Page 53 of Heathens

I crane my neck, scanning the rooms behind her.

“Where’s Sofie?”

“You haven’t answered my question. Are we clear?”

“Yeah, yeah, Little Miss 9mm, I get it,” I sigh. “She’s back there?”

“Look, Dominic, you might run this city, butwerun this fucking club. I don’t want to repeat what happened with your little rival the other night.”

“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Theo assures her.

“That’s what I like to hear!” She gives me a quick condescending pat on the arm. “Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.”

Theo and I head toward the door, another bouncer puffing out his chest when he sees us. It’s honestly fucking hilarious. I love it when they think they’re tough stuff.

“It’s $1,000 an hour,” the bouncer grunts as we reach him.

“Christ,” Theo sighs. “Highway robbery.”

“If you’ve got an issue with our prices, you’re free to fish rats out of the sewer grate out back. That comes free of charge.”

Theo scowls at him while I dig out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, counting them quickly.

“I want two hours with Sofie. The rest is for my friend to feed on whoever he chooses.”

Theo quickly pulls out another wad of cash of his own.

“Tack on a bit of extra time for me, too. Fuckin’ starving.”

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it, boys?”

He counts the money out, holding a few hundred-dollar bills up to the light. I snort. He doesn’t even know what the fuck he’s looking for, he just wants to make us sweat. Finally, he tucks the cash into a small box before opening the door for us.

“Sofie’s in the room at the end of the hall,” he informs me before turning to Theo. “You can pick whoever you want. Their names and photos are outside of the rooms.”

The hallway is glowing with blue and purple lights with mirrored walls. I smooth out my black suit with both hands before pushing my hair back, making sure that silver streak is prominent.

Theo’s still scoping out the pictures on the doors when I find Sofie’s room, and I decide to leave him to his work. Somehow I feel nervous, but not in that fluttery way that humans do. It’s more of an anticipation, like right before the hunt. My body is still wired from last night. Killing that motherfucker really brought something bestial out of me.

My jaw tingles, already longing to feel Sofie’s blood running down my throat. I stop in front of the door and grasp the handle. It burns just a little. Silver. Smart.

I twist the handle and step into the room, ignoring both the instructions and the searing pain soaring through my arm.

There she is, perched on the couch, copper hair pulled into a high ponytail that cascades down her shoulder. Her tight blue dress resembles a deep and mysterious ocean shimmering beneath the dim lights. She looks statuesque, a sharp jaw, blush sculpting out her cheekbones, and that beautiful dusting of freckles across her little button nose. But it’s those eyes, burning and piercing, that really draw me in.

I drag my tongue across my lip and she tilts her head, a glass of whiskey balanced on her bare thigh as her high heel dangles from the tip of her toe.

“I didn’t think you’d show up,” she whispers.

“I paid for extra time. No interruptions.”

She hums. The way she twists her glass on her thigh makes me want to drop to my knees right in front of her. I want to spread those legs and bury my face between them to see what she tastes like.

“You know how these rooms work?”

“Your friend explained it all loud and clear.”

When I take a step toward her, she straightens up, putting her foot down and sliding it back into her heel.

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