Chapter 6
Adrian
After gathering as much information as I could, I called Josephina that evening.
She picked up on the third ring. I hadn’t talked to her much since my casino had taken off, but she had been important in helping me establish myself through the path of least resistance.
It had been her who suggested I buy this particular property and I held her in high esteem for that, but I also didn’t fully trust her.
Her alliances seemed to be fluid from the intel Enzo had gathered on her so I went in with the assumption that she would only be my ally as long as it was beneficial for her.
She would turn on me without a second glance if that ever stopped.
All that considered though, if the Asamire were up to something, I felt the need to at least warn her of what was coming. I at least owed her that.
“Adrian,” she purred. She had a thick Spanish accent, which I had always enjoyed quite a bit. It rolled off her tongue like music.
“Josephina, it’s been a while. How are you?”
“I spent the summer in Portugal feasting on some delightful treats positively full of sweet freshly brewed sangria. It was rather enjoyable, I must say. You should try it sometime,” she answered.
Her voice trailed off, a whimsical lightness to it that suggested she was reliving her favorite memories.
I could have sworn I heard the sound of her licking her lips too.
“I’m glad to hear you’ve been having such a good time,” I replied. I knew she’d probably left a trail of pretty men and women dead behind her, but she was careful in hiding her presence wherever she went. The rest of her clan did the same.
“It seems rather fortuitous for you to ring me as soon as my plane landed here in Vegas,” she said pointedly. “It’s almost like you knew I was coming.”
“Can’t a man miss a pretty woman like you?
” I suggested with a smirk. We’d never been more than reluctant friends for as long as I’d known her, but I knew that she enjoyed when I teased her like that.
I liked to think it made her smile and I wanted to keep her happy as my ally, so I went along with it as much as I could.
Nothing would ever come of it. Vampires and wolves were natural born enemies and neither of us was willing to fight against our baser instincts.
“Always wanting something you can’t have. Typical,” she teased, but I could hear the lightness of her smile in her voice. Josephina was always easier to deal with when she was in a good mood. People frequently wound up dead when she was in a bad one.
“I’ve heard whispers of a gathering the Asamire are having here. I wanted to call and talk to you about it, because from what I’m hearing, it makes me uneasy.”
“Jealous you didn’t get an invite?” she countered, and I chuckled, quite pleased that she’d confirmed my suspicions so very easily.
“No. If I want to drink fancy champagne and eat some pricey caviar, I can just buy that myself,” I said boldly, and she giggled and cleared her throat, then tried to speak through her amusement.
“Fair point. I take it the casino business is treating you well, my friend,” she replied.
“It is,” I began proudly. I paused for a moment, and she was silent.
It was as if the lightness of our initial small talk had evaporated and everything about it became that much heavier.
“Listen, I have a bad feeling about this whole thing, and I just wanted to warn you. I don’t think you should go. ”
She sighed dismissively. “Listen, Adrian. It’s not that big of a deal.
It’s a gathering in Vegas. The Asamire have been there long enough to dispose of whatever party favors they bring to the stage.
It’s highly unlikely it’ll cause any problems for you,” she scoffed.
“They’ll do what they always do and that’s all they’ll do. ”
“I know that. That’s not what I’m worried about. From what I’ve been able to find, they’ve invited all of the major clan leaders here in Vegas as well as a number of others from various places around the world. Dmitri Mikhailov is one of them,” I continued.
“Ahhh, Dmitri,” she purred suggestively. “Now there’s a really… really good time.”
“That’s not all. They’ve been collecting virgins for it too.
That’s a lot of power to have in a single room, especially in combination with virgin blood.
It seems strategic to me. What if the Asamire are planning to seize control of all of you?
” I rushed. I wanted her to really look at the possibility.
“What if they tried to kill you all so that could reign over Vegas all by themselves?”
“You worry too much, Adrian. The Asamire keep to themselves. They don’t make waves.
It would be against their mighty principles to involve the lowliness of others into their fold.
They think that they’re better than the rest of us,” she answered.
She was annoyed now. I’d have to tread more carefully.
“They’ve made a ploy for power before,” I countered.
“And they’ve lost. Several times. They know their place here in Vegas. They are a strong clan, but they don’t stand a chance when the rest of us go against them,” she replied.
Despite her sureness, I remained unconvinced. “I really think you should decline the invitation. Don’t go, Josephina,” I urged.
“Listen, Adrian. You’re a nice guy, but you’re relatively new here and I’m not going to give up the chance to savor some delightful virgin blood based off of some crazy rumors you and your wolves cooked up.
I’ve been here since the city was born and I will be here for a long time to come.
You’re going to need to learn to stay in your lane if you want to remain here too,” she replied.
The warning was clear. If I didn’t back down now, she’d figure out some way to come after me or my men. It wasn’t worth pushing her anymore.
With a sigh, I sat back. She might not take my advice, but I felt better knowing that I’d at least tried to warn her. She would make her own decisions in the end.
“I get that, Josephina. I don’t want to step on any toes. I just want you to be careful,” I replied.
“I appreciate the concern, Adrian,” she murmured. The aggression in her voice had lessened now, which was a good sign.
“Listen, if you do decide to go, will you do me a favor? There’s a human girl there that was stolen from her home country.
All our intel suggests that she’s one of the virgins the Asamire collected.
I need to get her out alive. She’s my mate’s sister and I cannot stand by and do nothing, especially knowing what fate is in store for her. ”
“Ohhhhh, Adrian, you haven’t told me that you found a girl. You should have asked me first if I was willing to share you in the first place,” she flirted rather shamelessly.
“If I send you her picture, would you try to look out for her for me and would you let me know if you see her?” I asked.
“For a price,” she replied.
“Name it.”
“You’re serious about this one, aren’t you?” she questioned. There was a quiet interest to her tone now that wasn’t there before. Her aggression had disappeared, and a curious softness reigned free.
“Yeah. I really am.” There wasn’t a second of hesitation. I meant every word.
“Send a picture of them both. I will do what I can for you. I can’t promise anything, but if I can help without damning myself and my clan, I will,” she replied.
“Thank you, Josephina,” I murmured. “I really appreciate it.”
“Adrian?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she warned. Her concern for me was cute. I appreciated it, but I wouldn’t heed it either.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I answered and hung up the phone. I texted her the images of Irina and one of Natalia, taking a second before I hit send to admire the soft features of my mate.
I missed her hard edges, her distrustful gaze, but most of all, I missed her.
I closed my eyes, remembering the sounds she’d made when I’d bared her bottom for the first time.
She’d started off so brave as I began her punishment, but the moment that stuck in my mind and made my cock as hard as iron was when her sounds had changed and she truly realized that she was no longer in control, that she was getting a hard spanking that wouldn’t end when she wanted it to, and that her pussy was soaking wet because of all of it.
Fuck.
I sat back in my chair and glided my palm along my slacks. My cock was hard as a rock just thinking about her.
I wanted her to look at me with those pretty eyes with more than just lust. I wanted her to reach for me, to seek out my lips on hers, and to smile when our gazes caught each other’s on a whim. More than anything, I wanted her to love me as I did her.
She was mine. The fates had put her in my sights and now that I’d had a taste of her, I wasn’t going to let her go.
When I got my hands on her again, I was going to teach her that she was never allowed to run from me again. I flexed my fingers and stood up with a sigh. If I was going to rescue her sister, I had work to do. I couldn’t distract myself with thoughts of my mate lying bare before me.
I’d worry about punishing my mate again when she was thoroughly bound to my bed, naked and trembling in fear and arousal over what I was about to do to her with the end of my crop.
* * *
My earpiece clicked on, and I waited for Enzo’s report.
In the hours since I’d called Josephina, we’d set up a home base within the Wynn hotel.
Using a fake name, I’d booked a suite for the weekend and snuck in as much of our surveillance gear in there as I could without raising suspicion.
It was morning by now and none of us had slept, but we’d needed to move in after the hotel staff finished cleaning the nightclub and before the Asamire sent in their own group to decorate the place for tonight’s party.
“Boss, the cameras have been put in position. You should be able to test them now,” his voice sounded in my ear.
“I’ll get started,” I answered.