Page 5 of Flock This

When I pulled it through, I cursed.

A dripping crimson-covered stake, one I would just bet had William’s blood on it.

Fuck.

This was bad. Maybe I could still get out of here, still escape before anyone saw me in this very compromising position.

“What did you do?” A woman’s voice from behind me had me turning to find another vampire, a female in a long black dress, her eyes locked on the bloody stake in my hand.

Which I had to admit, didn’t look great.

“You killed him!” she shouted.

“No, I didn’t,” I tried to explain even though I wouldn’t have believed me if I’d walked in on this.

She backed away and slammed her hand on a button near a panel on the wall, making the lights flicker and a horribly piercing alarm sound.

God, what I wouldn’t give for another dildo delivery about now…

Chapter Two

The time for explanations had passed. When framed for murder, it was time for action—stupid, not-well-thought out-action—but action nonetheless!

The look on the woman’s face said she wasn’t up for listening, and vampires weren’t known for being the ‘let’s talk this out’ sort.

My heart sped, and I knew I needed to get rid of the stake. Carrying the murder weapon while escaping would probably hinder me more than help. Running around with a bloody stake was also really bad optics. I twisted my hand to open my personal bay—a portal opening to the storage area only I could access, set up similar to the delivery ones, and tossed the weapon into it. The portal closed right after.

Heavy footsteps preceded five vampires rushing in, all burly men I knew outclassed me by a long shot.

Which was fine because strength had never been my thing. I was far more a speed, peace-out sort of girl. Know your strengths!

I peered around, unsure how to make an escape from the thirtieth floor.

Due to the sun, the balcony was closed and locked with a heavy door I had no hopes of opening. Even if I could get out there, I’d never managed the whole flying thing, so it wasn’t much of an escape. Across the bedroom, through the open door of the large closet, I spotted my goal.

Or, maybe goal was too generous. The least bad of the amazingly terrible options seemed more fitting.

I rushed for the closet, finding it full of seemingly identical black suits—and a large sparkly dress that I personally thought he had probably rocked. Also there, a small open metal square on the wall.

A man in William’s position would never do his own laundry. He wouldn’t even gather it all up in a hamper like a normal person, because rich folks didn’t like evidence that they were as imperfect as the rest of us.

Throwing myself down the two-foot-by-two-foot space seemed like an awfully terrible idea, but the snarls of vampires behind me—ones who’d no doubt rip me apart if they caught me—said the chute was still a better option.

Of course, my normal self wouldn’t fit. It was great for walking around and things that required opposable thumbs, but otherwise? I closed my eyes, a rush of power moving through me. The sensation of turning into something so much smaller felt strange, like over-stuffing a custard-filled donut. I didn’t need to strip out of my clothing, because ice licked across my skin, destroying anything fabric against me.

RIP to the many cute outfits I’d lost over the years.

I fluttered my black wings, the action instinctual, hesitation taking me for only a moment. While the outfit burned away, biological matter didn’t. It meant I could still feel the blood from the stake coating my feathers and feet. My heightened senses felt the air shift as someone reached for me, which meant doubting time was over. Instead, I threw myself into the darkness. My body struck the metal sides of the chute as I tumbled down. I just hoped it didn’t open to a hard concrete floor. My healing was better than a human, but I’d bet I couldn’t shake off a hit like that.

I struck the bottom of the chute, where it curved out, but then I fell into something soft.

Soft and reeking of vampire and sex and blood.

I twisted, making sure I could still move, grateful to find nothing broken. Eventually, I got myself clear of the dirty laundry and out of the basket, fluttering my wings when I landed on the floor.

A high-pitched noise screeched through the building, the insistent alarm telling me to get moving. I rushed through the expansive laundry area, hopping along and fluttering barely off the ground, past the large commercial washers, the dryers, the hanging clothing on racks moved around by people.

Someone yelped when I passed them, but I ignored it. Vampires didn’t do their own menial labor, and the matching black outfits said they were thralls—humans bitten by and bound to vampire masters. They wouldn’t betray a vampire’s direct order, but they also weren’t about to attack me unless they had good reason.

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