Page 62 of The Vampire Kingpin
Lark
Zayne herded me through a labyrinth of poorly lit passages that I’d never been in. “What in Hades did you do?”
“Nothing,” I bit out. “All I did was talk to my cousin and his lieutenant. I didn’t even know they were gonna be out there—they were waiting for me.”
“Then why is Spider so pissed off?”
“He heard me tell my cousin and his lieutenant that I could get money from him. I was just trying to get them off my back, but Spider showed up at exactly the wrong time.”
“Oh. And he doesn’t believe you?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t let me explain.” Anger and frustration welled up inside me, turning my stomach into a tight knot.
We passed DeeDee’s bedroom. She was smiling down at an iPad, but she glanced up as we passed and met my eyes. Her smile faded, but I could sense her predominant emotion, and inside, she was happy-dancing that I was in trouble.
Bitch.
DeeDee put down the device and scrambled to her feet. “Need any help?” she asked Zayne, who shook her head.
“I’ve got it.”
DeeDee followed us into the hall and stayed there, watching until we turned down a short hall with only one room, its thick door ajar.
Zayne nudged me inside. “Look,” she said, “I’ll keep an ear to the ground, see if I can find anything else. But if I were you, when Spider shows up, I’d grovel. Tell him you’re sorry, that you didn’t mean it.”
I threw up my hands. “But I didn’t mean it. It was a lie.”
“Then you just have to tell him that, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll tell him. Again.” I took in the sagging cot, pink Formica table and a pair of chrome chairs with cracked yellow vinyl seats, and my shoulders sagged. “Just…don’t let them forget I’m in here, okay?”
“I won’t.” Zayne hesitated, then squeezed my shoulder. “It will be okay, you’ll see.” She closed the heavy, silver-reinforced door behind her.
“Sure,” I said as the room went dark. On the other side of the door, a bolt slammed into place.
I made my way to the table where I’d glimpsed a squat candle just before the door shut. I felt around the base, relieved to find it was battery-operated. I flipped the switch, and it lit up, a spot of gold in the grimy cell.
Skirting the table, I opened the room’s only other door to find a toilet and a ceramic sink that appeared to have been rescued from a dumpster.
“Well,” I muttered to myself. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
I sank onto the cot. The metal frame creaked in protest.
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
So much for Spider asking me to join his lair.
Hell, so much for trust. Spider had immediately believed the worst of me, and probably Velma and Monster, too. Even Zayne had seemed doubtful, although at least she’d been willing to listen to my side.
Dad always said the only people we could rely on were ourselves. We three against the world.
But my parents had used me, too. As soon as I hit my mid-teens, I’d been their shill, the barely legal bait dangled in front of vampires to score invites to exclusive syndicate parties.
Then they’d decided to go big and “sold” me to the Darkman Syndicate.
Yeah, my own parents had inked a deal with Jared Darkman—a million dollars in return for a month with me.
“Easiest cash I ever made,” my dad had said in satisfaction as he showed me the briefcase full of bills.
