Page 66 of Bloody Nights (La Vega Vampire Showstoppers 2)

THIS IS GOING to be an utter shitshow. I know it, Monroe knows it, and I’m pretty fucking sure all of La Vega might know it. Word in the city travels fast. Walcott isn’t the only one with a big-ass mouth, and Aris has called in every one of his damn alliances and every blood debt owed to him to ensure that nothing shakes his power.

Lawrence probably knows it, but he’s so confident in himself that he’s willing to risk the safety of Hayley and Knox to test exactly how powerful Aris is. It doesn’t help that he’s sent the three assholes he claims as allies to us for a so-called strategy plan. It has the entire Bella Crew up in arms—literally—and the five of us have at least twenty-something guns trained in our direction with Walcott’s trigger-happy finger ensuring the fuckers don’t forget whose domain they’re in.

I stab my knife into the roulette wheel and give it a spin. “All right. You three go fucking stand in that corner while I discuss this bullshit.” I curl my fingers, calling over Tatum, Govan, and Walcott.

Walcott snaps his fangs and pretends to try to stab Falo. Falo jumps and scrambles back, acting like a scared little ball sack now that he’s no longer in his territory. He doesn’t even have fucking fangs and should’ve been put into Lawrence’s sadistic herd. He’s a worthless piece of shit. I don’t know why Lawrence ever considered him to have enough power to control anything. He can’t even control his damn nerves.

Whistling, Walcott motions to the group of onlookers. “Hey, shitheads! Why don’t you show these three our hospitality and give them some blood, will you? You know the kind.”

Damn. I wish I had thought of that. I’d love to see these assholes drink the rotten blood Walcott keeps on hand for the bastards who try to start shit.

One of the guys materializes behind Primm and jabs his gun into the vampire’s back, forcing him to walk. If only they were all we had to worry about.

“Why don’t we just murder them and get it over with? You know that is the best strategy.” Monroe waves his knife and pretends to draw it over his throat. “It’s going to happen sooner or later.”

I tighten my jaw. “As soon as we have Hayley and Knox in sight, you can have your fun, dickhole.”

“I really fucking hate that they’re with Aris. What were you thinking?” Tatum taps her fingers to the table, leaning forward to snatch my knife from the wheel.

“Knox made the decision for us. He wasn’t given much choice, but at least he’s with her and another new crew member. Cooper is from The Whiskey, but he’s decent,” I say, strumming my fingers on the sleek wood rimming the table.

“Is he hot?” Tatum wags her eyebrows. “I could use a new dick around here, and I’m tired of looking at Walcott’s ugly mug.” Tatum snatches Walcott by the chin and smacks his cheek.

“He’s taken, Tate. My little bird already sunk her teeth into him. You’d have to fight her, and...she’s changed.” Monroe remains expressionless with his words. We haven’t told anyone about Hayley yet, and I’m not sure that I want to.

“What the fuck? She really is the queen of cocks.” Tatum fists her hand, swinging her arm in an attempt to punch Monroe in the balls. “You know what? Let me handle this. I’ll have our cock-babe back in thirty minutes. I need her around to teach me her ways. It can’t all be about her blood. Maybe we can be the—”

I slam my hands on the table. “Hayley is a dhampir.”

There. I fucking said it.I’m not even sure any of them know what a dhampir is. Walcott looks confused as hell, Govan cocks his head, and Tatum raises her eyebrows, her mouth dropping open.

“I heard about those when I was on the Strip. Some of the rebels mentioned them, wishing they were real. Apparently, they’re supposed to be super vampire killers.” Tatum keeps her voice low. “That doesn’t really look like something Hayley is. You can take total offense to this, but she’s not exactly a badass.”

“You haven’t seen her fight recently,” Monroe says, clearly taking offense to Tatum’s comment.

I don’t, though. I know her heart is in the right place, and I’d prefer her not to think of Hayley as a threat or some kind of vampire hunter or killer. She is one of us, regardless of what she’s capable of or her nature.

“She couldn’t have changed that much.” Walcott crosses his arms over his chest. “Whatever the fuck a dhampir is.”

I scrub my hand over my cheeks, trying to keep my cool. I want to flick him in the balls and tell him to let me finish. I don’t need this kind of argument. It’s not important whether they think Hayley is capable of holding her own in a fight or not. What’s important is they know she’s different and why it’s so important we fight to get her back. She’s not just a donor. She’s not just the woman that I’m madly in love with. She is an amazing being on a whole new level. She’s like a magical fucking unicorn that bites like a zombie, attacks at random, and really knows how to get me on my knees in a good way. Because I would bow to her if she asked. I don’t know what it is, but she entrances me. She makes me see just how lucky I am that she has deemed me as hers.

“Aren’t dhampirs basically mutants? I’m not as old as some of you guys, but I do remember the rumors about it among some of the Strip dwellers before I joined your crew. Some people were considering trying to make them before The Divide. It never worked. There were a lot of casualties.” Govan purses his lips, his eyes darting around the empty casino floor as if he recalls a time from long ago. And he is. It’s been decades since the divisions. The Vampire Uprising was probably over a century ago now, though I can’t really remember much. It was a savage time. While La Vega is a bit volatile and crude, it’s nothing in comparison to what it was like when I was transformed. I remember it being such a fucking scary time before I realized what was truly happening, and I was bitten by a random bastard on my way to get to my parents.

I shake my head, pushing the thoughts away. I don’t want to think about my blood family. They’ve been dead for a long time, and it’s almost as if it was another life altogether. I can’t dwell on things that I can’t change, and it’s best to focus on the present. On the future. The one thing I do miss is how life felt more important being a donor, because we didn’t have what we do now. All I have is time. I’ll keep going until one day someone ends my life. And if they don’t, then I better fucking keep Hayley safe. Because eternity doesn’t seem like something I want unless I have her by my side. Unless the Bella Crew makes it through this.

I don’t know how much longer I can handle being treated as if I’m some weak, powerless vampire when I have control over a hotel and over donors and others. But the leadership doesn’t like how I run things. I don’t treat people as if they are here to serve me. This is a community to thrive in.

I might not be a rebel, but I’m the leader of the Bella Crew, and change is a must. I realize it starts with Hayley. She’s the one we’ve been waiting for. She’s important to both the donor and vampire worlds.

“That sounds fucked up. Thank God I was fucking single.” Tatum rests her elbows on the roulette table, staring at the faded colors. I missed everything else that Govan said, but I think he was talking about the fact that a lot of donor women who were pregnant during the uprising died. A lot of women in general died. Men too. But it seems as if females were the target. Vampires like those in the leadership didn’t want to transform a bunch of women into vampires, because female donors bring new life and a new blood. A man can impregnate far more women in a short time compared to how often a woman can have a child. It’s really fucked up to think about it, which is another reason why we fight. I grew up with four sisters, and females were important to our family. My dad taught me how to treat and respect them, and I still carry that to this day.

“It was, but Hayley isn’t from an old line. It was Alex who created her. He bit her mother while she was pregnant and managed to create Hayley’s dhampir mutation. We don’t know the extent of what she’s capable of, but it’s life-changing. Aris had no clue what the fuck he was doing. But Lawrence? He knows about dhampirs, and he managed to awaken her deep-seated nature. I guess venom triggers it.” I lick my lips and scrub my fingers through my hair again. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, but I know they have questions. The problem is I’m not sure I can answer them. Cooper was someone I was relying on because he knew a dhampir in real life. I only know of the stories. The folklore. There’s just so many factors that we can’t predict because of how rare Hayley is.

I’m relying on Knox and his medical background to look into it more once this bullshit gets settled. It’s hard for us to figure shit out if we’re constantly having to be on guard and to fight.

“Damn, this is all so crazy. Does she have fangs now?” Walcott bounces on his feet, rubbing his palms together as if he imagines Hayley as the monstrous killer Tatum described.

“No, she’s still technically a donor. But she’s stronger. She’s fast when something triggers her. And I did see her bite off the finger of a bastard. It was fucking glorious. You would’ve been so impressed, but fucking stay away from her, asshole.” Monroe grins at Walcott and swings his arm out, punching him back. “She’ll never be the queen of your cock. You got it?”

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