Page 1 of Vampire Lee

Chapter 1

Lee Dowell looked out over the crowd at The Rambling Rogue, the bar where he’d worked the last five or so years. He was looking for Rei. One of the people in Rei’s group of friends would suffice, but he preferred it to be Rei. Or maybe not. They’d hooked up, but then when they were to meet again, Rei’s assistant had called and informed him Rei was busy and unable to make it.

It had been weeks ago. A couple of months, maybe. He didn’t keep track.

“Vampire Lee! Give me another.”

He was yanked out of his head and nodded at Eli, the wolf shifter leaning against the bar. Vampire Lee. In the beginning, he’d tried to make them not call him that, but he was a vampire in a shifter bar. He guessed it was too much to ask. They had plenty of vampire patrons too, but there was no question about it being a shifter bar.

Pouring a beer from the tap, he looked out over the crowd again. “Have you seen Rei?”

“The jaguar?”

“Yeah.”

“Dude, good luck.”

Lee turned his gaze to him. Good luck? Had something happened to him? Come to think of it, Rei hadn’t been in for ages. Lee had seen him with his friends once or twice since they’d hooked up, so he didn’t think he was dead. Maybe he’d moved. Nah, the only thing Rei had sounded excited about was his job. Lee didn’t think he’d give it up unless he had to. “Why would I need it?”

“You banged him, right?”

Had Eli been there that night? He might have, he was a regular. Pleasant enough guy, despite being a wolf. Wolves were the largest shifter group, which was reflected in the clientele. Lee didn’t mind them too much, though pack animals—He grimaced. He didn’t understand pack animals.

“Yeah.” He dragged it out, realizing too late that Rei might not want him to tell anyone. He wasn’t exactly considered a catch among the bar’s visitors. Vampires and shifters could get along, he’d seen it, but…Yeah, he was a vampire in a shifter bar.

“Then he won’t come here again.”

“What? It’s a bar. The only shifter bar in Hagwall. Of course, he’ll come.”

Eli snorted. “How well do you know Rei?”

Know? He’d served him drinks for years, and they’d fucked. Once. It had been…Rei was a fine specimen, but it was a hook-up, nothing special. “Only superficially.” And he doubted Eli had much input to offer. He’d never seen them talk to each other.

“He’s somewhat of a legend.”

“Somewhat of a legend?” Deep down, he knew shifters weren’t more stupid than other species, but sometimes it was hard to truly believe it.

“He fucks everything with a pulse, then never calls them back.”

Lee shrugged. “And it makes him a legend?” Did it make Lee a legend too? He and Rei handled the subject of lovers in a similar manner.

Eli stared at him. “I don’t know, but now you’re one of the people he’s turned down.”

A light headache started to build, and he slowly shook his head. “I’m not looking for a hook-up, I need to talk to him.”

“Did he give you crabs?”

Vampires and shifters couldn’t get STDs the way humans did, but they could get crabs. “No.” His sigh was long and deep. “It is not related to sex, diseases, relationships, emotions, or anything like that. I only need a word, so if you see him, could you tell him? Or one of his friends. The bitchy wolf, what’s her name?”

“She’s not with them anymore.”

She’s not? They were a tight knit group, and they often came in together. Not all of them at once, but they came and went. He was pretty sure he’d recognize the females. If he remembered correctly, there were only two. Though if the bitchy one had quit, there was only one left.

He tried to conjure up an image of her. She was of average height for a shifter female, which meant taller than the average human woman but not enough to stand out, with long brown hair and kind eyes. Yeah, he’d recognize her if she came in. She often had a guy with her, also a wolf. He never spoke and had a tendency to melt into the back of the club. Come to think of it, Rei did too. “What happened to her?”

Eli shrugged. “I only know they’re one man short. My mother is on some committee or other, and they’re donating to them. She said they were looking for a recruit.”

Did you have to have a special skill to join? Lee was sick of pouring drinks for drunk shifters. He could use a challenge.

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