Page 7 of Benicio

But at least Benicio was going to pay him.

Maybe it was time David found another city. Someplace where no one knew him, no one treated him like crap, and he was just another vampire in a city filled with them.

Only, Ridgeway was his home, had been for the past century. Aside from those who treated him poorly, he liked the city. Not everyone blew down on him. There were two people he got along with. Sadly, those two people were human.

It figured he’d find a few who treated him decently and they would be a different species. His life story.

David looked toward the door when he heard shouting. Curious, he got off the bed and moved silently to the door, pressing his ear against the carved wood. Vampires had amazing hearing, but David wanted to make sure he caught every word.

“You’re being unreasonable,” Matteo argued. “You’re not getting any better. Let him help you.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” Benicio argued back. “Send him away.”

Talk about a punch to David’s self-esteem. Benicio didn’t even want him there. He was demanding his assistant make David leave. Did that mean he wouldn’t even get paid? Why didn’t Benicio want the information from him?

Some people were just naturally bitchy, but Benicio took that to the extreme. If he didn’t want David there, then David would bounce. He wasn’t going to stay anywhere he wasn’t welcomed.

He cracked the door open once the arguing had stopped. When he poked his head out, he didn’t see anyone in the hallway. David quietly closed the door behind him and then hurried down the hall.

It sucked that he had to walk all the way back to the city. The mansion was on a long, winding road, and it had taken them nearly forty minutes to get there. David could use his inhuman speed, but he’d hidden the fact that he wasn’t very fast. Not like he should have been.

That was one of many, many reasons his father had treated him like crap. David was the opposite of what a vampire should be.

“Going somewhere?”

David stiffened and turned. Matteo stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Then David’s shoulders sagged, and he shrugged. “I heard your conversation. Kind of hard to miss it when you two were shouting. Benicio doesn’t want me here, so I’m leaving.”

Matteo sighed. “My boss can be…difficult.”

That was one way of putting it.

“Stay,” Matteo said. “You let me handle his surliness, and we’ll discuss our business come tomorrow evening.”

“Why should I stay?” David asked. “He’s done nothing but bite my head off since I met him. I don’t need that kind of bullshit.”

“I’ll double your money.”

Ten grand? David had never seen that kind of money before. Most vampires were filthy rich, but David’s father had been so controlling that he’d taken any money David had earned over the past century. When David refused to keep handing over what he’d earned, that was when his father came up with a lame reason to kick him out.

Not because he was gay or that he hustled. Not because he sucked as a vampire. That hadn’t been reason enough before, although his father had been disparaging David’s entire life. It was when David no longer financially supported him, because Emilio was horrible with money, gambled, and wasted it on the most frivolous things, like a large screen television. It was kind of hard to watch a brand-new TV when your lights were off.

When David had finally put his foot down, he’d gotten booted out. It had taken David a few weeks to earn enough to get himself a tiny, crappy apartment on the lower east side. But it was his and only his. The place might have been a shoebox with lukewarm water, stained ceilings, and a barely working radiator, but it was his.

Taking a huge chance—not because he was greedy, but because it would take millions of dollars to put up with Benicio—David said, “Triple it and I’ll overlook the abuse.”

His stomach clenched, and his heart raced. What if Matteo told him to go fuck himself? What if David had been too greedy and now he wouldn’t get paid anything? He was only trying to look out for himself because no one else did.

“Deal,” Matteo said.

David was giddy. Fifteen thousand dollars? That would pay for over two years’ worth of rent. He could also help out a few of the homeless people who slept in the alley next to his building. David tried to feed them when he could, but money was always tight. He’d once invited James and Deon to his apartment one cold winter’s night, but they’d refused.

Some would call him an idiot for inviting two strangers into his home, but it had been freezing that night, and David couldn’t stand the thought of them shivering in their makeshift tents.

And they were nice to him. The two, and a few others, always said hi to him, treated him like he was worth something, even though most homeless people had a huge mistrust of others.

Once, James had even called David his son. Jokingly, but the guy had no idea how that had touched him.

“Go back to your room,” Matteo said. “I’ll let you know when Benicio is ready for you tomorrow.”

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