Chapter 4
The next night, Raul went out to the stables to go for a ride before breakfast. He needed the time on horseback to think.
What was he going to do about Ji-Su? Obviously, he wasn’t going to let him go back to Cedric.
Even though Ji-Su had said Cedric wasn’t abusive, the events that had led to him staggering down the highway, dazed, upset, and barefoot were unacceptable.
But he couldn’t simply steal Ji-Su away from the other vampire.
Well, he could. But it would cause trouble and Ji-Su would be in the middle of it.
He didn’t want to do anything that would cause Ji-Su more stress or put him in danger.
Besides, the human might not want to stay there at the ranch.
And since Ji-Su’s contract wasn’t through Sanguis Syndicate, he couldn’t call up Everett and ask him to null the contract and blacklist Cedric from using their blood pet service ever again.
He would need to call the agency Ji-Su was contracted through and find out what his options were.
Most had a clause that would let a blood pet walk away from their patron if they were being harmed in any way. Surely this qualified.
He walked into the large building that housed his horses.
The long, red stone corridor between the rows of stalls was kept meticulously clean by the stable hands.
Most of the stalls were occupied with horses whose lineage traced back to wild mustangs.
He rubbed the forelocks of two horses he passed before he reached his favorite mount—a big, black stallion he’d named Ace.
“Good evening, boy. Want to go for a ride?” he asked as he rubbed Ace’s glossy coat.
Ace nudged his shirt pocket, so Raul took out the pieces of carrot he’d tucked away there.
“Alright, there’s your snack.” He grabbed a dandy brush and began brushing Ace down, then moved on to inspect each hoof.
Ace was groomed by his own personal stable hand but Raul still liked to prep him before riding.
Once he finished, Raul slipped on the horse’s bit and bridle.
Then he grabbed the black saddle pad and settled it on Ace’s back.
Next was the Western saddle. He quickly checked it over then hefted it off its stand.
But before he could get the saddle on, Burke, his personal assistant and head of his security, appeared outside Ace’s stall.
Raul could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t there to deliver good news.
“Three guesses who is at our gates right now,” Burke said.
Raul didn’t need three guesses. “Cedric.”
“Yep. Banging on it and hollering that he wants Ji-Su.”
“That’s not happening.” Not wanting to take the time to finish saddling Ace, Raul set the saddle back on its stand, took the pad off, and swung up onto the stallion bareback. “I’m going down to the gate.”
“To kill him?”
“Probably not tonight. Grab a golf cart and meet me down there.”
“You got it.”
Tangling his fingers in Ace’s mane, he kneed the horse’s sides and rode out, exiting the stable and cantering down the long drive until he reached the gate. A guard stoically stared straight ahead while Cedric screamed curses at him. He stepped aside when Raul rode up.
“I didn’t think this was a guest you wanted to allow on the property, sir.”
“You were correct.”
“Raul!” Cedric furiously yelled. “You have something that belongs to me.”
Raul glared at Cedric from atop his mount.
The young vampire had arrived in a big white Cadillac Escalade.
A group of five people, a mix of humans and vampires, stood behind him.
Cedric was dressed in a white turtleneck sweater, tan leather pants with an all-over Louis Vuitton print, and his face was pinched tight with rage.
“Ji-Su walked away from you. Looks to me like he doesn’t want to be with you anymore.”
“He didn’t walk away. He went out for a drive. And you abducted him from the side of the road.”
Raul swung down from Ace. He strode up to the gate to face Cedric directly before answering. “I found him wandering barefoot, dazed, and bleeding from your unsealed bite on the shoulder of the goddamn highway. After you verbally abused him. That’s how you take care of your blood pet?”
“It’s not that serious.” Cedric scoffed. “Ji-Su was being foolish and dramatic after some harmless teasing. I was too tired at the time to deal with his bullshit. I would have sent a servant to retrieve him if he hadn’t come back home.”
Raul clenched his fist with restrained anger at Cedric’s callous disregard for Ji-Su’s well-being. “I’m not letting you near him.”
“I could jump this fence and take him back. The only reason I haven’t is out of courtesy.”
“You could try,” Raul replied, cold and hard. He wished Cedric would jump his gate. The problem of how to deal with this situation would be solved after he stomped Cedric six feet underground the moment he landed.
Unfortunately, Cedric wasn’t stupid. He knew he wasn’t a match for Raul. He immediately backed off his threat, impotently banging a hand on the gate instead.
“You can’t snatch someone’s blood pet away from them!” he yelled again.
“I’m aware of that,” Raul answered calmly. “So, name your price.”
“What?”
“Name your fucking price. I’ll pay it to buy out his contract and in exchange you leave Ji-Su alone for good.”
That got Cedric to stop his yelling. The young vampire stared at Raul in surprise.
“You’re kidding.”
Raul wasn’t kidding. He remained silent, waiting for Cedric to reach that conclusion himself and come up with a dollar amount. Behind him, he heard Burke arrive on one of the ranch’s golf carts.
“Okay then. I want one million dollars.”
“Done.” He spoke to Burke without taking his eyes off Cedric. “Burke, make the transfer.”
Cedric’s mouth dropped open wide. He clearly hadn’t expected Raul to call his bluff and accept that price.
Burke got off the cart and pulled out his phone. “Sir, if you have your bank info I can make a direct transfer. If not, I can cut you an electronic check. I’ll also need to know the name of Ji-Su’s agency.”
Cedric recovered from his shock and gave Burke the requested bank and agency details. He snorted a cruel laugh after providing the information. “A fool and his money. Enjoy that little kawaii waste of space and his mediocre blood. Believe me, you’ll get bored with him soon enough.”
Raul didn’t bother to respond. He simply watched as Cedric and his people returned to their vehicle and left. Once they were gone, Raul turned to the gate guard.
“Notify me immediately if they return or if you notice anything suspicious.”
“Yes, sir.”
Raul swung back up onto Ace. “I’m not making my casino rounds tonight,” he said to Burke as the big horse he sat turned in the drive. “I need to let Ji-Su know what happened and make sure he’s okay. Call Deklan and tell him he’s in charge for the night.”
“I’m on it.”
Raul left Burke to make the call while he cantered back up to the stables. “Sorry, boy. No ride this evening.” He handed Ace off to one of the stable hands. After washing up in the sink by the wide, double barn doors, he went back into the ranch house to talk to Ji-Su.
WHEN RAUL WALKED BACK into the ranch house, he was told by a staff member that Ji-Su hadn’t come down yet.
The young human was probably exhausted after his ordeal the previous night.
Deciding he’d give him a little while longer before he went up to check on him, Raul went into his office.
Burke walked in just as he was sitting down at his desk.
“Do you think Cedric will let this go?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. He got a million dollars for being an asshole to a human. But I don’t know anything about him. He might be smart and walk away. Or he might decide to be vindictive because he lost his toy to someone else.”
“I hate to say it, but he seems more the vindictive type.”
“He does. And I want to be prepared if that’s the case.” Raul pulled out his phone and pressed the speed dial button to call the head of security for the Sanguis Syndicate. The call connected on the second ring.
“Raul. What can I do for you?”
“Jason, I need you to look into someone for me.”
“What’s the name?”
“Cedric LaMonte. I need to know his reputation with humans and if he’s known for causing trouble in general.”
“Give me a few hours and I’ll have the info you need.”
“Thank you.”
Raul ended the call. Jason had the best team available to ferret out info on anyone. He trusted that by the time his people were finished looking into Cedric, he’d know everything there was to know about him.
“You’ll want to contact Ji-Su’s agency next,” Burke said.
Raul cursed. “Fuck. I know they are not going to like hearing about this transaction.”
“Probably not. Here’s the number.”
He entered the number Burke gave him on his phone’s keypad, but before he could press send, Linda and Alan walked into his office.
Several servants carrying luggage waited for them in the hallway.
Raul swore beneath his breath. He had completely forgotten about the two blood pets currently staying under his roof.
He stood up from his desk, ready to explain the situation. “Linda. Alan.”
Linda shook her head. “Not a word. I told you that our time together was at an end.”
“I didn’t plan this. But Cedric’s treatment of Ji-Su was terrible and I worried it might escalate into something worse.”
“You did the right thing,” Linda said firmly.
“Small offenses are how the cycle of abuse often starts. It’s for the best to get him out of that situation as soon as possible.
” She came over and kissed him on the cheek.
“You need to take care of him and you don’t need us here while you do that.
But I’d love to meet him once he’s all settled in. ”
“Thank you for understanding.”
After Linda stepped aside, Alan gave him a hug. “I had a good time as always. We’ll see you around.”
“Goodbye, Alan.”
The two left, following the servants carrying their luggage out to the waiting car service.
Raul watched them go. They’d had fun together, but none of their trio had ever intended it to be a permanent thing.
“That was the smoothest, easiest breakup I’ve ever witnessed,” Burke said in awe.
Raul huffed a laugh. “Linda believes drama is bad for her soul and Alan is too easy-going to be bothered over something like the end of a relationship when he wasn’t in love.”
With Linda and Alan gone from the estate, Raul got back to his call. He pressed send on the number he had queued up. The call was answered after the first ring.
“Hemo-Angel’s blood pet agency. How may I help you?”
“Hello. This is Raul from the Sanguis Syndicate. I need to speak with whoever is in charge.”
“Yes, sir. One moment, please.”
He was placed on hold and soft, tinkling piano music began to play. Raul leaned forward and braced a forearm on his desk, waiting for the agency’s owner or head supervisor to come on the line. After a few minutes, the phone clicked and the music stopped. A pleasantly crisp voice spoke.
“Mr. Raul. I’m Sandra, the chief supervisor for Hemo-Angels. How may I be of assistance this evening?”
“Hello, Sandra. I’m calling to let you know that I removed one of your blood pets from his patron.”
“Excuse me? Who?”
“Ji-Su.” Raul bit back a curse when he realized he didn’t know Ji-Su’s last name. That was sure to go over well. “I apologize but I don’t have his last name.”
On the other end of the call there was a beat of silence and then the clicking of keyboard keys.
“I have his file here. Min Ji-Su. He was placed with Cedric LaMonte two months ago. A younger vampire. Forty years turned and part of the LaMonte family.”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“And what precipitated this removal?” Sandra asked.
“Last night, Cedric said something to Ji-Su that led to him being upset and walking barefoot down the shoulder of the highway.”
“Anything else?”
“Is that not enough?”
“Mr. Raul—.”
“He also bit Ji-Su, took more from him than was safe, left the wounds open, and didn’t see that he got the nourishment he needed to recover after drinking from him. That is unacceptable treatment of a vulnerable human that blood patrons are expected to care for.”
A sigh came from the other end.
“Yes, Mr. Raul. You are correct. If we had been informed of the situation we would have removed Ji-Su ourselves. You are aware there are proper channels we must go through when something like this occurs.”
“Excuse my language, but I don’t give a fuck about proper channels. Ji-Su needed immediate help and I acted. I paid Cedric a million dollars and let him know that from now on he is to stay away from Ji-Su.”
“You paid Cedric a million dollars?”
“I did.”
Another sigh.
“Mr. Raul. Are you positive this didn’t all take place because you wanted Ji-Su for yourself?”
The question drew Raul up short. “I—.” I want him, want his blood, want to fuck him until he cries. “I am attracted to him, yes. But I was fine waiting until his contract with Cedric ended before I approached him. I only stepped in because of the way I found him.”
“Okay, Mr. Raul. I will accept that. Do you intend to keep Ji-Su with you?”
“That will be up to him.” He would love to keep Ji-Su. But he might be too traumatized to serve as a blood pet or even be in close vicinity of vampires this soon after his time with Cedric.
“Regardless if he remains with you or not, Ji-Su will need to be compensated as he is now out the remaining ten-month salary he was expecting. And you gave that million dollars directly to Cedric rather than to the agency so that we could distribute it properly.”
“Fuck.”
“Yes. Quite.”
“I will take care of him financially. Draw up whatever papers you need and I’ll sign them and set up the required monthly payments.”
“I’ll get started on the contract immediately but will hold off on finalizing it until Ji-Su decides if he will remain with you or not.”
“I also need you to vet me. If he stays, I want him to know that he is safe with me.”
“Naturally that will be taken care of.”
“Good. Thank you for working with me on this.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Raul. The safety and well-being of our blood pets is my top concern. I do appreciate you looking out for Ji-Su.”
They ended the call. Raul leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. He looked at Burke who was sitting in the chair across from his desk.
“A mess,” Raul said with a shake of his head. “But it’s being handled.”
“I’m sure everything will be squared away by the end of the night,” Burke said confidently.
“If it isn’t, I’ll take care of the problem myself.
” He’d paid off Cedric and contacted Ji-Su’s agency.
That was as far as he was willing to go using above board, non-violent measures.
If either of those agreements fell through, he’d simply maim or kill whoever he needed to in order to keep Ji-Su safe.