Page 94 of Bound in Blood
“In the most Mateo way you possibly could!” Logan grinned, shoving Marco’s arm playfully. “Eyes on the road.”
“Mm. Fine. But this isn’t over,amore.” Marco accented the pet name, like he was promising to make Logan regret his words later. Logan felt little zaps of anticipation in his stomach. Hehopedit wasn’t over.
The teasing died into a comfortable silence as Marco drove them further into the city. Logan rested his head back on the seat, trying not to grin like an idiot. Sure, they were driving toward almost certain danger, but Marco and Mateo hadn’t even questioned coming with Logan when he’d told them about the feral. And maybe that had to do with the fact that it may or may not be the vampire that forced them into this world, but Logan was pretty sure that wasn’t the only reason.
Theycaredabout him. Logan’s boss could set the feral on fire, no problem, but Logan wanted to keep him alive, so Mateo and Marco were coming to make sure nobody put the feral in danger unless completely necessary. Maybe it was incredibly pathetic, but nobody had taken Logan’s thoughts into consideration before, and it felt really,reallynice. He was sure it wouldn’t always feel this easy, to trust that they weren’t going to abandon him as soon as things got hard… but today was a start.
The car rumbled to a stop in front of the bar, headlights casting long shadows against theNo Parkingsign Marco very clearly ignored as he threw it into park. Logan barely had time to unbuckle before Vik stepped outside, letting the door slam shut behind him. The neon redLast Callsign illuminated his face, and he lookedpissed.
“You sure took your time,” Vik muttered, crossing his arms, eyes flicking between Logan and the twins.
Mateo swung himself out of the too-small backseat with a dramatic groan. “You know we can’t leave the house before sundown, asshole.”
Vik rolled his eyes. “How is that my fault?” He holds up a hand before Mateo can even attempt an answer. “I don’t care. Come on, kid. He’s still in the cooler.”
Logan stepped forward to follow him. “How’d you get him in there?”
Vik led them inside and past the bar, toward the tiny walk-in Vik only kept because sometimes people ordered from their very limited food menu. “Didn’t take much,” he admitted, “Yanked him off a guy he’d just drained, and he just… froze. Like he was short-circuiting.” Vik gestured toward the cooler, the sleeve of his shirt slipping down to reveal a pretty nasty bite mark.
“Shit, Vik, did hebiteyou?” Logan stepped forward, to… well, he didn’t know what he could do to help. He just… wanted to help.
“I’ve had worse.” Vik quickly pulled the sleeve back over the fresh wound. “You wanted him alive, he’s alive. Your problem now.”
Mateo and Marco exchanged a quick glance, but neither of them commented.
Logan turned his attention to the cooler door. The heavy metal handle was smeared with blood, some Vik’s, some not. It had begun to dry, somewhere in between bright red and dried brown. He exhaled through his nose, steeling his nerves.
“Did he say anything?” Logan asked, though he wasn’t sure that feral vampirescouldspeak. Wishful thinking, maybe.
Vik shook his head. “No. Just stood there, breathing like he’d just run a marathon. You’re right about the eyes, though. The black was flickering like a broken lightbulb the second I got him into the light.” He leaned back against the counter, arms crossed.
“All right. I’ll… just… open the door, I guess,” Logan said, glancing nervously between Vik, the twins, and the door.
“Good luck. If he gets past you, I’ve got matches and afantasticinsurance policy.” Vik grimaced. “But please don’t let it come to that. I like bartending a hell of a lot more than vampire hunting.”
“Wait,” Logan said, definitely not stalling. Nope, not him. He was totally ready to confront the feral, it was just… “We told Alexei we’d let him know if we cornered him again.”
Marco sighed, already reaching into his pocket for his phone. “I’ll call him.”
Logan shook his head, holding up a hand. “No, I got it.” He wasn’t sure why he felt likehehad to be the one to tell Alexei, but it felt important. Other than Vik, Alexei had been Logan’s first real friend. He’d come looking for Logan that first day after he’d turned. He was family to Logan, whether he’d ever admit it or not.
And Logan had seen that flash ofsomethingin Alexei’s expression when he’d watched the feral in the security footage. Something he didn’t think the twins had noticed. Yeah, Logan had to be the one to tell him.
The phone barely finished ringing once before Alexei picked up.
“Logan.” Alexei’s voice was sharp, alert. Like a soldier preparing for battle, there was no preamble. He knew why Logan was calling.
“We’ve got him,” Logan said. “In the walk-in at the bar. Alive, but… not doing great.”
Silence.
Then, “I’m on my way.” Before the line went dead.
Logan exhaled, tucking his phone back into his pocket before turning back to others. “He’s on his way.”
Marco opened his mouth to reply, but before he got the chance, a sharpBANG, BANG, BANGon the walk-in door interrupted him.
“That’s new,” Vik said, sitting up a little straighter from where he’d been leaning on the wall. “He’s been pretty docile. Since I locked him in there, anyway.”
