Page 32 of Bound in Blood
Another knock. More aggressive this time. Insistent. Marco cursed under his breath, his entire body vibrating with frustration. Logan was all too ready to ignore it, but Marco released the grip on his hair, tucking himself back into his sweatpants.
Mateo let out a sharp breath, the kind that usually preceded violence. His fingers flexed at his sides before he reached down to help Logan up, gently wiping a bit of saliva from the corner of his mouth.
Again, a knock. Hard enough that the message was clear: answer the door or I’ll break it down.
Mateo was already moving, fast enough that Logan barely registered his departure before he and Marco followed after him. Marco was muttering in Italian, angry and threatening, running a hand through his hair frustratedly. Logan couldn’t translate, but he agreed with the sentiment.
Mateo swung the front door open just as Logan and Marco reached the bottom of the stairs, a move so aggressive that when the door hit the wall, it shook a good portion of the house. “Someone better be fucking dead, Alexei,” Mateo growled.
Alexei, who Logan still could not see as avampire, stoodat the front door, his face betraying absolutely nothing. His eyes raked over the three of them. Mateo in his boxers. Logan, with his curls sticking out wildly, his lips swollen, throat working away the slight soreness. Marco, whose pupils had swallowed up his entire eye, fangs bared, ready to strike.
“Sorry for… interrupting.” His lip curled in a way Logan wasn’t a huge fan of at the word, “But you know well enough by now that I would not visit your home unannounced if it wasn’t absolutely urgent.”
“Spit it out,” Marco demanded, his arm snaking protectively around Logan’s waist, ready to yank him out of the doorway at a moment’s notice.
“Police found three bodies in a back alley near Logan’s apartment,” Alexei started.
“So fucking what? It’s a city. People die all the Goddamn time here.” Mateo started to shut the door.
Alexei used his forearm to hold it open. “They were all completely drained of blood.” He looked between the three of them, “I hate to ask, but?—”
“No. Logan was with us the entire time,” Marco interrupted. “We fed him. He… he couldn’t even figure out how his fangs worked.”
Alexei nodded. “I thought so. Have you heard of any other vampires in the area?”
Marco scowled, grip on Logan’s waist tightening. “If we had, we would have said something.”
Mateo ran a hand over his face as the reality hit the three of them like a bucket of ice water. “Three bodies in one night is a massacre, not some newborn vamp figuring out his tastes.”
Alexei exhaled sharply, “All right. I’ll see what I can find out. Please, keep an eye out. I’m not ready to move just yet.”
Logan frowned, looking between the three older vampires. “I thought you said it didn’t make sense to murder the human you’re feeding off of.”
“It doesn’t,” Mateo said through clenched teeth. “But some older vampires prefer not to leave witnesses. Or new-ish vampires suddenly become all moral and starve themselves until something bad like this happens.”
“Either way, it’s something that needs to be swiftly dealt with.” Marco cut his eyes over to Alexei. “Let us know what we can do to help. Or if we need to call in reinforcements.”
Alexei rolled his eyes. “I’m not convincing any of those assholes onto a flight. We’ll figure this out. Just stay on alert. All of you.”
His gaze darkened a bit as he looked at Logan—a clear demand toprotecthim before turning on his heel and vanishing into the night.
A heavy silence settled over the house as the door clicked shut.
Mateo’s jaw tightened, eyes still locked on the door like he might burn a hole through it. “Well,” he muttered, voice low and laced with something dangerous, “there goes the fucking mood.”
* Little star
* Baby. Yes, baby. Don’t use Google Translate for this one, itlies.
* Open
Chapter
Twelve
LOGAN
The next night, Logan insisted upon going back to work.
