Page 28 of The Vampire Kingpin
The others nodded or shrugged. I released a breath and fought back a big grin. The last thing I’d expected was that Spider would take my side against anyone in his lair, even a human.
He put a hand on Monster’s chair. The dhampir sprang up, asking, “Need a seat?”
“Appreciate it.”
Spider sank into the chair and yanked mine close, his muscular thigh touching mine. Velma, who’d watched the whole scene with an unreadable expression, moved to the entrance, turning her back to the room to keep an eye on the tunnel beyond.
DeeDee got up and brought Spider a glass of blood-wine. He accepted it with a smile that said she was forgiven. The group visibly relaxed.
You could tell they were tight, swapping stories and laughing together. Spider toyed with my ponytail while I listened, that envy constricting my chest again.
These people were family, their lair a place where both humans and dhampirs could drop their guards and be themselves. I’d never had that, except with my mom and dad. When you’re always on the move, switching up identities because the old ones got too hot, you can’t make real friends.
The meal over, other vampires drifted in, dropping onto the couches along with the humans and dhampirs who weren’t helping with clean up or on guard duty. Spider pulled me to him for an open-mouth kiss, saying, “I’ll be back,” before leaving with a couple of the vampires he didn’t bother to introduce to me.
Feeling out of place and a bit lonely, I grabbed a towel and helped dry the dishes and put them away, even though Croc told me I didn’t have to since I’d helped with dinner prep. When the kitchen was clean, I lingered on the edges of the gathering, debating if I should wait in Spider’s bedroom like I had the past couple of nights. But that wasn’t my style.
So when Zayne, Jacko and Monster gathered around the pool table next to the wet bar, I made my move. “Mind if I join?”
Monster’s deep-set brown eyes gleamed in anticipation. “You any good?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I can hold my own.”
“It’s fifty a game.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t have any cash.”
“No sweat.” He handed me a cue stick. “I’ll front you a hundred bucks. You and me will play first, then Jacko and Zayne. The winners play for the pot.”
7
Spider
Grimclaw smirked knowingly. “So how do you ‘like’ Lark?” He made an obscene gesture, making it clear what he meant by like. “Maybe you wanna keep her another three days? ’Cause I’m open to negotiations.”
My mouth tightened. When Jacko had reported Grimclaw lurking near the Cavern, I’d gone out to meet him. Time to get a few things straight.
Beside me, Velma shifted her weight and put her hands over her daggers—a not-so-subtle threat. She’d never liked Grimclaw, and with her background, knowing he’d bartered his own cousin to pay his debts made her firmly Team Lark, despite her doubts about my new thrall and her connection to Grimclaw’s lair.
Grimclaw’s leer faltered at our twin glares, but he kept running his mouth. “She’s worth a year of tributes, right? Not that I’d know personally, but that body. And the chick can move. I bet she can twist herself into a pretz?—”
“Shut it.” I got right up in his grill. “Lark’s mine now. You don’t get to talk about her. I don’t want you to even fucking think about her. She’s dead to you, understand?”
As far as I was concerned, Grimclaw had lost any claim to Lark when he’d bartered her without her agreement.
“That wasn’t the deal,” he sputtered. “Y-you can’t just steal her from me! I’ll tell everyone?—”
“You’ll say nothing.” I shook him by the throat. “Because if you do, I’ll put it around that you sent her to rob me. I should stake you for that, but I got Lark out of it. She’s worth your life—for now—but keep pushing and I’ll forget to be nice.”
His mouth opened and shut like a fish.
I released his throat. “And you owe me last month’s tribute. The deal was off as soon as you went after my dagger.”
His eyes flashed blue, and a switchblade jumped into his hand. “You goddamn double-crosser. Fuck your tribute.”
I snarled and grabbed his wrist, slamming his forearm down over my thigh. He grunted in pain and dropped the blade.
Before he could recover, I had him up against the moldy concrete wall. “You motherfucker—tell me why I shouldn’t end you right here.”
