Page 67 of Club Blood

The more I rattled off my fears, the more worried I became. My body had begun to shake—although that could have been more from the sunstroke than the paralyzing thoughts crashing right through me. I had no idea what was happening to me. It was a good thing I was alone, without the judging eyes of Warren and the pity that fell across Cecelia’s each time she saw me falter. What would she say if the cruelty that filled me was not the only thing she saw? I didn’t know if I could continue to have her look past those initial layers of revenge, hate, and bitterness.

It was not that I deemed her too weak to handle it, her aptitude for fighting off one of my kind, and the ease in which she held the ornate stake I gifted her made me well aware of the strength and power she carried. It was a power that I was convinced she was unaware of, herself. Cecelia was not too weak to handle me. I was afraid that it was me, that I was too weak and prideful to allow her the option to think of me as anything but a monster. Her captor.

And yet, even as she slept next to me, I never did wonder if she would pierce me right in the heart with that stake.

I couldn’t decipher what she was to me, and the uncertainty of it all made me feel unhinged and on edge. I did not find us as mere lovers, my cunt scissored along hers far too frequently to be just that. I had promised myself that I would never take a consort, especially a human one. I was becoming no better than Warren, letting my lust direct me, instead of my head. Now, with it all simmering between my temples, I worry that it will never go away.

The station was no further than twenty feet away, but I couldn’t wait much longer. I shook my head of all thoughts and focused on the two glass doors instead. The pain was beginning to increase across my weathered, tired skin, but instead of barreling in there, I opted to walk withpurpose. My feet moved quickly, eager to rid myself of this self inflicted agony. If I wanted to get what I wanted, I needed to stay insignificant. I needed to pretend toneedsomething from them.

The minute I was under their awning, I practically fell to my knees in relief. The burning stopped instantaneously, although I could feel the soreness and stiffness falling right behind it. I was not looking forward to walking back to the estate. As I entered the police building I expected several officers to arrest me on the spot; just for the mere fact that I was who I was. A vampire, one that owned half the banks and even more of the casinos, one that they were very much already investigating.

I saw no one with cuffs in hand, though. In fact, there was no one in sight, and that had me worried. Rubbing my hand along one tender arm, I approached the desk in the middle of the room. There sat a woman with a perturbed looking face and arrogant posture. Just seeing her sitting comfortably made me eager to assert my authority.

“What can I do for you, Miss…?” The woman in the chair was sickly looking, and snorted every time she breathed. She sucked in a big breath with her nostrils and I could hear the phlegm dripping down her throat as she typed at her computer. It took obvious effort for me not to curl my lips in disgust. Her uniform was a deep denim blue, faded from its years of servitude, a long sleeve and pant combination that had me dripping in sweat just by looking at her. I could see the shining badge on her chest, accompanied by a black radio.Malmado, her name tag read.

Though I tapped my nails along the counter, she had no decency to look up at me from her chair. I frowned, tucking the black box closer to my chest.

“Petrova.”

“Well, Miss Petrova,” she amended with a tone that made me want to grind my teeth. “What can I do for you?”

Tap. Tap. Tap, went my nails.

Tap. Tap. Tap, went her fingers against the keyboard. An impasse.

I cleared my throat, to no avail. “I was hoping to see Detective Forge.”

“Forge isn’t taking any visitors today, sorry,” She had the indecency to pop a piece of gum between those pruned lips, and I could see the light from her computer screen reflected in her eyes. She looked like she was playing Minesweeper. I wished I had broken through the doors after all, how did anyone get anything done this way, talking to a brick wall? All that effort to remain cordial, and it fell on this woman’s very deaf ears. Humans needed a little bit of fear to keep them going, and thankthe devilCecelia wasn’t here.

“Forge will takemycall,” I insisted. There was a moment of silence, where I was sure she didn’t know how to respond. Instead I watched as her eyes raised up to meet mine, and I could see the overwhelming amount of fear that seeped into them. Finally. I felt my lips tilt into an all-knowing smile.

“Detective Forge has told me that he is attending very important meetings today. No…no social calls,” my eyebrows scrunched together and I narrowed my eyes at her. I watched as the woman took in another gasping breath, her mucus trailing down her upper lip. Even the way she said it held a healthy amount of skepticism, as if she wasn’t sure as to why she was hesitating. I could tell she knew what I was the minute she met my eyes, it was the reason her breathing quickened and her body responded with frozen fear. Here, in this room with only the two of us in it, she was in danger.

“Mercy Petrova,” she whispered to herself as she looked at me, recognition settling. Her voice wavered as I nodded once. She will not tell me no again, of that I am certain; I could tell as her words shook, and how she kept looking side to side, as if she needed a witness.

“Forge will not mind. He owes me asocial call,” I replied promptly. I didn’t have to do much, just the threat of me continuing the tapping of my nails was enough to jar her. I almost felt bad that was all that it took.

She looked down at her computer and frantically clicked out of her current game of Minesweeper. I watched as she grabbed for the phone and dialed an extension, although I didn’t glance to see what numbers she pressed.

“Detective?” she said, her voice hitting an octave I didn’t know she was capable of. I could hear him grumbling something on the other line. Grumpy old bastard. “Yes, I have someone here for you.”

His yell was loud enough through the receiver that I could hear him. She held out the phone from her ear and winced from the sharpness of his voice.

“NO. VISITORS!” He said in big gaping breaths.

“Yes, yes I know!” The woman said with worry. She looked from me, to the phone, to her computer, then back to me again before she continued.

“It’s Mercy,” she practically begged him, “Yes! Mercy Petrova!”

Silence spread across the other line, and then everything happened all at once. I could hear him talking, quieter now, and watched as she nodded and typed. Her stoic stance led me to assume nothing, and if it wasn’t for the slight tremble in her arms, I would have thought she had forgotten about me.

The woman ‘mhmed’ and apologized several times before hanging up the phone and finally looked towards me again. She tried hard not to look me directly in the eyes, instead focusing on the place between them.

“He’s waiting for you. Fresh blood and everything,” she said, “interrogation room. The third one on the left.” I let a fang slip from my lip, and watched as her breath moved into quick, shallow pumps. This was the right response to someone like me, someone like the Known. Fear superseded every other emotion, there was no lust hidden between layers.Fuck, why was I still thinking about Cecelia?

I cocked my eyebrow, and shook my head. Detective Forge and his Minesweeper crony were lucky they changed tune so quickly. I nodded at her, tilting my head in thanks, and walked away without even so much as a last word. I did, however, catch her as she got up from her seat and scurried away. Sure to tell her coworkers about her run in with the big, scary, vampire. God only knew that she hadn’t seen me anywhere near my worst.

“Mercy!” I heard a familiar rough, gritty voice say as I sauntered down the hallway. It echoed off of each wall, coming in crisp and clear. I could tell it still had some waver, although the bravado was enough to almost convince me that he was coming to terms with our unique relationship.

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