Page 5 of Reaper's Revenge
My fists unclench, and I release the tense breath I was holding, waiting for shit to kick off. I don’t know why I want this female so badly, but I do. Luckily, I’m in the position that Prez will back me up on pretty much anything, so everyone should’ve known the woman would be mine whether I drain them myself or Bones sets it in stone.
Mayhem speaks up, “I don’t have a solid number on the blood bags yet, but it won’t come cheap. I’m going to push to have a delivery sometime next week. The sooner we can refill our stocks, the better.”
Our road captain, King, offers, “Let me know if you need me to help transport. I’ll even throw in my taste-testing services for free.”
A few snickers go up around the table, with all of us willing to ‘taste-test’ blood bags any day.
“Will do, I appreciate the help.” Mayhem nods, taking a sip from his coffee. He reaches for the tiny bowl filled with creamers, taking a couple and dumping them into the delicious, strong coffee my sweet waitress just finished brewing herself. I get it, though, sometimes old habits die hard, many of us have them and still do them. Even when it’s no longer necessary.
“Reaper?” Bones calls on me next, knowing I’m practically foaming at the mouth with wanting to speak. They’re sick of my revenge plot, of my constant hunger for finding this woman, but I don’t care.
“Prez,” I acknowledge respectfully. “Anyone have an update on Veronica’s location?” I press, it’s been my one constant question since I joined the club, forever ago. Everyone here is aware of how important vengeance is to me. It drives me, the thought of ripping Veronica’s throat out and watching her blood spray everywhere. To finally get the retribution I’ve needed from the moment I was turned against my will. Am I blood thirsty? No. For her? Yes, she doesn’t deserve an ounce of empathy from me.
Lucky, our sgt. at arms, speaks first, “I’ve put feelers out, but still nothing.”
Priest, our chaplain, shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Reaper, but we’ve been looking and keep coming up empty. There’s no new news since we heard she may’ve been spotted in Russia.”
“I should’ve left the moment we got that intel. Flown to Russia and hunted her down.”
Bones finishes off his first cup, then says, “She’ll have you hunting until the ends of the Earth, brother. Your patience will pay off, and we’ll get a lead on her.” He knows how it pains me that she’s still out there, free to turn others without giving them their choice. He reaches for the pot of coffee nearest him, topping his cup off. The man lives off coffee like it’ll eventually take over his craving for blood. Too bad it’ll never happen.
“I need to put her down,” I practically hiss, my back ramrod straight with the tension pulling tight inside me. The heavy silence is broken up by the swinging door leading to the back as Athena comes through it, grabbing an oversized tray on her way to the cook’s window. I watch her with rapt attention as she begins loading up the tray. Something about her pulls me in, to the point she scrambles all my other thoughts, and I know it must be something deeper driving me. In the next blink, I’m standing beside her.
She jumps, nearly dropping the current plate she was grabbing. “Oh shit! You startled me.” She lets out a shocked little breath, and her hand goes to her chest over her heart, but I don’t need to see it when I can easily hear her heart beating rapidly without the gesture. “Crap, sorry. Cursing isn’t very professional of me, and I’m the epitome of a professional waitress, in case you were wondering.”
“I like you the way you are. No apologies,” I admit immediately.
Her stare goes soft, silently telling me she isn’t expecting the compliment and she’s not used to receiving them. It’s the truth, though, she’s a messy little human. Slow and uncoordinated, and I find all of it endearing, making me want to step in and make her life a bit easier. I gesture to the plates. “I came to help.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t expecting you all to be so helpful.” She confesses with a smile my way, and I grind my molars at her assuming my brothers would treat her with the same kindness.
“We aren’t helpful,only me. They won’t touch you,” I claim, garnering a brief, confused glance from Athena as she attempts to shove more plates on the already full tray, stacking them haphazardly.
I probably sound like a madman speaking to her like this, but I don’t make it a habit of coming into contact with humans if I can help it, and I especially don’t enjoy speaking to them. I stopped back when I was turned and discovered it was difficult to be around them for long periods of time without wanting to drain them dry. As time has passed, though, the feeling has gotten easier to deal with and control. The blood whores also help take the edge off.
“Well, okay then.” She mutters, stuffing bottles of ketchup and steak sauce into her apron. The front sags down with the weight, looking like it could fall off her at any moment.
“We won’t use them.” I gesture, wanting to save her the headache.
“None of you? You’re telling me every single person at the table eats the exact same thing? Without churching it up a bit?”
I shrug, rather than confirm. Again, her instincts must be screaming inside her; this isn’t normal. If I were truthful, I’d admit that we all want as much of the blood flavor as possible to remain intact; otherwise, it tastes like an overcooked steak. “Want me to carry the tray?” I offer instead.
“No thanks, this one is a big boy. I’m sure all those muscles under your hoodie can handle it, but it’s more about the balance than anything.”
“I’ve got balance,” I shrug, and in the next beat, I have the tray perfectly level, braced by one hand underneath, held out in front of me. I don’t need the added support of my shoulder to help brace the weight; I’m strong already. Plus, I’m a vampire, and it makes me a bit stronger than the average human.
“Okay, show off. You must’ve worked hospitality in your last life or something.” She laughs and grabs the stand for the tray full of food.
She has no idea about my former life, and the fact that she’s mentioned it sends a sharp burst of feelings through me. A piercing ache stabs at my heart, but I ignore it. Rehashing the past will bring me nothing good, only sorrow.
I make my way to the table, setting the tray down on the stand she quickly opens for me. I hand the first plate to our ‘tech’ brother, Panic. He grabs it and then, one by one, the full breakfast plates of steak, eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage get passed to the next person.
“Oh, I can do it. Thank you,” Athena attempts to take the next plate, but I beat her to it. There’s no way in hell either of us is waiting on my brothers. They can hand the plates over and be perfectly fine with it. If Athena serves anyone, I only want it to be me and no one else.
“You need to use the restroom. The one out here, in the hallway,” I order, staring directly into her eyes. I’m a bastard for compelling her, but I can’t hold back from having a moment of alone time with her any longer.
Her lashes flicker as she blinks quickly a few times, then says to the group, “Please excuse me. I’ll check on you shortly.” After, she’s heading to the hallway on the far side of the small café, as I’ve ordered her to.
