Page 46 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

No doubt his last captain, a good recruit from all accounts, cut his losses and found another master vampire to rule under. There are four regions of territory among the vampires in the United States. Blood Mafia rules the west coast and cuts across from Arizona to Idaho. The south is under Lijah, the greater Midwest under Othelia, and the east lies under Sisco’s control.

He’s never been a particularly good leader, and I’ve had more than a few recruits find their way to me after leaving his territory, pledging their allegiance to the Blood Mafia and discarding their debts to Sisco. Every master runs their territory differently. Othelia and I are the only ones who run illicit activities. Lijah operates mostly underground but has legitimate businesses to keep his kingdom running.

Sisco on the other hand, well, Sisco’s more of a take what he wants when he wants sort of vampire and his loose morals—and I say that knowing full well my moral compass is broken—have caused vampires to go on killing sprees. This of course only results in bad press for all of us.

All of this to say, when I kill him, I’ll be doing the world a favor.

“Mateo, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Sisco asks, lips curling into an ugly smile. “Demetria, lovely to see you again.”

Anthia is perched on his lap, sneering at us as we step inside.

If I hadn’t already planned to kill him, I would for the way his gaze linger on Demi.

Anthia’s eyes grow dark and she purses her lips. Sisco’s blatant disregard for her feelings is a slap in the face.

His other two women are lounging on the couch. Their bored looks are mildly amusing. It seems they found a way to tolerate Sisco and be at the top of the New York vampire food chain.

“Sisco, your welcoming committee is dead.” I stop a few feet from his desk and Demi joins me. She crosses her arms over her chest, cocking her hip and staring Anthia down.

The vampire bristles and sniffs. “Demi.”

“Anthia,” my hunter says. “Still stuck with this asshole I see.”

The vampire presses her lips together and looks away. Sisco’s grip on her thigh tightens hard enough to bruise.

“You killed them all? Pity.” Sisco’s creepy eyes sweep over my group. “Evelyn, you’re as beautiful as ever.”

“Shove it, asshole. Where’s Alissa?” Evelyn steps around me and slams her hands on the desk. I don’t call her back or reprimand her because Evelyn does as she pleases regardless of what I say, and I’m not exactly worried about offending Sisco.

“I thought she was with you.” Sisco lifts a glass of blood wine to his lips, smirking as he sips. “Have you lost my pet? Maybe she was ashamed of your failed attempt to destroy my operations and left of her own accord.”

My scowl deepens. We almost succeeded in taking out the heart of his business. Had it not been for the flamethrowers he brought out, we’d have finished the job. I’m not in the habit of watching my people die, so I recalled the troops.

“She’s not a pet.” Demi joins Evelyn at the desk, pressing her palms against the wood. “Where are my parents and Lacey?”

Setting the glass down, Sisco throws his head back and lets out a bark of laughter as he slaps the desk. “Now that’s hilarious,” he says when he lowers his head. “Mateo’s lost track of not one, but four people.”

Demi grabs one of her knives and stabs it into his hand.

Sisco hisses and Anthia swipes at Demi.

Evelyn catches her hand before it can hit my hunter. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

There are times I worry about Evelyn. The tone she’s using now is one of the things that bothers me. There’s a certain darkness to it even I’m wary of.

Anthia pales and yanks her hand back.

“Good girl,” Evelyn purrs, sounding more normal than she did before.

Demi twists the knife and Sisco’s man moves to intervene. Colt’s faster and slams him into the closed door, pinning him in place. I toss a casual look at Sisco’s other women.

They continue to chat and sip their blood wine, wholly unaffected by the current events.

Maybe they’re drugged.

Evelyn walks around the desk and sits next to Sisco. She runs a nail over his cheek and down his throat, wrapping her fingers around his neck. “Where is she?”

Now that Anthia’s stepped away, Sisco’s left side is free and he brings his hand up, holding a gun. I flash to him but he has it pressed against Demi’s temple before I can stop him.

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