Page 50 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

Chapter Eleven

Demi

Mateo and Grayson stay behind to watch over Sisco’s body. He can’t heal until the heart is placed back in his chest cavity.

Colt and Evelyn follow me and Anthia down both flights of stairs. I feel a trickle of power which quickly ramps up to match that of Colt’s. I’m surprised by her level of badassery thus far, and even more surprised when vampires move aside for her and bow slightly as she passes.

Anthia commands respect from her people. Being Sisco’s lady gave her clout, but the power she wields is wholly her own. Why she’d choose to be with a man like Sisco baffles me, then again, I like Mateo so who am I to judge?

She leads us through the first-floor bar, past the back storage room, and through another doorway. Pulling out a key, she unlocks it and starts down a pitch-black stairwell.

“There are no lights,” she says in apology.

Thankfully I have supernatural eyesight and my eyes quickly adjust to the shadows and their depths. These stairs are concrete. The temperature drops the further down we travel and I shiver, rubbing my arms.

I count each step, stopping on thirty-three when Anthia pauses. She’s standing at the base of the stairs and staring into the darkness.

“To clarify, I had no part in this.” She walks into the dark room.

I blink when she strikes a match and lights a few candles, casting rings of light about the room.

There, lying in the middle of the floor, is Alissa. Face down in a pool of her own blood.

Evelyn curses and runs to her friend. I follow a few steps behind her, pausing to stare at the wall of torture devices. My gaze falls on a nasty looking drill and I shudder, hating to think what Sisco used it for.

I drop to my knees, not caring about the squishing blood, and help Evelyn turn her onto her back. Alissa’s head lolls to the side. Her eyes are bruised and there’s fingerprints covering her arms.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask, pointing to the marks.

“Silver nitrate.” Anthia sighs. “Sisco likes to make the pain last.”

“She needs blood.” Evelyn bites her wrist and presses it to Alissa’s mouth.

Alissa moans and grabs Evelyn’s arm, clamping her lips over the wound and making loud slurping noises.

“Easy there, woman. I need blood to survive too.”

When her eyelids flutter open, her blue eyes are lined with black and silver. The lighter threads slowly fade the longer she drinks.

“Demi, help me out?” Evelyn says with a grimace. “She needs more than I can give.”

Without a second thought, I grab one of my knives from my thigh sheath and cut my wrist, taking Evelyn’s place and enduring the minutes as my friend takes what she needs to heal.

Alissa gently pushes away my wrist. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” I start to stand up but stop halfway up. She took more blood than I thought. That or I’m still a little weak from Sisco’s attack.

Colt grabs my waist, holding me up and offering his bleeding wrist.

What is this, a blood orgy?

“I’m fine,” I mumble but take his gift all the same.

When I can stand on my own without swaying, I remove myself from Colt’s hold.

Alissa’s standing and rubbing at her wrists, which are raw from the handcuffs Sisco had her in. “The silver nitrate will work its way out of my system, then I’ll be fine,” she says when she catches me watching her.

“I’ll get you a blood mocktail,” Colt says, heading up the stairs to the bar.

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