Bennett blinked to clear away her tears. She had never felt so impotent, so utterly and unequivocally helpless, and when she saw bloody bubbles coming from Lisa’s mouth, Bennett knew the end was near. She didn’t need to talk any longer. She didn’t need to argue the point. Yes, Bennett loved who Lisa was, and she always would.

She rested her forehead against Lisa’s, her tears falling freely as she listened to Lisa’s breathing, and when she took her last breath, Bennett’s body began to quake.

Ruby had been concentrating on the heartbeats in the room, and when one stopped, she plunged her hand into Lisa’s chest. “I am not going to let her fucking die because of your stupid baggage.”

Ruby began to gently squeeze Lisa’s heart, forcing her blood to continue to flow. As soon as she found her rhythm, Ruby called on her fangs to extend, raised Lisa’s crushed arm to her mouth, and sunk her teeth into her wrist. Ruby kept her mouth pressed against the punctures, giving her saliva time to find its way into Lisa’s bloodstream, and minutes ticked by as she continued to feed and to squeeze and to feed some more.

Held prisoner by her grief, it wasn’t until Bennett sensed movement that she realized what Ruby was doing. Bennett’s grief turned into fury in an instant, and leaping to her feet, she grabbed Ruby by the lapels of her coat. Bringing her to her feet, Bennett sent Ruby sailing across the room and into the wall as if she were a weightless mannequin.

Before Ruby could right herself, Bennett yanked her to her feet and shoved Ruby so hard against the wall, the drywall buckled. “How dare you touch her,” Bennett roared, slamming Ruby into the wall. “How dare you even look at her.” Bennett shoved Ruby again. “This is all your fault. You wanted revenge. You wanted blood.” Bennett dragged Ruby over to Lisa. “Well, is that enough blood for you? Is it? Is it?”

Ruby could have easily fought against Bennett, easily defended herself against the pummeling and the rage with strength almost equal to Bennett’s, but Ruby couldn’t bring herself to fight back. She didn’t want to fight back because no amount of punishment Bennett could inflict would ever equal Bennett’s suffering. And if she were to die at Bennett’s hands tonight, the only wish Ruby had was that her death would be slow, for she deserved no mercy, and certainly none from Bennett Archer.

Incensed by Ruby’s lack of response, Bennett threw Ruby to the floor and straddled her body. She let her fists fly like the blades of a windmill, blood spraying everywhere as she shattered Ruby’s jaw and cheekbones, and even after she sent Ruby into unconsciousness, Bennett didn’t stop until the woman’s face was a bloody mess of flesh.

***