Chapter 42
Raul drove through the dark, near empty streets of Dear Lake.
It was the still hour, before most humans rose in the morning and when vampires were inside, settling down to sleep away the day.
He glanced down at the hand that gripped the steering wheel.
All of his knuckles were busted and bloody.
The pain in his hands was negligible, but ending Cedric was worth it no matter how much pain it would have caused.
He wrinkled his nose in distaste. He couldn’t wait to get home and wash the stink of Cedric’s blood off his skin. His passengers were no doubt ready for a hot shower too. Everett and LaToria were both quiet, their heartbeats returned to normal now that the adrenaline rush of the fight was over.
“Do you think there are any sporting goods stores open?” Raul asked into the silence.
Everett shifted around in the back seat. “Why?”
“So I can stop and buy a protective cup for my balls.”
The three of them laughed, remembering Solan’s threat to Raul if Everett were to get hurt. Everett was returning with a bullet wound. It would be healed up soon but Raul was sure that Solan would be pissed regardless.
They entered an area where the homes were acres apart, turning down wide tree-lined streets until they reached the drive to Everett’s mansion. At the call box, Everett punched in his entry code and the black gates swung open on well-oiled hinges.
Raul drove up the long drive to the mansion, where Solan stood waiting in the open front doorway. Every line of his tall, slender frame was tight with tension as he waited for Everett.
“Should have made that stop at the store,” Raul muttered as he got out of the truck.
He opened the rear passenger door to help Everett out.
When Everett stepped onto the paved driveway, he stood straight and solid on his feet.
He appeared fine, but there was no hiding the hole in his shirt or the bloody gunshot wound on his side.
The second Solan noticed the injury, his eyes went wide. He rushed down the front steps, headed straight for Raul.
“I told you what I would do if Everett got hurt!” he angrily yelled.
Solan pulled his foot back, clearly about to kick Raul in the dick. But Everett slid in front of the enraged human, spinning him away from Raul and tossing him over his shoulder in one swift movement.
Solan yelled again. “Damnit, Everett! Put me down! You’re hurt!”
“I’m not that hurt,” Everett calmly replied. “It’s only a graze.”
“Then put me down and let me see.”
“No. Once we’re inside, I’ll put you down and you can tend to my grievous injuries.”
“You just said you weren’t that hurt.”
“I’m suddenly feeling the pain. Must be the adrenaline wearing off.”
“Liar!”
Raul noted that although Solan yelled, he didn’t kick, squirm, or do anything else that might cause Everett pain.
Everett turned to face Raul. “Goodnight.”
“Good night and thank you for your help,” Raul said as he held a hand out for his fellow Syndicate member to shake.
Everett switched to holding Solan with one arm to accept his handshake.
“I was happy to assist. You mess with one of us you mess with all of us.”
With a final nod goodbye, Everett turned and climbed the steps to the mansion’s still open front door, carrying Solan over his shoulder the whole way. Solan raised his head from his upside-down position and pointed at Raul, the fierce glare on his face promising retribution.
Shaking his head in amusement at Everett’s feisty blood pet, Raul went back around to the driver’s side and got back in behind the wheel.
“Home, Jeeves.” LaToria said tiredly.
“You got it.” Raul put the truck in gear and pulled off.
After a short drive, they arrived at LaToria’s graceful, white stone mansion. He stopped in the circular drive and put the truck in park. When he got out to open the door for her, he took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of the night blooming flowers planted around her estate.
“Thank you, Raul,” LaToria said as she exited the vehicle.
“Thank you, friend. Watching you smack that guy across the room was the second-best part of my evening.”
“You’re welcome. Ji-Su is safe and I had fun brawling so it was a good night for me too.”
Raul caught movement from the corner of his eye. He looked toward her house and saw an unfamiliar, worried face in the window watching them.
“That’s not your butler,” he said. “You have a special someone waiting for you in there?”
LaToria grinned, wicked and beautiful even with multiple cuts on her face and her mouth crusted over with dried blood.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
After that teasing question, LaToria slipped past him and went inside the house.
Once the door closed behind her, Raul finally headed for home. The headlights of the cars behind him carrying his guards followed him the entire way. Their night was ending, but there would be work for others.
Their organization wasn’t at war with the LaMonte family, so out of respect, he’d ordered the Syndicate’s cleaners to go and handle the dead bodies and bloody mess he’d left behind.
Cleaning up the death scene would also keep law enforcement and politicians happy.
They didn’t want everyday citizens discovering the gory scene or pictures of it splashed across the local news.
The matter would be handled without their involvement.
That’s the way the Sanguis Syndicate did business.
He was sure there would be a meeting called with the head of the LaMonte family, but going by the way they’d practically cast Cedric out, he didn’t see them retaliating. Still, he’d ordered extra guards stationed around his estate just in case.
When he finally made it home, he let out a tired sigh. The house was mostly dark. A few lights were on for the humans who were on staff during the day while the vampires slept.
Burke stood half-hidden in the shadows of the wide front porch, leaning against the railing and smoking a cigarette. Raul thanked and dismissed the guards who’d accompanied him for the night before he went up the porch steps to join his assistant.
“You’re back.” Burke stubbed out the cigarette and pushed off from the railing. “Is it done?”
Raul simply nodded in answer. “Where’s Ji-Su?”
“He went to bed a couple of hours ago.”
That was perfect. He would shower and sleep and talk to Ji-Su in the evening. That gave him time to decide exactly what and how much he would tell Jo-Su about what had gone down with Cedric.
Gloria opened the door, the light from the one lit wall sconce in the foyer spilling out into the night.
“Welcome home, Mr. Raul,” she said with relief clear in her voice.
“What are you doing still up?” Raul asked as he walked into the house. “You should be off duty already.”
She rolled her eyes. “As if I could rest before you returned home on a night like tonight.”
Grateful for Gloria’s loyalty and concern, he lightly squeezed her shoulder. “I’m home safe now.”
“Good,” she said as she smiled and patted his hand.
“Do we need to handle anything else?” Burke asked.
“No,” Raul answered with a shake of his head. “Everything has been taken care of. I’m going to shower in one of the spare rooms before I go to bed. You two get some sleep. And don’t tell Ji-Su about this,” he cautioned them both.
Before they could agree, there was movement in the dark hall leading to the stairs.
A petite figure emerged from the shadowed space of the alcove there.
Ji-Su. He wore one of Raul’s button-down shirts over a pair of his pajama bottoms. The shirt was several sizes too big, the rolled sleeves still long enough to cover most of his hands, and the hem hanging down to his knees.
He looked adorable, but the sight of him made Raul freeze where he stood.
Ji-Su’s dark gaze moved between Raul, Gloria, and Burke before finally locking on Raul.
“Don’t tell Ji-Su about what?”