19. Julian
Julian
I’m a ball of nerves as Isidoro and I get in position, sitting on a bench with the carousel in view.
The days leading up to this meeting went by in a blur, his mansion turning into an impromptu command center.
I’ve barely slept, and I doubt he’s caught more than a couple of hours of rest, but it’s all worth it.
This will be over soon.
Ria approaches the bright glass pavilion from the main promenade, her bold red pantsuit pulling more than a couple of eyes. She waits for a while, but no one walks up to her.
I look at the time on my phone. It’s already twelve minutes past eight. “Where are they?”
Isidoro’s hand halts my shaking leg. “Just wait.”
I roll my eyes and glare at his sunglasses-adorned face. How can he not be on edge? He seems so calm and collected, the total opposite of me, and like he’s done this a thousand times before. Or has he?
“You’re not new to this…” I blurt out, bumping my shoulder into his.
He chuckles. “I run an underground organization, Julian.”
Right. Sometimes I forget about that. He’s a crime lord first, even if I haven’t exactly witnessed that part firsthand, and a successful CEO second.
In my defense, you couldn’t tell by his looks.
He seems too high-class for something as underhanded as the mafia, especially when he’s wearing one of his ruffly designer shirts and snug pants, like he is today.
He wanted to put on one of those fancy leather corsets too, but I convinced him we’d stand out too much.
I pull down my own sunglasses from where I’ve perched them on my head and give him a once-over.
My stomach twists for an entirely different reason than nerves.
He looks hot. No matter what he wears, he emits confidence that you simply can’t ignore.
He pulls your eye without your permission and then holds it hostage.
I drag the tips of my fingers down the luxurious material of his sleeve, anchoring myself to the tangible feel of his body next to mine. Our wounds are almost fully healed, and this time, we know what to expect. No savage ghoul-hybrids will catch us off-guard.
“Look,” Isidoro says, his hand massaging my thigh. “Over there on the left.” He guides my attention to a man in brown pants, a gray hoodie and a black baseball cap, who’s beelining for Ria.
The guy, who looks to be about my height, is human. He stops in front of her, says something, and the two of them head north along the East River promenade toward the Manhattan Bridge area.
Isidoro presses the screen of his expensive watch. “Teams One and Two, in position.”
We stand and follow our target. The crowd has thinned a little now that twilight is settling, the murkiness giving everything this soft glow. The city reflects in the river and the trees rustle from a light breeze.
Isidoro’s hand snakes its way to the small of my back, firm and reassuring. Delightfully possessive. “Keep your eyes open. We don’t know what we might be walking into.”
I frown. “Hold on, I thought we did? Isn’t that what we’ve been doing these past three days?”
He laughs. “You can never be too careful, Julian. You can’t account for every scenario.”
Just what kind of life did this man lead? He’s a vampire, an apex predator, yet he doesn’t take that for granted like my dad did.
Ria and our target turn into a service alley under Manhattan Bridge. The traffic rumbles overhead, the light drizzle that broke out earlier pattering on the awnings of nearby stores.
“I don’t like this,” I say, pulling on Isidoro’s sleeve.
He looks left and right before we slink into the same alleyway, using the interspersed light for cover. “Me neither. The teams are two minutes out.”
I worry my bottom lip. “I don’t want to wait.”
His hand comes up to my neck, stroking it while his thumb presses lightly on my jugular. “Then we don’t. I trust you can handle this.”
He’s disappeared before I can respond, his hyperspeed like a blurry aftereffect.
It never ceases to amaze me, but now is not the time to space out.
I dash out from behind the air-conditioning unit where we were hiding, sprinting toward our target.
Isidoro appears in front of him and Ria, his smile as sinister as his extended black claws.
“What the—” the man yelps, reaching for Ria.
I don’t let him lay his hands on her, slipping out of the shadows and clutching him by his neck before he’s had the time to blink.
He passes out from the pressure immediately, and thirty seconds later, the teams arrive.
We throw him into the back of the black van, then drive to a property Isidoro owns past the bridge.
Once we’ve secured the human male with restraints to a chair, Isidoro dumps a bucket of water on top of his head. He coughs and spits, looking disoriented as his brown eyes open and take the surroundings in.
“Where the fuck am I?” he demands, baring his teeth.
Isidoro extends his claws and clicks them, capturing his attention. “Who are you and who do you work for?”
The guy shivers. “Shit. I knew this was too good to be true.” His voice sounds different than on the phone, less scratchy and somewhat higher.
Isidoro narrows his eyes, moving over to the guy in the span of a blink and wrapping one clawed hand around his neck. The man squeals, horror contorting his face.
I shudder, my neck tingling. Fuck. I know exactly how that hand feels clasped tight and restricting my airways. My body grows hotter, adrenaline and excitement meshing with the wisp of desire.
Isidoro’s nostrils flare, his wine-red eyes cutting to me. For a moment, they look ready to devour, but in the next, they tear away, pinning our captive instead.
“Who are you?” the vampire king repeats, pouring authority into his voice.
The guy shivers, looking ready to pass out. “Nobody man, just Kenny. I’ve no idea what this is, okay? My friend just paid me to meet this chick and take her to this address in the Financial District. I swear!”
“The Financial District? This late?”
The guy pales, looking like he’s about to throw up. “Look, I don’t know anything, okay? Fuck, fuck, fuck, I knew this was fishy. Bruce is always up to no good.”
Bruce.
Isidoro leans in, letting the tips of his claws pierce the guy’s skin. His eyes glow a little. “Tell me the address.”
“No, no. Not without some guarantees. I’m not telling you shit just so you can just kill me after that.”
I stifle a snort and catch Isidoro’s gaze, a twinkle of amusement swimming in it. Oh yes, this sure is familiar. But unlike how my attempt to negotiate played out, this one takes a completely different turn.
With a swift movement, Isidoro rips the guy’s throat open, blood dripping everywhere. “Tell me what I need to know or I will let you bleed to death here,” he demands, pressing his hand to the wound.
Coughing and choking, the man fesses up, fear deforming his blemished face. Isidoro cuts his own finger and rubs it into the cut, undoing the damage as the guy passes out from blood loss.
I bare my teeth, my claws extending. My mouth fills with saliva, a lump forming inside my throat as a tremor racks my body. Isidoro’s blood is mine and mine only. Thrall or not, how dare this man—
Isidoro is next to me in an instant, his finger already healed as it presses against my lips and halts my impending attack.
“Calm down, Julian,” he purrs, sounding proud and satisfied.
Then he tilts his chin at the man. “Take him to the basement and let me know when he wakes up. Thralls do not lie to their masters. We’ll see what else he knows,” he instructs Samuel, who manhandles the unconscious guy like a sack of potatoes.
The teams clear out of the old shop, leaving just me, Isidoro and Ria among the sea of nylon covers and dust.
“What are you going to do?” Ria asks, crossing her arms. “We have an address, but is it wise to go unprepared?”
I somewhat regain my composure, but I’m still flustered by what I was about to do. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. They are expecting you there, and if you don’t show up, they’ll know something is wrong.”
“We’ll go,” Isidoro nods. “But first, we’ll see what else our little servant can tell us.”
Not much comes out of the interrogation. The awe-struck eyes of the thrall rub me the wrong way, so I walk out before it even concludes. I know it’s petty and definitely weird for me to be so riled up by Isidoro making a new servant, but I just can’t fucking help it.
“What happened to you there?” Ria asks, starling me as I walk back into the store front aboveground. She’s sitting at an old metal table, nursing a cup of coffee while snacking on the chocolate strawberries one of Isidoro’s people got for her.
I glare at the wall, fisting my hands. “Nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing. If Isidoro didn’t stop you, I’m sure you’d have ripped the guy’s throat out.” Her amused chuckle irks me, even if she’s not the one at fault for my foul mood.
Just thinking about Isidoro’s blood in that man’s wound makes me want to break something. Why did he do that? He could’ve let the guy die once we had the address. He didn’t have to share his blood with him, did he? I growl, can’t help it. Fuck, what’s wrong with me?
“Get yourself under control and figure this thing out, pumpkin. We are leaving soon,” she bites back, but there’s humor in it, a hint of fondness, too.
Nerves on edge, I seek fresh air outside. The moon is approaching its peak, half-full and bright as it hangs in the dark sky. The AC unit for the restaurant next door buzzes loudly next to me, getting on my nerves.
“Julian, there you are—”
I pounce on Isidoro, shoving him into the course wall. He smiles, his eyes darkening until the only color in them is the silvery silhouette of the moon. “Don’t do this in front of me again,” I snarl, hissing at him. “Don’t provoke me like that.”
His tongue slides over his lips, leaving them glistening. “I didn’t think you would mind.”
I press my thumb to his mouth. “I do.” A deep breath to get my bearings, and I step back. “Did you find out anything else—”
He grabs my wrist and it’s my turn to be yanked, my back pressing into the wall as his mouth smashes into mine.
He’s ravenous, like something has snapped inside him, and I soak it up with every fiber of my being, this aggressiveness.
He possesses every inch of me, claims every part, and I let him, needing this desperately so I stop obsessing over the fact that he shared his blood with somebody else.
Even if it was simply to acquire a new thrall.
“Say it,” Isidoro drawls, kissing his way down my neck. His incisors extend as he nears the area of the bite, sinking deep into my flesh and making me see stars. “Say that I am yours and you can’t stand to share me, any part of me, with anyone else.”
My chest tightens, hot and wild. I growl, digging my hands into his hair and pulling it hard enough so it forces him to expose his neck to me. Then I bite him, unable to fight this urge to leave a mark on him, something to stake my claim. He lets me, moaning in pleasure.
Mine.
His blood tastes divine. It flows smoothly down my throat like a sweet salve to my agitated heart, like the antidote to this madness that has come over me.
Mine.
I can’t get enough of it, its coppery tang so rich and luxurious. Its warmth spreads through me like a virus I can but don’t want to stop, energizing and euphoric.
“Julian, say it,” he pleads, his expression delirious, his eyes glassed over and drawing me in. I’ve never seen him beg like this, and part of me screams I give him what he wants.
What am I doing? I don’t—I shouldn’t. But it’s so impossibly hard to get him out of my mind, to ignore him when he’s close by. I can’t. Why does he get under my skin? Why does he have to keep surprising me at every turn, showing me parts of him he doesn’t show to anyone else?
I look up to the sky and close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. “Did he say anything else?”
“There are guards, and my teams are already getting in position. Unfortunately, we can’t exactly raid the place. Too many cameras and witnesses, infrastructure. We’ll have to enter alone, just me and Ria—”
“I’m coming, too.”
His fingers ghost over my cheekbone tentatively. I nudge them, leaning into the caress.
I feel his smile as it forms. “The three of us then. We enter through the emergency exit. There is a single guard posted inside, but we should be able to bypass him. An elevator will take us to the sublevels. That’s where he was supposed to take Ria. It’s their headquarters.”
“Did he confirm that?” I exhale slowly, anticipation coiling in my stomach.
“More or less. He works as a receptionist for the fintech that rents the offices aboveground. He met this Bruce fellow a few months back. Said he’s helped a couple of times with moving cargo in and out at night. But he’s not been down there before.”
I scrunch my nose. “That’s not a whole lot to go on, but we’ll have to risk it. I don’t think we have another choice.”
“You can sit this out—”
“No. I am coming.” I snap my eyes open and gaze at him, letting the determination simmering inside me speak for itself.
He lets go of me and steps back, his dark shirt rippling from a gust of night wind. “Then know that I have your back.”
His words envelop my heart, warm and reassuring. “And I have yours.”