I ignored him, falling into my right-hand-man role as I put my hands behind my back. “Look, we need to go help Rayla, so—”
“Cosmo. Rayla needs us.” Rick appeared at the door, already looking tired. I bet she was already running him ragged. I nodded, turning to head out when he said, “All of you. She needs all of us. She called a meeting of the captains...” he gulped, eyes narrowing on me as he finished, “in the dungeons.” His face told me all I needed to know, and that was that it would be bloody.
I took a deep breath as I continued. “I guess you all are going to get a crash course in how the Desmonds run this clan.” I gave them my only words of advice. “Time to sack up.” We were heading into the vampire’s den.
1.Bad Bitch by Bebe Rexha
Chapter 24
Theclicksofourfeet on the stone stairs as we descended echoed so loudly it was hard to concentrate on anything but the dirty gray stones and menacing waves in the air. Cosmo led the way to the famous Desmond dungeons. While I was concerned for my father, he was one of the strongest people I knew, and I doubted he got captured so easily. It was more likely that he wanted to escape his responsibilities with his buddies, but there was always a chance, so I was taking this seriously.
“This is usually where we take people when they need to remember something violently, or sometimes Ternin likes to make punishment worse than death, so they are kept down here long-term. He has a special room for that, only him and Rayla can enter. The rest of the place is encased in a silence spell as well as an odor spell. You don’t want to know what it really smells like down here.” With his instructor voice on, Cosmo seemed like he was an excellent number two. I didn’t get around to getting a number two, too busy with work or chasing tail that I never put the work in finding a proper right-hand man, but now that I had found my mate, I think I need one. I didn’t think I could be parted with her long-term, but I needed someone in place back in New York to run things.
My mate... I still didn’t hold her mark. My chest squeezed, a sharp pain shot through me at the thought, the thought that my bond with her was still one-sided. I was the only one, and it was burning me up inside. I wanted to march up to her and demand for her to bite me, to take just a little nibble. She said she didn’t even take blood from Ax, so all I needed was her teeth on my skin, then I would feel complete.
We entered a large stone room, and the first thing I noticed was that it was bare, just four cobblestone walls, which made you wonder what this room was used for. I took a few steps and wobbled as the floor dipped. What the hell was wrong with this floor? That’s when I discovered a small grate at the center of the room, the floor gradually angling toward that grate.
There was a line of seven vampires along the wall, all dressed in black and standing at attention. A few flicked their eyes toward us, and annoyance stewed beneath their gazes. I itched to show those young pups who they were staring at. The older seasoned ones kept their eyes straight, waiting patiently for what would happen.
Ax called out to Cosmo, “What’s going on?”
The door slammed open as Rayla stomped in wearing these tight, high-rise black jeans, ankle boots, and a silky, spaghetti-strap blouse that dipped so low in the front my mouth went dry. While her outfit was edible, her usually bright-pink jeweled eyes took on a darker, deadly shade. There were no smiles, none of her usual cocky confidence, as all that was present was a cold seriousness, a deadly aura that wafted off her in droves. Her tone was deeper, more matter-of-fact. “What’s going on is we are having a captains meeting.” Her eyes flicked toward us as she nodded, then focused on her prey.
Once she was in the middle of the room, she turned on her heel toward the captains. “You seven were the ones that knew what the bosses were doing. Finn and Rin, you are my dad’s most trusted bodyguards.” They were also the only two that looked like twins. “Yethin and Conel, you were on front guard duty. Peter and Jackson, you were the ones in charge of coordinating with the guards from the other families, and Ben, you run security. Each and every one of you were the last ones to see the bosses, and now they are gone. The heirs and I are excited to hear what your explanations are for your massive failures. Please”—she motioned to us before crossing her arms again—“enlighten us.” Her silent words said, talk or you will die now.
The dark-haired, wiry one on the end was the first to speak. Judging off looks, he seemed to be Ben, the one on security. He looked like he watched a monitor for a living. “I watched as they finished their meeting in the office at 8:52 p.m., then they entered the garage at 9:12 p.m., with a clock out at the main gate at 9:17 p.m. with no return time.”
A ruddy, red-haired one with a crooked nose stepped forward. “Before the bosses left the office, Jackson and I talked with the head guards from each family. They informed us that each boss told them that they didn’t need their services since they were traveling together in one car, saying that one set of guards was enough.” He promptly stepped back in line.
Rayla did a half turn, raising an eyebrow, as if to ask our opinion on his claims. While I would need to talk to my people for a concrete answer, I nodded, knowing that was something my father would do. In my peripheral, Falcon and Ax nodded, giving their best serious boss faces. So, all of our fathers were assholes who actively chose convenience over danger.Great.
The one she called Yethin stepped forward, his long hair was pulled back as his almond-shaped eyes shined green, and his partner was more relaxed, slouching like he was bored. Rayla’s attention was on Yethin, motioning to him to proceed. His eyes shifted around, and nervous energy floated off him in waves. “When the bosses came out, they all got into one car and told us Fin and Rin were following them.”
She tilted her head to the left, looking at the two most senior ones as they kept their heads and backs straight. They looked oddly familiar, yet I couldn’t pin down how I knew them.
One of the twins stepped forward, speaking in a clear and firm tone. “We followed them all night. They made a few incidental stops, visiting some shop owners. Then they ditched us in the crowd at the Granada Casino. We have already searched their security and saw that they ran us in a few circles before all of them left individually out the service entrance that led down the alley. They had a black unmarked car waiting for them and headed north.” He took a step back, his report finished.
Rayla’s jaw clenched as she gripped her biceps, trying to keep her frustration in as her face was the paragon of empty emotions. The other one stepped forward. Even though they were identical blond twins, the one that had stepped up had a large scar through his eye. “We are currently collecting street view recordings to see where they went, but that will take some time to collect and sort though.”
Out of everyone here, those two seemed like they were doing the most to actually figure out any details, but it was their fault for losing them.
Rayla’s cool, irritated voice called out, “I thought you two would’ve learned your lesson when I shot you in the knees.”Oh! That’s how I knew them.They brought her to the first meeting knocked out. “I don’t allow for second chances, boys.” Then she paced in front of them. “You are all at fault for this, all contributing issues that led to losing the bosses. Punishments will be made.”
The bored-looking one who was partnered with Yethin snapped out under his breath, “Punishment? How the fuck was this our fault.”
Yethin was obviously the smart one as he nudged his partner, Conel, I think, to shut up. Conel pushed him back as he rolled his eyes. Even I knew that wasn’t the smartest move. I didn’t know if he thought Rayla couldn’t see what he was doing or that she just didn’t care, but it was a bad look for him. I hoped Rayla taught him a lesson. Maybe punch him in the face, kick him in the balls, something painful.
There was only a second, just one, of utter silence. Fin and Rin pursed their mouths but that was all they did, and the rest of them gave the mouthy guy the side-eye until Rayla reacted.
She zoomed, pouncing on him like a lioness taking down a gazelle. She grabbed the side of his face and smashed his head into the stone floor. Blood started to flow, but she wasn’t done yet. As she crawled on top of him and pinned him to the floor, it reminded me of a spider that had caught her prey and was now playing with it.
“You think you’re worth something? That you have a high enough position in this family that you are indispensable?” The fingers she was using to pin his head to the floor started to curl, and her nails dug into his face and eyes. She turned her attention to those still in line, looking up at them with a beastly dare, hoping one of them would say something, do something out of line.
When none of them did, only giving her a few skittish glances, some of them quivering in fear, she scoffed and went back to her prey, giving him her full attention. “None of you are indispensable. None of you are irreplaceable. All of you have pledged your lives to this family, to the Desmond name, and that means weownyou.” The guy beneath her squirmed, trying to get away from her, but she wouldn’t have it.
She reared her head back, fangs on full display before she viciously tore into this man’s neck, and his throat gurgled with blood as she pushed too deep. She tore herself away, blood running out of her mouth, down her chin and chest, coating her in the crimson stain as she smiled. “You see, if you do not give one hundred and ten percent to your job, your life’s on the line.” There was a flash of silver before she sliced up the front of this guard’s chest. His cries echoed in the room, but she kept going like she didn’t hear a word. “If your charge goes missing, then it’s your hide on the line because it’s your fucking job.”
She dug her fingers into the deep cut she made, taking a beat to look down at him before he screamed in terror at her tearing his chest apart. Her eyes sparkled like a prism, showing all the colors that marked her as being alive as she was brutally killing this man. She got a good grip on him, and his broken gurgles made the scene even more gruesome as he couldn’t talk or cry with the blood filling up his airways, he just spewed more and more blood.
