Page 4 of Bloody Nights (La Vega Vampire Showstoppers 2)

Cooper hums under his breath with his agreement. “Then don’t put her among the herd. We will need every hour we can get.”

“I suppose that will work. But if she fights or resists...” Lawrence’s voice trails off, and he motions behind him by tipping his head back. “Do you understand, Hayley? Give me a good show, and maybe I’ll reward you. Resist, and you will regret ever being born.”

Except I already do.

This is too much.

How will I ever survive?

Oh, right. These fuckers will make me.

This is now my new fucked up life.

Chapter 2

SAWYER

Conditions

“I DON’T GIVE a fuck. You can take every goddamn thing I have. We were set up. We know it was you, Aris.” Monroe slams his fists on the table separating us from the La Vega Leadership. “You wanted us to break the contract, so you had somebody kidnap Hayley. We were not at fault.”

Knox grabs the back of Monroe’s jacket and holds him, ensuring he doesn’t jump across the table and start beating the shit out of one of the leaders. I wouldn’t put it past him to do so in his state of fury, but there are too many of them and not enough of us to get out of this alive. He would probably only get in a couple of punches before one of the fuckers would take his heart. They’re ancient shits—from before the uprising—and rumor has it that they helped start it. It’s how they managed to take over Las Vegas and mold it into La Vega under their authority.

And fuck them. I don’t want to lose Monroe like that. I would die protecting him. He’s like a coven brother to me. A blood brother, even. And if something happened to us, Hayley would...fuck. I can’t think about it.

My chest tightens at the thought of her with some strange, sadistic asshole. Who the fuck knows what he’s doing to her? He collared her like a pet. There are far too many monsters in our world, and though the leaders are some of the worst, there are others out there that could top everyone. I’ve seen it for myself. I shudder at the thought.

Aris straightens his back in his chair and laces his fingers together, raising an eyebrow. He ignores Monroe and turns his attention to me. I’ve always been the face of the Bella Crew, and it’s not unlike people to disregard Monroe because he is our fighter and security while I tend to the bigger stuff like our donors and our alliances. He’s also younger, which means when it comes to power, I beat him. But I would never rub that in his face. He is as much my equal as Knox is.

“Do you have any proof, Mr. Noble?” Aris asks, showing off the tips of his fangs with his serious expression. “You cannot come in here and accuse me of wanting to break a contract without it. There are more important things to attend to, don’t you think? Like where my donor is. That should be the concern, which is why you’re here to be held accountable in the first place.”

This fucking asshole. He says it as if he cares about Hayley. It digs under my skin, because the only thing he cares about is his power, wealth, and his control over La Vega. He sees the Bella Crew as a threat and would absolutely try to steal our power through breaking a contract without regard as to what happens to Hayley.

“Yes. I know you think that we’re stupid and weak for not having a leadership position or qualifying to unite legally as a coven, but we have what it takes despite what you think. I have all the documentation, the surveillance videos of the man stating that Hayley is his heir and it was illegal for you to put her up for auction, and I also have surveillance records from several other crews along the Strip proving it. Don’t underestimate me, Aris. You can’t take down the Bella Crew that easily.” I growl with my words and set my com device on the table before the silent leaders. They all allow Aris to speak, which is a load of shit to begin with. He shouldn’t be the one handling this because Hayley is his property. It’s a conflict of interest.

Aris darts out his hand, trying to snatch the com device from the table, but the man beside him intervenes and scoops up my tablet. He scours the screen, flicking his finger over the evidence with a smirk softening his stern features.

“Alex, he has substantial evidence.” The leader of The Grand smiles wider.

“I’d say so, Starks.” Another leader snatches the device. The vampire, Reed, who I have only seen one other time, hands my device over to the other four leaders of the La Vega Leadership. He controls the Golden G and the downtown Frem area. “This is rather interesting, Alex. It seems that Mr. Monroe is indeed telling the truth.”

I remain expressionless despite his hesitation in addressing Monroe. Everyone in the Bella Crew refuses to take on any sort of surname until we qualify to come together as a coven under the Noble name and the leadership refuses to admit control over the Bella, so they stumble like dipshits over trying to assign formal titles in this fucked setting. The scared little dicks feel threatened by any sort of alliance outside of their terms, and they should be. If they’d smarten up, things could be different. Now we have to change things by force.

Proving ourselves now is the first step.

Thank the fucking universe for our paranoia and preparedness. Without it, Aris would’ve screwed us.

“The hearsay against them must be discarded,” Reed adds, glancing to the rest of the leaders. “Do your due diligence next time, Alex. If you had, we wouldn’t have a possible predicament.”

Aris grumbles under his breath. “What are you talking about?”

“What seems to be retaliation for your dearly departed coven sister. It looks like Lawrence is up to his old ways again and is taking advantage of your...rash decisions. Now our redistribution of The Whiskey township has gone to waste.” Augusta flashes his fangs. The leader of Tru glances between Aris and the tablet before looking at me. He slides it back without allowing Aris to get a look. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have executed his blood sister in front of an audience. You deserved to have your best performer taken from you for that behavior.”

Aris slides his chair back and stands up, unsheathing a blade from his jacket. “I did what was lawful. Opal had betrayed me. She put the whole foundation of La Vega at risk. You should thank me.”

“You want a thank you for something that was your fault to begin with? I think not. You must deal with this on your own. I suggest if you don’t want a problem with those who hold your donor’s contract, then you need to retrieve her. We will stand by the law regarding this matter. You have toed the line far more often than any of us. Either pay the fees for breaking the contract or work something out. I’m sure you have other donors that could fill her place.” The only woman leader, Narcisa of the Tropic Hotel, rubs her lips together, smoothing out her plum-colored lipstick. She turns her attention to Monroe. “How does that sound? You can pick any of the other dancers to fulfill the contract.”

Monroe shakes his head with a snarl, his anger rolling through his muscles. I join Knox and restrain Monroe’s other arm, stopping him from lunging.

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