CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A slow, steadying breath. I needed it. Needed to contain the inferno that threatened to erupt inside me. Witnesses. Damned witnesses in the women's restroom. Each one's wide eyes a stark reminder: control.

The "man" on the floor, scrambling like a cockroach caught in the light, fueled the fire. He was pathetic, disgusting. But I had to be…civilized. As calmly as I could manage, I walked around him, cutting off his futile escape. Grabbed his arm – the feel of his clammy skin made me want to retch – and plastered a smile on my face for the benefit of the onlookers. A smile that felt like cracking porcelain.

"Just a little misunderstanding, ladies," I said, my voice a low growl I hoped only he could hear.

Then, I yanked him out.

No words. Just the burning need to get him away from those women, away from the place he'd defiled. I dragged him through the crowded club, past pulsing lights and throbbing music, until we reached the relative privacy of the VIP lounge. I didn't bother being gentle. I threw him at Lucian's feet.

Lucian looked up, his brow furrowed with a quizzical expression. He knew me. Knew it wasn't like me to make this kind of display, especially in public. Seraphine, ever perceptive, leaned forward. "Everything okay, Kaelen?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Perfect," I answered, the word dripping with venom. "This one was caught in the women's restroom, with his hand literally down an unwilling woman's pants."

The effect was immediate. Lucian's eyes hardened, a predatory glint sparking within them. Seraphine's smile widened, a dangerous curve to her lips. They understood what this meant. They were ready for some fun.

Lucian stood, effortlessly grabbing the "man" by the back of his neck. Seraphine, Lucian hauling their prey, and I, my fists clenched tight, headed towards the playroom, hidden deep beneath the club. The iron door slammed shut behind us, the sound echoing the finality of his situation.

Lucian tossed him. The "man" slid a few feet on the cold, unforgiving marble, landing with a sickening thud. He started shouting, his voice shrill with panic. "You have no idea what you're doing!"

Lucian laughed, a deep, chilling sound that reverberated through the room. "I am a powerful man!"

We all laughed then, a chorus of dark amusement.

"So powerful you have to follow unwilling women into the bathroom and force yourself on them?" I snapped, the control I'd forced myself to maintain finally cracking.

He scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with rage. "Those women would be lucky if I had fucked them!" he spat, his words laced with arrogance and entitlement. "They would have groveled and begged me not to stop!"

"Is that so?" Seraphine purred, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Then, her voice low and seductive, "Please, show us what you're working with that makes women beg you."

Lucian chuckled beside me, his eyes never leaving the "man."

He was red-faced, furious, but clearly trying to regain some semblance of control. He had no idea what was about to happen to him. "How about you come over here, sweetheart, and I'll show you," he said, grabbing his crotch in a crude display.

Lucian, Seraphine, and I all knew he didn't mean it in the literal sense. The underlying threat was palpable. Lucian started to move, his fists clenching. "How dare you…"

But Seraphine stopped him with a hand on his arm. Then, with a deliberate, sensual grace, she walked towards the "man," a predatory look on her face. He was shocked, his expression a mixture of fear and a grotesque anticipation.

She reached out, one hand caressing his cheek, her touch light as a feather. He turned even more red. Her other hand moved lower, her fingers closing around his crotch. She leaned in and licked his lips. Then, slowly, deliberately, she sank to her knees.

I looked at Lucian. There was a glint in his eyes.

Seraphine yanked down his pants, revealing his pathetic excuse for a penis, standing at embarrassed attention. She slowly wrapped her lips around it, her eyes never leaving his.

The "man" stiffened, then started to relax, a pathetic moan escaping his lips. She pleased him for a few moments, a cruel charade.

Lucian and I moved, flanking the "man," our presence a silent threat. He didn't seem to notice, lost in his fleeting moment of pathetic pleasure.

And then the blood curdling screams started.

Lucian and I grabbed the "man" by his arms, holding him in place. Seraphine stood up, a satisfied look on her face. The "man" looked down at where his penis had been. Now, it was in Sera's bloody hand. She had bitten it clean off.

"You fucking bitch!" he wailed, clutching at his groin. "You will pay for this!"

"Sure, we will," I said, my voice cold and devoid of emotion.

Before he bled out, Lucian and I sank our fangs into him, draining him dry. It was intoxicating, the blood of the wicked.

"Thank you, Sera," Lucian said, wiping his mouth. "There's something about blood full of rage and fear that does something to me."

We let the "man" drop lifeless to the floor and left him there, a discarded husk. I thought to myself, "Today was one hell of a day."

Back in the VIP lounge, all three of us, well, satiated, sank onto the velvet couch, drunk on the lingering warmth of the man's blood. A rare treat, and a messy one at that.

The silence was just settling when Dimitri appeared, his face etched with concern. "There are some men here," he stated, his voice hesitant. "They said that a 'friend' of theirs had told them to meet him here."

Lucian looked at him, his eyes narrowing, the predatory edge never far from the surface. "And? What do we care about human affairs?"

Dimitri looked at Lucian, his gaze unwavering, which was surprising in itself. "These 'men' aren't human."

That caught all of our attention quickly. Decades. Decades we'd been left to our own devices, a stray vampire here or there passing through, but nothing more. For multiples of anything to show up now was unnerving.

"What do they want?" I asked, my senses already on high alert. My mind raced – could this be a trap? A challenge? Were we being targeted?

"This friend of theirs." Dimitri simply stated.

It was uncommon for others of our kind to visit, especially unannounced. And if it was multiple vampires, not human, like Dimitri had stated, it was even more so.

Lucian rose, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous curiosity. "Well," he said, a predatory gleam returning to his eyes. "Invite them up." He turned to me, his voice low. "Kaelen, be ready. This feels… wrong."

"Agreed," I murmured, already mentally cataloging possible escape routes and offensive maneuvers. "Why now, after all this time?"

He shrugged, a feral smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps we were becoming…stale."

Dimitri, looking distinctly nervous, obeyed. Moments stretched into an eternity as we waited. Just then, Dimitri reappeared, escorting four very tall, very muscular men into the lounge. The one closest to Dimitri spoke in a thick Southern accent, "We were told you wanted to meet us." He directed his statement to Lucian.

Lucian smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Please, sit." The four men didn't move a muscle, clearly not caring about Lucian's gracious hospitality. They were a unified front, radiating a contained power that prickled my skin.

The one closest to Dimitri spoke again. "We don't care to sit. What we do care for is finding our friend."

"We may be able to help with that, if he is here, of course," I responded now, ensuring all their eyes were on me. I needed to assess them, gauge their reactions, find any weakness.

"This 'friend' of yours," Lucian said, smoothly drawing their attention away from me, "what do they look like?"

The man pulled out his phone and showed us a photo. My blood ran cold. It was the man lying dead on our playroom floor.