Page 10 of Vampire Lee

Dillon had been rescued by Mars and the others twice. When Devin had been abducted, he’d known Dillon, while Dillon hadn’t had a clue who Devin was. Turned out they’d been in the same underground brothel before, but they’d been rescued. Only, the first time, Mars had erased Dillon’s memories and let him go. Leonardo had found him again.

He didn’t remember the time before Leonardo had caught him the second time, though he had wondered where the scars covering his body had come from. Now he had three years’ worth of memories, giving him a constant feed of details about how the scars had ended up on his skin. There wasn’t a single spot not covered in bite marks other than his face, feet, and hands. He wore long sleeves and pants all the time so as not to have to look at them.

If a text to Mars would ensure neither he nor Devin ended up as blood slaves again, he could live through Mars’s wrath for being woken.

His hands trembled as he typed that Devin was on the patio, and he was going there too to make it harder for anyone to abduct them. Then he put the phone in the pocket of his pajama bottoms and stepped out. It was harder for someone to grab two people than it was to grab one.

Putting himself in danger for a little bit was his way of repaying Devin for having helped get him free.

Chapter 3

Lee walked up the gravel driveway to the manor house for the second time in his life. He could have texted, and he most likely should have, but he wanted to look at Murrie when he spoke to him.

All of last night, he’d waited for someone from the team to swing by the bar, but they hadn’t. He had hoped there would be a lull in customers, so he could send a quick text, asking if anyone had time to drop by, but it had been a good night, crowd wise. Then, when he’d finally gotten home, he hadn’t wanted to text and risk waking anyone or disturbing them if they were on a mission somewhere.

While trying to force down a cup of coffee, he’d tried to formulate a text only to give up. He had poured the mostly cold liquid into the sink, put on clothes, and walked.

It was a beautiful morning, albeit way earlier than he normally rose, and he hoped people would be awake in the house. It was a weekday, though he suspected they didn’t stick to weekdays and weekends in their line of work.

Walking up the stairs, he knocked on the door.

It took a few seconds, then steps approached. The human, Devin, looked up at him. Fear coated the air as he looked at Lee, and he took a quick step back. Lee noted the dark circles under his eyes and winced. “Bad night?”

Devin shrugged. “Nothing unusual. Are you here to see Murrie? I fear they’re all in a meeting. It’ll be twenty or so minutes longer.” Then his eyes narrowed. “You’re not on his calendar.” And yet Devin must’ve been the one who opened the gate for him.

“No, I tried to formulate a text that made sense, then figured it would be easier to talk to him instead.”

“And the phone wasn’t working?” Devin’s tone was pleasant, but Lee got the feeling he wasn’t pleased.

“Eh…I wanted to see him.”

“Ah.” Nodding, Devin motioned for him to enter. “He’s in a relationship.”

Lee stared at him. “O-okay.” Then he laughed. “I didn’t mean…I want to see his expressions when I talk to him.”

“It’s what video calls are for.” But now Devin’s cheeks turned a little rosy. “Coffee while you wait?”

“Only if you have some available, you don’t need to make any.”

Devin gestured toward the kitchen. “Have you had breakfast?”

“No, I…No.”

“I was cleaning up, but I can make you something.”

“Oh, no, you don’t need—”

“I have some eggs.” He motioned toward the table in the kitchen, and Lee sat. A plate appeared in front of him, followed by two boiled eggs, butter, a plate with some leftover sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and a couple of melon slices. Then Devin grabbed two bread rolls from a baking sheet. They had cooled, but Lee could tell they’d been baked this morning.

“Stop. This is more than enough. Way more than enough.” Had there been a display like in a hotel earlier? He looked up at Devin to say something, but footsteps slowly approached the kitchen, and he turned toward the hallway.

Dillon appeared in the doorway, a whimper leaving him as his gaze fell on Lee. Fuck. Then he turned as if to run away.

“Wait!” Devin snatched an egg and a bread roll from Lee’s plate and hurried over to Dillon. “Do you want something to drink?”

Dillon shook his head and made no motion to reach for the offered food.

“Take these. You can eat them in your room.”

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