Page 95 of Blood and Bonbons

A full-body tremor ran through him, and he took a deep breath.

“While I’m grateful we’re aware of this change in their feeding habits, I’m not happy how we came by this information.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Vena said, and I knew she was thinking about how a vampire den would be related to Miles.

“Which part?” Shepard demanded angrily. “The part where you and Everly almost died by whatever killed everything in there, or the part where vampires are now smart enough that they would have kept you and Everly alive indefinitely as donors? Do you understand what kind of hellish existence that would have been? You were this close–” He held up his thumb and index finger indicating less than an inch.

“Shepard,” Anchor said softly.

Did he think Shepard was saying too much? Because I didn’t think he was saying enough.

“Hellish existence?” I questioned before I could stop myself. “I thought vampires created a bond with their donors.”

Shepard shook his head at me. “No. Historically, vampires leave a trail of bodies in their wake. That’s what made an infestation easier to spot. This level of forethought makes our job harder.”

“Were there donors there?” Fear and worry painted Vena’s face.

“Yeah. The dead dancers and guards you saw when you left. Based on the marks we found on their bodies, they had been there for a while.”

I could see Vena’s mind racing. She didn’t disappoint with the questions that poured out of her mouth.

“You said den. Does that mean there was more than one vampire there? Did you kill them?”

“There were none there,” Anchor said. “I could smell at least a dozen, but most of those were older. Three scents were fresh.”

A dozen vampires roaming around D.C. didn’t sound like a good thing.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now you get ready for your shift and forget that you ever went to that place. And you are never going back again. Am I clear? If you need more money, don’t look for another job. Come to me. I take care of my own.”

I nodded, more than ready for this conversation to be over so I could forget this day ever happened.

“What about Juicy?” Vena asked. “Are you going to let them keep doing business as usual?”

“No. We’ll take care of it tonight. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Vena’s brows went up, and she glanced at me. “Was that a ‘don’t worry your pretty little head about anything’ talk down?”

I grabbed her by the arm.

“We’ll stay out of it. Thank you, Shepard,” I said in a rush as I pulled her toward the stairs.

“Do I look like I’m incapable?” she asked me.

“You did get us locked in a blood farm disguised as a night club, so yeah. Maybe you do,” I said in a hissed whisper as we descended the stairs. “We’re lucky all we got was a condescending tone.”

I stopped us at the bottom and turned toward her.

“You know that too, don’t you?” I demanded.

Her expression fell, and she pulled me into a hug.

“I am sorry, Ev. Really. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

I hugged her back. “I know. Just…no more risks, okay? We’re no use to anyone locked in a room or drained of blood.”

“Okay. You’re right.”

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