Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

and Charles could handle him! Unfortunately, Erica was too upset to comprehend what was being stated.
    The enormity of what Erica had caused hit her stomach like a sucker punch. She was now putting the safety of Kevin’s entire family at risk, just to keep away from Shawn. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she knew she would never forgive herself if Shawn hurt any member of this kind family in his attempt to reach her.
    As Jennifer slid into the driveway, squealing tires all the way, Erica felt a moment of relief that they had made it safely home. But that only lasted briefly. Now that they had made it home, the entire family was at risk. She noticed both Kevin and Charles standing just outside the door as they pulled up. Jennifer grabbed Erica’s hand, flung the car door open, and pulled Erica out of the car and into the house. Erica heard Shawn’s car close behind, but was too chicken to glance back. She heard Kevin’s yell, “Get her out of sight,” and could only assume he was referring to her.
    Kevin breathed out a sigh of relief as his sister came tearing up the driveway. Jennifer had Erica inside the house and out of sight in a matter of seconds. Shawn’s car was just pulling up to a stop when the girls flew through the back door. Kevin assumed Jennifer would stay with Erica throughout the ordeal. It would be some time later when he discovered that he had made a horrible judgment error, and would have to pay dearly for his blunder.
    Once inside the house, Erica broke away from Jennifer easily. She took off to the one window that gave a perfect view of the backyard. Her heart was racing with fear for both Kevin and his father. Although Charles looked fit enough, she worried about him. Erica had been on the wrong end of Shawn’s abuse more than once. How could she ever live with herself if Charles ended up getting hurt, or Kevin? And then, if Shawn managed to get past the two men, what would he do next? Would he hurt Rosetta or Jennifer? Where were Kate and Elizabeth? Were they even home and aware of the danger?
    Kevin found it humorous that Shawn was suddenly surprised to be fighting two of his own kind. He knew Shawn had expected to sweep up the sidewalk with two humans, and then go after Erica. Shawn came at them with an arrogant swagger, as if he knew they were no match for him. The look of shock on his face when he realized his wife had hidden herself within a household of vampires was priceless. Charles and Kevin used this to their advantage.
    As Erica reached the window, she was relieved to see that at least, for the moment, Charles and Kevin seemed to have things under control. Her already exhausted mind wondered how in the world this was possible. A vampire should still have the upper hand, one would think, even against two grown men.
    Something Kevin stated earlier suddenly came to mind. We know what he is, and we are ready for him. What exactly did he mean by that? Had he known that Shawn was a vampire? No, that simply wasn’t possible, was it? She watched Kevin deliver a right foot into Shawn’s midsection, which sent him flying backwards thirty to forty feet. How in the world did he do that? Sure, Kevin was strong and well built, but it simply wasn’t possible for a human to have that kind of strength, was it? One second later Kevin was standing over Shawn. She quickly blinked, and caught Shawn sending his right fist straight into Kevin’s gut. Erica’s breath immediately hitched for a heartbeat, and she released it a second later as she watched Kevin stand back upright, looking relatively unharmed. Charles and Kevin joined forces, one on each side of Shawn, in an attempt to bring him down for good.
    Something caught Kevin’s peripheral vision, and as he glanced up towards the house, Erica was able to get a good look at his face. His eyes were white, and his fangs were showing as he turned and roared at Shawn. Erica felt her whole body start trembling, as her knees gave out from under her. Everything suddenly made sense. Kevin knew what he was up against with Shawn, because Kevin himself was a vampire. So, if Kevin was a vampire….oh no, this simply wasn’t possible. Had she truly left one vampire house simply to move to another? As if dealing with one vampire hadn’t been bad enough, now she was surrounded by a family of them!
    Her head started spinning, and her heart started to race uncontrollably, as she tried to wrap her head around this latest information. She braced herself