Page 73 of Heathens

Something like this would have taken years to get right, and would have required a level of sophisticated knowledge that’s beyond me. I scan the rest of the page, unable to really piece it all together on the spot. It looks complex, almost like a puzzle. I used to love solving puzzles, but this would take time.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know,” he replies. “We found it in one of Rene’s labs. All I know is it’s important to him, and I want to exploit it.”

He’s either stupid, reckless or desperate, and I don’t know which would be worse.

“You want me to make something you know nothing about; that you stole from the most dangerous man in the city?”

He runs a hand through his hair and paces across the room, his body twitching beneath his shirt as he clenches and flexes his fingers.

“We know it’s some kind of drug, and vampire blood seems to be the key. As far as we can tell, he wants to start a whole new industry.”

He doesn’t sound confident.

“Do you have more information?” I ask. “More notes? Anything?”

“That’s all we took before we torched the lab,” he replies with a shake of his head. “Well, there’s some stuff in a bag too, but we don’t know much about it.”

He’s going to get me fucking killed. If he stole this from Rene, the bastard will want it back. He’ll hunt Dominic down for it.

“So you brought me here for this?”

He rushes to my side and puts his hand on my cheek, eyes desperate and wild.

“I need you. We can’t find anyone who will–”

“This is dangerous, not to mention stupid.”

“I’ll give you anything you want.”

What I want is my life back. What I want is to go for a fucking walk outside without worrying about being torn to shreds. What I want is to walk into my son’s bedroom and see him coloring at his little Fisher Price desk while his dad watches TV downstairs.

I want the chance to watch Charlie grow up, not stare at a picture of him frozen in time and wonder what could have been. But I can’t have that. Everything I’ve ever known and loved has been ripped away from me, and all that’s left is my club, Ruby, and this fucked up relationship with vampire I barely know.

“You can’t give me what I want,” I whisper.

Dominic’s knuckles brush my cheek, the metal from his rings almost the same temperature as his skin. I look down at the formula in my hands, the tears in my eyes making it difficult to read it anymore.

“Look I– I need time to think about this.”

He grows contemplative, a cloud of self-control obscuring his features as he brushes my hair behind my ear.

“We have all the time in the world, little dove.”

SOFIE

Dominic's Lab

“Ihaven’tevensaidyes yet, Dominic,” I mutter as the elevator doors open.

“I know. I just wanted to show you where you might be working, given you make the right decision.”

It only took a couple minutes for his more serious demeanor to melt away, and when he offered I couldn’t deny the opportunity to see the lab. I’m nothing if not curious.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

He’s silent as I trail behind him, heading down a long, dark corridor. I can feel my anxiety spike as I take in my surroundings. It’s nothing he’s said or done, but something feels off.

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