Page 96 of Death and Donuts

“Good. That means we can find out what’s going on.”

She didn’t open the door, though. We waited until they’d gathered and surrounded the compelled humans before leaving the office's safety. Shepard met us at the bottom of the stairs.

“It’s safe to clean your stations and shut down for the night. We’ll keep them on the dance floor until the police take them away.”

As the servers cleaned, both Anchor and Shepard stood a little outside of the ring of wolves. When I wiped down a table near the dance floor, I heard Cross tell Shepard one of the compelled had a message.

“What’s the message?” Shepard asked.

“We will never have a night of peace until the rings are handed over.”

Shepard’s jaw clenched. “Do you know where these people are from?”

“The one I spoke to is from D.C., but I’m sure the police can give you all the addresses once they run each person through the system.”

I occasionally felt Shepard’s gaze on me as I cleaned, but the police’s arrival distracted him. They removed the people with little fuss, and I finished my section and sat next to Pam at the bar to count my tips.

“It’s a sad night,” she said, looking at her tiny stack of cash. She went to pay the bartenders, but Tank and Buzz refused the money.

“Keep it,” Buzz said.

Pam didn’t argue. Instead, she said a quick thanks and headed out through the back.

“Think she’ll quit?” Tank asked.

“Maybe. Is everyone else okay?” I asked.

Tank nodded. “Thomas and Adrian headed to the kitchen, and we made sure to block it.”

I nodded and slid off the stool. “Tell Vena I’m by the lockers. Have a good night.”

After clocking out, I put my apron away and tucked my tip money inside my purse. As I waited for the guys, I glanced at my phone and saw I had two messages.

One was from my grandma. She sent a picture of my mom on a lounge chair, holding a mimosa in her hand.

The other was from an unknown number. There was no message, just pictures of my trashed house. My hands shook as I swiped through the pictures. Both the interior and exterior of the house were covered with graffiti. The windows were smashed. The furniture was ruined beyond repair. Our clothes were ripped to shreds. My kitchen looked like a hurricane had hit it, and I was pretty sure someone had defecated on the counter.

“What’s wrong?” Vena asked as she came over. “You look like you’re going to pass out or kill someone.”

I handed her the phone, unable to speak without succumbing to emotions I didn’t want to unleash here.

“They fucking trashed our house!” Vena yelled.

She was loud enough that I was sure every wolf and vampire within a five-mile radius heard her. So it was no surprise when Shepard, Cross, and Anchor strode through the kitchen door a few seconds later.

Vena handed the phone to Anchor. Anchor quickly passed off the phone to Shepard so he could hug, or maybe restrain, Vena. She turned to feral mode as Shepard called a crew to go to our house and pack what was salvageable.

Anchor whispered something in her ear, and she exhaled a defeated sigh, then nodded. Detaching from him, she hugged me.

“We’ll get the bastards.” After releasing me, she followed Anchor to the back lot.

“I’m heading to the station,” Shepard said to Cross. “Call if you need me. It’s going to be another long night.”

Before he left, he kissed me gently. “I’m sorry about your house, Everly. I should have had someone guarding it.”

“You needed people looking for the vampires, not babysitting an empty house. It’s not your fault.”

“Don’t worry about the damage or replacing things. I’ll take care of it. Just stay with me or Cross until I can deal with it.”

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