Chapter 18
The patrons of the bar let out a roar of cheers as I enter through the front doors.
I lift a hand, giving them a forced smile to placate their excitement.
It’s been another successful round in the rings and my victory single-handedly earned most of them their drinking money for the night.
So I understand their desire to praise me.
But it makes me fucking sick. The way they cheer for violence, the way they crave blood. Two males died tonight. By my hand. And none of them care. They worship me instead, as if claiming those souls and watching the life drain from their eyes is some heroic feat to be celebrated.
I push through the crowd, swinging by the bar and taking the whiskey in Lafayette’s waiting, outstretched hand.
I don’t say anything to him but he offers me a sympathetic smile, like he knows the weight these fights put on my shoulders.
I don’t return the gesture, though. I don’t need anyone’s pity.
I beeline for our usual corner, plopping on the leather sofa and taking a long swig from the tumbler.
When I pull the glass away, two females linger by Julian, our bouncer, in front of me.
They are desperate, batting those fuck-me eyes my way as they twirl their pristine hair around their fingers.
I wave to Julian, motioning for him to let them through.
He obeys without hesitation and they quickly settle themselves on either side of me, their hands soon roaming the planes of my chest and thighs.
“Ladies.” I nod, draping my arm around the one on my right and bringing the whiskey to her lips. She takes a grateful sip, licking her lips when a small drop of the amber liquid dribbles down her chin.
I’m grateful for the distraction. My mind is reeling from another night of violence.
And I know the only reason I was as successful as I was in my matches is because I cannot get my mind off the girl.
Her presence here has me riled up in a way I cannot explain.
It’s been seven days since she joined us, and she hasn’t even left her room once.
I’d ordered my crew to leave her alone, but I’m not an idiot.
I’m well aware that Sterling has been visiting her frequently, tending to her and caring for her every need.
I would rip him apart for disobeying a direct order, but if she’s not going to take care of herself, then someone has to. Better Sterling than me. She wouldn’t be nearly as content moping in her room if I was the one handling her.
The girl on my left buries her face in my neck, licking the sweat off my skin.
It makes my jaw clench, lust burning through me at the same time I’m thinking about her.
I close my eyes, letting my head roll back as the female keeps working on me.
And for one reckless moment, I picture what it would be like for her to be the one on me.
It’s dangerous territory, associating the two.
Andras made it more than clear that this is a finicky situation as is.
What he doesn't know is how godsforsaken enticing she is to me.
Quinn knows, hells, even Sterling can tell I think.
But from the moment we found her, something has shifted in me.
I don’t know how and I don’t know why. But there’s something about her. Her scent, her fear. Her blood. I need it. And gods help me, because it’s the last thing I need to worry about right now.
“Aamon.” Quinn’s cool voice cuts through the music of the bar and I open my eyes to see him standing before me. His eyes are hard, his arms crossed over his chest in silent judgement.
“Quentin,” I return with the same tone. I let the corner of my lips tip up as I lean into the female on the left and give her another sip of whiskey. This time, when the excess liquid spills down her chin, I’m the one that licks it clean.
Quinn rolls his eyes at the exaggerated action, clearly not buying my show. “What are you doing?”
“Celebrating!” I force myself to answer cheerily, in an attempt to cover the self-loathing that is twining inside my gut. “You should be familiar with the action. Is this not your preferred method to let loose?” I gesture down to the females on either side of me and they giggle in response.
Quinn stands before me, unmoving. “It’s burial night. You have other duties to attend to.” I pretend to ignore his reminder as he watches me for several silent moments, his eye contact not once breaking. When he doesn’t let up, I sigh. “Ladies, would you excuse us for a moment?”
They pout in protest at my words, but they know better than to truly challenge me. They slink off the couch, their forms bouncing out of the corner and lingering near enough to be called back, if I so choose.
“We need to talk.” Quinn wastes no time cutting to the chase as he sits in the lounge chair directly across from me.
“I couldn’t imagine whatever about,” I mock.
“Sterling has requested I try to reason with you,” Quinn continues, ignoring my jest. “He wants you to lift the order.”
“I’m well aware what Sterling wants,” I sneer. “And it’s too fucking bad.”
Quinn sighs, leaning forward so that his elbows are on his knees. “Why is this such an issue? He likes the girl, let him have her.”
“Quentin,” I breathe out through clenched teeth. “As you already know, this is a delicate situation and I’m not going to let you or Sterling fuck it up because you have some ridiculous crush on a girl you barely know.”
Quinn’s eyes narrow on me. “You know it’s more than that. You want to sit here and deny yourself what you so clearly want to claim, I’m not going to fight you on it. Hells, I’ll even abide by your fuckass rules if you don’t want me having her either. But Sterling—”
“Sterling is testing my last nerve,” I bark out, raising my voice. “He doesn’t have the rank to fight me like this. He’s one wrong decision away from serious consequences.”
“You’re right,” Quinn pacifies me. “He’s been out of line. But you know as well as I do that something is different about her. Her presence here is making all of us a little batty. Sterling is challenging you, Zeke has retreated even more into himself than normal. Fuck, even you're acting insane.”
“And you are being a pain in my ass.” I level a finger at him before throwing back the last of my whiskey and slamming the glass down on the low table between us.
“There are more important things at stake here than some girl. And I’m not going to get on Andras’ bad side because you and Sterling won’t leave this alone. ”
Quinn goes quiet for a moment, his chin resting in his hand poised on his knee, his fingers stroking idly over the scruff on his jaw. “I don’t know how to get through to you,” he offers at last.
“You don’t,” I sneer.
He shakes his head, and for a moment I think this is the end of our conversation. But he lifts his head to meet my eyes once more. “I know you, Aamon. Better than anyone. And yes, I’m including Andras on that list. I know you want her.”
I scoff, but he doesn’t let me retort before he continues: “And not in some silly crush, one-night stand kind of way. You’ve caught her scent.
Just as I have. Just as Sterling has. I don’t know what this means for our crew, but I know it could end bloody real quick if we don’t figure out how to make it work.
We may share occasionally, but we’ve never been here before. This is uncharted territory, Aamon.”
I shake my head. “Fucking hells, Quinn. It’s not that dire.”
“Sterling isn’t going to let this go.” There’s no humor in Quinn’s tone, no give in his deep blue eyes.
“And I care about both of you enough to tell you both to get your heads out of your asses and figure out how to make it work. Because this isn’t going away.
And I’ll be damned if this is the thing that tears our family apart.
No matter how fucked up a family we may be, we are all each other’s got. ”
Quinn gets up to walk out, not waiting to see if I react.
“You’re wrong,” I call out, unsure what else to say.
He pauses by Julian, the females waiting just to the side. They're bouncing on the balls of their feet, anxious to come back and continue serving me however I see fit. Quinn looks to them, offering his notoriously flirtatious smile, before turning back to face me.
“Like I said, Aamon. I know you. You can’t fool me.”
And with that, he’s slipping past Julian and back towards the crowded bar.
“Night, ladies.” He winks at them as he goes, making them break out in a fit of giggles.
The sound grates me, all interest in entertaining them draining from my body.
Perhaps I never had any interest at all.
Julian looks at me questioningly, but I just shake my head and look away.
I hear their disappointed groans as Julian ushers them towards the dance floor, but I know their moods will recover soon, with or without me.
They are a dime a dozen in the Market Ebon.
As are the vampires that could satiate them for the night.
I pick the tumbler up off the table, spinning the glass slowly in my hand as I watch the light catch in the last remaining drop of whiskey left clinging to the bottom.
Quinn is wrong. I don’t want her. Not like he does.
And sure as shit not like Sterling does.
She intrigues me, that’s all. And once I figure out what about her has caught my attention, I’ll be fine.
But I know something must be done. Whichever way the truth reveals itself, I want her shaking out on our side when the time comes. Whatever I sense in her, I know it’s worth keeping her on good terms.
Which means playing my part.
And unfortunately for me, burial night might actually be the perfect opportunity to do so.
My fist tightens around the tumbler. I turn and hurl it at the brick wall in the corner, the glass shattering into a million pieces.
“I’ll be back,” I murmur to Julian as I push past him.
“Have someone clean that up in the meantime.” The noise of the bar covers the commotion, for the most part.
Only a handful of patrons turn to see what’s happened as I move to leave.
I meet their curious gazes with a ferociousness that tells them to mind their own fucking business.
I don’t have the patience to do anything else as I push out into the night.
I suck down the fresh air through my nostrils and prepare myself for what I’m about to do.
Because, gods save me, I have about five minutes to figure out how to calm my rage enough to appear unthreatening to the girl I nearly killed seven days ago.