Page 11 of Benicio

“I have no idea.” James shrugged, but David smelled the worry on the human. “He left last night to get some booze, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“I could go look for him.”

James shook his head. “Don’t you go poking around on the streets, son. It’s dangerous out there. Me and Deon were harassed two nights ago by some of the men who used to belong to Raiden’s crew. Go inside your warm and cozy apartment. Deon will find his way back here.”

The Ridgeway Riders and the Council of Darkness were one and the same now. Both had the same members, though they didn’t advertise publicly about their secret group. If they were harassing James and Deon, David was going to put an end to it.

It was one thing to go after vampires. They were strong and could most often defend themselves. But it made David livid to know that those assholes were targeting helpless humans. “Are you sure you don’t want to crash in my apartment?”

James shook his head. “I have to stay out here in case Deon returns.” He tapped the untouched container. “He has dinner waiting for him.”

David crawled out of the tent and looked around. Deon had to be out there somewhere, and David was determined to find him.

* * * *

“My sources tell me we have a heavy hitter in town, boys.” Hound flipped the chair backward before he straddled it. “We take down the ancient vampire, all will fear us.”

“We need money, not fear,” Mack said. “We can’t eat and party off of fear.” He chucked a thumb over his shoulder. “You still haven’t told us what we’re going to do with that guy.”

Hound glanced toward the corner where the homeless man lay. It hadn’t been easy filling Cash’s shoes. Most had resisted, and Hound had to prove he could lead them by blood and sweat and taking on most of the men and defeating them to take his rightful place. Where Cash had fucked up was trying to stay hidden.

Hound wasn’t going to make that mistake. He was going to openly declare war on the vampires and wolf shifters. Cash had made another mistake. He’d ignored the fact that wolf shifters existed, as if they were too insignificant to deal with.

Hound knew better.

“He helped a vampire,” Hound said about the homeless guy.

“So why isn’t he dead?” Mack asked. “Why are we keeping him like a fucking pet?”

Because something told Hound that keeping Deon alive, for now, was more important than ending his life. Maybe it was an opportunity to lure in David, the vampire Deon was so fond of. If they could get their hands on David, make his death as brutal as possible, that would lure the heavy hitter out.

Hound had known for a while now that David kept his ear to the ground, told secrets the club would rather not have spilled. If they took David off the streets, permanently, there would be no one to tell the vampires what the Council of Darkness was up to, at least for a while.

David’s information had led to their clubhouse burning down and their club losing some good men.

And Hound was going to make David pay for his loss.

Chapter Four

“Where is he?” Benicio demanded when he discovered that David was no longer at the mansion. He wasn’t even sure why he was so livid. David had kept up his end of the bargain, had given Benicio the information he needed, yet the fact that he’d simply up and left made Benicio fly into a rage.

Matteo was looking at Benicio as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He hadn’t felt this level of anger in a very long time. “Bring the car around.”

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Matteo asked. “David did exactly what you paid him for. He’s free to leave.”

Yet, Benicio couldn’t get the look on David’s face out of his head. The look that said he was truly afraid he would be killed for giving Benicio the information. Benicio had told the vampire that he would protect him, had offered David use of the mansion, but David had left anyway.

Benicio wasn’t even sure why he should care.

Thankfully Matteo lost the shocked look and retrieved the car. As badly as Benicio was hurting, he needed to find David. He needed to reassure himself that the vampire was okay. He didn’t understand why he was so worked up over David’s disappearance. It wasn’t like he cared about the vampire. David was just a means to an end. But the thought of him being harmed filled Benicio with an irrational rage.

As they drove through the city, Benicio couldn’t shake the feeling of desperation that crept over him. He felt as though he was chasing after something that he couldn’t quite grasp, something that would slip away from him once he got too close.

He shoved those feelings aside when they pulled up in front of David’s apartment building. “It’s apartment 3,” Matteo said. “Since you’re getting out before I even put the damn car in Park, I thought you should know.”

He stormed up the stairs to David’s unit and pounded on the door.

“Open up, David!” he yelled.

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