“Then why are you hanging out in the city so much?”
Steele didn’t respond. It wasn’t any of his brother’s business. And it definitely wasn’t Theo’s business since it didn’t involve any of the clients at the security company. No, the reason Steele was paying a small fortune to stay in this posh hotel that served the bullshit hot wings was purely personal.
“Needed a change of scenery,” he finally replied when it was clear Magnum wasn’t just going to hang up the phone and carry on with his night.
“You sure that’s all you need?”
“I’m good.” Steele’s reply was curt and so was his quick bid good-night before he disconnected the call.
He was good. Sure, his chest was still tight from seeing her so close up, wielding a knife like some sexy warrior princess dressed in a half shirt and tight-ass jeans. But she’d been safe and that was all that mattered. Now, if she went to her home and stayed there all night, she’d remain that way. He could worry about tomorrow night when it came, because it would come. Just as sure as the sun would shine, night would fall and when it did, danger would lurk. He’d seen death before and in his line of work, would definitely see it again. But not this woman, not on his watch.
Enes turned, fangs bared, eyes glittering gold as she stared at the intruder.
“Calm down,” he said. “It’s just me. And you know what time it is.”
It was time for her to close the club and head back to the new townhouse in the financial district where she now lived. In fact, it was fifteen minutes after four in the morning and she was positive she’d locked the front door.
“It’s time for you to get lost,” she countered, without making any effort to withdraw her fangs.
Enforcer Edward Barrington knew who and what she was and he didn’t care. While other humans on this realm chose whether or not to believe the stories that floated around them referencing preternatural beings, this guy knew they existed and he didn’t give a damn. He could take money from a vampire just as easily as he did a human, at least that’s what he planned to do tonight.
He shook his head as he came deeper into the club, passing the tables with chairs neatly stacked on top and making his way to the bar where she stood.
“You know the amount,” he said before sliding onto a bar stool beside her. “Count it out and I’ll be on my way.”
“I don’t have any agreement to pay you for so-called protection. Now that Warrick’s dead, we plan to protect ourselves. So, whatever you two had worked out died with him,” she said, inhaling the sour stench of his blood. It turned her stomach and she wanted to barf all over him and his pristine enforcer uniform.
He was fast, his hands going immediately around her neck as he squeezed tightly and yanked her off the stool. The action lifted her up so that her feet didn’t touch the floor.
“This was his club, so as long as those doors are open for business, the agreement he made stands. I don’t give a damn if he burned in the sunlight or somebody put a stake in his heart. You’re all fuckin’ freaks and the only reason I don’t just kill you is because you can make me some decent money.”
Edward Barrington had some strength to his six-foot-one beefy frame. He also had a crooked nose and bad breath.
Enes eased a hand between them, flattening her palm on his chest before giving a slight push. His body jerked back with such force his hands immediately fell from her neck and he knocked over the chairs on two tables before slamming into the wall.
“You wish you could kill me,” she said, slowly lowering herself to the floor. She walked over to where he was now struggling to remain standing. “But you can’t, so your threats are useless.”
“Bitch!” he yelled and reached for the gun in his holster. “You’re gonna pay me my money or die!”
He pulled the trigger multiple times before she could reply, sending a spray of bullets her way. Two of them pelted her chest, but the other three, she caught midair, dropping them to the floor as she continued to approach him.
“Shit!” He was scrambling now, dropping the gun in his nervousness and trying to get his feet to carry him out of here, but nothing worked. He remained in that spot as the air around them seemed to stand still.
“Kill him quickly and be done with it,” she heard the chillingly calm, heavily accented voice behind her say.
Without hesitation Enes leapt forward, landing with her hands on his shoulders, legs wrapping around his waist, fangs sinking into his neck.
Enforcer Edward Barrington yelled out in both horror and pain as she swallowed enough of his foul-tasting blood to kill him—not change him, as she’d been changed some years ago. And when she was done, because she knew his blood would sit like lead in the pit of her stomach for the remainder of the day, she pulled away from him without releasing her teeth’s hold, taking a chunk of his neck with her as she turned around to face the Chief Lord.
Turning her head to one side, she spit the flesh onto the floor and stomped over to the bar to grab a wad of napkins to wipe her mouth. She wanted to leap over the bar and find a bottle of whiskey to wash
