Damian:
Be here in an hour, or there will be consequences.
Ugh. Fine.
Fucking prick.
Tossing one last glance at my new favorite spooky mansion, I threw the G-Wagon into drive and made my way to Apex.
Hopefully, whatever Damian wanted wouldn’t take too long. I needed to get a good night’s sleep before seeing my ginger snap again bright and early the following day.
Apex was located outside of Cleveland, on the outskirts of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The massive concrete building was set back deep enough into the woods that hikers and lost tourists rarely came across it. Even if the odd nature enthusiast wandered a little farther off the beaten path than most, they were often deterred by the barbed wire chain line fence and armed guards that patrolled the gate 24/7.
The G-Wagon handled the rugged trail leading up to the imposing grey structure without any issues at all. I turned down my dubstep as I rolled up to address one of the guards. He was in all black, wearing Kevlar, and had an MP5 clutched in his hands.
“Sup, McGregor?” I grinned at him, flashing my security pass. McGregor had been with Apex longer than even I had. Hestill checked my security pass like we were strangers and gave me a scowl.
I winked at him.
“Stop flirting with me, McGregs. You know I can’t resist a man in cargo pants,” I purred, enjoying the way his cheeks flushed red with rage beneath his macho, straight man, wrap-around shades.
Homophobia ran rampant in military operations, and while we weren’tmilitaryby any means, many of the men and women who ended up here were ex-military, and old habits die hard.
I was pretty open about who I was and probably got away with more than most since I was Ryker’s favorite. I think if Vox could talk, he would have warned me against goading the homophobes. Especially considering they were homophobes with guns.
As it was, watching McGregs get all flustered because of a little harmless flirting was funny as fuck, and I really just couldn’t help myself sometimes.
My tires crunched over the gravel pathway, and another armed guard opened the underground door to the parking garage for me.
As the highest-paid mercenary here, I had an entire floor dedicated just to me and my bad habit of buying flashy cars… probably another reason I wasn’t super popular with the other murder monkeys.
Vox was really my only pal in the industry, and I think it’s because he didn’t want to be here anymore than I did.
Sure, the money was nice, and I was good at what I did, but if I could retire, I would. Even for a sociopath like me, killing for someone else wasn’t exactly my dream job. However, you didn’t get toquitApex. Once you were in, you were in. The only way out was in a body bag.
Many of the mercenaries who worked here had sought out Apex andwantedto be here. So, understandably, many of these men and women were annoyed that someone like me, who clearly had zero reverence for this place, was shown so much favoritism.
But, hey. It’s not my fault they’re shit at their jobs. I also couldn’t help the fact that Ryker seemed to have a fucking boner for me.
What was I supposed to do?
Like I said, the more I made it clear that I didn’t give a fuck about this place, the more Damian seemed to want to sink his dirty ass claws into me.
Maybe he just liked it when I played hard to get. Either way, I didn’t take the general animosity I experienced from my peers seriously.
I had Vox in my corner, and he was all I needed.
Speaking of the human vampire, he was leaning against the cement pillar by my empty parking spot as I pulled in.
He was smoking a cigarette directly next to a no-smoking sign, and his silver eyes were dark, meaning something was up.
I hopped out of the G-Wagon and gave him a quizzical look.
“Why so glum, Voxy? The big man in a bad mood?” He pursed his lips and nodded, jerking his head toward the doorway that led out of the parking garage.
“Yeah, he seemed testy when he messaged me. You and I are supposed to be off for another couple of weeks. I’m guessing vacation is getting cut short?” I rambled.
Vox flicked his butt away and shrugged, his expression getting more and more pissed off by the minute.
