Chapter Three – Lucian
CHAPTER THREE
LUCIAN
I take a seat in the armchair by the fire, deep in thought as I sip my drink.
“We will get them,” Silas states, sitting down opposite me. My gaze cuts to his—my Vice President—his black eyes watching me.
I take another sip. “Yeah, and in the meantime, I’m not getting any answers from her.”
Silas rubs his stubbled jaw. “There are ways to make her speak,” he suggests.
“The code,” I remind him.
“We won’t kill her, just do enough to get her talking,” he states. Silas is a man who will never defer from the code. Our blood warden, protecting and hunting our source that is the key to our survival.
I knock back the final drink. “Easy on that. We are running low. The last guy I drained from the bar had LSD in his stream.”
Silas smirks.
My lips twitch. “Fuck, that was an insane night.”
“She’s hurt,” Marko interrupts.
I turn my attention to him. “What do you mean she’s hurt?” I growl.
“She tried escaping and calling for help from the window. I found her half hanging out of it. I smelt the blood,” he states through gritted teeth.
“Get Talon,” I order as I stand, with Silas at my back. “Keep the prospect out. I’m not sure he’s fed yet, and whether he can handle this.”
Silas nods and, as quick as lightning, he’s gone.
Silas and I speed to her room. Unlocking the door, I swing it open and see her standing there, clutching her sides, the scent of her blood invading my senses.
The temptation, the desire, grows within me—as it always does—but I’ve had enough years of practice now.
I shut it down and switched on the light.
“Son of a bitch, there’s a light switch?” she breathes. Her eyes land on mine before they flicker to Silas behind me. She takes a tentative step back.
“We aren’t here to hurt you,” I assure her. Her gaze flickers between us both. “I promise.”
She arches her brow at me. “I’m supposed to believe you?”
“We haven’t hurt you,” Silas points out behind me. “So that should count for something.”
She blinks. “Just get me a mirror and some bandages.”
“That ain’t going to be possible,” I tell her.
“Why? You don’t have any bandages?” she asks.
I give Silas a knowing look. “We got a person that will fix you up.”
“I don’t need anyone to fix me up,” she argues.
I hear Talon as he enters the room behind me.
I watch as her eyes widen and she takes another step back.
Talon exudes fear, being an ex-mercenary.
Death has always followed him, in his past life and in this one, but he’s loyal, fast, and lethal.
Not to mention, he has saved our asses a few times with his surgical skills.
“Talon will help you. We will stay to assure you,” I state.
“Sure. Three men alone with me in a room with a small bed. Sounds like a plot for a shitty porno,” she huffs.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Get on that bed and let Talon tend to your wounds.”
She looks from Talon to the bed, then back at us. I can see her face trying to hide the pain. That glass is old and dirty. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has small shards embedded in her.
She slowly walks towards the bed. Stopping, she looks at all of us. “Turn around,” she orders.
“Why?” Silas asks.
“Because I’m wearing a bodysuit and it is fastened between my legs. I need to pull my jeans down to undo it.”
I let out an exasperated breath and signal for Silas and Talon to turn around. We wait for her to say when she is done.
“Okay,” she breathes.
We turn around and see her lying down on the bed. She pulls her top up to her breasts. She has a deep cut on her side, and the blood is trickling down her skin and onto the bedsheets.
“Shut the door and stand guard on the other side,” I quietly order Silas. “If they get the scent, it’s a fucking headache I don’t want to deal with.”
Silas claps his hand on my shoulder and nods, leaving. He shuts and locks the door behind him.
Talon kneels beside the bed and opens his bag. He doesn’t say anything. He is a man of few words to those he knows, and a man of none when he doesn’t know the person. He gets to work, causing her to scrunch her face up in pain.
“What’s your name?” I ask, trying to distract her from the pain.
“Evelynn,” she hisses, her eyes squeezed shut.
A loud thud sounds at the door, making her jump. Her eyes spring open. “What was that?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I dismiss as another loud thud echoes around the room. “How much longer?” I ask Talon.
“Ten more minutes max,” he answers.
“Tell me why you were at Crawley’s warehouse,” I demand.
She narrows her eyes. “I already told you,” she grits back.
“Who owns you?” I ask her.
She breathes through the pain, and I watch as Talon stitches her up.
“No one,” she whimpers as Talon continues to thread the needle through her milky flesh. I watch, mesmerized, as he moves the needle delicately, sealing the wound shut.
“Done,” Talon states, standing and bagging up his tools. He walks over to the small fire burner in the room and lights it.
“There’s a frickin’ stove in here, too?” Evelynn gasps, stunned.
“Did you think we would put you in a room with no source of heating?” I ask, arching my brow at her.
“Well, you threw me in the back of the van. Why would I think you provide comforts like heat?” she says as she slowly sits herself up.
Talon chucks the cloths he used into the fire.
I walk over to her and hold out a hand to help her up. She stares at my hand, ignoring my offer. Stubbornly, she gets to her feet herself.
I bend down and rip the part of her sheet off that is soaked in her blood, her sweet, tempting smell calling to me like a siren. I quickly chuck it in the fire, burning it before I or any of the others get tempted by the intoxicating scent.
Talon walks to the door and knocks once. Silas opens the door.
“All good?” I ask.
“Just Diesel. Clutch and Shade helped get him under control, although I thought Clutch might struggle for a moment. She’s pungent. Different,” he points out.
I nod. “She is.” Looking over at her, I see her standing there, pushing her shoulders back, lifting her chin defiantly, watching us.
“You hungry?” I ask.
“It’s the middle of the night,” she retorts.
I shrug. “So, no?” Like fuck if I know when she eats.
“No, I am tired. But if I could trouble you for some water, that would be great,” she asks with a forced smile.
“Sure. I’ll get you some water.”
As I say the words, Silas has already gone and gotten a bottle of water from the back room and hands it to me without her seeing him.
“Here,” I say, holding it out to her.
Her eyes widen as she steps towards me, taking it. “How…? How did you get it so fast?” she breathes.
“It was just in the next room. One of my men grabbed it for me.” I lean against the doorjamb. “Anything else?”
“Bathroom.”
“You need the bathroom?” I question.
“Yes.” She nods.
“Then go.” I shrug, walking through to the door by the chest and opening it. “Bathroom,” I gesture.
“How in hell did I not see that?” she asks herself aloud.
My lips twitch as I fight my amusement.
“Sleep. I’ve more questions for you tomorrow,” I state, walking towards the door. I glance one last time at her over my shoulder, seeing her guard relax as her face winces in pain.
Locking the door, I look to Silas, who is waiting expectantly for my orders.
“Call court,” I state.
“Now? You don’t think you should eat first?” he suggests.
I stare him down. “I had a drink,” I counter. “If I want to eat, I will. But right now, I want fucking court.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Sure thing. You’re the President. Just don’t lose your temper in there.”
“If everyone does their job right, I won’t have to,” I remind him.
“We’ll be in court in two minutes.” Silas nods.
I don’t respond and make my way to court, moving through the dark stone halls at human speed, taking my time while I think. By the time I walk into court, all the brothers are waiting. I make my way to my seat at the head of the table, no one saying a word. They sit in silence, waiting for me.
I sigh, leaning on my elbows, and rub my temples. “We ambushed them. They had no idea we were coming. And yet, there was a goddamn massacre of innocent lives. This is a small fucking town. People talk, and when people talk, shit gets dangerous for us.”
“I mean, it ain’t like we fed. Those morons fired off rounds like they were damn fireworks on the Fourth of July.” Clutch tuts before lighting his cigarette.
“It doesn’t matter. People won’t think it was them killing their own.
That is why they did it,” I point out. “We are the only other known gang in this town. Don’t you think the locals will come looking in our direction?
You think law enforcement won’t come knocking? ” I seethe, feeling my temper rising.
“Black Beauty warned me on our ride there that something was amiss,” Hex nods.
“Seriously, man, your bike is not alive, nor is it fucking cursed,” Echo groans.
Hex growls at Echo.
“Echo. Keep your mouth shut. If you knew the history of our kind, you might be a little more open to Hex’s beliefs,” Viktor chastises.
Echo rolls his neck, tension rising between them.
I slam my hand down on the table. “Enough. This isn’t for us to be bickering like fucking children.
You know that if we—our club, Crimson fucking Covenant—gain attention, even the tiniest rumour that we are here, what we are…
You know what will happen. And that is a fight I do not want to deal with now or ever. ”
“The code must never be broken. Our secret must always remain that way,” Viktor adds, stabbing his index finger angrily on the table.
“We know. We follow the code,” Clutch shrugs.
“The Crawley brothers made it out of there alive, and we need to find them. When we do, we will kill them. They know too much.” I sigh, clicking my fingers at Clutch. “Give me one of those,” I demand.
“But Prez, you don’t smoke,” he replies, furrowing his brow.
“Yeah, well, I’m feeling stressed. Give me a smoke,” I demand.
He hands me his packet and a box of matches. I take one out, place it in my mouth, then strike the match and light it. I take a deep inhale and sigh on the exhale.
“Can we get cancer?” Clutch asks.
I give him a side glance. “We are the undead. How the fuck are we growing cancerous growths in our bodies?”
He shrugs. “Well, I don’t know, do I? Not like it came with a manual when we changed into this.”
“There are literally books on vampire lore, codes, and the history of our ancestors,” Viktor states, looking at Clutch like he’s stupid.
“You calling me stupid?” Clutch asks.
Viktor smirks. “I don’t need to call you it. You just open your mouth and let everyone know how stupid you are.”
A roar erupts from Clutch as he launches himself across the table at Viktor. Viktor laughs, prepared, and grabs Clutch, throwing him across the room, his back slamming into the wall.
“Fuck this,” I say, standing and making my way out, followed by the rest of the club, leaving Viktor and Clutch to work it out between them.
“You break anything, you fucking fix it!” I yell over my shoulder as I make my way to my room. “I don’t want to be disturbed,” I add as I walk in and slam the door closed behind me.
My dimly lit room, with a queen bed, black furniture, and a blood-red couch—yeah, it screams typical gothic vampire vibes—but I don’t give a shit.
Walking across the room to my bed, I remove my clothes as I go.
Naked, I climb into bed, resting my hands behind my head as I stare up at the ceiling, with one thought that will not be silenced.
Our lives, our entire existence, could be destroyed by a pair of fucking moronic humans.