Page 19 of Feral

“Do you know who I am?” I step forward. “I’m your worst fucking nightmare if you show your face here again. Not only will I find out who you are and where you live, you’ll never shake me. Now what the fuck are you doing here?”

The man clamps his mouth shut, but Rhett squeezes tight enough to draw blood and the man kicks his legs. “Okay, okay.”

I nod at Rhett to loosen up a bit, glancing at Yannis, who stands near me but slightly behind.

“Name,” Tiago demands.

“Vito,” the man says. “The Bianchi’s own this town and won’t be happy when they find out you roughed me up.”

Bianchi. Is that the name Yannis said earlier? I glance at Yannis again, who looks pale now. That must be it.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, my friend, but feel free to test the truth. We’ll be happy to prove who actually owns the city.”

“Yeah? What family are you with?”

“Orpheus. We’re not the Mafia. We’re far, far worse. If you and your family know what’s best, I’d stay away from this club and anything else we choose to do. In fact, it’d be wise to pick another city to terrorize. We don’t take kindly to people like you.”

“You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” Vito says.

“I’m not too worried about it. Now, run along.”

Hemsley squeezes the gun until it’s a ball of metal. Vito looks horrified, seemingly realizing that Rhett could kill him in a heartbeat. Instead, Rhett releases the mafioso, letting him fall to the ground. Tiago growls at the man, who scoots away from us before scrambling to his feet and tearing off toward a black car.

Tiago shakes his head as he folds his arms over his chest. “You gonna let Yves know?”

“Yeah, I’ll call. Thorn will have a field day with that guy.”

Tiago chuckles. “Yeah, he will.”

I turn to Yannis, who’s staring at Rhett while the vampire resumes his mortal appearance. I’m sure from the way his chest is heaving that he’s figured out what Rhett really is. I’m interested in his reaction.

“Bianchi is the same guy you had an interaction with, right?”

Yannis nods. “Yeah, that was the name. Not the same guy though.”

“I’m sure they have soldiers all over the place. Interesting that he found his way to Lair though.”

“Is it safe here?”

“Do we look afraid?”

He huffs a laugh, dropping his shoulders. “No. I guess it helps having men like Rhett and Hemsley at the door.”

“It does.” I squeeze his shoulder. “I hope you weren’t too frightened?”

“No. I was interested in what was gonna happen. Rhett could’ve killed him, right?”

“Absolutely. And likely wanted to. We try to abide by the ‘no killing’ guidance, but sometimes it’s necessary. If he’d aimed that gun at anyone, he’d be dead now.”

“That’s fair.” Yannis nods, swallowing hard.

I can hear his pulse beating more rapidly, the swoosh of blood in his veins. His scent is stronger too—masculine, earthy, enticing.

“Let me get you home. After today’s events and what just happened, I’d feel better about it.”

Yannis opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again before blowing out a breath. “Yeah, okay. I think I’d feel better about it too.”

“Great. Give me a few minutes?”

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