King Tosa
My guard steps into the bathroom. “He’s on the phone.”
The modern world is complicated, but I enjoy the technology.
I nod for him to approach.
His footsteps are loud on the tile as he crosses to my place in the tub.
Humans are so extravagant. Or at least the ones who owned this home were. They both could have fit in here with room to spare. But it’s perfect for me.
I sigh as I sink lower, and my exhale blows bubbles off the surface of the water. Some of them float through the air, popping against the window that looks out over the ocean.
My guard stops beside the tub and holds the phone out on speaker.
I keep my arms below the water. “Good morning.”
Johnson’s exhale scratches through the phone. “What the fuck happened?”
I roll my eyes. “Calm down.”
“Calm down? I have fifteen dead men and a collapsed warehouse in Chicago.”
“And does anyone know that was us?”
He huffs. “No.”
“So there’s no speculation about a fight between your government and a vampire?”
“No. But the men—”
“Died doing their duty.”
Johnson lets out a humorless laugh. “Duty? You didn’t even kill Vameer! My surveillance shows him flying out of the rubble.”
My jaw clenches. “Getting him on the first try was always a long shot.”
“Oh, well, that’s fucking great. Good information to know after the fucking fact.” Johnson’s shouts echo around the tile room. “About as useful as your cobalt bullets.”
That makes me smile.
“Do those even kill vampires? Or was that just a load of shit? Because he seemed fine when he was flying out of the rubble!”
My smile drops. “Did your men hit him even once?”
The cobalt bullets are nonsense. But it hardly matters when not a single one made it through Vameer’s gravito.
The fact this man thinks I would tell him how to kill a vampire shows just how incredibly stupid he is. He is my enemy. Like all humans are. I want Vameer dead. I will make Vameer dead. But I will not put my own safety at risk.
“Now what?” His submission comes quicker than I expected.
“The warehouse was a good shot but not ideal. Now, we bring him to us.”
“And how are we supposed to do that?”
“I have eyes on a shifter family. But my guards are too visible. It will have to be humans for the grab. I’ll give you the when and where.”
Johnson sighs. “So we kidnap some family?”
“Not exactly…”
My guard ends the call, and I lay my head back on the edge of the tub. “I’m hungry.”
He nods. “The one from the garden is still alive. Or we can go to town, if you’re in the mood for something specific.”
I lift a hand. “The neighbor is fine.”