Page 113 of Blood and Bonbons

“I hope it’s paid time off,” Sierra said under her breath.

“It will be. And I’ll cover any medical bills, too.”

“And ruined clothes?”

He stiffly nodded to her. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Doc said.

The others quickly jumped on the escort to their cars even though a few police cars were still parked outside. By unspoken agreement, Vena and I hung back.

The bar was an absolute mess. The floor was soaked, and broken glass was everywhere. Partially eaten food was sitting at the tables, and I could smell a hint of smoke coming from the kitchen.

Shepard pulled out his phone to send a message.

Knowing that everyone was safe for now, my adrenaline crashed, and I began shaking. He looked up from his phone and noticed. Of course he did.

Before I could tell him I was fine, he pulled me into a hug that had my face pressed against his chest. After everything, it felt too good to pass up. I wilted into him as he rubbed my back.

“Go with Anchor, and check in with me tomorrow,” he murmured. “I have things I need to do now.”

“Like what?” Vena asked.

“Nothing for either of you to worry about.”

Reluctantly, I detached myself from his chest. “I overheard one of the officers. Some of the attackers couldn’t remember how they’d gotten here. He used the word compelled. Vampires were controlling those people, weren’t they?”

He nodded. “It was retaliation for destroying Juicy. I should have been more careful. I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that,” I said.

His jaw clenched for a moment before he said, “I can, and I did. I protect the people I care about, Everly. They’ll learn the consequences of bringing the war to my door. There is no room for them in my city.”

“Them? The vampires or the regular people they sent to fight for them?”

“Not regular people,” Anchor said. “Feeders. I’ve never seen anything like it before. They had identical tattoos to cover up bite marks on their necks and needle tracks on their inner arms. The ones at Juicy had the same.”

“Did you take a picture of these vamp stamps?” Vena asked.

Anchor nodded but glanced at Shepard.

“Show it to them when you get to their house. They’ll be safer if they know what to watch for.”

Shepard looked at me.

“I won’t harm a compelled human if I can help it. Killing the vampires that control them will fix the problem. Don’t worry, we’ll find and eliminate the vampires. Until then, get used to seeing Anchor on your couch.”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

“What about Pam and everyone else?”I asked. “Will they have someone to stay with them, too?”

“Don’t worry,” Shepard said. “Everyone will have an extra set of eyes on them at night until we resolve this. But you’re the only two who will know it. Understand?”

I nodded quickly then followed Anchor as he escorted us to our car. Once Vena started the engine, he hopped into his truck.

I waited until Vena pulled out of the lot to ask, “Did you see the vamp stamps?”

“I saw a neck tattoo on the guy trying to get into the office, but I was too focused on trying not to get killed to study it. What about you?”

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