They made over twice what I made. For doing nothing but sitting in a room twice a week waiting for a vampire to choose them for a donation.
"Holy hell, how much money do you guys have?" I asked.
Anton regarded me with amusement. "All of us are centuries old, and you know what they say, you can never go wrong by investing in real estate. Thomas owns a chunk of East Broadway. That's not even the extent of his properties."
I swallowed hard. A lot of that land was filled with buildings twenty stories tall. The rent from the offices alone would make him a wealthy man.
Anton's smile was sharp. "Vampires are as obsessed with accumulating wealth as we are blood. It's best to remember that."
I blinked. I didn't think I would be able to forget after this.
We started walking again, heading downstairs toward the basement gym.
Anton didn't look at me as he paused in the act of opening the door. "What you did for Nathan before the Wild Hunt—that was a good thing."
I eyed his back warily. "Nathan's my friend. No words necessary. The world would be a much darker place without him in it."
Anton's head tilted and he sent me an astonished look. "I didn't realize any of us were your friends."
I shrugged. "Surprised me too."
But it was true.
I didn't think I imagined his faint smile before he opened the door and stepped inside.
I followed, asking myself why vampires always acted so damn weird.
NINE
ANTON PRECEDED ME into the gym as he prowled in the direction of Nathan and several of the other enforcers.
"Coming?" he asked over his shoulder.
"What's this about?" I asked, left with no choice but to follow.
He shrugged, a gesture much more elegant on him than others. "We're in a gym. I imagine we'll do something physical."
I scowled at Anton's back. Was that a vein of sarcasm I detected? Be still my heart. If he hadn't been such a jerk since I'd met him, there would be definitely be friend potential there.
After a moment’s consideration, I shook my head. Naw. My friend card was already overflowing with vampires since the addition of Nathan. No need to get crazy and add more.
As we crossed the gym, I took a second to study it. No matter how many times I came here, I was always surprised at how ginormous this place was. It had little in common with the typical home workout setup that you’d find in a mundane human’s house. This place had top of the line everything.
And I did mean everything.
The weights, punching bags, and various other equipment had been modified with vampires in mind. A wall lined with mirrors allowed you to keep your eye on your form—or admire your sexy self, depending on your preferences.
Taking up half the space was a full-length basketball court, which was where we found Nathan bouncing a ball while chatting with his fellow enforcers.
Tonight, the gym held only a few vampires, some of whom I recognized. A human that I didn’t recognize had parked himself on one of the weight benches, his face marked with concentration as he finished his set.
Nathan face brightened as he noticed us. "Aileen, finally. What took you guys so long?"
"I wasn't aware we had plans." In fact, I was kind of surprised we were down here considering Liam’s threat of finding Thomas.
"We got caught up in the feeding room," Anton answered, nodding a hello to Daniel and Makoto beside Nathan.
I tensed, bracing myself. He didn’t say anything else about what had happened there, instead surveying those assembled. "Do we have enough players?"
