I let my hand release him, and he slumped against the wall, face still expressionless. “That's why this time, I need to be careful. Plan everything in detail. I am not going to let this one get away.” I turned away from him, heading down to the iron door at the end of the hallway.
I was going to be out of commission for a bit, and I wanted some of the basics covered by the time I came out. “While I am indisposed, I need you to clean the room next to mine. Also, order a metal collar. One that will shock you if you go a certain distance.” I won't make the same mistakes again.
“Yes, sir.” He cleared his throat. “As for your new business venture?”
I opened the metal door and was immediately met with the smell of damp and dark, stale air. The kind that has been sealed away for too long. The depressing nature of it has already taken the shaky edge off. Yes. I needed this time to cool off. Get my head on straight.
“They can wait, Cain. I should only be unreachable for forty-eight hours. They shouldn't need too much money before then. We are in the last stage of acquiring protection, and then we should be up and running.” Then the real cash was going to start flowing. Bringing in high-grade drugs for supernaturals was a lucrative business since they needed their own brand of drugs. It also meant they would pay a premium for it.
I learned in prison that Rodriguez was getting soft, trying to rub too many elbows with the straight and narrow folks, and his power in prison started to diminish. Once that happened, it was only a short time before the sharks knew you were getting weak, and I saw my opening. A new venture that could make me richer than even my parents were.
I slammed the door behind me, not waiting for Cain’s response, before I turned the wheel and locked the door. Then I heard a knock on the other side, signaling that Cain had flipped over the locks. I was officially locked in with nothing but my thoughts, though I was used to it by now.
No, I needed this time to detox and plan. I needed money to get my aristocratic family name back in good standing with the elders. Then they would allow me the power to run my own section. This would simplify running the drugs, but I needed the money fast first.
I stepped down the creaky stairs, delving further into the darkness of the makeshift cell I had made here for the last bloodlust. It was where I would go when it became too much to keep under control, and that day I hit Elaine was the day that I missed coming down here. It all could’ve been avoided if I had just been down here in the heat of it all.
I thought back to the taste of this siren's blood, licking my lips as saliva gathered in my mouth. I was already salivating at the thought of drinking her blood. Then, to top it off, she wasn’t hard to look at.
Elaine was a ten out of ten in the looks department, and she had a naive outlook about the world that was endearing. More like a young vampire's preferred pick, but this new one, she was a different kind of woman.
She was gorgeous, but she had an edge, like her mind was thinking even while talking to you. She looked absolutely delectable in that biker girl outfit, all dressed in leather and showing all her tan skin. Skin that made my fangs throb to bite into. Her blood had not only a sweet taste but a slightly bitter salty one, too. Like a sea-salted caramel that melted in your mouth but had complex flavors. Her blood was even better than I remembered it to be.
I learned while I was trying to track down Elaine that sirens were few and far between on the main island. That the queen of the sirens had a tight grip on any siren leaving the island and that finding one was like a diamond on the rough. It would make finding my lone wolf easier and harder, but I would. Once I tasted blood, I never lost the scent. I never lost my focus.
I will find you, little siren, and then I’m going to keep you like the little pet Elaine couldn't be.I won't make the same mistakes anymore. I will keep my addiction with me at all times, letting her know with the constant piercing of my fangs who she belonged to.
I can't wait.
Chapter 7
Whatthehellwastaking them so long? I sent Duce on a simple mission, find out what that fucker Killian wanted. I even sent Bricks to be his muscle so that if Killian started some shit, he would be covered, but they should've already been back by now.
"Don't worry, Prez. They should be back soon." Dino clapped his hand on my back as I stood on the main house porch. "If anything, Duce will be back purely because he wouldn't leave his sister." I know that was supposed to be comforting, but it wasn't. My treasurer was good with numbers, finance, and intel. You would think with his dark features, purple eyes, and Hispanic lit, he would have all the friends, but he was worse than me when it came to social skills. I thought about that for a second, and I realized all of us are, all of us but Duce. That's why he’s my VP. He was the calm to my storm.
I could feel my wolf underneath my skin, his thunder of a growl always in my throat. Ever since the day Duce, Emma, and I escaped our cages, my wolf was constantly watching, waiting for the moment my strict control over him would waiver. I didn't get the name Rabid for nothing.
I looked around the darkness of the surrounding forest again and saw nothing. Not a blade of grass swayed, and I didn’t sense it. This whole compound was surrounded by woods and gates with an ocean beachfront in the back, making this the perfect place to hole up if shit went down. I was always making plans for if shit went down. It's been my lifelong goal to never be helpless again, and I have kept them up in terms of safety, but whenever I need to split up my guys, it's hard not to worry. Not to feel like it would be my fault if they came home hurt, or worse, didn’t come home at all.
Emma would skin me alive if her brother didn't make it home. So, where the fuck are they?
I had already checked my clock twice, and I refused to do it again. I heard Dino chuckle behind me as he went back inside. "Tag. You're it."
I felt Gears saddle up next to me. His calm indifference made some of my nerves disappear. I heard something spinning, and I looked down to see one of his hands was holding a motorcycle fidget spinner that he was flicking with one finger while he was holding his phone in the other hand. The bright screen of his phone lit up his chiseled features, his green eyes practically glowing as he looked down at the several red dots on his screen. "GPS says they should be here soon."
I focused on the screen and saw two red dots moving. I pointed at his phone, "When the fuck did you do that?" That could've saved me a lot of anxiety if I knew they had something like that on them.
His expression didn't change as he looked out into the darkness. "This morning after Church. When I told them I was going to do maintenance."
"Good." Then the thought hit me, and I whispered out the side of my mouth. "Can you do that to all of them?"
Gears turned his neck slowly, still giving me that dead expression as he replied, "On it." I thought I caught a flash of excitement in his eyes, but it was gone so fast that I didn't know for sure.
Gears was a character, always had been. Just with the way he acts, you wouldn't be able to tell he was the youngest of the group at twenty-nine. Even when I picked him up off the floor covered in cuts and bruises in the bathroom of those underground robot fights, some of the guys questioned my decision to bring him on, saying that he wouldn't fit in. It was one of the best choices that I have made. Even with his quiet and awkward looks, he was as loyal as they came and smart as a whip. He earned some cred with the crew when he built a bike out of spare parts, which ran better than the ones we just bought. Then everyone accepted my road captain like he had been there from the beginning.
I heard a familiar rumble in the distance, and I faced forward as I crossed my arms, keeping my agitation in check. Reminding myself that I sent them in my stead so I wouldn't get blinding mad, wolf out, and tear Killian's face off in neutral territory.
Bricks and Duce rolled up. My hands tensed on my bicep when I caught a glimpse of a woman clutching onto Duce's front.Damn it, Duce.I resisted rolling my eyes at him. He had a strong streak of a white knight complex, which meant he often brought back strays and orphans that he shouldn’t.
