Page 64 of Hitched to the Vampire King

Oh, I didn’t like that moniker at all, but I held my tongue and instead nodded at Gabriel. “Do it.”

“First, let’s take care of Nash’s body before someone happens by and sees his corpse lying in the middle of the street,” Gabriel said. “Then we’ll find somewhere cozy to chat. Sound good?”

My gaze dropped to Nash, and I nodded. “Yeah, sounds good to me.”

ChapterTwenty-Two

We discreetly stowedNash’s body in the van with plans to bring it to Aimee. It seemed only fitting, considering her people had been the ones most hurt by him. What she decided to do with his corpse was entirely up to her. Myself, I might have taken a page from Vlad’s book and piked the bastard’s head on the front lawn to warn anyone else who might wanna mess with the pack. Of course, that sort of reaction came with consequences. Legal ones. People didn’t take too lightly to others stringing up dead bodies in their front yards.

“You got this?” I asked Jaden. We’d agreed that she and Josh would escort Avery back to Aimee, just in case.

“Yeah.” She shot Elias a glare. “You got him?”

I nodded. “If he tries anything, I’ll show him what it means to be a slayer.”

Elias’s lips quirked, though surprisingly, he didn’t offer his two cents.

After a quick hug, Jaden and Josh climbed into the van, and the three of them drove off with Nash’s body in the back. I only hoped they didn’t get pulled over along the way. That would make for an interesting conversation with the local PD.

“Come on,” Elias said. “My car’s parked just down the road.”

Gabriel and I followed him silently. I had so many questions to ask, like how he’d even known where to find us tonight, but decided it would be best to wait until Gabriel had him under compulsion.

Together, the three of us climbed into his car and off we went.

The café Elias chose was a small, inconspicuous place, just a few minutes away from the storage facility. The warm interior glowed softly in the night, a beacon for those seeking to sate any late-night hunger pangs. Inside, the air was rich with the scent of fresh pastries, coffee, and…blood. Huh. I hadn’t expected that. But New Orleans businesses had made themselves quite profitable, catering to vampires. I studied the menu, then paused when I caught sight of the small menu dedicated to their fanged clientele—flavored blood drinks in artisanal bottles that somehow managed to look quite quaint.

Gabriel’s eyes shone with delight at the sight of a cinnamon spiced blood. Despite the evening’s grim circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of normalcy as I listened to the two brothers bicker over which drink would taste better: blood with lime or lemon. I chose to abstain when they glanced my way. As a non-blood drinker, I didn’t feel equipped even to hazard a guess.

Eventually, the three of us settled into a booth near the back of the café. Me with a strong black coffee and slightly too-dry banana muffin, Gabriel with his cinnamon spiced blood, and Elias with the lemon-flavored one.

Gabriel sipped his drink, then nodded at Elias, who nursed his own. “Ready?”

“Hit me,” Elias said.

Leaning in, Gabriel snared Elias’s gaze. Then, in a low, hypnotic voice, he said, “You will answer every question Maddie asks with nothing but the truth. And when we’re done, you’ll remember it all.”

Elias blinked, his posture subtly shifting to obey Gabriel’s command, then turned his gaze to me.

After a bite of my muffin, I dove in, eager to hear his answers. “Who are you loyal to? Adrian or Gabriel?”

“Gabriel,” Elias replied with no hesitation, his fingers casually toying with his cup. “I’ve always been on his side.”

Relief eased all my fluttering nerves, and I sat back in the booth with a heavy breath. Gabriel’s compulsion at least soothed that thread of doubt within me about his brother.

“Why pretend to be on Adrian’s side?” I asked. “What did you gain from that?”

Elias’s expression remained open and unguarded. “I had to know what you—we—were up against. I saw an opportunity to get close to my father and learn his plans. Otherwise, what good am I? And it isn’t like I could charge in and rescue you two. You saw for yourself how many guards he had on hand. I’m strong, but not even I could take on that many. I did what I could. I told you to give Gabriel blood, which I knew would then facilitate your escape. Afterward, I pulled the guards away and led everyone upstairs to give you the time and space you needed.”

“And Adrian doesn’t suspect you helped us?”

“If he does, he hasn’t said.”

“How did you find us tonight?” I continued, quick-firing the questions.

A snicker escaped Elias, and he leaned back in the booth. “Would you believe it was a coincidence? I’d actually gone there to kill Nash. Turns out, we had a similar agenda. Vamps like him don’t belong in the streets. They belong in the ground. And with Adrian gone, it was the perfect opportunity. Finding you there was…an unexpected bonus.”

“Why not reach out to us after we escaped?”

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