“No one.”

“Liar.” I pulled out a silver knife and traced its tip lightly down his chest, not breaking his skin, just leaving a faint pink line that faded in seconds. Vampires might be able to heal with lightning quickness, but silver through the heart was lethal. Only a few inches of bone and muscle stood between this vampire’s heart and my blade.

He glanced at the path my knife had traced. “Is that supposed to frighten me?”

I pretended to consider the question. “Well, I’ve cut a bloody swath through the undead world ever since I was sixteen. Even earned myself the nickname of the Red Reaper, so if I’ve got a knife next to your heart, then yes, you should be afraid.”

His expression was still amused. “Right nasty wench you sound like, but I wager I could get free and have you on your back before you could stop me.”

Cocky bastard. “Talk is cheap. Prove it.”

His legs flashed out, knocking me off-balance. I sprang forward at once, but a hard, cool body flattened me to the cave floor in the next instant. An iron grip closed around my wrist, preventing me from raising the knife.

“Always pride before a fall,” he murmured in satisfaction.

I tried to throw him off, but a ton of bricks would have been easier to dislodge. Should’ve chained his arms and his legs before daring him like that, I mentally berated myself.

That arrogant smirk returned as the vampire looked down at me. “Keep squirming, luv. Rubs me in all the right places, it does.”

“How’d you get out of the clamps?” Over his shoulder, I saw a hole in the cave that used to be where the inch-thick titanium cuffs had dangled. Unbelievable. He’d ripped them right out of the wall.

A dark brow arched. “Knew just the right angle to pull. You don’t install restraints without knowing how to get out of them. Only took a moment; and by then, I had you on your back. Just like I said I would.”