Page 64 of Vampire Lee

Another distressed sound left him.

“Do you want some water? I don’t have a glass, but I can cup my hand for you, or if you want to…” He guided Angelo into a sitting position, leaning him against his chest, and placed his hand on the rim of the bucket. He pushed his hand into the water, cupped it, and drank as if he hadn’t had water in ages. Did he know he had a bucket of water in his cage? Lee wanted to snarl but held Angelo while he drank.

“Are you hurt?”

He shook his head. It was a lie, but at least there weren’t any protruding bones anywhere. “What happens now?”

Angelo cleared his throat, yet no more than a croak left him when he tried to speak.

“Shh, no need. I ask questions when nervous, trying to make sense of things.” He gently cradled his arm around Angelo and rocked them. He didn’t know why. Trying to calm himself most likely. Angelo melted against him with a huff though, so maybe it helped calm him too.

“If no one else comes down looking for a fight, we rest.” Angelo spoke so low Lee had to strain to hear him.

“It must be late in the evening by now.”

Angelo gave a small shrug. “I have no idea. I can’t even tell you what season it is.”

“Spring. It’s May. I was with my…boyfriend in the garden center to buy tomato plants when they got me.”

“Oh…You garden?”

“Nope, and neither does Dillon.” He smiled as he pictured the million plastic cups he’d sown things in. Maybe it counted as gardening.

“But you have a garden.”

“I live in an apartment, but Dillon lives in this huge house together with a bunch of shifters and a vampire. They have a garden.” Lee looked down at Angelo and caught a ghost of a smile.

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah.” He rocked them some more.

“What do you do when you’re not fighting cage matches?”

“I’m a bartender.”

“Vampire Lee?” The voice came from several cages over, but Lee whipped his head in the direction of it.

“Yeah.” He gave Angelo a gentle squeeze and got up to be able to see who was speaking.

Three cages over a man were clinging to the bars, a panicked look in his eyes. He was bruised and bloody. Crossbreed. They didn’t get a lot of crossbreeds at the bar, but it happened. He couldn’t say he recognized him though.

“Do I know you?”

“No. I’m Zain. I work with Eli. He talks about you from time to time.”

Lee grimaced. Zain, Eli’s missing work partner. “He’s looking for you.”

A smile that quickly turned into a wince followed his words. “Don’t know if it’ll do us any good.”

Lee shrugged. Eli might not be looking, but he worried at least.

When new steps approached, Lee hurried over to Angelo. If they tried to take him again, he’d attack. Tranquilizer gun or not.

The vampire he wanted dead walked straight for their cage, a fangy grin on his face. “Your boyfriend has arrived.”

Lee didn’t move a muscle. Dillon or Rei? He prayed it was Rei and that Dillon would never have to see cages like this. He’d been through enough already.

The vampire who’d die a painful death soon unlocked the door to the cage and gestured for him to exit. “Easy now or we’ll kill him.”

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