Page 67 of Bloody Nights (La Vega Vampire Showstoppers 2)

“Oh, come on. You’re just afraid she’s going to want me and only me. I’m such a fucking catch.” Walcott wags his eyebrows.

Tatum tips her head back and laughs. “With your ugly ass mug? Maybe after that face tattoo bullshit fades. I still can’t believe you let me tattoo that on you.”

It’s hard to tell, but Walcott’s tattoo is actually a pussy that Tatum gave him when he was trying to teach her. He knew it and still let her, because I’m pretty certain even though they aren’t together, and they only fuck around when they’re horny, he does have a thing for her.

She doesn’t exactly feel the same, but he takes what he can get. He also finds shit to do with some of the dudes around here.

I don’t think he could give Hayley the loyalty she wants and needs. It’s obvious that even though we’re okay to share her, she’s not okay to share us. I realized really fast that I think her dhampir nature doesn’t allow it. Her possessiveness is twice as much as a vampire’s. Usually, we wouldn’t be able to share a donor like we do, but there’s just something about Hayley.

“That’s fucking enough. We need to strategize a plan. I know that Lawrence is setting some kind of bullshit up with Aris, and we need to get everything in line. We need to start a battle that the leadership can’t ignore. There’s no way we can sit back and let Aris get away with whatever the fuck he’s planning. We also need to make sure Lawrence doesn’t swoop in and try anything either. He’s worse. You should see how he has his donors at The Whiskey. It’s literally like cattle. And it’s not only humans.” I look at each of my crewmembers, letting them know with my eyes just how fucked up it is.

I usually have a tolerance for the messed up, but I’ve never seen anything like it. That was one of the few things that I agreed with when the leadership came into power. They weren’t to treat donors so unfairly and disgustingly. That’s why they all have places and hotels. They are fed and given jobs and allowed to have family and lives. It’s why they have blood withdrawal centers that collect blood and add it to pools to feed vampires from.

Sure, there are personal donors out there at every hotel, but they’re given better benefits. We don’t do any of that here. Everyone is treated equally, and we protect everyone to the best of our ability. No one in power truly knows exactly how many donors we have and how much blood we can put together. Because our donors are happy, and they are free from vampire control, they willingly donate and they thrive.

Tatum has done an excellent job. We only require twenty-five percent of the donors to give blood. That’s only because it does take effort and wealth to provide for them. It’s not that they really take it as a requirement though. Sometimes, they will offer more when they know we might need something. Tatum keeps them in the loop.

She’s also going to have to tell them about Hayley. We have our donor warriors who can fight. We don’t have them just sitting around in hotel rooms all day long just living and existing. They know what’s coming. They’ve been preparing for this their entire lives. They know that if they stay with us, and they trust us, that we’ll change La Vega. We’ll change their lives and the lives of their children. They’re the true rebels in this grand scheme of things.

“Tell us what you think we should do. I stand behind you fully. You know that I would die for our cause, and if you think Hayley can help us, then I’m here for it.” Tatum looks at Walcott and punches his shoulder. “And this asshole will be here for it as long as he wants me to ride him anytime soon.”

Walcott bursts out in laughter, grabs Tatum by the hips, and pulls her to him. He fake humps her until she stabs him in the stomach. “I just want to fucking see Hayley in action.”

Govan doesn’t laugh or react. All he does is continue to stare at the roulette table, his mind wandering as he loses himself in his thoughts.

Monroe swings his arm over Govan’s shoulders. “What about you, dude? Your opinion matters to us as well.”

Govan lifts and drops his shoulders. “You guys are going to think I’m selfish, but I want to get Mya. She’ll be the first one Aris goes after because Hayley cares about her. I know you guys don’t think much—”

I raise my hand, cutting him off. “We’ll get Mya. I promise. I agree with you. If we get her first, then Hayley is less likely to do something crazy. She loves those performers like family, and she’ll sacrifice herself to ensure they’re okay. That’s just one of the things about her.”

It’s infuriating, but I do understand it. She feels responsible for the other performers at the Aris. She feels as if this is all her fault, and that Alexander wouldn’t treat them so poorly had it not been for her.

But she’s wrong. He would’ve done so regardless. He’s just using her to make her feel as if she’s to blame. And I hate it. That fucker needs to be held accountable. He needs to fucking get his head chopped off for gaslighting her and making her feel as if all of the pain he put her through was her fault.

“Yeah?” Govan’s face changes as a soft smile spreads across his lips.

Monroe gives him one hell of a shake. “Of fucking course, man. You’re a Bella Crew member. If it’s important to you, it’s important to us.”

I open my mouth to agree with Monroe, but my com device chirps. I quickly yank it from my pocket because the chime is the one that I have set for Hayley. She’s activated one of her trackers, even though I know exactly where she is. She is in the gym at the Aris. I can see her on the map.

I turn away from the others and stroll a couple of feet away to put distance between us. Monroe materializes by my side and pulls out his own com device to look at the screen.

It’s not Hayley.

It’s Cooper.

“You fuckers need to get here quickly. Lawrence was too fucking confident in himself. Things have changed. We need you.” Cooper grinds his teeth, a deep growl reverberating from his throat.

The world blurs on the video feed, and Cooper hollers in pain. Static crackles across my com device, and I lose the visual.

I hear Hayley scream next. And then the weirdest thing. Another yell rips through the air. It’s not Knox though. It’s fucking Lawrence.

The connection drops.

Fucking shit.

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