Page 17 of Heathens

“You gotta stop with the teeth pulling, man!” Theo exclaims. “Anyway, he might not even realize what’s happened yet, or who did it, but the moment some of his people go missing, especially ones with very specific skill-sets, he’s going to put two and two together.”

Mateo looks like he’s pushing a boulder uphill right behind his eyes, when suddenly a loud ring echoes through the apartment.

I cringe, moving quickly to hit the button for the intercom.

“Yeah?”

“Boss! I found her,”Luke shouts on the other end of the line.

I can feel my blood burn.

“Where?”

“Nox. They went in through the back door with the blood. Now she’s behind the bar. She must work there.”

Nox is one of the most popular bars in the city, and the only one that was officially greenlit by Rene. The… extra services they provide there have made it the main haunt of some of the most wealthy vampires around.

Tonight is my lucky night.

“I’ll be down in a minute. Keep the car ready.”

I’ve never set foot in Nox, despite all the positive buzz. Human-owned and run out of a large abandoned church near the Boardwalk. After Rene made his big show of endorsing the place, I sent Theo in to make our own little deal: we don’t cause trouble, and they won’t “unleash hell” upon us. It’s the closest thing to neutral ground we’re going to get.

“Theo, I’m going out on the town. Don’t wait up!”

He gets to his feet, clearly at the end of his rope.

“Dom, you’re covered in blood, dressed like absolute shit, and we’ve still got all this whole formula thing to figure out!”

I ignore him, walking to the kitchen to wet a towel as he stays right on my heels. He groans as I wipe down my face and neck.

“How do I look? Be honest with me, Theodore.”

“Dom, this is serious.” He leans over the counter, his Irish accent coming through a little stronger than usual. It always does when he’s stressed. “You don’treallyknow what that formula is or even what it does. Be honest withmehere. You just took it to give Rene the middle finger, yeah?”

“I told you, Theo, all I need is for you to find me someone who can figure this formula shit out. We’ll build the lab, make the drug, and sell it. Easy money for us, and the first steps to taking Rene for everything he’s worth. We’ll carve up this motherfucking town any way we like. You and me.” I toss him the towel as he shakes his head to himself. “But first, clean yourself up would ya? You look like shit.”

They’ve painted the church black and violet, and hung a gigantic neon sign out front. There’s even a bell tower at the top that rings when it’s last call. They sure went all-in with the theme, I’ll give them that.

“It’s a feeding night,” Luke tells me as I let the engine‌ die, watching vamps trickle in and out of the front doors.

“Feeding night, like…?”

“Private rooms, and if you pay good money, you get fresh blood, right from the source.” He turns to me, a big smile on his face. “And sex.”

“Of course,” I mutter.

“Well, not always sex, but you don’t have to drink blood out of those dinky little shot glasses. That’s the most important thing. You know how much it is for a shot in there?”

I sigh, eager to get going as I unbuckle my seatbelt. I’ve barely thought about this place since we all made our deals about a year back. Now I kind of wish I had come myself knowing that cute redhead might have been manning the bar. After what happened tonight, I’m itching to blow off some steam.

I climb out of the car, and Luke follows, bouncing at my side like an excitable puppy.

“You’re chasing that girl, aren’t you?”

“I’m chasing a fucking drink,” I bite. “Cool it.”

I should have brought Theo with me. Luke is going to be hard to control, and I don’t want to waste all of my time babysitting him.

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