Fledgling (The Vampire Manifesto, Book Two) by Rashaad Bell Page A

still in the process of reaching for his weapon.
    “I wouldn’t if I were you.” I advised.
    Begrudgingly he held his hands up. I moved forward, gun aimed in at his head. I reached into his jacket and pulled his weapon out, tucking it in the small of my back before taking a few steps away.
    “Dakota, on me.” I yelled. I risked a quick look, but she was disorientated, frozen in place by the carnage surrounding her. “NOW!” I said a little harsher. She snapped out of her fugue state and was behind me on my right. I could hear her crying. So many people were crying around me today, it seems to be a thing now.
    “You.” I called out to the Agent. “You work for Hawking?”
    He didn’t say anything.
    I fired twice into his left shin, the bone exploding apart as his leg gave way and he crashed into the ground.
    “They’re going to have to amputate that.” I said. “Answer my question.”
    The Agent was stifling his scream, yet refused to speak.
    “No?” I fired twice in his right shin. This time he did scream. “Now you’re in permanent wheelchair, artificial prostatic territory.”
    Even after all that he still declined to talk. “Damn, they breed you motherfuckers tough.”
    “Madison…” Dakota was calling my name.
    “What is it baby?” I asked.
    “What are you doing?” She was in shock; I could hear it in her voice. I needed to get her away from all of this, but I had something to do first.
    “Not now sweetie, momma bear is working.” I replied
    “Um....okay.” She was starting to look around at the dead men on the ground. She turned, her gaze falling on Mrs. Theia. “Mommy…”
    I rotated to look at her then a little further to see what she was staring at. “No, no sweetie.” I said. “Eyes up here.”
    I pointed at her eyes then to mine.
    “Mmkay.” She whimpered.
    “Don’t look at that.” I said, pointing at her eyes then to mine again. “Look at me.”
    “Everybody is dead.” She murmured. “They’re all dead.”
    “Not everybody.” I glanced at the Agent hemorrhaging to death on the floor and then looked at Dakota. “Look at me.”
    “Okay.” She slowly met my gaze.
    “I don’t want you to be afraid anymore.” I didn’t want to mesmerize her; I didn’t want to force unreal emotions on her.
    “You’re never going to be frightened of me.” I said. “I will always be there for you.”
    Her eyes were hazed over. “You’ll never leave me.” She said.
    “You’ll…” I paused, looking at her, looking at how much I wanted her. She belonged to me now. “You’ll always love me; you’ll only want me and no one else.”
    “I’ve always loved you anyway.” She whispered. “From the first moment I met you.”
    The Agent was staring at me in revulsion. “Monster.”
    I turned to him. “Oh, now you wanna talk?” I shot him once in the upper leg. “Fuck you.”
    I turned back to Dakota. “Don’t worry about your mommy, she’s with Jesus now. A better place. Don’t dwell on it. Now go upstairs and pack some clothes.”
    Dakota spun around and darted up the stairs.
    I turned my attention back to the Agent. “I’m not even at half a clip yet. You still got nothing to say?” The Agent just grunted from the pain he was in, but other than that, he continued with the silent treatment. I pointed the gun at his left hand then at his right. “Which one do you jerk off with?”
    I just looked at him, resting in a massively increasing pool of blood. “Why haven’t you bled to death yet?”
    I drew up close to the Agent, so we were face to face. “You don’t want to talk to me, fine. I gotta a message for your boss. You tell that prick motherfucker that Palm Coast is my city.” I grabbed his face by the chin. “MY CITY!” I screamed. “You tell him if he comes after me or Dakota again I will find him and I’ll personally slit his goddamn throat myself. You tell him that for me bitch.”
    I backed away slowly. “Dakota.” I called out. “Time to go