Night Unbound by Dianne Duvall Page B

with a blush.
    Bastien’s lips twitched.
    And Ethan was enjoying this way too much, damn him.
    She counted to ten. “Why would the two of you think I would call you over here to bury him? It’s not like I don’t have the strength to lift him and do it myself.”
    Ethan shrugged. “You’re a girl.”
    Lisette glared at them both. “And, what, you think I don’t want to get my pretty little hands dirty?”
    No response.
    â€œYou do know I kill vampires for a living, right?”
    Bastien pointed at Ethan. “He said it, not me.”
    â€œBut you were thinking it.”
    He scowled. “Are you reading my thoughts again, telepath?”
    â€œI didn’t have to. It was all over your face. Besides, I stopped peeking into your head a long time ago because all you ever think about is Melanie naked and your vampire friends.”
    Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “He thinks about Melanie naked with his vampire friends?”
    Bastien popped him on the back of the head.
    â€œOw! Shit!”
    Lisette pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let us return to the subject at hand, shall we? Yes, I’m a girl,” she pointed out needlessly. “A girl who can kick your ass, Ethan.”
    â€œI know,” he acknowledged with a grin as he rubbed the back of his smarting head.
    â€œBastien, my guest here,” she said, refraining from mentioning Zach by name, “is immortal. I was hoping you might know how to tend his wounds. Neither Ethan nor I knows much about first aid.”
    â€œWhy don’t you just give him blood?”
    â€œNo fangs.”
    â€œYou don’t need his fangs to descend. You can transfuse him with your own.”
    She hesitated, unwilling to tell them what she suspected.
    â€œWhat?” Ethan asked, picking up on her unease.
    â€œHe has wings,” she said.
    â€œThose are real?” Bastien asked.
    â€œYes.”
    He studied her stoically. “And—what—you think . . . ?”
    Ethan frowned. “You don’t think he’s an angel, do you? Like a fallen angel?”
    Some kind of angel. She hadn’t thought about whether or not he had fallen.
    â€œI don’t know what he is,” she hedged.
    The two men shared a look.
    At least they didn’t laugh at her or mock her.
    â€œHe’s probably just a shape-shifter,” Ethan suggested.
    Possibly, but . . .
    â€œYou don’t want to give him blood,” Bastien said.
    She shook her head.
    â€œAll right. I’ll tend his wounds.”
    â€œThere’s something you should know first,” she cautioned.
    â€œI’m listening.”
    â€œSeth isn’t terribly fond of him.”
    Ethan crossed his arms. “Translation: He’s on Seth’s shit list. If Seth finds out we helped him, we will likely join him on that list.”
    A dark smile slid across Bastien’s handsome face. “When has pissing Seth off ever stopped me from doing something?”
    There were definite perks to having a black sheep in the Immortal Guardian family.
    Bastien ended up being a remarkably capable medic. He seemed to know the use of everything in Tracy’s substantial first-aid kit and used a hell of a lot of it to close Zach’s wounds.
    â€œWhere did you learn to do all this?” Lisette asked, watching him stitch up a deep gash on Zach’s arm.
    â€œI commanded an army of vampires prone to psychotic breaks and a dozen or so human wannabe minions with violent tendencies. Severe wounds were a nightly occurrence, and Tanner and I were the only ones around who were guaranteed to be focused enough to take care of them. Hold his wings while I roll him onto his side.”
    Approaching the bed, she leaned down to grasp Zach’s wings. They were so large. And so mangled. Broken in countless places. Feathers bent and torn. “Ethan, will you help me?”
    They each took a wing and kept it as immobile as possible while