Chapter 8
Ji-Su tipped his head back, trying to stop the angry tears gathering in his eyes from escaping.
He focused on the thick, gray clouds moving across the black sky, racing toward the ranch.
Their energy matched the turbulent storm building in his chest. He couldn’t believe what Cedric had done.
Destroyed all of his belongs simply because he’d lost the chance to hurt him as he pleased.
He was glad to have escaped from Cedric, who was clearly abusive, but he’d never felt anger like this.
A quiet voice spoke behind him.
“Here. This will warm you up.”
Ji-Su turned. Raul had come out on the deck and he was holding out a knitted afghan.
Ji-Su made a poor attempt at a smile of thanks as he accepted the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders to ward off the chilly night air.
“You don’t have to tell me what he did to my stuff.
It’s enough to know that it’s not usable. ”
Raul nodded. “All right.”
“Thank you for looking through the boxes for me. I’m glad I didn’t have to see what he did.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going to have to report this to your agency.
Behavior like that is unacceptable in a blood patron.
He’ll definitely be blacklisted from using their service now.
And Everett sure as hell won’t allow him to use any of the Sanguis Syndicate auctions.
Word will spread and he’ll find himself unable to use any of the convenient services in the city before long. ”
“The Sanguis Syndicate?” Ji-Su had never heard of that business.
“That’s the organization that I work for.”
“Oh.” Raul looked like he wanted to say something else but changed his mind. Ji-Su didn’t question him about it. His head was too full of despair for what he’d lost to be curious about Raul’s job.
“I wanted to ask—.”
“Those weren’t just—.”
They both started to speak at the same time. Raul gestured from Ji-Su to go first.
“Those weren’t just video games and consoles that Cedric destroyed,” Ji-Su said in frustration. “I mean, they were. But they were much more than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we met, I told you that I’m a gamer and that I stream.”
“I remember.”
“Well, I do that professionally. I’m the leader of an esports team.
We enter tournaments to win cash prizes.
And when I stream game play it brings in money through viewer donations and ad revenue.
I’m still up and coming in both esports and streaming so I’m not bringing in the big money yet.
Plus, I had medical bills to pay off from a bad car accident I was in and I help support my parents.
That’s why I took the job to be a blood pet.
It got me the money I needed to upgrade all of my gaming and streaming equipment and pay down my debt.
And it gave me the time I needed to be able to practice and improve my skills because I didn’t have to work the usual hours of a day job.
“Cedric destroyed everything I recently bought and the stuff I already had when I signed up to be his blood pet. My entire gaming and streaming set up is gone. Now I’m worse off than I was when I went to stay with him.
I’m going to have to start over. In the meantime, I’ll miss practice runs with my team and lose out on streaming revenue. ”
Raul looked angry hearing the full scope of what Cedric’s destruction had cost him, but his voice was gentle when he spoke.
“I’m sorry, Ji-Su. You didn’t deserve that.”
Ji-Su shook his head. “It’s not your fault. It’s Cedric’s fault for being awful and abusive.”
“But he might not have gone that far if I hadn’t taken you away from him.”
“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.” He shrugged, ignoring the tight ball in his chest that made him want to yell and curse and cry. “Did you want to ask me something?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s best if I handle it myself.”
For a brief moment, Raul’s mouth tightened into an angry line and his eyes glowed bright.
“Okay. I’d better go let my team know I’m out of commission for a while. Excuse me.”
Ji-Su went inside. He went to a spot in the foyer he’d noticed during his earlier roaming—a small bench tucked into a softly lit alcove. Plopping down on the seat, he took out his phone and pulled up his team’s group chat.
Hey, guys. I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to practice for a couple of weeks. Seconds after he hit send, the chat lit up with responses.
Iesha: Why not?
Lawrence: What happened?
I’m fine, really, he typed. But Cedric didn’t like the fact that I left him even though he was paid a ridiculous amount of money to break my contract. So, he bashed all my gaming equipment.
Iesha: That fucker!
Lawrence: Can you sue?
I’m not going to sue. I’ll just move on and start over. But it’ll take me a little time to get everything together.
Iesha: Do you need us to send you money?
No, I’ve got it. I’ve got some money in the bank and I’ll receive payments from my new blood patron soon. I’ll keep you all posted on when to expect me back.
Once the group chat ended, he received an individual message from Iesha.
Are you really alright? I don’t like you taking another blood pet job. How do we know this vamp isn’t as crappy as the one you left?
I had him vetted.
Cedric was vetted by that service too.
I know. But this time it feels different. I always got a spiteful vibe off of Cedric. I don’t feel the same with Mr. Raul. He’s...
Ji-Su paused, trying to think of the best way to describe the vampire that he instinctively liked and trusted.
He’s decent and kind.
Fine. But if he starts showing his ass I want you out of there. Contract be damned.
Ji-Su laughed a little. He sent her a thumbs up emoji then exited from the text app.
Gathering the afghan tighter around his shoulders he started making a mental tally of everything he would need to replace.
Gaming systems, both PlayStation and Xbox.
His Switch. Games, headsets, web cam, monitors, keyboards, and controllers.
And his computer. The cost of the computer alone was enough to make him want to call Cedric up and curse him out.
He resisted the impulse, knowing it was best not to have any more contact with him.
Since Cedric had destroyed everything that was boxed up, it was safe to assume that the two big items—his desk and gaming chair were destroyed too and probably already thrown in a dumpster somewhere.
Not to mention all his clothes were ruined.
At least he had the few things Raul had bought him at Target. Ji-Su groaned in angry frustration.
There was nothing he could do about it now. Everything needed to be replaced and fast. He didn’t want to be offline from his streaming channel for too long or he’d start losing followers. That would be a major setback right when he was starting to blow up in popularity.
He tapped the phone’s screen to wake it up and opened his banking app.
But he abruptly changed his mind and closed it before logging in to his account.
Right now, he was too upset to calmly look at money and budget and start shopping.
The thought of buying everything all at once was overwhelming and he needed time to process what Cedric had done.
He’d give himself a little time and mental space to breathe and move past Cedric’s cruelty. Then he’d figure everything out.
RAUL WAITED A FEW MOMENTS after Ji-Su went back into the house before he went inside himself. He strode back into his office where Burke was waiting.
“Find Cedric,” he ordered.
“Ji-Su said yes on the retaliation?” Burke asked as he took out his cell phone.
“I didn’t ask him.”
Burke looked up from his phone. “What changed your mind?”
“I didn’t realize those video games Cedric destroyed were for work, not simply Ji-Su’s leisure activities.
And he was so...hurt over their loss.” Rage burned once more in his chest as he remembered Ji-Su’s sad, quiet voice telling his story.
“Cedric will pay for what he did,” he vowed with grim determination.
Burke nodded. “I’ll have his location shortly.” He bent back over his phone, thumbs rapidly tapping on the screen.
Raul waited for him to track Cedric down—trying not to show his impatience. It took just under ten minutes for Burke to look back up.
“Got it. He’s at the Snake’s Den, a downtown nightclub that’s popular with both vampires and humans.
Raul rose from his chair and rounded his desk to leave. “I know the place.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No. I’d feel better if you’re here with Ji-Su while I’m gone.
Burke nodded. “Understood. Good luck.”
Raul left the office, his blood already hot and ready for a fight. He was about to teach Cedric that there were consequences to breaking someone else’s toys.
TWENTY MINUTES AFTER receiving Cedric’s location, Raul walked into the Snake’s Den.
He was flanked by two of his guards with several more at his back.
Strobe lights flashed over the packed dance floor while techno music played loud and frantic.
Raul scanned the crowded, dark space until he found what he was looking for.
Cedric was there in a roped off VIP section.
Humans and vampires danced and made out with each other in front of his table, while he sat drinking Dom Perignon champagne straight from the bottle.
Raul headed directly for his target. The attendant guarding the roped entrance tried to stop him from entering.
“This is a private party, sir.”
Raul stared at him with a single eyebrow raised. That was all it took before the attendant was stuttering out an apology and unhooking the velvet rope.
“My apologies, sir.”
Raul gave him a nod of thanks and proceeded up the short flight of stairs to where Cedric was holding court in a high-backed circular booth that faced out to the club. As Raul approached, the other vampire set his bottle of champagne down on the table.
“Hope you’re not here to ask for a refund,” Cedric said with a smirk. “I told you you’d regret buying that low-rate neck.”