Page 8 of Renegade Nights (La Vega Vampire Showstoppers 3)

I reach out and lock my fingers to his shoulder, stopping him from jumping back onto the elevator. “Have Walcott do it. He can get a team together. You need to see Hayley.”

He flashes his fangs. “I should help Walcott. You don’t even know—”

I growl and get into his face, pushing him toward the wall. “Walcott can handle this. Your ass is coming with us. Don’t be a chickenshit. You can’t always just be around Hayley when it’s all unicorn farts and rainbow shit.”

His expression speaks volumes. I knew I was right in thinking that he’s nervous to see Hayley after all this bullshit. He’ll blame himself for the rest of time for not catching things sooner. I think we all blame ourselves for this. Hayley deserves better. She deserves men who can protect her and expect the unexpected.

We have got to fucking get our shit together. This is a war, and nothing is fair.

“There’s never been fucking unicorn farts around here. It’s always been shitty. And not sparkle shit. So back off, Sawyer. I’m just trying to prioritize. You know that I will take this whole city down for Hayley.” Monroe shoves his hands against my chest, pushing me back. I let him, despite being stronger.

“Exactly. I know you’re capable of that, but Hayley doesn’t want the world ruined on her behalf.” I smack him on the back, pushing him forward.

“It is our job to make it better for her,” Knox adds, finally speaking up. “Now if you guys need another minute to fight this shit out, you’ll find me with Hayley. I plan to kiss every inch of her until she feels better.”

Damn him. A wave of lust comes over me as I imagine our girl lying between us as we take care of her on every level, helping her forget in the way she prefers. She’s getting to that point, and so are we, but I’m afraid of the state we’ll find her in. She’s already been through so much. I know at some point we’ll find her breaking point if things continue as they are, and it’s the last thing I want.

Knox disappears, using his vampire speed to run ahead. Monroe swears under his breath and chases after him. His need to beat Knox superseding his fear. Calling him out also helps get him in line. He needs to know it’s okay to feel as he does but he also needs to know he can handle it.

I don’t rush to compete to see who gets there first and stroll down the hallway at human pace, taking in the grotesque sight of the blood and bodies. I listen to Knox and Monroe greet Hayley and Cooper, but I decided to take a moment to inspect a couple of the rooms. And fuck.

It looks like two donors and a vampire were killed. But the vampire definitely wasn’t taken out by Hayley. His head was cleanly severed, the blade still on the floor. I recognize the insignia immediately. Whoever killed the renegade vampire belongs to the Esor coven. Son of a bitch. I know for a fact that they aren’t in cohorts with the renegades. They have an alliance with someone on the leadership. They’re not a top hotel, but they do well enough. Someone from their coven took advantage of the attack or were here on behalf of the leadership.

I slam the door and punch it, trying to keep in control of my anger. Monroe might be right about burning this city down.

“Where’s Sawyer? I need him.” Hayley soft voice grabs me by the balls and drags my attention away from the mess and my dark thoughts.

I scoop up the knife and abandon the room and head toward Cooper’s. The four of them sit on his bed when I enter, and I look in the hallway one more time and close the door. I jerk my hand and throw the knife, sinking it into the wall by Monroe. Hayley’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything. I don’t let her. Crossing the room, scoop her into my arms and meet my lips to hers, kissing her and nestling my nose against her as she releases a breath against my mouth.

“What can I do to help you? I’m not going to bother asking if you’re okay. I know you’re not. So please, what do you need from me?” I kiss her again, just letting her feel my closeness, taste my love for her.

“I’m going to fucking burn the Esor down! This fucking bastard crossed the line. We had an agreement, and they took advantage of it. They weren’t supposed to attack us on behalf of the leadership, and we would leave their asses alone. I’m going to use this fucking knife and cut off every single one of their dicks.” Monroe stabs the knife into Cooper’s pillow, sending fluff through the air.

I flare my nostrils and squeeze my eye shut. I told him to keep his ass together. Now here he is, already destroying shit.

Standing up, Monroe pulls out his com device and taps the screen. Hayley pushes from me and launches at him, forcing him to catch her in his arms like the little acrobat she is. He stumbles back, nearly eating shit, and she grabs him by his hair and forces him to look at her.

“They can wait. They were forced into this by Alexander. He used one of their health keepers to get to me.” Hayley’s words hitch as she swivels in Monroe’s arms and looks at me. “They’re trying to impregnate me. All of them. The renegades came in here, thinking that they could rape me and knock me up to create another dhampir or something. Alexander wants the same but went with an insemination attempt. He wants an heir that he can mold to his liking since I obviously plan to kill him.”

Silence fills the air, and I look toward Knox, Monroe, and Cooper. I can’t believe this shit. Just knowing that Hayley had to deal with that ignites fear and anger inside me. I’m officially on team destroy all of La Vega. What a fucking shitshow nightmare.

“They’re all dead.” Knox balls his hand into a fist and punches the wall. “I don’t fucking care about the cause anymore. These renegades ruined it. Alexander destroyed it. There is no hope in this godforsaken city. We need to—”

“I’m pregnant.” Hayley’s words cut Knox off, and she bites her lip between her teeth.

Monroe loses his shit, snarling as he rushes toward the door, his thoughts the same as mine about the health keeper. They don’t usually do artificial insemination with donors unless the population starts diminishing, and the fact that they—

“It’s one of yours.” Hayley scrubs her hands over her face. “No one else got to me. I don’t really know how, but I’m pregnant by one of you.”

Monroe freezes in the doorway, his whole body flexing and rippling as he slowly turns around. His wide eyes flick over the room, his expression morphing from anger to shock.

I open and close my mouth, trying to push out the words, but nothing comes. My mind whirls. Vampires don’t have children. We are incompatible despite being alive and previously human. Dhampirs aren’t born from vampires. It’s by donors who get bitten while pregnant.

This is unbelievable, but I know it’s true. Hayley wouldn’t lie to us.

“Holy fucking shit. We’re having a baby.” Knox snatches Hayley up, his surprise morphing into a huge ass smile I haven’t seen from him in ages. “We’re fucking having a baby! Hell yeah!”

He spins Hayley around and buries his face against her neck. Hayley’s somber expression lights up, and she tips her head back and laughs, screeching with Knox, feeding off his happiness.

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