His smell fills my nostrils, reeking of several drugs and different diseases.
Wrenching myself away, I take a couple of steps back.
“Help me!” he cries, trying to sit up, but struggling against the bodies I haven’t moved. “I repent. I beg for forgiveness! I’ll never lie again!”
Still his fingers reach for me, begging for salvation.
A salvation I do not have the power to grant.
All I can give is death.
“Help me! I don’t want to die!” he cries louder.
Well, there goes the death option…
Cringing, I hope others don’t hear him.
“Angel, please. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll change my ways…”
I don’t have any time to waste on him. Raphael’s Marked is more important.
“I can’t.” Closing my eyes, I search for more heartbeats. “You have to help yourself.”
The man groans in despair as I shift, zeroing in on several pulses grouped together.
When I open my eyes, I find myself inside a bar area that’s been abandoned to time. The décor straight out of the seventies.
The smell of old cigarette smoke oozes out of the brown walls. Soft, buttery light comes from a couple of old lamps suspended from the ceiling above the bar. The bar itself is covered in bottles, empty glasses, and dirty plates.
A faint moan drifts over from the booths lining the opposite wall, and several heartbeats thrum in that direction.
As much as I dread it, the whole thing reminding me of the den, I have no choice but to approach and search for Raphael’s fated.
I cover the distance quickly, intent on checking and making a speedy exit.
Something about the area setting off my instincts…
I don’t know what it is, but I can feel the hair on the back of my neck wanting to stand on end.
The closer I get to the booths, the stronger the smell of blood and sex becomes.
This is where Nikolaos and his children have their fun…
What is it with them and booths? Does it remind them of eating inside a restaurant or something?
Peeking into the first dark booth, I see a couple of bodies passed out on the seats. Naked and covered in bites. Fresh bites. Someone has been feeding recently.
One body is a man, thickly built, and the other is a woman with short brown hair.
Moving on, I check the next booth. A blonde woman is sleeping with her knees on the floor and her cheek pressed against the cushion. Another woman, a woman with black hair, is seated and slumped forward. Her head resting against her crossed arms.
Gritting my teeth together, I step up to the seated woman and grab her by the hair. Yanking her head back, I peer into her face.
She doesn’t stir, continuing to sleep.
Needing to be sure, I pry her eyelid open and check her eye.
Brown.
Releasing her hair, I let her fall back down to the table with a thud and move on.
More sleeping humans fill the next booth, and I’m forced again to check the eyes of a woman with black hair.
Her eyes end up being green.
Growing impatient and my sense of danger increasing, I approach the last booth, determined to check it fast so I can get the hell out of here.
The place is seriously giving me the heebie-jeebies.
Four bodies are wrapped around each other on top of the table. Moaning and whimpering softly in their sleep. The way their limbs are twined together reminds me of the small pile of bodies I found behind the lanes.
Swallowing back a sigh, I try to pick out their heads, doing my best to separate their individual pieces. I see blonde hair, brown hair, and black hair tangling together.
Tracing the length of the black hair, I step closer, prepared to reach down.
Suddenly the head rises, revealing blue eyes and bloody fangs.
The vampire I was just about to check looks at me in confusion and sniffs the air, his nostrils flaring.
“A female?” he asks in disbelief.
Shaking my head no, I take a step back.
Vanishing just as he lunges for me.
“Fuck,” I exhale when I snap into place.
My blood rushing around my body, buzzing with adrenaline, I have to take a deep breath to calm myself.
That was close. Too damn close.
What’s wrong? Are you in danger? Asher demands, his apprehension making him sound angry.
No, I’m fine, I reassure him as I look around the room I’m in now. I was just startled.
It appears to be an office that was converted into a bedroom.
You are not to take any risks, my love, Asher growls. If there is danger, you must return to me.
I will. I promise, I say sincerely.
I have no desire to get caught. Especially not after what I’ve seen. Nikolaos and his children live like disgusting animals.
Who knows what they’d do to me…
“Ch-Chloe?”
My eyes dart to the bed at the sound of my name.
Pushing the covers back, Charity sits up, brushes some of her hair out of her face, and peers at me in surprise.