Page 70 of Vampire Lee

In a blur of motion, Angelo was on him. Fangs sank into Rei’s chest through the fabric of his shirt since it was where he could reach, fingers curled into birdlike claws. Rei gave a startled snarl, buried his hand in Angelo’s hair and pulled him away. Then something close to pity overtook his face, and he crouched. He carefully allowed Angelo to get closer to his throat.

“Gently.” The whisper was so intimate, Lee looked away. When Angelo whimpered, he reached for the keys Rei had dropped when Angelo attacked and went to unlock the other cages.

The prisoners watched him wearily as he unlocked one door after the other. They didn’t move, didn’t exit the cages, and Lee’s heart broke for them. Fuck, he wished he could kill Maybe-Aaron all over again.

As he neared Angelo’s cage, Rei was gently running his hands over Angelo’s back. “You need to stop now. I need my strength.”

Angelo made a sound of protest.

“I know, but we’ll get you more blood later. And food, okay? Now, we need to get going.”

Zain took a careful step out of his cage. “Can we go, Vampire Lee?”

Before Lee could answer, Rei did, still with Angelo attached to his throat. “We need statements from everyone.” He tried to straighten, only to wince and bend down again. “Angelo, please, retract your fangs.”

This time, Angelo did as told, and Rei straightened and looked at the men spilling out of the cages. “Follow us. I’m sure Murrie has arranged some sort of transportation by now. We’ll get you showered and fed, and then we need to speak to you one-on-one. After that, we’ll help you get to where you belong.” He hesitated and glanced at Angelo. “Or set you up somehow.”

Lee placed a hand on Angelo’s shoulder. “Ready to go?”

Angelo grabbed his arm, his grip bruising. Rei looked between them, a flash of something before another blank mask fell into place.

“Let’s go before Dillon comes in here and starts shooting people with his dart gun.” Lee squeezed Angelo’s hand where it dug into his forearm.

“Is he here?”

“Outside. He drove here, so if you want, you can ride with us.” He didn’t know what the procedure was in cases like this, but since Angelo trusted him, he assumed Murrie would be okay with bending the rules a little to make him as comfortable as possible.

Angelo nodded a reply, and Lee guided him through the warehouse to the door. The moment they stepped outside, Dillon rushed toward them. Angelo hissed before he could reach them, and Dillon paled and took a stumbling step backward.

Fuck. “Dillon, this is Angelo.” Angelo closed his mouth, hiding his fangs. “Angelo, this is my boyfriend, Dillon.”

Dillon’s eyes widened, and Lee winced. Maybe he should’ve checked if the boyfriend label was okay before introducing him as such.

“I’m sorry.” Angelo held out a hand, the angle a little wrong, and Lee noted the moment Dillon realized he couldn’t see.

Dillon took his hand. “No worries, we’re all a bit on edge.” He glanced at Lee, and Lee wanted nothing more than to let go of Angelo and haul him in for a kiss, but he didn’t.

“Angelo will be riding with us.”

Dillon nodded. “You’re hurt.”

The moment he’d said the words, Lee became aware of how much he hurt and how his side was still seeping. “We’ll clean up when we get home and see how bad it is.”

Worry shone in Dillon’s eyes. “Okay. Can we go?”

“Ask Murrie.”

Dillon nodded and hurried over to where Murrie stood speaking to the other prisoners.

“You’re dating a human?” Angelo looked confused. “I didn’t think we were allowed to…They can’t know about us.”

“Dillon was a blood slave before Rei and the others rescued him.”

“Rei?”

“The guy you snacked on.”

A blush painted Angelo’s cheeks, which was a good sign. At least he had enough blood in his system to blush.

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