"Who I am is none of your concern." Thierry forced his voice to remain impartial. "You are invading my personal space. Kindly take your business elsewhere."

And leave the woman in peace or I will kill you.

"We've just come to claim this little piece of vampire ass," the hunter said, "and we'll be on our way, so you can get back to whatever it was you were doing."

The young woman drew closer with shaky steps and grabbed the hem of his coat.

"Don't let them hurt me," she implored. "Please."

He could feel the warmth from her body.

Walk away, Thierry told himself sternly. Leave them. Leave her. You don't know this woman. Where is her sire? This should be his responsibility.

Now on his hands and knees in an attempt to crawl through the crudely cut opening of the bridge's fenced barrier, the hunter grabbed her ankle. To Thierry's surprise, the woman kicked the hunter directly in his eye.

Good aim. One of the best self-defense targets on the human body—groin or eyes. The hunter screamed and clutched at his face.

The woman scrambled away and almost lost her footing. Thierry reached out and steadied her, pulling her against him.

She looked up at him with surprise. "Thank you. I thought you weren't going to help me."

"Reflex," Thierry said. And it had been. For the most part.

There were two other hunters who began to climb through the barrier. They both had sharp weapons. While Thierry didn't really care about his own fate that night, he had now made a stand when it came to the woman's. Her safety, at least for the next few minutes, was his only priority.

Unfortunately, there was only one choice of escape.

He looked down. "I suppose we'll have to jump."

The woman's grip tightened at his waist. "Wasn't that your original plan? And wasn't your original plan to kill yourself?"