Chaz (VLG #15)

Chapter Seventeen

Shoni simmered the next afternoon, her temper barely suppressed. It was hard to do, but she’d learned long ago that it only made it worse if she blew up at her cousin. Ember could not only out yell everyone, but winning an argument with her was almost impossible. She was too stubborn. Nothing was going to make Ember talk until she was ready.

“Stop pouting. I hope you didn’t do that all day while I was at work.” Ember winked at her. “I know you hate it when I keep secrets, but I’m doing it for your own good. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Um, you talked me into helping you get back at Jeff Walker when we were in the ninth grade by letting the air out of his tires. You swore we wouldn’t get caught. Grandma grounded us for a week.”

“One, who knew his dad would see us running away? Two, Jeff deserved some payback after he swerved for that mud puddle and purposely splattered us on our way to school. It wasn’t like we slashed his tires and cost him money to replace them.”

“Only because you learned it might damage our hands by stabbing thick rubber with a steak knife if it slipped.”

Ember chuckled. “I like to do my research.” Her expression grew serious. “It’s for your own good that I’m not telling you things.”

“Marco must have done something super shitty. Did he cost me my job? I was only joking about quitting.”

“Your ex has done a few things I haven’t shared, but it’s just petty shit.”

“You know how my mind works.”

“Yes, I do. You’ve probably come up with two thousand ways he could have messed up your life.” Ember smiled. “You overthink way too much. Okay. I’ll give you one thing I’ve kept from you. Then you’re going to let this go when you realize why I didn’t tell you. I’ve handled it, and you didn’t need to be upset more. Ready?”

Shoni nodded.

“The prick went to the hotel to take all the wedding gifts they were storing for you.”

That news was upsetting. She’d taken the time to text everyone the hotel staff had recorded as guests who gave gifts. A few had responded by insisting she keep them. It was probably out of pity.

“Not to worry. I had already brought them back here. He was shit out of luck. The prick called me demanding to be given at least half of them since the hotel told him who had picked them up.”

“Why?” Shoni instantly knew. “He wanted to sell them.”

“Bingo. He called the police and accused me of stealing them.”

Shoni gasped. “No!”

“It’s taken care of. No worries. The cops were pissed when I told them everything. Especially since they were all from our family and your friends. The hotel provided me with a list of names of everyone who gave gifts. I went down it with the cops to show nobody on his side gave him anything. It’s over and done with.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Shoni, it’s not your fault that Marco is an asshole. That’s all on him. I took care of it. Do you honestly feel better now that you know? The answer should be hell no. Now drop it.”

“Fine. I love you. Thank you for dealing with that for me.”

“You’d do the same for me. Now…” Ember rose from her futon and yanked open her closet. “Are we going out to dinner somewhere nice or casual?”

“Low key. I didn’t pack anything nice.”

“You could borrow something of mine. I own way too many clothes.”

Shoni shook her head. “How about the rib place? I could go for messy food.”

“Barbeque sauce on our faces and eating with our fingers sounds perfect.” Ember stripped out of her work scrubs and entered her bathroom. “Let me shower real quick. At least a dozen kittens pissed on me while they were getting checkups before they were put up for adoption at the shelter. They brought in four litters.”

“It amazes me that you don’t have any pets.” Shoni followed her into the bathroom, taking a seat on the counter. “How can you resist not bringing at least one of them home?”

“I’m not thirty yet, and my roommate would shit a brick.”

Shoni turned her attention to all the bottles of skin cream and lotions her cousin stored on the counter. “You’re not your mom. Her age was the only excuse she could come up with for all the crappy things she did. Spoiler alert. She was a bad mom in her thirties and forties, too. It’s not going to change when she hits her fifties next year, either.”

“Shut it,” Ember called out from behind the shower curtain.

“You’re nothing like her. Nothing. I also know you have enough money to put a nice down payment on your own place since you save money like your life depends on it. You’re the one who randomly takes part-time jobs just to pad your savings account more.”

“Enough, or I’m dragging you in here with me and turning off the hot water.”

Shoni smiled. “Why is your roommate mad at you?”

Ember didn’t answer. She finished her shower and wrapped towels around her body and wet hair, getting out. “You have enough crap on your plate without me adding mine to it.”

Shoni slid off the counter and blocked her cousin from leaving the bathroom. “Talk to me.”

Ember looked annoyed. “Fine. Her piece-of-shit boyfriend hit on me last week. Rhonda sometimes lets him spend the night and leaves him here after she goes to work. I woke up after an overnight shift, went to make myself some coffee, and he walked out of her room naked. The moron thought I’d jump his bones.”

“Oh no.” Shoni grimaced. “Did he need an ambulance?” She was only half joking.

“I gave him an honest critique of his body. Nelson didn’t appreciate me comparing his dick to a chihuahua and his body to a Shar-pei. I also mentioned he desperately needed a trip to the groomer, and getting neutered would stop him from trying to hump things that could kill him.”

Shoni laughed. “Shar-pei’s are those dogs with lots of wrinkles, right?”

“Yes. He was so upset that he stormed back into Rhonda’s room and called her.”

“Why is she mad at you? He’s the asshole who hit on her roommate.”

“He lied to her by saying I insulted him because he turned me down flat after I came onto him. The part about saying gross shit to me as he touched his bare dick got left out. I told her he was the one who hit on me, but she took his side. That’s that. Mickey offered to rent me a room at his house, but I’m not comfortable with that. He’s got a bit of a crush on me. That’s a big no since I would never date my boss or a coworker. I already made that mistake when I was in Arizona.”

The seriousness of the situation became clear to Shoni. “You think you need to move?”

“I came home the other day to find a thirty-day notice taped to my bedroom door. Rhonda wants me out and is already looking for my replacement.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ember snorted.

“Right. Because you don’t want to add your crap to mine. Move in with me. That will be so fun and like old times.”

Ember frowned. “I don’t want to invade your space.”

“Shut up. You’re being stupid right now. I’d love to have you live with me.”

“Fine, but we’re finishing your downstairs bathroom. I refuse to have to walk up and down stairs every time I have to go pee when we’re watching movies.”

“The counter is on backorder.”

“We’ll pick something else then. My treat.”

“Whatever.” Shoni smiled, though, happy. The idea of Ember living with her was good news. She wouldn’t have time to feel depressed about what Marco had done to her. Her cousin wouldn’t allow her to sulk.

“Move. I’m fucking hungry.”

Shoni backed out of the bathroom. “You cuss too much.”

Chuckling, her cousin dried off and started to get dressed. “I fucking know. Are you going to lecture me like Grandma used to?”

“It’s not like you’d listen if I did.”

“I miss her.”

“Me too,” Shoni admitted.

“Don’t get all bummed on me. She’d want us to live life to the fullest. That means we’re going to go pig out on ribs and only talk about happy stuff. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Twenty minutes later, they were waiting for their food to be brought to the table.

* * * * *

Chaz leaned against the wall near the dancefloor of the second club he’d visited that night. The first one had been a bust. He really hoped he’d find a Vampire soon. It was imperative that Marco be taken care of as quickly as possible. The idea of that human harassing Shoni in any way was completely unacceptable to him.

Some humans kept glancing his way. His scowl discouraged them from approaching him so far, but most were drinking. Alcohol consumption would have them making bad decisions. He was in no mood to be flirted with.

His mind kept replaying what had been said when Ember showed up to his hotel room. She’d seemed utterly convinced that Shoni must have been in love with him. He couldn’t discount her opinion since she knew her cousin better than anyone. That was something he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Did Shoni fall in love with me? Wouldn’t she have said something? Wouldn’t I have realized that’s how she felt? Those inner questions kept plaguing his thoughts. A new one popped up. Does that change anything?

Chaz wasn’t sure, but it bothered him. So did the fact that Garson had wiped her memories. Shoni doesn’t love me anymore if that was how she felt.

His mood turned sour. The sight of two males entering the club caught his attention. Both looked human, but something was off about them. They just didn’t fit in, even if he couldn’t immediately find a reason for why. Chaz watched as they scanned the dancers and the humans sitting at the bar.

The two males glanced at each other, using slight motions of their heads to silently communicate. The two separated, one heading toward the bathrooms, the other entering the dancefloor.

Chaz kept his focus on the second one. That male suddenly smiled, transforming into a carefree human looking for a dance partner. There was no missing the predatory gleam in the male’s eyes as he assessed the dancing people around him. He targeted a curvy redhead, who smiled back, advancing on her with intent. Once he reached her side, the male wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close, their bodies swaying to the beat pounding through the club.

It didn’t take long for the male to lower his face to her throat. It appeared innocent enough. Her hair was long and puffed out a bit. Everyone around them would assume he was either whispering in her ear or kissing her neck. Chaz had hunted enough Vampires to know better. The male was probably sniffing her skin to see if she was drunk enough to be susceptible to mind control or if she reeked of drugs. He wouldn’t feed on her with so many humans surrounding them.

Chaz tore his focus away, pushing off from the wall to seek out the second male. There was a sign for the bathrooms. A wide, long hallway led to it. Some of the music faded. He found that male standing by the bathroom doors, phone in hand. It was for appearances, though, since the screen wasn’t lit. The male was pretending to be texting.

Chaz inhaled deeply as he approached, quickly verifying what he suspected. He’d found Vampires. His gaze swept the ceiling and walls, not finding any cameras. It was probably why the male had come to hang out there. It was safe from humans seeing whatever plan the two had to get blood.

The Vamp glanced at him for a split second, then back down at the dark screen in his hand, dismissing Chaz as a possible meal. He walked right up to the male and crossed his arms. His target stiffened, and his breathing rapidly increased.

“I’m here to talk. Don’t run. It will piss me off if I have to chase you, and that’s something you don’t want to do.”

The Vampire unfroze and slowly lifted his head, staring in terror at Chaz. His breathing was still too fast, almost as if he was about to hyperventilate.

“Calm down. As I said, I’m just here to talk.”

“VampLycan,” the terrified Vampire whispered.

“No. GarLycan. I take it that you haven’t met either of our kinds since you can’t identify our scent differences.”

“He was a terrible master,” the Vampire burst out. “Please don’t kill us.”

Chaz’s eyebrows shot up. That was the last thing he expected to hear. The Vampire wasn’t done.

“We’ll leave this place. We haven’t hurt anyone and kept a low profile. Please, don’t kill us.”

“I don’t plan to.”

The Vampire looked even more fearful. “Please don’t return us to our master. Please. We’ll do anything.”

The mystery deepened for Chaz. “Well, that’s good because I need a favor. I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“The council didn’t send you after us for fleeing our nest?”

“We don’t have a high opinion of your council, and none of the clans would ever do a job for them. Ever.” Chaz wanted to make that clear. “Your master was a dick, huh?”

The Vampire nodded.

“That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve met a lot of dickhead masters.” Chaz studied the male. It was impossible to tell the true age of a Vampire. He appeared to be in his early thirties. That only told him the age he’d been turned into one. “How’s your mind manipulation skills with humans? That’s what I need.”

“Really?” The Vampire seemed to relax. “We’re very skilled. Our survival depends on it.”

“I’m Chaz. What’s your name?”

The male hesitated. “I’m William. You really haven’t come here hunting for us because we escaped our nest?”

“I don’t care about that. Good for you if you got away from a shitty master.” Footsteps sounded, and Chaz turned, seeing the other Vampire leading the redheaded female down the wide hallway toward the bathrooms.

The Vampire was talking to the human. “We’re going to have a great time at the party.” He looked up then, catching sight of Chaz with his fellow Vamp. He froze.

“It’s okay, Robert. He just needs a favor. We’re good,” William whispered.

Robert still looked afraid. He kept his cool as he looked down at the human nearly clinging to his side. “Go to the bathroom. I’ll be right out here waiting for you. Then we’ll leave.”

“Is everything okay?” The redhead frowned at Chaz.

“I’m their cousin,” Chaz lied. “Our uncle needs help moving, so I came to ask them if they are free this Saturday.”

The redhead nodded, released Robert, and entered the women’s bathroom. Robert looked ready to bolt. Chaz would allow it since he blocked William from easily leaving. He only needed one Vamp to deal with Marco.

“The council didn’t send him,” William disclosed. “He needs our skills.”

Robert didn’t look convinced.

“It’s true,” Chaz tried to assure him. “I’m a GarLycan. I can’t wipe human memories. There’s a situation I need help with. That’s why I came to look for you both. I need a favor.”

Robert still looked wary. “What do we get in return?”

“What do you want?”

Robert’s gaze darted to his throat.

Chaz wasn’t shocked. They were obviously looking for sustenance. “I can’t donate my blood. It’s a law with my clan. I take it that you two are on your own?”

Robert shot an alarmed glance at William.

“I thought the council sent him,” the male quickly explained. “I admitted that we fled our nest and why.”

“I don’t care about that,” Chaz reiterated. “Has the local pack harassed you for being here? I know their new alpha. How about I ask him to leave you two alone in exchange?”

That had both males glance at each other, silently appearing surprised.

Chaz almost snorted. “No pack likes Vampires near their territory. I can talk to Corlin by asking him to leave you two alone as long as you don’t target any of his pack when you’re hunting for blood. I’ll trust that you haven’t hurt any humans or broken any common laws that will draw unwanted attention.”

“We haven’t,” they both denied.

“Fine. Do me this favor—use your skills on a human I need taken care of, and I’ll speak to Alpha Corlin. He owes me that much. Do we have a deal?”

Robert seemed to be the one in charge since he answered. “Can we feed first?”

Chaz inwardly grimaced. “I’d prefer you come with me now. You can feed off the human I want you two to meet.” He didn’t give a damn if they took some blood from Marco.

“Okay,” Robert agreed.

“Let’s go.” Chaz motioned for them to walk in front of him. “My car is in the parking lot.”

Both Vamps behaved by not attempting to flee. They meekly got into his rental. Chaz didn’t like one of them sitting in the backseat, but he slightly shelled his skin in case they planned to attack him. He never trusted their kind.

Chaz had memorized Marco’s address and the directions to get there. “The human has two roommates. I’ll knock on the door, make sure he’s there, and then we go inside.”

“What did the human see?” Robert kept glancing at him from the passenger seat.

“He’s fucking with someone under my protection.” Chaz didn’t want them to know much about Shoni. “I need you to persuade him to quit his job, leave the human alone, and move away.”

“A human is under your protection?” Robert sounded surprised.

“Yes.”

“Why? I mean, we don’t hurt them, but to go out of your way to protect one? That’s strange.”

“It’s a favor someone called in,” he lied. Chaz thought of what Ember had told him, using that as an excuse the Vamps would understand. “She helped save a Lycan life.” That was the truth. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Okay. Tell us exactly what you want us to do,” Robert requested.

“We go in, make him quit his job, move to another state, and never have contact with Shoni again. That’s the human’s name. Is that clear enough?”

“Yes. We can do that,” Robert agreed. “You don’t mind us feeding off him?”

“Not at all.” Chaz felt zero guilt about offering up a human to be food, especially that one.

“What if this human is immune to our eyes?”

Chaz glanced over at Robert, finding the Vampire intently watching him. “You feed off him like I said you could, and I’ll have to get rid of him.”

“That’s against the law to kill humans unless it’s in self-defense,” William whispered from the backseat.

“So is allowing a human to know about us. This one certainly can’t be trusted.” Chaz hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Ember’s words echoed in his head. Shoni would be a suspect from the police if Marco was killed or forever disappeared.

They parked across the street from the apartment building. The unit was on the end. Chaz knocked. A short, dark-haired male opened the door. He curled his lip. “I don’t want whatever the hell you’re selling.”

Chaz recognized his voice from overhearing him on the phone with Shoni. “Hello, Marco.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

Chaz motioned the Vampires to go inside the apartment. Robert moved fast, pushing Marco backward. William rushed inside next. Chaz followed last, closing the door. The stench of spoiled food and dirty laundry assaulted his nose. The living room area held two hampers and lots of fast-food discards. No other humans seemed to be there.

“I’ll double-check that we’re alone,” William rushed toward the bedrooms.

“He’s not immune,” Robert reported.

Chaz stopped looking around the messy apartment to study Marco. The male stood mute and unmoving, staring blankly into Robert’s glowing eyes. Chaz approached. The urge was there to punch the human for causing Shoni so much anguish. He resisted.

William returned. “No one else is here. There are three bedrooms, but his scent isn’t inside any of them. Does he sleep on the couch?”

Chaz glanced around, noticing what he’d missed before. The couch was mused with a blanket and pillow on it. The laundry hampers were filled with men’s clothing, but on closer inspection, he realized only one held clean clothing. The corner area near the dining room had a stack of boxes.

“He was planning on moving out,” Chaz admitted. “Maybe his roommates had already found someone to rent his room.”

“That’s convenient since you want him to leave town.” William walked behind Marco, his gaze locking on Chaz. “You’re okay with us taking some blood?”

“That was the deal.” Chaz averted his gaze as William took one of Marco’s arms while Robert took the other. The sound of them biting into flesh wasn’t a pleasant one. Minutes passed before they’d had their fill.

Marco swayed on his feet, drawing Chaz’s attention again. Robert moved him to sit on the couch and crouched in front of him, his eyes glowing. “You want to change your life. That means moving to another state far from here. Who is Shoni to you? Tell me about her.”

Chaz fisted his hands, not liking that line of questioning, but he knew the Vampire needed a baseline to work with.

“She’s a bitch,” Marco muttered. “A guy at the mortgage company she works for told me she inherited a large chunk of change from her granny biting the bullet and how she just bought a condo. Shoni is stupid and naive as fuck. I knew I could trick her into putting everything in my name if I married her. My cousin said I’d only need to put up with her for six months to get half of everything when I divorced her.”

Marco sucked in a deep breath. “But the stupid bitch wouldn’t put out. I mean, it wasn’t like I couldn’t get much better ass. In fact, I did. Della was so hot that I wanted to go on vacation with her enough to dump Shoni.”

He snorted. “Shoni refused to give me the Hawaii trip. I fucking earned that by sticking with her boring ass for so long. I fucking hate that bitch. My hot piece of ass dumped me because of Shoni. Della said I wasn’t worth having her sister pissed at her for being with me.”

Chaz wanted to kill him with his bare hands. The male hadn’t ever cared about Shoni. He’d planned to use her.

“It should have been like taking candy from a baby. Now my fucking roommates won’t kick out the new guy to give me my bedroom back since the stupid fuck is paying more than I was,” Marco rambled. “They said I have to move out next week. Shoni is going to fucking pay for ruining my damn life.”

Chaz snarled. “You’ve heard enough. Shut him up before I kill him. He’s to never contact Shoni again. Hell, I don’t even want him speaking her name or talking about her with others.”

Robert nodded. “You need a fresh start in Florida. You will go there tomorrow and never speak Shoni’s name aloud again. You won’t contact her or speak to others about her. You don’t even want to think about her. Am I clear?”

Marco nodded. “Yes.”

“I have two much younger sisters after my father remarried a younger woman.” William crouched next to Robert, his eyes changing as they began to glow. “Look at me.”

Marco did.

“You shouldn’t use women. Marrying one to steal her money is wrong. Any time you’re tempted to do that, the urge to wrestle alligators will strike. It’s an impulse you won’t be able to resist. Do you understand?”

Chaz was stunned by what he’d heard.

Marco nodded. “I will wrestle with alligators.”

William stood, moving to stand at Chaz’s side. He kept his voice low when he spoke. “He’ll probably survive. If not, there will be one less asshole in the world.”

Robert repeated his instructions, programming Marco repeatedly to make sure his orders stuck.

“An alligator?” Chaz wasn’t going to ask the Vampire to remove his compulsion.

“It was the first thing that came to mind after Robert said Florida.” William shrugged. “I worry that low lives like that one will go after my sisters. They inherited life insurance money from my supposed death when they turned twenty-five. Hearing him talk struck a nerve. It’s lucky that he only meant to steal from this Shoni. I smelled blood a month ago as I passed an alley and came across a human who’d just murdered his wife. The vile creature was setting the scene of a mugging gone wrong. I made him tell me the truth. He’d done it because his mistress was pregnant and demanding he marry her before their baby was born. A divorce would have taken too long. He was proud that his wife had no idea he was even having an affair or was capable of murdering her. I made him immediately go to the police station to confess his crime. Humans can be terrible to women.”

Chaz ground his teeth together.

“I wish I could have set my sisters up with some Werewolves before we needed to leave our nest. There was a pack I was tasked with watching. They treated their women extremely well.”

Chaz just stared at William, again stunned by the male.

“What? It’s true. I would hate for my sisters to be turned into what I am. They wouldn’t be able to have kids. Werewolves don’t have that problem. Maybe you should think about setting this Shoni up with the pack you said owes you favors if you’re responsible for her safety. She’d be safer with a mate over someone like him.” William waved a hand at Marco.

Chaz didn’t like that idea one bit.

Robert rose to his feet. “It’s done. He’ll sleep until morning, wake, and immediately be on his way to Florida.”

“Let’s go.” Chaz led them outside, his thoughts on Shoni. The idea of any male trying to lay claim to her left him feeling murderous. He also realized how close Shoni had come to Marco doing far worse than cheating on her and calling off their wedding. He’d only pretended to care about her to take half of everything she owned.

He also realized Shoni might fall victim to another male. She was too sweet and kind for her own good. That was when he began to worry about her future.