The Black Dagger Brotherhood_ An Insider's Guide - J. R. Ward [110]
At the same moment, his daughter, Beth Randall, walks home from her job at the local paper down Trade Street. She walks by the bar her father is in. While she’s thinking about the lonely evening ahead, she’s followed by two college boys. At first, she’s not afraid when they approach and start to harass her. But then one of them grabs her and drags her into an alley. She fights but ultimately they pin her against a building behind a dumpster. While one holds her arms, the other rips her shirt off and starts to fondle her. Even though she’s terrified, she forces herself to pretend that she’s willing to have sex with the primary attacker. When he lets his guard down, she strikes him where it hurts most and then knees him in the nose as he doubles over. His friend is so surprised that he doesn’t stop her escape. She runs home.
Back at Screamer’s, Wrath finally appears. As he makes his way to Darius, humans trip over themselves to get out of his way. He takes a seat with Darius and waits for the other vampire to speak. When he hears what Darius wants, he flat out says no. He hates himself for turning his warrior brother down, but he wants no part in the transition of a half breed. That would require a compassion that he just doesn’t have.
Wrath leaves the bar because he has to meet Marissa, his shellan, or female mate. Unlike most vampires, he does not have a sexual relationship with her, they merely feed off each other as they need to. Because he’s consumed with hunting his enemies, there’s no room in his life for. Her brother, Havers, with whom she lives, disapproves of the relationship which was established by Wrath’s parents four centuries ago. So Marissa won’t have to deal with her brother, Wrath frequently meets her in a room in Darius’s mansion.
Wrath is headed for a dark alley to dematerialize to Darius’s when he senses he’s been tracked. It’s a member of the Lessening Society, a group of humans who have sold their souls to become vampire killers. He draws the lesser into the shadows, slits its throat with a martial arts throwing star, and takes its wallet and cell phone. Wrath stabs the lesser through the heart, causing it to disintegrate. Wrath then dematerializes to Darius’s guest chamber. Marissa comes to him and feeds. In their scene, the dynamics of their relationship are very clear. Marissa is very attached to him, hoping that someday he will turn to her and realize that her love is what is missing from his cold, warrior existence. He’s strained by her devotion and loyalty and loathes himself for all he cannot give her. Before he can take her back to her brother’s house, there’s a knock on the chamber door. It’s Darius’s butler. Darius has been killed by a car bomb outside of Screamer’s. Wrath tames his rage so that he can get details and asks Fritz to call the band of brothers together. Before the butler leaves, he gives Wrath an envelope from Darius. When Wrath is alone, he lets out his vengeance, causing a black whirlwind of anger to swirl around him.
When Beth gets home, she takes a forty-five minute shower and finds that though her nerves are shot, her body is recovering. She’s starving. After she eats, she’s sitting with her cat, thinking that she should file a report with the cops, when the phone rings. It’s Jose De La Cruz, one of the policemen who’s taken her under his wing. He tells her about a car bomb that’s just exploded outside a bar downtown. He urges her to be careful when she shows up on the scene because Hard Ass, a.k.a., Homicide Detective Butch O’Neal, is on the case. Though she tries, Beth finds herself unable to talk about what happened for fear of breaking down.