Page 41 of Forever Midnight

The three vampires take off, disappearing into the night. Thorn releases my arm once I relax.

“Who the fuck is that douchebag?” Syn asks.

Yves exhales, twisting his neck back and forth. “An old friend.Formerfriend.”

“Did you fuck?” Thorn teases with a grin.

“No. We did not. Not for lack of trying on Dimas’s part. He never sat right with me. There’s something unhinged about his energy that makes me wary.”

“If he touched you one more time I was going to tear his arm off,” Syn growls.

Yves smiles. “Save your protective streak for your mate. I can handle Dimas.”

“I still don’t like it,” Syn grumbles.

“Yeah, he’s gross,” Eros says.

“Bad vibes,” Thorn agrees.

“At least he didn’t kill Vinni,” is all I have to say. “Now, we have to find him. We need those tapes and the money to keep Dimas out of our territory.”

“Go back and be with Tru,” Thorn says, patting my back. “I’m fired up after that interaction. I need to burn some energy off. I can start hunting.”

“I’ll stay with Thorn,” Eros offers.

“But I should go with you,” I say.

Yves grips my shoulder. “Thorn is right. Let them hunt. You’ll be called when Vinni is found.”

Exhaling slowly, I nod. “Okay.”

Reluctantly, I let them lead me back while Yves and Syn catch Viv up on what went down. By the time I enter my unit and kick off my shoes, I’m ready to sink into bed next to Tru, but when I enter the bedroom, it’s empty.

Tru is gone.

ChapterEighteen

TRU

Gah, I hope Midnight finds the note I left. I couldn’t sit still anymore. Not when my brain wouldn’t stop taunting me with thoughts of Vinni getting away with all of this. The nightmare I had of waking up and finding the scandal all over the news pushed me over the edge. I have to do something. I can’t sit around waiting for Midnight to act.

Guilt tugs at my chest. He’s been so awesome, and I just took off like a dickhead. Ugh. What is my problem with getting close to people? Midnight is too perfect, too gorgeous, too…special. If I’m honest with myself, I know my panic isn’t only about Vinni. It’s about my growing need to be close to Midnight. It’s the images every time I close my eyes of the two of us tangled in the sheets, our bodies moving in sync, our breaths shared.

The weirdest part of it all is how familiar it feels. It takes me months to get naked with someone—I’ve known Midnight for barely a week. Hell, most of that time was just fleeting interactions. So why does it feel like he’s in my veins, flowing like blood, sustaining me?

I had to get out of there. Had to break away from how good he smells. Had to shake off the weird tingling I get when I touch his things. Finding Vinni was just a good excuse.

But the streets are quiet tonight. I wonder if the cops are lingering around or something. The usual clusters of troublemakers are absent. Even the streets where the sex workers hang out are mostly empty. It’s like something came in and scared everyone away.

As I walk, hands shoved in the pockets of my jacket, I swear I see a shadow up ahead, but when I blink, it’s gone. Now I’m seeing shit. Cool.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, then head down the street where Vinni and his gang usually are, but the warehouse is silent. Where the fuck is he?

Pausing on the sidewalk, I consider where I should go next. I could try the dive bar they sometimes go to, but the owner is armed and doesn’t put up with any drama.

A hand on my shoulder from behind makes me gasp. I turn around swinging on whoever it is, only to find Thorn. He grabs my fist, gently lowering it with a wide smile on his face.

“What are you doing out here without Midnight?”

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