Chapter 4 Angelo
CHAPTER 4: ANGELO
Angelo stood consciously still as he watched Marco and Vin inspect the now-dead body they’d been questioning. His muscles flexed as he fought the annoying urge to pull Vin away from his Alpha. Marco was too close to Vin, and the vampire was still recovering from that horrifying head injury. He should be resting. And why did Angelo even care? Was the vamp using his power on him? Swallowing another growl, he breathed deep through his anger, knowing Marco would lose patience with him if he didn’t pull it together.
Vin glanced up at him and his cock throbbed as the vamp bit his lip and batted dark lashes over flashing silver eyes. Seeing Vin wearing his clothes on his slim, muscled frame was an exercise in torture. Why the fuck had he let him wear the grey sweatpants? They left nothing to the imagination. They also left the vamp smelling of him, and everyone around him knew it. That should not feel so damn satisfying. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus.
“That was a death spell. I can smell the earth magic from here. The witches are involved,” Angelo said before he could do anything else stupid, like feed Vin some more or make him take another nap.
“Or someone’s framing them as well,” Marco said, already reaching for his phone to call his contacts. “The guns they used to attack here came from stock stolen from one of our warehouses a week ago and we’ve got banned weapons even we don’t trade in turning up on the streets. Someone’s coming at us hard and trying to weaken us by starting a war between the families. We can’t afford the distraction. You two chase down Vin’s mark and see if it gives us another lead. I’ll take care of the politics.”
Their city, New Trinity, was more commonly known by the supernatural community as the City of Demons for its three crime families—the Lunetti mafia shifter pack, named for their Alpha’s family, who controlled the illegal weapons trade; the Cruor Coven of vampires who trafficked humans behind the cover of their white-collar mobster medical conglomerate C.C. Pharmaceuticals that sourced the blood bags they needed to feed undetected by humans; and the witch’s Elemental Mayhem Motorcycle Club that dealt in drugs and magical protection. The families were alike, but totally different from the crime families of humans, whom they’d long since displaced from the city.
A war was far more dangerous when it played out between immortals with strength and abilities like the shifters and vampires, or even mortal humans with magic like the witches. The fact they all had to keep to the Global Accord to hide themselves from the normal human population added another layer of complexity. It meant the rulers of the crime families had to meet regularly and cooperate far more than they might otherwise. Angelo didn’t envy Marco the tightrope he walked every day with the other species. This situation with someone trying to spark conflict was a disaster waiting to happen .
Angelo bowed his head and clasped Marco’s hand in farewell as his Alpha went to leave. A wicked smile crossed his Alpha’s face as he pulled away and Angelo realised why a moment later when he stopped by Vin on the way out, kissing him on the cheek. It was all he could do to hold his growl in.
“You’re losing your touch, Corvin. Fuck him already so he can get it out of his system and focus on his damn job. I’ll leave some guards on the perimeter tonight so you can both get some … rest,” Marco said.
Angelo’s jaw literally dropped at Marco’s words. He was so shocked he barely acknowledged the packmate who came inside to sling the dead body over her shoulder and follow their Alpha out. Since when did Marco try to get him to sleep with a damn leech?
“Is that open mouth an invitation? You’re a little tall, Angel. I’m gonna need you down on your knees if you want me to make use of it,” Vin said, stepping in close to him with a grin and booping his nose.
The vampire was fucking insane and had zero sense of self-preservation. Angelo snapped his lengthening fangs at the offending finger and shouldn’t have been surprised when Vin let him catch it between his teeth. He bit down hard enough to draw blood and it only made the crazy vampire’s smile wider as Vin’s groan filled the room.
Leaning in close, Vin whispered in his ear, his breath ghosting across Angelo’s skin and sending tingles straight down to his achingly hard cock. “You want to make me bleed, Angel? Go ahead. I love blood,” he said before closing his own fangs down on Angelo’s earlobe not quite hard enough to break the skin.
Fuck. He wasn’t doing this. Not with a vampire. Not with an assassin.
Shoving Vin away, he cursed himself when the smaller man stumbled backwards onto the bed, momentum making his body bounce enticingly onto the mattress. He could see the ridge of the vampire’s erection straining at his sweatpants as Vin let out another of his contagious, full-body laughs that begged him to join in.
“You’re injured. You need to rest,” Angelo growled, trying and failing to make himself turn away.
Vin rose onto his elbows to watch him. “So, you do care. Come join me. You look like you’d make a great pillow.”
“Why do you turn everything into a fucking come-on?” Angelo asked.
It surprised him when Vin’s expression turned almost sweet. “Usually, I’d just be doing it to make you vulnerable so I could use you, but you’re different. I actually want you. It’s very disconcerting.”
Angelo rolled his eyes. “Well, you can keep wanting. It’s never going to happen.”
Vin smirked, “Sure, Angel. Whatever you say.”
Angelo huffed an exasperated breath and ignored the smugness emanating from his wolf in response to Vin’s words. “We will not be fucking.”
Vin nodded calmly. “Not today, maybe. But I’ll change your mind.”
“With your creepy ability to charm the pants off anyone?” Angelo snapped, wishing he didn’t sound so jealous.
“I’d never use my power on you like that, Angel. It’d take all the fun out of it.”
“I don’t do fun,” Angelo snapped, wondering why he was even still entertaining this conversation.
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you. It’ll be our little secret. You can take all that rage out on my ass and when you’re all fucked out, I’ll wrap you up in my arms and tease you until you’re dripping smiles all over the bed to match your cum dripping out of?— ”
Angelo lunged forward and crushed his hand to Vin’s mouth to stop him talking. Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he fought for control as the vampire’s words wrapped around him like a hand gripped tight around his cock. Pushing away the unwelcome feelings, he channelled some of Vin’s sassiness into his response, even though he knew it would fall flat. Anything to break the sensual spell Vin was weaving between them.
“I bet you say that to all the boys. Did you say that to Marco before you fucked him?”
Silence stretched between them as Angelo removed his hand and stepped away from the bed before risking opening his eyes. He didn’t know what he expected to see, but it wasn’t the bemused expression Vin was wearing.
“No, Angel. I don’t think I’ve ever told someone I’d make them smile. If it’s any consolation, it’s probably weirding me out more than you.”
“I doubt it. Whatever. You’ve known me one fucking day. And stop calling me Angel. My name’s Angelo.”
“You hate my kind. You hate me. And yet still you protected me. You would kill a man for touching me. You made sure I had the blood I needed to heal. You are a halo of light in the darkness, Angel, and I will remind you of that every time I speak your name because you carry darkness with you everywhere you go.”
Angelo swallowed hard and resisted the urge to tell Vin he didn’t hate him. Why didn’t he hate him? He couldn’t deal with whatever this was. “Not letting you die is basic decency 101. And I was ordered to guard you. I’m just doing my job.”
“You’d be surprised how rare basic decency is—and you’re not fooling me. I might not use my power to influence you, but I can still read you like a book. Do you feed every person you guard? You’re feeling this draw between us just as much as I am. ”
Angelo’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. Sure, he didn’t usually offer food to someone if there was any sexual attraction between them because it was easily confused with mating behaviour. But that’s not what happened here. Blood was not the kind of food a wolf fed their mate because they didn’t mate fucking vampires.
“Get some sleep so we can find your mark and you can go back to wherever it is you came from,” Angelo said, refusing to offer any explanation for his behaviour.
Vin shrugged. “I’m a predator too, Angel. I love the chase. It’ll just make it sweeter when you finally give in.”
Angelo was about to turn away and get some space from the annoying vampire when Vin started trailing his hand down his bare stomach toward his waistband, tracing the grooves of his abs as he went. For a moment, Angelo held his breath, watching those delicate fingers getting lower and lower… and then he forced himself to turn away.
For fuck’s sake.
This was not happening.
“I’m going to check that the clean-up crew got everything outside,” he said, annoyed at how breathless he sounded.
“Make sure you’re back by nightfall. Your Alpha ordered you to rest, remember?” Vin called after him.
Angelo spent the rest of the afternoon in wolf form after shifting on the patio of the cabin and letting the restless tension of the previous day carry him out into the forest, where he could check for any lingering attackers and decimate the local rabbit population. He might’ve savaged the little bunnies more than was strictly necessary. Even that didn’t help. It just reminded him of how satisfying it had been to tear the throats from the men who’d been trying to kill Vin the previous night. If anyone was going to hurt the vampire, it would be him . No one else was allowed.
Marco had left two of Angelo’s security crew guarding the perimeter just like he’d said, and he took the time to shift and check in with them on the way back to the cabin. His distaste for vampires was well known, and he didn’t bother correcting their assumption that they were there to let him get some distance from Vin. At least their Alpha hadn’t shared his unwelcome matchmaking with Angelo’s subordinates.
“How long are you here for? We’ll need you to relieve the guards at the warehouses tomorrow,” Angelo said, flanking them as they patrolled the forest, unbothered by his nakedness.
“Just until dawn,” one of his newer hires, Lou, said.
She might be new to his security team, but she was lethal in a fight with a bloodthirst that was extreme—even for a wolf. He had no concerns about leaving her to guard their backs. He just wished he could have her a bit closer so she could guard him from the infuriating enticement of Vin’s presence while she was at it. Shifting back to his wolf form, he took the long way back and tried his best to wear himself out instead.
When he finally returned to the cabin at dusk, Vin must’ve sensed his presence despite his natural stealth, because the vampire opened the front door as he entered the clearing. With his wolf in the driver’s seat of his mind, Vin’s intoxicating scent had his tongue lolling and a surge of possession filling him that he quickly locked down. The desperate need to brush himself against the vampire’s body and lure him into play had him racing toward the house before he regained control of himself and slowed his pace.
“Hey, pretty puppy,” Vin murmured, and Angel’s traitor wolf preened under the compliment .
It was all he could do not to butt his head up against Vin’s thigh. As he pushed past the vampire to enter the cabin, another mouth-watering scent rolled over him—freshly cooked steak and potatoes. His tail flicked in happiness despite himself. Vin didn’t eat anything but blood, so this was all for him. The damn vampire was feeding him back, and his wolf was ecstatic about it.
“Couldn’t let you waste away, Angel. You gonna shift to that delicious human body of yours, or do I need to put the plate down on the floor so you can keep hiding?”
Angelo growled and shifted. “I’m not fucking hiding from you,” he said, glaring down at the vamp who was now shorter than him again.
“Mmmm… you certainly aren’t. Or are we ignoring the elephant in the room? He’s certainly big enough to qualify,” Vin said, eyes tracking down his chest to his … ah, fuck. Why was his body refusing to behave?
The pure ridiculousness of Vin’s words managed to break through his annoyance, and he found himself rolling his eyes instead of snapping at him as he strode over to his bag and grabbed a pair of low-riding jeans to tug on.
By the time he turned back, his dinner was plated for him and Vin was sitting primly in his skirt at the table, like some sort of erotic gothic parody of a 1950s housewife waiting on her husband. That thought shouldn’t be so damn arousing.
“Thanks,” Angelo muttered as he sat down, digging into his food.
A low groan escaped him as the first rush of flavours burst over his tongue. The meat was perfectly rare and succulent. How had the vampire managed that in such a rustic, tiny kitchen when he didn’t even eat real food himself?
“If I’d known all I needed to do to endear myself to you was put some meat in your mouth…” Vin said.
Angelo snorted in amusement despite himself, shaking his head. The vampire didn’t have a fucking off switch. As he devoured the meal with typical shifter speed, he did his best to ignore Vin watching him, focussing on his food and cleaning up the dishes, instead of the way the vampire was tracking every swallow and lick of his lips. All too soon, there was nothing left to distract him.
“I really do need to get some rest,” Vin said as Angelo’s eyes flicked to the other elephant in the room—the queen-sized bed that was nowhere near big enough for him to want to share.
“I’ll go—” he started to say.
“Please stay, Angel. I’ll sleep better with you here. My ears are still ringing and my night vision’s still busted from the head injury. I’d still destroy anyone who tried anything, but it makes me antsy,” Vin said, looking discomfited and confused at admitting any vulnerability.
Dammit . The protector in Angelo couldn’t turn him down, vampire or not.
“I’ll shift and sleep on the floor,” he muttered.
Vin stepped closer and put a soft hand on his bare chest, sending sparks of want through him.
“There’s plenty of space on the bed, Angel. There’s no reason for you to be uncomfortable. I promise I won’t bite unless you ask very nicely,” Vin said.
Flashes of images rushed through his mind—Vin’s mouth on his neck, Vin’s fangs piercing his skin, Vin’s claws raking down his back. Stepping away to break the connection, Angel drew in a deep, shuddering breath.
“My wolf doesn’t care about comfort.”
“Ten bucks says you end up on the bed either way. You’re much snugglier in wolf form,” Vin teased.
Dammit . Vin was right. There was a much higher chance he’d end up somewhere he shouldn’t if he was half asleep in his wolf form with this instinctual pull to the vampire so much harder to fight.
“Fine. I’ll sleep in the bed, but you don’t fucking touch me,” he growled.
Vin smiled and all but skipped the few steps to the bed, pulling his shirt over his head as he went and pushing his borrowed sweatpants down his thighs to reveal the perfect curves of his ass.
“Fucking hell. Would you wear some damn clothes?” Angelo asked, trying and failing to look away.
“I always sleep naked, Angel. Don’t worry. I won’t touch you. But just so we’re clear, you can touch me all you want,” Vin said with a dirty smirk before slipping under the sheets and turning back the covers to make room for Angelo on the other side.
No way was he taking off his jeans, even if he woke up with the imprint of his zip permanently etched on his erection. With a sigh of annoyance, Angelo flicked off the lights and cautiously settled in the bed with his back to Vin as far away from him as he could get without falling off, which wasn’t nearly far enough. The pillow he was resting on was soaked in Vin’s fresh mint scent and something darker; like he’d had it resting between his thighs sometime over the last day. Groaning, Angelo threw the offending bedding onto the floor. It didn’t help. Vin’s smell still surrounded him, making his cock hard as steel. He should’ve jerked off in the bathroom before going to bed, but he knew the vampire would’ve heard and he couldn’t face the innuendo and dirty comments Vin would’ve let loose on him.
“Stop thinking so hard. You need to sleep as well,” Vin murmured. “Or is it something else that’s hard?”
“Shut up,” Angelo said, making Vin laugh.
Silence fell as he did his best to calm his body and thoughts. Vin was right. They both needed to rest while they could. The problem was that he could feel the depression of Vin’s weight right there beside him, trying to lure him into rolling over and pressing tight against his naked body.
Nope. He did not need to be thinking about that.
Turning on his back, he stared up at the roof in disgust, his shifter vision letting him make out every chip in the paint despite the darkness shrouding the room. Vin’s breathing had evened out, hopefully in sleep, and Angelo found himself matching his inhales to the vampire’s until he realised what he was doing and huffed in annoyance.
His cock hadn’t softened at all in the past hour they’d been lying there, and he was regretting leaving his jeans on. It was getting seriously painful and there was no way he was going to get to sleep if the throbbing continued.
Fuck it. Reaching down, he undid the button and zip of his jeans, pulling them lower on his hips until the pressure on his erection finally eased. Only now it was rubbing gently against the rough cotton of the sheets and the gentle friction was almost worse than the pain had been.
“Want me to help with that?” Vin asked, his voice so close to Angelo’s ear making him start in surprise. How the fuck could the vampire sneak up on him when they were lying in the same damn bed?
“I said no touching,” he warned.
“I’m not touching. I’m just watching that bulge under the covers,” Vin said.
“I thought your night-vision was damaged.”
“It’s almost better. Helps to have a powerful incentive,” he all but purred.
“Go to sleep,” Angelo growled.
“And miss the show? Not likely.”
“There’s not going to be any fucking show.”
“Pity. Guess I’ll have to put one on then,” Vin said.
The covers rustled a moment later and Angelo kept his eyes carefully focussed on the ceiling, trying to ignore the vampire. The intoxicating scent of pre-cum filled the air as Vin bared his arousal to the room. With Angelo’s sensitive hearing, there was no avoiding the soft slick of skin on skin as Vin took himself in hand. Had he found some lube, or was that pre-cum leaking enough to make that noise that was almost obscene in the quiet of the cabin?
Angelo’s eyes betrayed him, flicking over to take in the image Vin made. The vampire was on his back, body arched and eyes closed as he ran his hand up and over the crown of his cock, teasing himself around his tip before thrusting up into his grip more firmly. Angelo’s nostrils flared, the sensory overload too much to maintain control.
“Fuck, Vin,” he growled, but he didn’t tell him to stop. Couldn’t.
“We don’t have to touch, Angel. You can even keep that monster between your legs hidden under the covers, but I’m not lying here awake and throbbing all night.”
Dammit . This was only ending one way and the quicker he got it over with, the quicker things could get back to normal. Closing his eyes to the vampire getting off beside him, he took his erection in hand and did his best to imagine fucking a shifter and not pounding into the infuriating ass of the vampire lying beside him. Fuck. That image. He was so close already, his arousal a hair-trigger threatening to break free.
Distantly, he was aware of Vin’s movements growing more frantic beside him. The vampire kept to his word, careful not to so much as brush an elbow up against Angelo. That shouldn’t have been so infuriating.
The scent of arousal suddenly peaked, and he felt Vin’s shudder beside him. It was when he cried out Angel’s name as he came that Angelo finally came undone, the scent of the vampire’s cum the final straw that forced his orgasm crashing over him as he fought to stay silent while emptying his balls into the blankets still covering him.
Covering his face with his arm, he winced in annoyance. He’d be sleeping in a wet patch all night and it was his own damn fault.
“Night, Angel,” Vin murmured.
Angelo glanced over and saw the vampire had turned on his side to face him, his pale skin almost glowing in the sliver of moonlight coming in through the windows. In the quiet of sleep with his eyes closed, the soft sensuality of his beauty was even more evident.
Fucking hell . Angelo was still hard. At least the pain was gone now.
Turning away from the siren’s call of the vampire next to him, Angelo closed his eyes and hoped like hell his body would start behaving itself in the morning.
“This doesn’t count as me touching you, right?”
Vin’s sleep-rough voice woke him from a very pleasant dream that quickly became apparent had taken inspiration from reality. Angelo’s nose was nestled behind Vin’s ear. He must’ve dragged his stubble over the sensitive skin of Vin’s neck repeatedly in his sleep because the vampire was well and truly scent-marked. Something Angelo’s wolf was inordinately proud of as their scents merged on his skin.
He'd ended up spooning the much smaller vampire. Of course. Vin was cuddled up tight in his arms and Angelo’s hard cock was nestled tight against his ass.
Vin’s laughter rang through the cabin as Angelo shoved him away and left the bed so fast, he tripped and fell to the ground because his damn jeans were still tangled partway down his thighs where he’d left them the night before.
The teasing laughter turned to a low moan of desire as he got to his feet and ditched the jeans entirely, striding toward the bathroom.
“You running from me, Angel? I told you I love the chase,” Vin called, his voice low and suggestive.
Angelo spun and glared at him, his eyes widening for a second before he got himself under control when he realised Vin was on full display on the bed. Just like he’d been last night. Only now it was daylight, and he could take everything in.
“I’m showering, then heading out on patrol because our guards left an hour ago. Put some fucking clothes on.”
Vin smiled and trailed a hand down his chest to wrap around his cock. “Just as soon as I take care of this situation you’ve left me in. Sure you don’t want to help?”
Angelo forced himself to look away. “I will not be touching you. Ever.”
“I love a challenge, too, Angel. That’s not the way to put me off.”
“What is, then?”
Vin tilted his head to the side and looked thoughtful. “I don’t think there is one. I’ll make you some breakfast while you shower.”
Angelo’s traitor cock jerked against his abs where he was still covered in dried cum from last night. “You don’t have to feed me,” he growled, turning away so he wouldn’t have to see Vin’s smug expression at his loss of control.
“No, I don’t have to. I need to,” Vin said. “Don’t tire yourself out avoiding me today. We’re going hunting tonight.”
Knowing if he stayed in the room any longer, he wasn’t going to be able to control himself, Angelo took the last steps into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Not that it would keep a determined vampire out. Turning the shower up as hot as it could go, he hoped the sound of the water would provide enough cover that Vin wouldn’t be able to hear him jerking his cock furiously. He came in under a minute, swallowing down the urge to yell Vin’s name. Then he banged his idiot head back against the tiles, wishing it would knock some sense into him.
The vampire was nowhere to be found when he finally emerged, but he’d left behind a tray of cooked bacon and a pot of scrambled eggs that had Angelo cracking a smile before he caught himself.
With his mind in chaos, he shifted as soon as he was finished. Tipping his nose up to the wind as he stepped outside, he caught a hint of Vin’s mint scent coming from the roof. Had he gone up there to give Angel space or to keep an eye out for any more ambushers? Either option was more heart-warming than it should be. Before he could do something stupid, like go join him up there, Angelo took off into the forest and spent the day stalking through the shadows, every sense on alert for anyone coming back to attack his vampire.
Vin was standing with his back to him at the edge of the clearing, staring up at the stars emerging in the sky when he made it back that night. Angelo had hunted and eaten in wolf form, unwilling to face a repeat of the intimacy of the vampire cooking for him. Before his wolf could do something stupid, like lick his face again, Angelo skirted around the vampire he was sure had noticed him and made his way into the cabin .
When he re-emerged, showered and in human form, Vin was right where he’d left him, still staring up at the stars. Darkness had leached all the colour from the world, but he could see just fine and all the details his wolf side had failed to notice earlier came into painful focus. Vin was back in his original outfit, the fabric smelling faintly of the soap he must’ve hand-washed it with. The black skirt blended into the night but even so, he could make out the swell of the vampire’s ass as he traced his eyes up bare legs to his muscled back and took in the deceptively casual stance of a killer poised to react in a split-second to any threat.
“You said we’re going hunting. Where are we headed?” he asked.
Vin turned toward him, and his silver eyes flashed with desire before the sexy smirk he wore like armour re-emerged. “A club my mark visited while I was tracking him. I knew it was an unusual drop or meet at the time, but I just figured that was part of why Kyan wanted to off him. He hides his illegal dealings behind a reputation as a family man and he wouldn’t have risked being seen there unless there was a good reason. Kyan would’ve known his usual business contacts given he was a supplier, so it stands to reason whatever he was doing at that club was something he didn’t want Kyan seeing.”
Angelo gritted his teeth hard enough to make his jaw ache. There was only one thing a ‘ supplier ’ would’ve been providing for someone in Kyan’s business—humans for sale, almost certainly unwilling. The fact this guy was a human himself only made it worse. At least the vamps had the excuse of needing them for food.
“Which club?”
“Hex-rated.”
Angelo groaned. Of course, it would be a gay bar owned by a fucking witch. At least it was located in the neutral territory inside the Halo Road at the city’s centre and not associated with the Elemental Mayhem MC.
“They hate vamps. I thought they didn’t even let your kind in there,” he said.
“That’s probably why he went there. No chance of Kyan following him. Don’t worry. They won’t have any idea who or what I am,” Vin said, picking up a bottle on the patio beside him and spraying himself with it.
Angelo let out an embarrassing whine of distress that was pure wolf as the thick, cloying scent of designer cologne filled the air.
“You can’t screen your scent with human products,” he said, but for the life of him, he couldn’t catch a hint of Vin’s delectable smell anymore and it was driving him and his wolf crazy.
“I’m not screening my scent with it. I’m screening the high-grade magical scent blocker in the spray,” Vin said.
“You still look like a damn vamp,” Angelo growled, annoyed at how upset his wolf was at the block.
“Do I, though?”
Angelo turned away to stare out at the forest before he said something stupid. Vin was right. He didn’t look like any vamp in Kyan’s coven. Not with that slender build just begging to be manhandled and how short he was. Although, he could’ve been one of the unaffiliated vamps that paid protection to the coven.
Without the blood of his scent giving him away, it was only if you noticed his faintly glowing eyes, supernatural speed and strength, or too-sharp fangs that you would even suspect what he was. He looked like the kind of twink who’d be eaten alive in Hex-Rated and love every second of it. None of the clubgoers would realise he was the one who did the eating, and they were all his prey.
“You got a plan?” he asked, to distract himself from the anger he shouldn’t be feeling at the thought of anyone else touching the vampire.
Vin shrugged, the move drawing Angelo’s eyes to the elegant lines of his collarbone that he wanted to bite his way along until the vampire’s pale skin was red from his stubble like it had been that morning. Fuck. No. It took him a moment to process Vin’s reply, because he’d almost forgotten what he’d even asked.
“Poke around anywhere we shouldn’t be and see what turns up. And if that doesn’t work, make trouble until something interesting happens,” Vin said as he strutted toward the truck parked nearby.
“That’s barely a plan,” Angelo said, popping the bonnet of the truck so he could refit the spark plugs.
“Trust me. I’m very familiar with the location. I’ll figure something out.”
Trust a vampire. That went against everything Angelo believed, but apparently, his wolf was on board because the damn animal hiding deep inside him wasn’t even the slightest bit edgy as they got in the vehicle and headed out.
“Tell me more about the mark,” Angelo said as he navigated the narrow roads to take them back to the city.
“Derek Smythe. Forty-three years old. Five foot nine, but he always wears shoes that give him another inch. Brown hair. Scar on his eyebrow from a trampoline accident as a kid. His day job is chief financial officer for a shipping company. He’s got a big house, a fancy Mercedes, a wife, two kids, and a dog. The uncle who raised him is an enforcer for a human gang out west with a shitty rep. He’s used the shipping company infrastructure to move kidnapped and coerced people between countries for years.”
“Sounds like a great guy,” Angelo said, voice dripping scorn. The docks were in the Cruor Coven territory, and this kind of partnership was exactly why .
“Yup. Real charmer. He and Kyan have been working together for around ten years, but Derek started looking dodgy eighteen months back. Deliveries were late or not to the agreed terms. Just little things that individually could be put down to bad luck but started forming a pattern.”
“What made Kyan hire you to take him out?”
“Derek got too bold supplying a special order for one of Kyan’s human clients. When she turned up, no one realised she had a debilitating meth addiction he was supplying until she attacked the client. Even that might’ve been salvageable, but the client was the Chief of Police. She burned half his lip off with a lighter in an elevator with camera footage, and it turned out she was only fifteen years old.”
Angelo was gripping the steering wheel so tight he was worried it would snap beneath his hands. “He needs to fucking die. They all need to fucking die.”
“Agreed,” Vin said. “The Chief retired the next week and had a very sad accident on his boat. Got his tie stuck in a rotor and was slowly choked to death until he got caught up in the blades and sliced to pieces that washed up on the beach for days. Kyan killed the girl to keep things quiet before I could get to her. I won’t forget that. And Derek shouldn’t have lived out the day once I had him in my sights.”
Angelo could tell from Vin’s voice that he was deeply invested. That was real emotional pain he could hear straining his words. “Why do you care so much?” he asked.
Maybe it was a horrible thing to ask, but the vampire literally killed people for a living, and he was clearly old enough that he should’ve had that same callous disregard for life that so many others of his kind had.
Vin stared out his window for long enough that Angelo thought he wouldn’t answer. His whispered words when they finally broke the silence broke him as well.
“Because I’ve been where that girl was. ”
“Whoever they were needs to fucking die, too,” Angelo hissed, and he couldn’t help but feel a little proud at the bark of laughter he pulled from the strong, vulnerable, beautiful, crazy vampire sitting beside him.
“They are long dead, Angel. I got my revenge and I promise I’ll give you yours as well.”
Vin being Vin, he followed up that dramatic statement by turning on the stereo and fiddling with it until a loud dance track was pouring out of the speakers.
“Time to go play, pretty puppy,” he said, eyes shining as he moved sinuously in his seat to the music. “I hope you like to dance.”