Page 37 of Expose Me

“Absolutely not,” he called through the door. “Go away!”

Chapter12

Iknocked lightly on the door again.

“You owe me, Mark,” I said barely above a whisper, knowing he’d hear me perfectly with his vamp hearing.

After a few silent moments, the door opened once again. Mark glared at me as he stepped back and aggressively gestured for us to come inside. He poked his head out and looked up and down the corridor before closing it.

“You couldn’t have called in your favor when you weren’t literally the most wanted person on the planet?” He folded his arms, still glaring. He had a good glare on him. Very expressive, ten out of ten intensity.

“Haven’t needed a favor this big until now.” I shrugged.

“You’re a bitch.”

“Never said I wasn’t.”

“Mark.” Another man’s voice came from somewhere in the apartment, followed by soft footfalls. “Do you think we have enough Jell-O shots?”

Zey stepped forward slightly, as if to shield me with his body.

“Hey, Mitch.” I flashed Mark’s human husband a grin. Mark chose to live in No Man’s Land without the protection of a House because he’d fallen in love—with a human. No House would take Mitch, so they’d built a life in one of the tamer parts of No Man’s Land.

“Sky!” His eyes went wide, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. Unlike Mark, Mitch didn’t try to make me leave. He rushed forward and wrapped me up in a hug. “Everyone is talking about you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Just tell us what you want and leave,” Mark grumbled. Mitch smacked him on the chest.

“We owe her big time. Drop the attitude, old man.”

“Yeah, take the stick out of your ass and help an old friend.” I winced as I put too much weight on my leg.

Zey leaned his head to the side and frowned, trying to see if Mark really had a stick protruding from his butt.

“Sky, he looks rather youthful,” Zey said, clearly confused.

Mitch burst out laughing.

“Yeah. Mark is a vampire. One hundred forty-two years old and perpetually stuck looking like a twenty-something.” I chuckled.

It was like a lightbulb went off in his head when I said vampire. “Sky requires your saliva.”

Like I was trying to drive the point home, my vision blurred, and I swayed on the spot. Zey supported me with an arm around my waist as I sagged against him.

I blacked out for a moment, and next thing I knew, Zey was carrying me through the apartment as Mark and Mitch spoke in urgent voices.

Then I was being lowered to a bed, unable to stifle a groan of pain from my leg being jostled.

Finally, gentle hands removed my pants, and I sighed in relief at the cool sensation of vampire saliva being spread onto my aching wound.

The next time I woke, it was with a start. I heard glass smashing and jolted into a sitting position, summoning my favorite fighting knife all in the same breath.

Zey’s hand reached out slowly. He placed it over my tense fist and guided me to lower the blade as I took in my surroundings.

“You’re safe,” he said. And he was right. We were in a bedroom—a spare bedroom if the mishmash of leftover furniture was anything to go by. The bed didn’t match the side tables, and there were no personal touches. I remembered coming to Mark and Mitch’s place, but the rest was a bit of a blur.

“I heard glass smashing,” I said, lowering the knife. My voice sounded hoarse and came out as barely a whisper.

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