Page 70 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

After a beat she steps out of the elevator and walks past me, not bothering to look in my direction. I hope she isn’t mad at me, but I do think she should at least talk to Mateo.

There’s more to what happened that night than he’s telling any of us. Maybe he’ll explain it to her, help her see why Nix went mad and why he helped. I don’t think she should forgive him, but I think everyone deserves a chance to speak their piece.

I do have selfish motivations for wanting Demi and Mateo to talk; if they make up, it’ll make my relationship with her, and Colt’s as well, a lot easier.

Here’s hoping she’ll listen to me and give Mateo a chance to explain.

* * *

Demi

We join Colt and Mateo in the living room. Both have rocks glasses full of bourbon and blood. An irrational jealousy fills me as I watch them lift the cups in sync and sip.

It’s ridiculous to assume they’d only drink my blood, not that I’d let Mateo, but the irritation is still there. I’ll attribute it to the exchanging of blood and the bond. Considering the stuff they use for blood cocktails comes bottled and they aren’t drinking from another’s vein, I have no right to ask them to stop.

The words are right at the tip of my tongue.

Mateo must sense everything through the bond, because he smartly sets aside the glass and lifts his gaze to meet mine.

Those brown eyes are guarded, shielding his reaction from me. The bond is silent from his side as well.

Grayson’s words echo in my headyou should at least hear what he has to say.

I’m a little annoyed with his voice of reason talk, but I can see his point. Even if it does begrudge me to admit I might need to talk to Mateo. I’m not ready to forgive him yet. Though my resistance may seem childish to some, I’m not perfect.

I never claimed to be.

A lot has happened between the two of us, and Mateo’s lie makes trusting him hard. Knowing he killed my real dad, well, how would you feel if you found out the vampire you tied yourself to for eternity was responsible for ripping your family away?

Probably conflicted.

Colt notices Mateo watching me, sighs, and sets his glass down. “We don’t have time for this. Evelyn told us about the portal demon.”

I nod. “My mom and dad were with Nix in Hell.”

“The Underworld,” Grayson corrects. “It’s closer to Greek mythology than the Hell you learned about. All souls end up in the Underworld.”

“Well, wherever it was, Nix found her husband and daughter. I guess she has a house there. Since she’s disappeared without a trace, I bet that’s where she has X.”

“I know someone who has connections to the Underworld.” Mateo glances out of the ceiling-to-floor length window.

“Who?” I ask with a little more bite than necessary.

He turns to face me, and rubs his hand over his jaw. “Blaze.”

Of course it would be the alpha-hole.

“Sounds like a good time to call in my favor.”

Mateo tips his head. “The kill order is in place.”

“You can’t lift it for him?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t like the elder wolf’s games.”

Groaning, I throw my hands into the air. “Because your games are so much better. Judas Priest, Mateo, she has X. Get over yourself and put out an order that Blaze isn’t to be harmed so we can get this over with.”

His face contorts with frustration, pinching and wrinkling. “I wasn’t done speaking.” His voice is calm, belying the anger sparking through the bond.

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