Page 67 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

Mom hugs me tight, patting my back. I let a single tear trail down my cheek. How I wish what she said was real.

Everything that’s happened in the past few months is because of me.

“Tell me more about this special blood, Demi.”

I pull away from Mom and glance at my dad.

He’s wearing a grin. “I always knew you were special.”

When he winks, I can’t help but chuckle.

“It’s a long story… maybe I should start from the beginning.”

They settle in as I explain every detail, from my real mom leaving me, to bonding with the vampires.

Dad looks more than displeased to learn I’m technically dating three vampires, but Mom promptly tells him we can talk about it later.

After I’ve explained everything, I order some food for them since they’re hungry and wait in the kitchen while they take turns showering.

Someone knocks on my door just as my dad is coming out of the bedroom.

“I’ll get it,” he says in a stern voice.

“It’s my apartment.” I move toward the door but stop when he jogs—literally jogs—to stop me.

Does he not remember the whole supe speed talk we had earlier?

He points at me. “No one asked you, Demi. I said I’ll answer it.”

“All right, all right.”

I follow him to the door and groan when I see Grayson waiting on the other side. His lips pull back into a megawatt smile and he shoves his hand toward my dad.

“I’m Grayson, Demi’s favorite, lovely to meet you, Robert.”

Dad scoffs, shakes his hand, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Grayson, huh? I’ve heard a lot about you, and truth be told, I don’t like it. Who gave you the right to kidnap my daughter?”

Grayson’s eyes flit to me. “Uh, I was under orders, sir.”

“Yeah, I heard about that jerk wad, too.”

“Dad,” I say, slapping my hand over my forehead. “Please let Grayson in, literally everyone in the building can hear you, Mateo included.”

Whirling around, he glares at me. “I’m not afraid of some vampire mob boss, no sir, I’m not. You hear me, Mateo? I’m not afraid of you, blood sucker.”

He’s shouting now so I slap my hand over his mouth.

“Odin, save us. Dad you’re going to get us all into trouble.”

He puffs up his chest. “I’d like to see him try.”

Right, this is the whole protective dad bit. While I love that he feels the need to protect his baby girl, it’s a bit much and a little embarrassing considering I’ve killed Mateo twice now.

I hardly need someone defending my honor.

Still, it’s Dad.

“I love you,” I say with a shake of my head. Then I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him hard enough to make him grunt.

---