pressed the pedal to the floor and raced along the streets.

The safe house was lit up, every light blazing out through the windows. “Not a good sign. International distress sign for a vampire safe house,” Remo said softly.

I leapt from the car and ran to the front door. Dahlia swung the door open. Her green eyes dripped with tears, several catching on her eyelashes like tiny diamonds.

“Lena.” She choked on my name.

“Don’t say anything.” I stepped inside, bracing myself for what was coming. The place smelled of blood and something foul I couldn’t place. My tongue flicked out without warning, and the scent solidified in my brain.