27. Metal doesnt have nerve endings, genius.
Chapter twenty-seven
Metal doesn't have nerve endings, genius...
Nick
You sure you’re ready for this?
L uka flashed his phone screen at Nick for the third time as they stood outside the elevator that would take them down to the club’s main floor.
Nick nodded.“I’m fine. Ready.”
But hewasn’tfine, and he suspected Luka could read that in his scent or his heartbeat or whatever vampire senses were cataloging his internal state.
He’dspent so long stewing in hatred for their kind, having it beaten into him that vampiresweremonsters, parasites, abominations that corrupted everything they touched.
“ Never suffer a vampire to live,” Henderson’s voice echoed in his memory, sharp with religious fervor.
The training ran bone-deep, and even though his rational mind knew better now, his nervous system still expected fangs and claws and predatory hunger from everyone but Luka.
Luka studied his face, reading something Nick couldn’t hide. Without a word, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife—nothing fancy, just a simple folding blade with a worn handle. He slipped it into Nick’s pocket.
?Safe,?Luka said, pointing directly at Nick with a warm smile.
The gesture hit Nick like sunlight breaking through clouds. Not be careful or don’t cause trouble , but simply safe . Like Luka understood that having a weaponwasn’tabout threatening anyone—itwasabout Nick feeling like hehadchoices if things went wrong.
Calm warmth washed over him, replacing the tight anxiety in his chest. Before he could think better of it, Nick leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Luka’s cheek.
Both of them froze for a moment, surprised by the spontaneous affection. Then Luka’s smile became radiant. The contact felt good. Right. Like something hewasallowedto want and have.
“Okay,”Nick said, meaning it this time.“Let’s go.”
The elevator doors opened onto a scene that made Nick’s throat tighten with memory.
Club Euphoria looked different in daylight—less intimate, more exposed—but he remembered being here with Henderson and the other operatives.
They’dbeen hunting Marcus and Caleb, following intelligence that suggested several high-value targets might be in the area.
Nick’s palms began to sweat as they stepped into the main area where several figureswerealready gathered around the bar. His eyes cataloged faces, looking for threats, escape routes, defensive positions—
Then Luka made a soft sound of wonder beside him.
Another vampire stood near the back corner, someone Nick recognized from the family photo Lukashowed him. Matteo—Luka’s twin brother.
Luka’s hand brushed against his and Nick nodded, understanding what Lukawasasking. Permission to go to his brother.
“It’s okay,”Nick said, recognizing the longing in Luka’s expression.“Go.”
As Luka moved away, Nick found himself the center of attention. Multiple pairs of eyes focused on him—vampires and humans alike studying a former Society operative who tried to kill at least three of their family. The weight of their collective gaze pressed down on him like a physical force.
Too many. Get down. Get down. They’ll hurt us. Open your mouth and be a good boy.
His knees began to buckle, vision tunneling as the familiar retreat started to claim him. WherewasCaleb? He needed to see his brother, needed an anchor to something real and safe—
“Hey there.”
A warm hand caught his arm, steadying him before he could collapse. Nick flinched at the unexpected touch, but the gripwasgentle, supportive rather than restraining.
“Easy,”the stranger said, voice carrying casual authority mixed with unexpected kindness. “You look like you could use a minute to catch your breath.”
Nick looked up into bright green eyes set in a face that was handsome in an approachable way—messy dark brown hair, a nose thathadbeen broken at least once, and a sly smile that somehow managed to be both reassuring and annoying.
The face clicked into place with startling clarity. Nick’s stomach lurched as recognition hit him.
Adam Nolan.
The kid who used to terrorize Caleb until Nick threatened to break his fingers. The same Adam who Nickhadlater bought pills from behind the gymnasium when his prescription ran out and the pain in his shattered femur wouldn’t quit screaming.
Adamwasstudying Nick’s face with obvious confusion, head tilted as if trying to place him. Then his eyes widened with sudden recognition.
“Holy shit,”Adam said, his grip tightening reflexively on Nick’s arm.“Haven’t you bought drugs from me before?”
The questionwasso blunt, so unexpectedly casual, that Nick almost laughed despite his rising panic. Trust Adam Nolan to lead with the most incriminating possible greeting.
“You—”Nick started, then stopped, struggling to process the surreal situation.“You’re supposed to be dead. Or captured. Or...”
“Nope, still breathing and annoyingly difficult to get rid of,”Adam said with that same irreverent grin Nick remembered from their teenage years.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere to sit down before you fall over.
This is going to take a while, and you look like you’re about to have a panic attack. ”
“I remember you,”Nick managed as Adam guided him away from the center of the room.“You made Caleb’s life hell.”
“Yeah, I did.”Adam’s expression grew more serious.“And you threatened to feed me my own teeth if I didn’t stop. Which, fair enough—Iwasa complete piece of shit back then.”
Theyweremoving toward a cluster of comfortable chairs in a corner, away from the main group. Nick caught glimpses of the others as they walked: Marcus’s distinctive profile, Ophelia’s brassy hair catching the light, and—
A commotion erupted from the bar area. Vincent Bellenger stood in front of an elaborate espresso machine, his tall frame rigid with frustration as steam hissed angrily from various valves and pipes.
His blonde hairwasdisheveled, and even from across the room, Nick could see the tension in his shoulders.
“Fuck this fucking machine,”Vincent snarled, jabbing at buttons with increasing violence.“Why can’t it just make coffee like a normal—”
“Get away from my machine!”Ophelia’s voice cut through his tirade as she appeared at his elbow, shoving him aside with surprising force for someone so small.“You’re going to break it, you absolute caveman!”
“It’s broken already!”Vincent protested, waving his hands at the contraption.“At home, Adam just puts in the little cup thing and pushes a button! Thishasseventeen different settings and none of them make sense!”
“That’s because you have the spatial reasoning of a concussed hamster,”Ophelia shot back, already working with practiced efficiency to reset whatever Vincentmangled.“Step back and let someone with opposable thumbs handle this.”
“I have opposable thumbs!”
“Evidence suggests otherwise.”
Nick found himself watching the exchange with growing amazement.
ThiswasVincent Bellenger? The vampire whose Society file described him as“extremely dangerous, known for sadistic tendencies and unpredictable violence”?
The monster who supposedly took pleasure in torturing humans for entertainment?
Hewasbickering with a teenage girl about coffee machine settings.
A laugh bubbled up from Nick’s chest before he could stop it—not the dark, bitter sound that passed for his amusement, but something lighter. More genuine.
Adam looked over at him with surprise, then followed his gaze to the continuing coffee crisis. Vincentwasnow pointing accusingly at various dials while Ophelia rolled her eyes with theatrical exasperation.
“You think this is funny?”Vincent called out, apparently having heard Nick’s laughter.“This machine is designed by sadists!”
“Pretty sure it just requires reading the manual,”Ophelia said.“Which would involve admitting you don’t know something, so...”
“I know plenty of things!”
“Name three.”
Adamwaslaughing too, the sound infectious and warm.
Nick felt his anxiety wane.“That’s really Vincent Bellenger?”
“The one and only.”Adam grinned.“Why? You know him?”
“Not personally. But the Societyhasfiles on him.”Nick paused, watching as Vincent stepped back and let Ophelia work her magic with the machine.“They say he’s... different.”
“Different how?”
Nick looked at Adam carefully, trying to gauge how much he could reveal.“Unstable. Violent. They have him listed as particularly dangerous, even for a vampire. Someone who enjoys causing pain.”
Adamwasquiet for a moment, his bright green eyes focused on Vincent with an expression thatwashard to read. When he spoke again, his voicewasthoughtful rather than defensive.
“Actually,”Adam said, leaning back in his chair,“they’re probably not wrong about the volatile and violent part. Vincent drugged me behind a strip club, kidnapped me, and stole my prosthetic foot the first time we met.”
Nick blinked. “Your what?”
“Prosthetic foot. Lost the real one in a car accident.”Adam said it casually, like hewasdiscussing the weather.“I overheard some vampire business behind his strip club, so he decided to take me somewhere private for questioning. Very private. Very scary.”
“And you’re...”Nick gestured vaguely between Adam and Vincent, trying to process this information.
“Completely in love with him? Yeah.”Adam’s grin was crooked and utterly unashamed.
“I have questionable judgment. Vincent’s definitely dangerous, definitely unstable when he’s angry, and absolutely capable of extreme violence when people threaten what’s his.
But he’s also loyal, protective, funny when he’s not trying to be intimidating, and he makes me feel safer than I’ve ever felt in my life. ”
Nick stared at him.“He kidnapped you.”
“Best thing that ever happened to me, honestly.”Adam shrugged.
“I mean, the processwasterrifying and I thought Iwasgoing to die, but the outcome worked out pretty well.”He leaned forward, lowering his voice.
“Look, I’m not going to sit here and tell you Vincent’s some misunderstood sweetheart.
Your Society files are probably accurate about his capacity for violence.
But what they won’t tell you is why he’s like that, or who he protects, or that he’s capable of incredible gentleness with people he cares about. ”
Heavy footsteps approached their corner, and Nick looked up to see Vincent heading their way, carrying two steaming cups of coffee. Despite his earlier frustration with the machine, he moved with that predatory grace Nick remembered from Society footage—every step controlled, purposeful.
Nick tensed, his hand slipping into his pocket to touch the knife Luka gave him. The bladewassolid, reassuring under his fingertips—not because he planned to use it, but because having choices felt like being able to breathe.
Vincent’s ice blue eyes tracked the movement, missing nothing, but his expression remained neutral. When he reached their table, he set one cup in front of Adam and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead.
“Everything okay?” Vincent asked.
“Everything’s fine,”Adam assured him.“Just talking. Getting reacquainted.”He gestured toward Nick.“Vincent, this is Nick Walsh. Caleb’s brother.”
Vincent’s gaze shifted to Nick, assessing but not hostile. “Nick,”he said with a slight nod.“Heard a lot about you.”
Nick found his voice.“Likewise.”
“Where are the twins?”Adam asked, glancing around the room.“I thought Luka would be glued to Matteo’s side.”
Vincent’s expression grew complicated, and he lifted one hand to sign something quick and sharp. Nick caught the gesture, buthadno idea what it meant.
“They’re arguing,”Adam translated, his eyebrows rising with surprise.
Nick felt a spike of worry.“Arguing about what?”The concern in his voicewasimmediate, unfiltered, and he saw Vincent’s head tilt at the intensity of it.
“It’s okay,”Vincent said, his tone shifting to something unexpectedly soft.“Just... family stuff. Old disagreements. Nothing dangerous.”
The sound of rapid footsteps on the stairs cut him off. Caleb appeared at the bottom of the staircase, laptop bag slung over his shoulder, scanning the room. When his eyes landed on their corner—on Vincent standing close to Nick—they went wide with alarm.
“Nick?”Caleb called out, his voice tight with concern as he started toward them.
Caleb rushed over and dropped into the chair next to Nick, his eyes fixed on Vincent with obvious suspicion.“You better be behaving yourself,”he said, though his tonewasmore protective than truly threatening.
Adam leaned back against Vincent’s side, and the vampire draped his arm over Adam’s shoulders with casual possessiveness.“He’s fine,”Adam said with a slight grin.“He’s just being an asshole.”
Vincent snorted, but didn’t deny it.
Caleb turned his full attention to Nick, studying his face with obvious concern.“How are you doing? Did you sleep okay? Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”
“Caleb, I’m—”
“Would you like me to go get him the sun and the moon and the stars as well?”Vincent interrupted, earning a sharp look from Caleb.
“I’m just making sure he’s comfortable,”Caleb said defensively.
“He’s fine,”Vincent replied.“Stop hovering like a helicopter parent.”
Adam shifted against Vincent’s side, then looked at Nick with obvious curiosity.“So how many vampires did you actually kill while youwerewith the Society?”
The question hung in the air like a live wire. Therewasa sharp thunk from something under the table, followed immediately by Caleb wincing and Adam bursting into laughter.
“Ow, fuck—sorry, wrong leg,”Caleb muttered, looking embarrassed.
“That’s what you get for trying to kick me,”Adam said, still laughing.“Metal doesn’t have nerve endings, genius.”
Nick felt the familiar urge rising in his chest—the submissive whispering that he should apologize, should explain, should make himself smaller and more palatable. Vincentwaslooking at him with those icy blue eyes.
“Well?”Vincent said, his voice casual but expectant.“He asked you a question.”
For a moment, Nick teetered on the edge of collapse, the conditioning trying to drag him down into compliance and shame. The part of him thathadonce threatened bullies and protected his little brother surged forward.
“I stopped counting after fifty,”Nick said, his voice steady and matter-of-fact.
Vincent blinked, then cocked his head to one side. A slow grin spread across his face.
“Rookie numbers,”he said with obvious approval.“I’ve got you beat by way more than that.”