Page 54 of A Love So Deadly
Vinnie had to hurt Nell.
That last part was revealed to me by Nell herself. She told me that when we talked alone. She had described Vinnie perfectly and said the man kept apologizing as he beat her, said he owed Benicio. And well, it doesn’t take a genius to know why Nell didn’t tell Lucian that bit of information.
She loved him.
The club’s door opens and the man I’ve been expecting comes in. I’m wearing a cap, drinking a beer, and wearing an oversize hoodie. He walks in like he owns the place and joins Vinnie, right where I can hear them. They’re not big on keeping it down. After all, men who think they’re untouchable never see reason for hiding.
My blood starts to run cold as they talk, and I make notes on my phone.
It’s not much to put anyone in the line of the law, perhaps. Then again, I’m not looking to do that.
After about an hour, the two men get up to leave. I leave a fifty on the bar and follow Benicio and Vinnie outside. Pullingmy hood up, I duck into a dark doorway that’s far enough away to stay out of sight but close enough to still hear their voices on the breeze.
“Warehouse Nine?”
“Mr. Vale’s on his way now,” Vinnie says. “I’ve got it all under control.”
My heart squeezes hard as panic flashes through me. They’re planning something with Lucian. And from the evil grin on Benicio’s face, they’re not inviting him to tea and cookies.
“Go and meet him, asshole. You’re meant to be doing a fucking deal.” That’s Benicio. “Don’t fuck this up. We’re only going to have one chance and VMR needs to fall.”
I wait a beat, and Benicio steps into a black SUV, and then Vinnie flags a cab.
Shit. I shouldn’t be getting involved in this, but Benicio’s words “VMR needs to fall” streaks worry through me. VMR is too much of a powerhouse. The only way for it to fall is if Lucian and maybe some of the other higherups are taken out.
Is that what he means? Is this meet up at the warehouse some kind of trap?
I have to warn Lucian.
When the crime bosses drive away, I run down two blocks and find a parked car with an Uber sticker on the window. I knock, and when the driver rolls down the window, he’s holding a sloppy sub sandwich like I had disturbed his dinner mid-bite.
I pull out a wad of twenties from my pocket and shove it at him. “Hey, sorry, but do you know where Warehouse Nine is?”
It’s quiet when I walk up.
I’m not an idiot. I got out a few streets away from the warehouse, and at first, I think the driver got the address wrong because he left me at the docks where most of the warehouses have been long abandoned, a shell of their glory days during the industrial revolution over a hundred years ago. But then I spy the weather-worn sign on the building and a few high-end cars in the lot.
The entire drive here I tried to get ahold of Lucian. I called the number he’d given me when I was first hired, but he didn’t pick up. After maybe a dozen times, I give up and try text.
Lucy, pick up.
Nothing.
I text again.
It’s me. Elliot.
I try one more time.
You’re in danger, asshole.
Still not a thing.
He’s a vampire. He should be able to handle himself. The man’s damn near immortal, right? Right? I don’t really know if there is a way to kill his kind—he didn’t get to tell me the ins and outs of his life—but I don’t know what Benicio has planned and it’s not a risk I’m willing to take.
I want to just warn him, tell him what I found out, and then he can rain hell on Vinnie and Benicio however he wants. I don’t need to be around for that part. Hell, Lucian won’t have to see me ever again after this.
As I settle behind a pile of pallets, out of sight, an overhead door rolls up, and in the pools of darkness, a tall figure walks in and my heart goes crazy.
