Page 22 of Reaper's Revenge
It’s not the news I want to hear. I sigh, ready to rip into him, but at the same time, knowing none of this is his fault. I’m still furious inside. I’ll never forgive myself if Athena is hurt in any way; it’ll be hard enough to let go of my self-loathing with her being taken from me in the first place.
Machete stares me down a bit, watching me wearily, no doubt waiting for my temper to rise. With his hands on his hips, his shoulders sink as he divulges what he’s discovered. “I asked a few others while we were there and found out about three more locations in Houston. I’m guessing that by them being close to Louisiana and the water, it makes things easier for them to travel undetected.”
Chaos runs his hand through his gelled hair, currently a fauxhawk with the sides buzzed close enough to show off his tatted head, only to clench his fist and drop it back to his side. He finally speaks up, “It was too late at that point for me and Machete to ride down. We never would’ve made it back in time before midday sun hit. We did, however, ask around at a few other local spots. There have been a couple of bodies drained in the city, but nothing else out of the ordinary.”
Machete nods, the tattoo next to his eye catching my attention as he does. It’s a tiny cross, set there to remind him every time he looks in the mirror that he has to answer for his sins in the end. “Not enough corpses to draw the public’s attention since they were caught early.”
Vampires are smart. For one thing, most of us have had many years to study whatever it is we want, so we can get specific jobs. Homicide detectives, morticians, doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, and others who put us in a direct line to some sort of blood supply. Other vamps take jobs to help hide things from people, for example, the ones on the police force, or the coroner, and whatnot. We can basically do anything that has a night shift, and you can find one of those almost anywhere if you search hard enough.
King joins us at the bar, grabbing himself a whiskey-blood neat before standing in front of the three of us. He runs his gaze over me, taking a draw from his glass before muttering, “Looks like you’ve been to hell and back. Did you manage a minute of sleep, or were you up all day, pacing and stewing? I’m halfway shocked I don’t see you burned up from trying to search outside midday when the rest of us were knocked out.”
I glare. I’m not mad at him, per se, but in this moment, I’m angry at the entire world, and I will most likely stay this way until I have news on Athena. “Got something to add, King? These two were filling me in on how they were searching the city last night.” Helping me out, like brothers are supposed to. I’d do the same for them if the roles were reversed; they wouldn’t have to even ask me.
He momentarily sets his glass on the bar top, saying, “Have a drink, Reaper. You’re hangrier than usual and need to keep your wits and energy about you.” He grabs the closest blood whore, thrusting her in front of me.
I flick my stare over her, and my lip curls. She’s beautiful in a human way, but she’s nothing, even more so now that I’ve had my Athena. I know I should drink; it’s been days, and any extended time frame is dangerous for a vampire like me. Blood lust could be right on the cusp if we go more than a day or two without drinking at least a little bit of blood, and here I am, pushing myself more and more. I can’t help it if I haven’t wanted to taste another’s blood since the few decadent drops of Athena’s hit my tongue. It’s like going from caviar to alley dirt. Add on the fact I’ve gotten no sleep, and I could lose it at the drop of a hat and rip into these women, draining them for every drop I can get.
“Fine,” I sigh. Grabbing the nearest tumbler, I hold out my hand for the blood whore to comply. I don’t want to sink my fangs into her flesh; the thought churns my stomach even more. I pull my knife free, watching the female’s eyes grow wide at the shiny blade. “Can you handle this?” I ask, ready to toss her away at any given excuse. I know it’s not rational of me to only expect to drink from my mate, but everything inside of me screams it’s wrong to touch another female, period.
“W-whatever you need.” She easily agrees, eyes pinned on the silver blade. It looks sharp, even to me, and if I were a sadistic ass, she’d be in for a world of hurt. I could easily slice her open and watch the life fizzle out of her eyes while my brothers and I drained every drop from her.
Ignorant human.
I lay her arm over the top of my glass and bring my blade to her flesh. With a quick flick of my wrist, I slice across her skin and watch as her blood drips into the glass. I let it bleed until there’s two-finger’s worth lining the bottom of the tumbler, it's not enough, btu it'll take the edge off. The blood whore begins to sway a bit, probably going into shock at watching her blood drain out of her arm and into my cup, but I can’t be fazed.
“Shit, Reaper. She’s going to pass out.” Lucky comments, moving to join our little pow-wow. I ignore him as he continues to fuss, “Come on, sugar, let’s get you some orange juice from the kitchen.” He wraps his arm around the woman’s waist and quickly leads her away. He grabs a handful of bar napkins on the way, pressing them to her arm. He’ll see to her being stitched up if she needs it, but I doubt my cut was that deep.
I roll my eyes, my attention back on the three beside me, and take a sip. The sharp copper tang fills my mouth, my taste buds lighting on fire as it does. Her blood has hints of vanilla and apples, reminding me of a time I’d once had baked sugared apples as a young man, but in blood, the taste is richer, deeper. Maybe comparing her to alley dirt was a little harsh, but I can’t find it in me to care.
King smirks, reading my surprise. “She’s a good one.” He comments with a wink.
I scowl. He has no idea what good is. Athena is positively divine. With a huff, I gulp the blood down quickly, not in the mood to savor it, and toss the glass in the sink full of soapy dishwater. One of the blood whores will get to it later when they clean up around here. “Whatever,” I grumble. I’m sure they’re all wondering if it’s possible for my mood to sour more, but they’re in for a treat if they think this is the worst they’ve seen if I don’t get my woman back as soon as possible.
Machete stands, reaching over the bar to put his empty glass into the soapy water, and shoves his hands into his black jeans’ pockets, adjusting his keys and whatever else he has shoved in there. He briefly turns to me as he removes the keys and a few folded up papers, saying, “Me and Chaos will ride down to Houston as soon as the sun is down. I wrote everything down,” he lifts the folded papers, “That I could remember the moment we got outside the warehouse last night. Let’s hope it comes to fruition.”
I nod, grateful they aren’t giving up their search. “Be careful, I don’t want you digging too deeply; you both end up dead in the process.”
Chaos squeezes my shoulder, remaining silent, offering me a serious, meaningful look. Something tells me he might understand a bit of the pain and worry I’m going through right now. I hate feeling so helpless when I’m supposed to be anything but. Without another word directed my way, they head for their rooms. They’ll be leaving shortly and need to prepare.
King takes the seat to my left. “I rode up to Waco.”
I’m surprised to hear it. I know he was up to something last night, but he didn’t say what. I was too wound up to micromanage, wracking my brain for any place Veronica would take Athena.
He continues, “I know several vampires in the area, and I checked with each of them. I made sure they were aware that if anyone looking like Athena ended up their way, they knew she was spoken for and protected by our club. Each of them is supposed to call me tomorrow to let me know if they were able to find anything out tonight.”
With a heavy exhale, I nod. “Thanks, King. I appreciate it. I swear I’m losing my mind, having nothing to go on. I’ve tracked her the best I can, hell, Mayhem has been at the diner and her house several times over, trying to pick up strong enough scents to follow, but they all lead to nothing. Veronica driving away as fast as she did really screwed things up.”
My palms move to rest over my eyes, rubbing as I grind away the burn from no sleep. As vampires, we don’t have to sleep as much as humans do, and we’re fine, but I’ve always enjoyed oversleeping, so it hits me a little differently than the others. It doesn’t matter, though; none of my needs do,only Athena.
“You should try to nap, you need your wits about you, and most likely your strength. Have you drunk anything today?” he lowly comments, flashing a look at the closest blood whore.
“I drank a little. I won’t sleep or feed else until I’ve found her and know she’s safe. It’s the least I can do, a small penance for allowing her to be taken in the first place.”
“You’re not helping her this way,” he mutters, shaking his head with a scowl, but I ignore him. I don’t deserve the comfort of sleep or blood. If anything, I’ve earned the opposite.
My hands move to my hips, deciding to argue with him some more. He needs to realize the depth of my pain and not see it as some fruitless sacrifice. Athena is so much more than that; the mating bond has solidified that she’s the most important person in my life now and forever.
My rebuke is cut short as loud, tire-squealing, and engine revving break through the noises inside the clubhouse.
