Page 40 of Because the Night

“You just couldn’t stay home and leave this to me, could you?” she asks in a husky voice with an accent. “Why am I not surprised?”

Lucas gives her a warm smile. “Leilah.”

“Hello, old man. It’s been a while.” She nods to each of us in turn, giving me a curious glance. “Welcome to the family, sister.”

“Thank you.”

“Come on then, let’s get this done,” she says, turning back to the building. “My people have already started on the belowground levels. Any stragglers we find will be held down in the bar for questioning. Why don’t we work our way up?”

We take the stairs. The hotel has sixty rooms and suites, and all of them need to be cleared. Along with the ballroom, restaurant, and so on. The same air of neglect is evident on other levels. Stale air and marks on the walls. Worn carpet and battered furniture. I would give this place two stars at most. As we were told, Archie’s family seems to have fled. The hotel seems empty. Almost.

My job is to listen at the door for any signs of life, then throw it open and stay back while Henry rushes through the room like a hurricane. Once the room has been declared clear, we move on to the next. Lucas isn’t a fan of me doing even this much. Though, I get the distinct feeling my job has been invented just for me. That Henry wanted me to feel included. But whatever. I am fine with letting the others go hard core.

Being given safe duties does nothing to stop me from being strung out from head to toe. And I break a good three door handles before getting myself under control. All while Lucas gives me side-eye. So not helpful.

We find a terrified vampire hiding on the third floor. The wordWoodsmansurrounded by fear appears inside my head. When Lucas makes no move to harm them, they seem confused. Henry shepherds them down to the bar in the basement. Nothing else happens on the third floor.

But one hiding on the fourth floor opens fire on us with some sort of pistol. The pop of the silenced gun is horrible to hear. All too reminiscent of being fired at outside the nightclub.

Lucas is covering me and pushing me down when the first bullet flies over my head. One moment I am standing, the next I’ve face-planted on the floor. Which gets me out of the line of fire, thank fuck.

Then Lucas appears farther down the hallway with another heart in his fist a moment later. There wasn’t even time for me to react. Benedict just offers me a hand and sighs as if he’s upsetthat he hasn’t gotten to rip out anyone’s internal organs. He might be the guard, but telling Lucas to hang back and keep safe would be a waste of time. The vampire does what he wants.

Benedict inspects the splintered wall. “Wooden bullets again.”

Lucas’s gaze is searing. The heart turns to ash in his hand as he strides back down the hallway. “Skye, were you hit?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no scent of blood,” says Benedict. “Not on her.”

Lucas’s jawline is set in harsh lines. Like the man is internalizing a whole lot of anger.

It’s a struggle to keep my expression cool and calm. Because if he hadn’t been by my side, I would be dead. Deader. However, this situation is already intense, and the last thing anyone needs is me freaking out just because it’s the second time someone has tried to kill me since I became a blood sucker.

We move carefully through the rest of the floor without any further mishap. Out of the seven floors aboveground, only the top two seem to have been used by Archie’s family. As evidenced by the covered windows and the scattered and abandoned clothes and other possessions. It looks like they left in a hurry. Guess the other five levels were reserved for actual guests. Imagine what the reviews for this place would be like. Who would want to stay at a rundown hotel where you were as likely to wind up on the menu as you were to get a good night’s sleep?

While Henry has chosen not to turn anyone, Leilah has apparently made herself an undead army. Over a dozen of her people swarm the building. Guess they count as extended family now. They range in race, age, and gender. Some wear tactical gear, while others are in street clothes like us. Each and every one of them seem to know exactly what they’re doing. Theway they watch Lucas with a mixture of awe and wariness is interesting. It’s like he’s a god walking among mortals.

We encounter more problems on the sixth floor. There’s a loud bang, then the walls shake. Dust and paint flakes rain down on all of us. And one of Leilah’s people is immediately reduced to ash by the explosion.

“Dammit, Fionn. You foolish boy. Always fucking rushing,” hisses Leilah. No one says anything as she takes a moment to collect herself before announcing, “Be careful. They’ve set breach charges. Where’s Margaret?”

“Coming.” A striking woman with white skin and gray hair joins us in the hallway. She’s older than Leilah and has an upper-class English accent. “Excuse me.”

“She’s human,” I whisper.

Lucas turns to me. “Skye, have you got yourself under control?”

Her blood is calling to me. The familiar whooshing sound of it rushing through her veins and the steady beat of her heart are like a symphony. And I am more than aware of it, being so close. But there are none of the shakes and watering-mouth business. “Yes.”

“Margaret is Leilah’s paramour. She’s also a witch,” supplies Henry. “Biting her is not something I would suggest trying. A very good way to get yourself slapped down, sister.”

“When did that start?” asks Lucas.

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