Page 42 of Heathens

“Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me!”

“That was the goal. Fight’s cleared up, by the way.”

I nod and try to bring myself back down to earth as she sniffs at the air and takes a single step past the threshold.

“You get some new perfume? Or is thatsomeone’scologne?”

“Shut. The fuck.Up,” I hiss, stomping past her with the broom clenched tightly in my hand.

Ruby snorts as she follows me back to the bar, letting the door shut behind us.

I’m worried people will find out I’m just alittleattracted to Dominic. Hooking up with the customers is unsurprisingly pretty normal at this place. The issue is the fact that every time he walks into this bar, I can’t control myself. It’s hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to have a conversation when he’s staring at me. I hate feeling that out of control.

The moment I reach the bar, Kirby’s already grinning at me, sipping on a soda.

“So, how was it?”

I move to sweep up what’s left of my broken glass, not listening anddefinitelynot responding. Ruby takes a step in front of me, and I poke at her feet with the bristles of the broom.

“Move. You might have some glass under your shoes.”

She remains still, challenging me.

“You like him.”

I can feel a little frustrated snarl bubble up from my throat.

“We’ve had this conversation before.”

“I know. I just like to bug you, but–”

“Uh… guys?”

Kirby’s pinched voice makes my head snap up as she gestures to the front of the bar with a flick of her head.

There’s no way. RenefuckingDeschamps.Again.

“Well, I’ll be goddamned,” Ruby mutters, her fingers brushing against the gun holstered on her thigh.

“I thought you told him to never come back,” Kirby murmurs.

“I did. This fucker doesn’t listen,” I reply with a venom-coated tongue.

I watch him as he saunters through the room, flanked by four vampires who look big and burly enough to tear this place to shreds, along with everyone in it. Fucking great.

What’s more interesting to me, though, is the young woman on his arm. She has dark circles under her eyes and pale, almost sickly looking skin. Her arms are twig-like with little to no muscle definition, and her face is sunken and sallow. She clings to Rene, swaying slightly as she stares up at him with adoration. I don’t see fangs when she smiles, and the liquor in my stomach threatens to crawl right back up my throat.

“Jesus, is that a human with him?” Kirby squeaks.

“I think so,” Ruby whispers. “Looks like she might be his own personal feeder.”

This is a vampire only bar. If there are other humans in here besides the staff, it fucks with our bottom line. He’s poking at my boundaries, flaunting his power. I continue to track him as he moves through the crowd. Vamps stumble backward to move out of his way. I can see the arrogance flooding his body as he struts toward a table and motions for a group to vacate it.

“Motherfucker,” Kirby spits. “The fuck does he think he’s doing?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “But I’m gonna find out.”

I throw the broom on the floor and grab my gun from under the bar, heading straight for him. The only thing I can feel is scorching rage. I want to make him pay for what he did to Kirby.

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