23. Hale
“We have another mortal joining us tonight, but he has no idea what we are, so I was gonna ask you to make a stronger cocktail than normal.”
Tiago, leaning on the bar, grins. “Why are we being protective?”
“He’s Yannis’s little brother. Which brings me to my next update. Our friend Ricco has a boss named Johnny ‘Bricks’ Maffeo. He’s big mad that his cousin is dead.”
“Cousin?” Rhett whistles, his arms folded over his chest and straining the material of his shirt. “Oh boy.”
“Exactly. Yves is aware, so the guys will be monitoring the city too, but if he’s able to find Lair, we may have trouble.”
“How are Johnny and Yannis’s brother connected?” Hemsley asks.
“Indirectly. His brother showed up at Yannis’s apartment last night and I learned that his place was being stalked. I found someone willing to talk to me.”
Rhett chuckles. “I’ll bet.”
I wink. “Johnny is searching the city for whoever’s behind his cousin’s death. It’s yet to be determined whether any of them can find Lair.”
“Wonder why he’s called Bricks,” Hemsley muses.
“Who knows.”
“The brother is coming here?” Tiago asks. “Why?”
“Two reasons. To keep him safe and to see if he can potentially work here, but Yannis wants to ease him in slowly. I figured a bit of glamour should help.”
“What’s his name?” Hemsley asks.
“Dimitrious, but he goes by Dimi. He’s an adult, early twenties, cute, a bit naive perhaps.”
“Does he look like Yannis? Because rawr,” Hemsley says, making a clawing motion with his hand.
I growl in response, narrowing my eyes.
“Settle down, Hale,” Tiago says, squeezing my shoulders. “No one is making moves on your man.”
Hemsley grins. “I was just teasing you, man.”
“Dimi is cute,” I say, ignoring the comment. “But he looks nothing like Yannis. Patrons will like him.”
“Alright, I’ll mix up a batch just for him,” Tiago says. “Anything else we should know?”
“Not really. Just be on alert for troublemaking mortals.”
“On it, boss,” Rhett says, saluting me.
The hours pass and I try to keep myself busy, but my mind is stuck on Yannis and Dimi. I’ve texted him several times to ensure he’s safe and offered to pick them up, but Yannis told me Thorn will bring them by, and he would never let anything happen to them.
When it’s finally seven, I’m out of my seat and heading to the front door. Rhett and Hemsley are in their usual spots, while Jade is setting up the donor room. Willow is helping Tiago wipe the tables down.
The door opens and Sebastian, the siren, enters, pausing in a dramatic pose, like he’s giving us a moment to take in his androgynous beauty. He’s wearing a black sequined bodysuit that hugs his figure, and silver boots. His long hair hangs in waves around his face, but his bright green eyes are focused solely on Rhett.
“The party just arrived,” Sebastian says, drawing Rhett’s attention.
The two men exchange glances. Sebastian looks ready to pounce, but I can sense Rhett’s guard up from where I stand.
“Don’t you boys look so handsome tonight,” Sebastian says, cooing at Rhett. “Delicious.”
“Hi, Sebastian,” Rhett says, his tone flat and cautious. “Working tonight, huh?”
“Where else would I be? Lair is the hottest place in town.” He takes a step toward Rhett while Hemsley and I watch the interaction with amusement. “I have a feeling there’s going to be some excitement tonight. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
“What kind of excitement?” I ask.
Sebastian turns to me, blinking long eyelashes. “I’m not sure. I just felt particularly drawn here tonight.”
“Hopefully it’s the good kind.”
“Do we have concerns?”
Rhett nods. “Yeah. I’ll fill you in.”
“Perfect.”
I move past them and stand outside, scanning the area for my love. I hear them before I see them thanks to Thorn’s erratic driving. He tears through the gates, spinning into a parking spot. Yannis steps out of the car, but when Dimi appears, he looks a little pale.
Yannis grins as he comes towards me, and my heart flutters. Gods, he’s beautiful, and he’s mine. I waited centuries to feel this good.
Just as he reaches me, another car barrels through the gates and shots ring out. On instinct, I wrap my arms around Yannis and twist him around.
“Dimi!” Yannis shouts.
“Got him,” Thorn yells back, throwing himself on top of the younger man.
Bullets riddle my back like sharp darts piercing my skin. With every hit, my beast rises, tearing through me like a tornado until I’m snarling. Tiago runs past me, grabbing the bumper of the car before it can take off, and Rhett and Hemsley have Yannis and Dimi safely in their clutches as I get back on my feet, rising to my full height.
I’m seeing red as I stalk towards the car. Thorn gets there first, tearing the passenger door from its hinges while I circle around and tackle the driver trying to make a run for it.
“Which one of you fuckers is Johnny?” I demand.
The back door opens and a man crawls out, trying to sneak away, but my senses are so heightened I could hear a pebble roll right now.
I snap the neck of the man in my clutches, dropping his body to the ground and turning to hunt the man running across the lot. I reach him easily, body-slamming him to the ground.
This has to be Johnny. He’s wearing a deep purple suit and has an arrogant air about him. I tilt my head, holding his gaze. The man trembles beneath me, staring back with terrified eyes and shallow breaths.
“Pleasure to meet you, Johnny. I wish you’d told me you were coming. We could have invited you in.”
His lips move, but no words come out.
“Aww, have I frightened you?” I grip his chin. “You picked a fight with the wrong group, Johnny. You’re realizing that now, aren’t you?”
“Wha-what are you?”
I shake my head. “I’m a vampire, obviously, and you are going to die tonight.”
Standing up, I wrap my hand around his neck and toss him clear across the parking lot. He lands with a thud near the entrance. I’m there seconds later, reveling in his agonized groans. My senses are focused on ending this man, even as pain radiates through my body from the bullets.
I straddle him, tilting my head back to bare my fangs, before lunging forward and sinking them into his neck. He screams as I tear his throat out, and the sound of his dying breaths soothes the beast within me.
I don’t drink, spitting flesh and blood out as I mutilate the man until he falls silent. When it’s over, I slide off him, sitting flat on the ground, the monster within me slinking back inside, satiated and calm.
It’s only then that I look up and realize Yannis and Dimi are standing on the front steps watching the whole thing. Yannis has his arms around his brother, but I know from his flushed cheeks and the intensity of his scent that he’s turned on.
Dimi, on the other hand, looks terrified.
I get to my feet, using my sleeve to wipe the blood from my face, but I quickly collapse as all the adrenaline from the attack drains away.
“Hale!”
Yannis is at my side, cradling me in his arms.
“I’m okay, love. Just need a few minutes.”
“Viv is on the way,” Thorn says, pulling a bullet from his bicep. “Just to check us out.”
“You were shot,” Yannis says, his eyes filled with tears.
“I won’t die. Don’t worry. You and Dimi… no bullets?”
“No. You and Thorn took them all.” He brushes my hair from my forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod, aware of my body pushing the foreign objects out. It hurts, but I’m healing.
Dimi appears next to me and takes my hand. “You and Thorn saved us.”
“It’s my job.” I smile. “I’ll always take care of you. Both of you.”
Dimi nods, glancing at his brother. “Does anyone want to fill me in? I’m pretty sure nothing I just saw should be real, but it is. I think.”
Yannis frowns. “This isn’t how I planned to tell you, but I guess I don’t have a choice now.”
“Let’s get you inside, Hale.” Tiago has his hands under my arms, helping me to my feet. A bullet pushes its way out of my arm and he plucks it out, tossing it to the ground. “Assholes. How did they even find us?”
“I’m learning that not everyone drawn to Lair is good.”
“Fuck,” Tiago mutters as he and Yannis help me walk inside.
“Where is everyone else? They okay?”
“Rhett, Hems, and Sebastian are in the lot cleaning up,” Tiago answers. “Thorn is on the phone with his brothers.”
I nod, letting them help me into a seat. “How many did I take?”
“Not sure, but it was a lot,” Yannis says.
“Thorn hit the ground, so he got maybe three or four.” Tiago offers me a glass of blood.
Yannis shoves the glass away. “If you need to feed, I’m here.”
I shift my eyes to a curious looking Dimi. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. I take care of you too.”
“It would help me a lot.”
He taps his throat. “It’s all yours.”
My fangs drop and I lean in, inhaling his scent before biting. Yannis wraps his arms around me, enveloping me in the feeling of home, and as his sweet blood flows, I feel my strength returning.
Dimi watches, but doesn’t say a word. He might be afraid of me now, but hopefully he’ll understand once we can explain.
Minutes later, I hear Viv and Viper hurry in, followed by the sounds of my brothers.
“He’s over here,” Rhett says.
I reluctantly pop off my love’s neck, waving them away. “I’m fine. I’m healing.”
“Let us check anyway,” Viv says.
When I look up, all my brothers and their mates are here, gathered around. Yves looks pissed.
“I had a feeling New Onyx would become very attractive to criminals,” he says.
“It’s my fault,” Yannis says. “They targeted me and I led them here.”
“No,” Damiano says. “It’s their fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Yannis shakes his head, clearly not believing the words. “I feel guilty.”
“You have to stop that,” Yves says. “Damiano is right. You didn’t do anything, and eventually, they would’ve likely become a problem for us anyway. They always do.”
“And if they were trafficking, I would’ve found them,” Thorn says. “I fucking hate that shit.”
“He does,” Syn says, holding Bowie close.
“All that matters is that you’re safe,” Kyson says.
“That’s right,” Thorn says, beaming at his mate. “And Hale will be fine. Bullets hurt, but they won’t take out a vampire.”
“Vampire…” Dimi whispers. “Holy fuckballs.”
“Let me get these out of your back,” Viv says, picking at my skin with large tweezers.
I flinch with every removal, but Viper is there running some sort of liquid over the wounds that eases the burn. The skin begins to stitch itself together as soon as each bullet is gone.
“Better.” I nod. “Thank you, ladies. As always, your gifts are appreciated.”
Viv nods, packing her things away in her satchel. “I need to look at the ward and see what I can do to block out bad people.”
Yves squeezes her shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up. If trouble comes, we’ll handle it.”
“I know, but I’m still gonna do some research. We have mortals to protect.”
“Mortals…” Dimi whispers again, his eyes shifting to his brother.
Yannis frowns, but looks at me. “You’re okay now?”
I nod, sitting up straighter. “In a few hours, I’ll be as good as new. Don’t worry about me. Talk to Dimi.”
“Yeah, I better. Can we go in the back?”
“Of course.”
Yannis presses a long kiss to my lips. “You scared the fuck out of me.”
“I’m immortal, sweetheart. Don’t forget.”
“You saved our lives. Thank you.”
“You saved mine, so it’s only fair.”