Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) by Jennifer Thibeault Page A

looked down at his hand and opened them palm up to see that he no longer held the object.
    A thick blue liquid oozed out of the Vance’s wound and he made a point of slowly pulling the knife out, wiping it off, and handing it back to Alex, handle first.
    “Shit, what the hell did you do?” Alex shrieked, sounding like a five year old kid, and examining the blade that had been used to inflict the wound. He pushed down on the tip of the blade to see if someone had switched out his trusty all-purpose tool with a trick knife that disappeared into the handle at contact. When the metal blade stayed rigid in his hand, the panic spread from his voice to his eyes.
     
    Abby ran around the table, with hopes of stopping the blood. She placed both hands on top of the wound to put pressure on his heart and looked frantically towards her father. She expected him to take control of the situation, but when he remained seated calmly at the head of the table, Abby took the reins.
    “Go pull the car up; we need to get him to the hospital.” Tears spilled out of Abby’s eyes as she ripped Vance’s shirt open to see how bad the wound really was, exposing a perfectly sculpted chest, faintly speckled with dark hair that led down the tight muscles of his abdomen. Abby used the shirt to wipe away the excess blood only to find a small scratch, where a gaping hole should have been.
    “What the hell? Is this some kind of a sick joke? What the fuck was that blue shit?” Abby spit. She pushed Vance back against his chair and she stormed around the table to her own seat. “Whatever kind of practical joke you guys think you’re pulling, you need to stop. This is wasting a lot of time, we need to be working.” Abby’s voice wavered as she finished her speech. She needed someone to tell her she was right, this was a joke, and none of this was real. The desperate nature of her voice revealed that she knew better. This was her new reality.
    “Listen to me, Abigail.” Abby wiped the tears off her face, realizing that her father hadn’t called her Abigail since she was a child. He had never liked the name. He said it didn’t fit a young girl like her, but her mother was a modern woman and she said she was the only one who had the right to select the child’s name, since she was the mother. Abby knew that whenever her father decided to use the name, she needed to pay attention.
    “This is just the beginning. I need you to be strong for me because if what you just saw was too much, I need to get you out of the country, someplace safe, where no one knows who you are.”
    The threat of being sent away was enough to sober Abby.
    Sam reached back over from her own chair, grabbing Abby’s hand and squeezing it. Abby was shocked that she still found comfort in the simple action, even now that she knew what Sam was. Honestly, Abby liked Sam. Did that really have to change just because she was something different?
    “OK. Keep going.” Abby said in a matter-of-fact tone.
    “C & R Enterprises is not one of our clients. The business itself is a cover organization, much like our own. I’ve stationed my business here to keep an eye on them for the past hundred and fifty years. I’ve watched as they’ve built their empire, trained their soldiers, and gained the confidence to make a move against humanity.
    The corporation owns businesses across the United States. They’ve been able to accumulate everything they may need to sustain their army, from real estate holdings, to weapons, and manufacturing. They’ve become a self-sustaining system in order to prevent humans from noticing their presence.” Bradley explained.
    “So if they’re not human, what are they? Are they the same as these guys?” Alex asked making a quick motion, pointing his thumb at Vance.
    Vance snorted in response, “If they were like us, we’d be able to sense them. They’re definitely not demons or angels.”
    Sam pursed her lips and nodded in agreement as Abby looked at her