Twice.

Ryder would go up like a firecracker and—

He was laughing.

Not burning, laughing.

How was that even possible?

Cain tried to pull back. Ryder grabbed Cain’s hand and shoved it harder against his own chest. The fire burned between them, melting away Ryder’s shirt, but the vamp wasn’t dying.

He’s like me.

“See what she did?” Ryder demanded. “Do you see what her blood did to me? Didn’t realize it . . . not until I had to escape your fire at Genesis. It didn’t burn me. The fire doesn’t . . . not any more. . . .”

Cain yanked his hand away from the vamp and punched Ryder. The vampire hurtled over the side of the staircase and crashed to the floor. Cain jumped over the banister and landed in a crouch beside him. Ryder wasn’t rising. He’d fallen on the wooden table and a huge chunk of wood burst from his chest.

Fire might not kill him, but a good, old-fashioned stake to the heart would.

Eve rushed down the rest of the stairs and hurried to Cain’s side. Only . . . Cain wasn’t finishing the vamp. Cain just stared at Ryder with his hands clenched.

“I crave her,” Ryder said as blood dripped from his mouth. “Every damn moment . . . I need her.” His eyes locked on Eve. “Tell me where she is!”

Eve grabbed a piece of broken wood. She just had to take out the bastard’s heart. She could do this. Cain had been right. They never should have rescued Ryder from Genesis. Some monsters couldn’t be saved. She needed to stop trying.

Eve pushed forward with her weapon ready, but . . . Cain stopped her. He grabbed her and yanked the stake from her hands.

“No.” Cain’s voice. Firm. Flat.

What? She could still feel Ryder’s claws at her throat. Her blood had spilled onto her shirt. He’d cut her. Would have killed her.

The kids always taste so good. The voice from her past whispered through her mind. Eve wanted to slap her hands over her ears, but she knew that wouldn’t do any good. The voice was on the inside. It would be with her forever.

Ryder was rising and yanking the wood from his chest. Blood had pooled beneath him.

Mommy! Another echo from the past. the echo of her own scream.

Ryder reached for her, but Cain stepped between them. His hand wrapped around the vampire’s throat and lifted Ryder into the air. “Control yourself. . . or I’ll kill you right now.”

Ryder’s fangs flashed.

Cain tightened his hold. “I’ll snap your neck, and while your body tries to recover from that injury, I’ll shove a stake in your heart.”

Ryder wasn’t fighting. His breath came out ragged, panting.

“I know crazy,” Cain said, voice a snarl. “Trust me, I f**king know it.”

Eve picked up the shattered piece of wood. A foot long. Jagged on both ends. It would be a perfect stake.

“Get that crazy under control,” Cain ordered, “and tell me what the hell you’re talking about, vampire.”

Eve shook her head. This was a mistake. “He led them to us again.” Didn’t Cain realize that? “He’s sold us out, just like he did before.”

Cain stared at Ryder. “You’re talking about a woman, aren’t you? The thing that Wyatt took. The thing you want so badly . . . it’s her.”

Her who?

Ryder nodded. Cain dropped him to the floor. The vampire scrambled back and then rose slowly to his feet.

Eve kept her fingers curled around the wood. If he came at her, she’d stake him. She’d already tried to play the Girl Scout with him and that bit hadn’t worked.

The guy probably ate Girl Scouts for breakfast.

“She’s . . . like you,” Ryder said as he stared at Cain. “She burns, then comes back.”

Eve’s gaze darted between them.

“Just like you did in that bar,” Ryder added. “I saw you.”

“How do you know she’s like me? How can you be sure?” Cain demanded. His voice had lowered, hardened.

Ryder hung his head as if in shame. “Because I killed her, and she came back.”

A muscle jerked in Cain’s jaw. The air around his body seemed to heat up.

“Wyatt starved me,” Ryder said. His eyes were on Cain, but Eve could see the emotion flooding his gaze. Pain. Rage. “I wasn’t there for just a few months—it was a whole f**king year. A year kept in his cage. Trapped. I was so hungry, and then he brought her to me.”

Wyatt had told Eve about the starving vampire. He’d threatened to feed her to him. Goose bumps rose on her arms and pity stirred in her heart for the woman she didn’t even know.