Page 5 of Benicio

What if it had been Shayde who’d had to face judgment? Or Zach?

It killed him even thinking about his mate being killed. His fangs wanted to descend just picturing Benicio killing Zach. His stomach twisted, and his heart picked up speed. Shayde had to push that thought out of his mind. It wasn’t going to happen. Benicio wasn’t there for Shayde.

Or was he? Shayde was, after all, Eleazar’s second-in-command, and Benicio might hold him just as responsible for the mess. Now it was Shayde who was considering running with his mate. He would be damned if he allowed Benicio to kill him and leave Zach in this world all alone.

But Shayde wasn’t going to run and leave Eleazar to face the ancient vampire alone. All they could do was wait and see what Benicio was going to do.

* * * *

Benicio came to. His mind was a bit foggy, but he knew he was lying down. The pain had gotten so intense that he’d passed out.

He lay there, waiting for the pain to return, but for now, it was manageable. He knew he was in his room, because he’d spent the previous night staring up at the gossamer curtains that surrounded the four-poster bed. This wasn’t his home though, only a rental, and he yearned to be in his own bed.

But duty called, and Benicio had to answer. He was the head of the council, but even he had people he had to answer to. Vampires who wouldn’t hesitate to take him out if he became lax. Vampires who weren’t as old as him but were close enough in age that they wielded their own special kinds of power.

Benicio turned his head when he heard a slight exhale. David was in the room, sitting in an antique chair, watching him.

“Are you okay now?” he asked. “You had me worried, and I didn’t want to leave you to find Matteo. I was afraid you’d die and he would blame me.”

The guy worried about himself a lot. Then again, so did Benicio. Aside from Matteo, there was no one Benicio truly cared about. His family had died off from various reasons over the millennia. Benicio had killed his own father. His mother had been poisoned. His beloved sister was beheaded.

Benicio was the last of his lineage, and that made for one lonely existence. He couldn’t trust anyone around him. Either they wanted to befriend him for his money and power or they wanted him dead.

Matteo had been the only constant in his life. The vampire was like a son to him.

“Is your brain on delay?” David asked, cutting into Benicio’s thoughts.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you’re not answering me and you have this weird look on your face.” David had pulled his legs onto the chair and wrapped his arms around them. He appeared so small and fragile, vulnerable. His earlier snarkiness was a front, a shield he used so he wouldn’t be hurt. Benicio knew the signs all too well.

David was also a good-looking guy. Not in a classical sense. He was rough around the edges, lacked grace and civility, but Benicio saw him as a diamond in the rough. There was an innocence behind those whiskey-brown eyes.

“I don’t need a nursemaid.” Benicio slowly sat up, relieved the excruciating pain hadn’t returned.

“I think you do,” David said. “Do you pass out much?”

“No,” Benicio bit out, angered that the street rat had seen him weak. He also needed to stop thinking of David as a street rat. The guy had confessed to having a home, and he knew how to hustle. Benicio had smelled the fear pouring off the vampire, but David had stuck to his guns.

The guy had stayed when Benicio passed out, was concerned about him, and that should count for something.

“So, which room is mine?”

“Take your pick.”

“I did, but you said this was yours,” David said. “It’s growing on me. Are you sure you don’t want another room so I can have this one?”

Benicio scowled. “There are twenty rooms in this mansion. You’re not staying in this one.”

“Fine.” David seemed amused. “If you pass out again, I’m taking this room. I’ll just shove your unconscious body out of the way.”

A bark of laughter escaped Benicio. He was just as shocked as David looked. When was the last time he’d laughed? It seemed like ten lifetimes ago. The last person who’d made him openly laugh was his sister, but she was gone, and Benicio couldn’t recall feeling such joy since.

Emelia had always brought a smile to Benicio’s face. She had been the most beautiful woman, the most caring vampire. Benicio would have laid down his life for her, but he hadn’t been there to protect her. He couldn’t even remember the date of her death.

It had to have been at least twenty-five hundred years ago.

His chest ached as he remembered her. What he wouldn’t give to have her back. What hurt the most was that he couldn’t even recall what she looked like.

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