Page 49 of Sunshine and the Vamp

I wrapped my hand around his throat and pulled his face up to mine. I loved the sharp intake of breath that crossed his lips and the way his pulse fluttered beneath my thumb. It seemed like Benjamin liked a little bit of adrenaline flooding his system.

“Then why don’t you find out what happens when you push me.” I placed a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth and then released him, an adorable, confused expression tugging at his brows.

Then I turned on my heel and headed back towards the meeting room. Vlad fell into step beside me.

“Finished pissing all over your territory,” he drawled, a smirk curling his mouth.

I just growled at him in response and moved deeper into the building.

***

By the time I got to the meeting room, I was the last one to enter. Marcelle was sat with his brother, Remy and Dara sat with her wife Genevieve. Vlad and I took our seats, and a hush settled over the room.

This was going to be awkward whichever way I looked at it so I just cut to the chase. “We have a problem.”

“With your little human pet?” Marcelle asked. His dark brown hair was tucked behind his ears and his beard was getting longer every time I saw him. Soon he’d look more like a lumberjack than a wolf.

“No. With the fact that Remy fucked Lucia and then I got a dead body dropped at my door.”

Remy’s face paled slightly as Marcelle turned to look at his brother.

“You did what?” Marcelle hissed. Remy went to answer but he cut him off. “Nope. Actually, I don’t want to hear it.”

“I do,” Dara said cheerfully from across the table. “It’s been a while since we’ve discussed anything quite as remotely juicy as this.”

Genevieve leant forward, a perfectly manicured hand propping up her runway worthy face. “Pray tell, Remy. What scandal have you gotten yourself wrapped up in now?”

“He was a nobody!” Remy shouted. “Just some asshole that started mouthing off to Lucia.”

“You killed someone?!” Marcelle barked as he rose from his chair. “The fuck were you thinking?”

Vlad leant towards me, bringing his mouth to my ear and speaking in a low tone. “Perhaps it would be wise to intervene before hell breaks loose.”

I nodded my agreement and stood. “Marcelle. Your brother did not kill anyone. Maimed and injured, yes, but he didn’t kill him. And whilst I’m not here to condone his choice of lover, I can’t deny that he has crossed a line.”

“Who’s the dead guy?” Dara asked, her dark eyes watching me closer than I’d like.

I clenched my jaw and tried to think of something that might stop me from revealing a failure of my past, but I couldn’t. “Theo Montgomery.”

Genevieve let out a surprised laugh. “Wasn’t he already dead?”

“I thought so.” I sat back down and crossed one leg over the other with an attempt to portray a calmness that I certainly didn’t feel. “I don’t know where he’s been for the last few years, but somehow, he managed to stumble into Remy and Lucia and now I’m being blackmailed.”

“Well, this just keeps getting better,” Marcelle grumbled as he stroked a hand along his beard.

“Blackmailed by who?” Dara asked as she leant back in her chair. She was always calm, like nothing ever phased her. I sometimes wished I had less of a temperamental personality. I was more likely to shoot first and ask questions later whereas Dara was more reserved. Definitely a cooler head on her shoulders than I had. The Lavauex brothers were just hotheaded.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t seem to know very much, Damyr,” Genevieve added unnecessarily before leaning back to converse with her wife.

“Look, all I know so far, is that someone called Ronin delivered a corpse that he intentionally made to look like Remy had murdered him. There is CCTV footage of Remy attacking Theo and I was advised to, and I quote ‘do the right thing’.”

“Which was what exactly?” Remy asked, a nervous expression flitting across his face.

Vlad shot him a serious look. “What do you think, asshole?”

Remy sank back into his seat after that which I was grateful for. The guy was a whiny little bitch at the best of times but throw some adversity into the mix and he was an absolute pain in the fucking ass.

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