This was where Ned took his attempted kills before he staked them out in the sun. The man was likely out prowling for his next victim.
Perfect time for a nap! He’d wake up at the slightest noise, so there was nothing wrong with Harlow getting some well-earned sleep until Ned showed up.
But not in the restraint room. He took the second bedroom that was definitely the late mother’s room—so much pink. Harlow swallowed down the last of the water and dropped the empty bottle in the small trash can in the room. Cracking his neck, he hopped onto the bed, shoes and all, and relaxed back. With a happy sigh this time, he let sleep take him under.
* * *
Foxx should have knownsomething was up when he followed the guy into a house that looked like it was owned by a 90-year-old grandmother. It just didn’t fit with the whole black on black on black outfit the human had going on.
His current predicament really was his own fault. Quite stupid of him to enter the bedroom first, letting Ned get between him and the exit. Foxx stared unimpressed at the cross the human held out. Ned had pulled it out of his pocket the second he’d entered behind him. The man had also closed and locked the door.
Now, this could go one of two ways. One being that the human wanted to become a vampire. Which, in that case, the answer would be hell no. Foxx would probably just kill him during the ‘turning’.
A human who willingly held another hostage does not make a good vampire candidate. Like, Foxx did not want to let such a vampire loose on the world.
But, given the cross, Foxx was betting things were going to go a different way. Which was…
“Do what I say, you abomination, or else!” Ned yelled.
Welp, yep, the whole wanting to murder the evil vampire thing. Foxx crossed his arms and glared. “Or else, what?”
Did anyone really think‘or else’was a genuine threat? Like, it was so vague.
“You don’t want to know!”
“I’m sorry, but who the hell would listen to such a command when it’s obvious you mean me harm? Like, hey, Mr. Brainiac…calling someone an abomination pretty much sums up what the plans are. But oh, yes, let me just jump to do your bidding so you can either stake me and cut my head off, or set me out in the sun to die over many excruciating hours.” Foxx chuckled at such a thought. His words were harsh and mocking by the end.
The human’s face reddened in anger at his sass. “I’m giving you a chance for less pain, and this is how you repay me!” he screamed.
Foxx rolled his eyes. “Gee, how generous,” he scoffed. “Not! I think I’ll stick to killing you over nicely facing whatever bullshit you have planned.”
They both jumped when the door behind Ned burst open with a loud boom, the wood cracking and splintering where the lock had been.
Huh, so that was the other heartbeat he’d heard in the house.Andwhat a heartbeat, Foxx thought as he eyed the man, who was at least six-foot-four, and was standing dangerously in the doorway.
Not tapped into his bloodline, he wasn’t sure of his exact age. Probably at least forty. Some lines were showing around his eyes already, and his hair was turning silver, but that didn’t make the human any less hot. Hawk-like nose, strong jaw, pale skin, and surprisingly light brown eyes. His silver and black hair was shaved short on the sides and longer on top, where it was swept back. The human’s jaw was covered in a short-trimmed beard and mustache that was black, with silver creeping in around the edges. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious wore a well-worn leather jacket that looked to have been repaired multiple times, a black T-shirt, and black jeans paired with thick leather biker boots. He could just tell all that black covered a hell of a lot of muscles.
There was no denying the aura of violence around the human. It was almost as visible as the man’s shadow. Combine that with the man smelling like burning leaves mixed with just the faintest scent of blood, and well, Foxx wanted to tap that. He wanted to bottom that really, really badly. The only off-putting thing about the human was the smell of cigarettes that clung to him—but nobody was perfect.
“W-who are you?!” Ned stuttered in shock. “What are you d-doing in my house?!”
Ned had looked away from Foxx, and now was technically a good chance to attack, but he wanted to see what happened… Unless Mr. Tall, Dark, and Foxy was here to kill him…
* * *
Harlow didn’t botherto answer the clearly shocked Ned. Wanting this job done and over with, and hoping the short cupcake of a vampire standing there didn’t attack him, he stomped forward and grabbed hold of Ned’s neck with his right hand. Before the man had any chance to defend himself, Harlow slammed the guy face-first into the wall.
Ned cried out in pain. “I’m not the vampire!” the human screamed, his hands clawing at Harlow, trying to break free of his hold.
Harlow barely felt the weak attempts. He proceeded to use his hold to slam the man’s face into the wall a few more times before just holding him there.
See, the Hunters Guild worked differently than the police. Where an officer could get in deep shit if they did anything close to what Harlow just did—well, if they got caught and reported, or didn’t use the fucked up legal system to get away with it—he was not so restrained by the law. Personally, Harlow thought some of the shittier cops were jealous of that fact. Yeah, he had to work with law enforcement, but they didn’t like hunters much.
Either way, hunters had immunity in many ways, due to how dangerous the paranormal creatures they faced could be. As long as he didn’t actually kill the wannabe human hunters, he was good to go. Though, he was allowed to kill them in self-defense. Honestly, the only reason he did his best to avoid it at all costs was that it came with a headache-inducing amount of paperwork. Harlow would have killed a shit-ton more humans if it wasn’t for the blasted paperwork. That being said, if he killed someone he shouldn’t have, it was instant jail time, or worse.
Blood dripped down the wall. The man’s glasses had fallen into a broken mess of glass and plastic onto the floor. He had heard a crunch, so Harlow figured he’d probably broken Ned’s nose.
There was also now a clear wet spot on the floor, which told him that Ned had pissed himself. Harlow would have found this entertaining, if he were planning on killing the man. But as he was not, all he felt was irritation at missing sleep because of this dumbass.
