Chapter 40 Seeing Red #2
I swiveled in my seat, drink in hand as I leaned my back against the bar and surveyed the room.
Alpha and beta Magiks sat at booths and tables, talking while omegas laughed and batted their false eyelashes, filling drinks and lighting their vaporleaf rolls.
Arms went around shoulders, hands landed on knees while smiles tightened, and runics flowed like champagne as everyone bought into the fantasy that unfolded before them.
“Which is?”
“We’re losing omegas left and right.”
Smoke curled out of my nostrils. “Employee retention isn’t really our problem.”
“It should be when part of the reason we’re paying you is for protection.”
This finally got my attention. “Protection from what?”
“Mr. Oniguro, sir, I apologize for the delay.”
I turned to see an older omega demon woman, her horns curled in tight circles against her head. Jet black hair, peppered with streaks of silver and gold, was artfully pulled back in an elaborate updo, her modest, garnet dress fitted just enough to complement her shape.
She bowed deeply, one hand placed demurely on top of the other while she averted her gaze. “We are honored by your visit this evening.”
After a long drag, I stubbed out the roll in an ashtray on the bar, threw back the rest of my drink, and then stood, bowing my head slightly in response. “What’s this about needing protection?”
She remained in her deferential position, one hand extending towards a hallway. “Why don’t we continue our conversation in my office?”
“Lead the way.”
Kuroha finally rose, her head tilting slightly towards the merfolk beside me. “Nerine, would you join us?”
“Yes, it would be my pleasure.”
I followed Kuroha to the back of the lounge, watching while she smiled and greeted tables as she walked.
“Mr. Goldward, so lovely to see you this evening… Mr. Valecrest, welcome back… Ms. Bellgrave, we have a bottle of Dimont waiting on ice with your name on it. Just say the word, and I’ll have Rodolfo bring it over.”
So far, everything seemed to be running smoothly. Most of the tables were full, of both patrons and expensive bottles of alcohol. Then what could have been hindering their payments?
We entered the office, security footage showing every dark corner of the club on large screens behind her desk. She offered me a seat before she took hers.
“Thank you again for taking the time to see us, Mr. Oniguro. We’ve been requesting assistance for some time now.”
“Assistance in what, exactly?”
“One of our clients.”
She clicked something on her computer, bringing up an old video from two weeks ago on the larger monitors. Grainy footage of a vampire popped up in what appeared to be a private room.
I watched as he took a hit of bruum, flanked by two omegas. It seemed pretty normal to me, until he snapped, grabbing one of them by the hair at the nape of her neck and striking.
A growl built in my chest, the scene reminding me too much of the last I’d seen of Sage. The same resigned, pained look in his omega victim’s eyes before they rolled back in her head.
The other omega tried to run, but he grabbed her with his free hand.
And drank, and drank, and drank.
Finally, the omega slumped over, and he attacked the other one.
“Are they…”
“Dead?” Kuroha asked. “No, thank Ravaric. But both of them, two of my best omegas, were in the hospital for days.”
“Lucien Viremont goes through at least four a week,” Nerine added, her hands absentmindedly reaching for her throat, her fingers brushing over a faint scar.
“And some of our guests won’t come if their favorite isn’t here.
We’ve even had to cancel reservations some nights because we just don’t have the staff to service everyone. ”
“Add in hospital costs, and we’ve been seeing red for months,” Kuroha said. Blood from the second omega squirted on the table before she also slumped over. “Sanguis Vita is not cheap.”
My hands curled and flexed at my side, heat building beneath my skin. Logically, I knew he wasn’t Victor, and they weren’t Sage. But my fire only saw my mate.
“Then why do you still let him in here?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Kuroha and Nerine looked at each other, silently working out how to explain the problem, when I took a deep breath and sighed. “Let me guess… he knows my dad.”
“Your father…” Kuroha started, pausing to choose her words, “has made it clear that Mr. Viremont is not to be denied service at our establishment.”
Of fucking course.
I slouched in my chair, groaning as I rubbed my forehead. “How much do you owe us again, a hundred thousand?”
“A hundred fifteen,” Kuroha replied, bowing her head. “I have about half that right now, but Mr. Viremont’s literally bleeding us dry.”
“We… we can go without pay if we have to. I can’t speak for all the omegas, but we like working for Kuroha and—”
“You’re not slaves,” I said with a rumble. I looked up, both Kuroha and Nerine nervously waiting for me to act. Waiting for me to turn them upside down and shake to empty their pockets, roughing them up as a warning to anyone who’d ever think about crossing the Oniguros.
I was going to rough somebody up, alright. But it wasn’t a couple of victims.
“Is he here now?”
Nerine gave me a tentative nod. “Yes, he has a standing reservation for the Ruby Room. He’s here most nights.”
I cracked my neck as I stood, rolling out my shoulders. Maybe I should have worn a few of those rings. “Take me there.”
Nerine hopped up, leading me out of the office and back into the lounge. A hallway on the other side housed three private rooms - Sapphire, Emerald, and Ruby.
She looked at me, her eyes questioning.
“Do it,” I ordered.
Knock, knock, knock.
“What is it?” snarled a voice from inside.
“Bottle service,” Nerine replied. “Compliments of the house.”
The door opened, and I barreled through, slamming him backwards onto the table behind him.
A werewolf omega, her eyes glassy and neck bleeding, stumbled as she rose, and Nerine quickly got her out of our way as I grabbed the vamp’s shirt with one hand and drove my fist into his face with the other.
Bone crunched, and his head snapped sideways, fangs clacking together hard enough that one chipped. He hit the table again, bottles rattling, liquid sloshing over the edge as he gasped more in surprise than pain.
“Oni—” he started, blood already spilling from his mouth.
I slammed him down harder, the wood splitting beneath his spine. “You don’t get to say my name.”
He lashed out blindly, nails raking my arm, vampiric strength finally kicking in, but I was already past caring. Fire surged under my skin, heat rolling down my veins as I hauled him up and drove him into the wall this time, the impact shaking the room.
“Four a week,” I growled, gripping his throat just hard enough to remind him how fragile he really was. “Did you think no one would care?”
His eyes flicked to the door, like he was waiting for help to arrive at any moment.
“I pay,” he snarled. “Your family protects—”
My knee came up into his ribs, and he folded with a wet wheeze, coughing red onto my suit. I let him drop, then crouched, grabbing his hair and forcing his head back so he had to look at me.
“The omegas pay,” I said quietly. I could see it finally register in his crimson eyes, the understanding that this wasn’t a negotiation. “And my family protects them, too.”
He tried to bare his fangs again. Brave. Stupid, but brave.
I slammed his head into the wall once more, cracking plaster, then leaned in close, my voice low.
“You step foot in Ripped Lace again, and I won’t stop at your face. I’ll drag you out into the Circle and let every alpha there see exactly what you are. A fucking animal.”
I released him and stood, adjusting my jacket as he slid to the floor, clutching his side and sucking in shallow breaths.
“Nerine,” I said without turning. “Call medical. For the omega. Then tell Kuroha her problem is handled.”
Lucien laughed weakly from the floor. “Your father will—”
I looked down at him, heat still rolling off me in waves.
“Let him,” I said.
Then I walked out, and this time it was Lucien Viremont who remained on the ground, broken, bleeding, and afraid.
* * *
Your transfer is complete.
The notification popped up on my phone just as we pulled up back to the house. I didn’t bother to wait for the grunt to open the door for me, and stomped back inside, my knuckles split and chest still heaving.
I pushed past guards and slid the door open to my dad’s office, where he was sitting at his desk. A half-dressed demon omega sat on his lap, her pupils dilated as she sniffed and rubbed at her nose, while a few of his closest men lounged with omegas of their own.
“The debt has been paid,” I snarled. “And the problem is solved.”