Page 61 of Forever Midnight

“But have you ever tried a heavy drug user?” Thorn asks, grinning again. “Divine, I tell you.”

“Too bitter,” I mumble.

“That’s because you’ve only tasted dabblers,” Thorn says. “Why do you think I hang out in the drug dens? Bonus, they require no compulsion. They won’t remember anything anyway. No witnesses because no one is paying attention. It’s really quite perfect.”

“If you say so.” Dragging a hand through my hair, I lean back against the sofa cushions. “I don’t want to taste anyone other than Tru.”

“You haven’t yet?” Eros asks.

“No, but the temptation is overwhelming me. I don’t want to lose control and bite without his consent. I already had to compel him over the piano incident.”

“When are you going to tell him?” Thorn asks.

Pressure builds in my chest just from his question. “I have no idea. I was close the other night before we were interrupted to go hunt vampires. He demanded I stop keeping secrets, but I’m terrified.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like it was,” Thorn says. “He’s not the same as Benedict.”

“True,” Eros says.

“And he’s considering it,” Thorn continues. “It wasn’t like that before.”

“I know.”

“And if he’s going to continue going out with us, he deserves to know,” Thorn says.

“Since when are you the voice of reason?” I ask.

Thorn grins. “I have my moments.”

* * *

It’s been hours since I heard from Tru. Worse than that, he hasn’t replied to my text message. I suppose he could be with family, but a sense of foreboding clings to me. My instincts tell me something is wrong, but I don’t know what. Did he decide being with me is too much to risk? Would he just leave without talking to me about it? I don’t believe it.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I retrieve it quickly, knowing it can only be Tru.

“Hello, chaton féroce. Are you ready to come back?”

“Midnight?” Tru’s voice is shaking, causing me to sit up straight from my position on my sofa.

“Tru. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know where I’m at. I don’t know…” He groans. “Oh shit. I’m hurt.”

“Fuck! I’ll come for you.”

“But…It’s dark. I think maybe it’s an old building or warehouse. There’s dripping water. I can…can hear it. And it echoes.”

“You’re alone?” I ask, already rising and heading to the common area to collect my brothers.

“For now. Yeah.”

“Who did this?”

“Vinni.”

Rage swirls through me so powerfully I nearly stumble, my beast pushing to the surface. “I will find you.”

“I know,” Tru whispers. “I know you will.”

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