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A glance at the clock showed 4:09 p.m. Wow, I must have been tired.
I groggily grabbed my phone from then nightstand and powered it on. It had died earlier, and now that it was fully charged, I could only imagine what was on it.
Last night at Kellan’s, he’d handed me my phone to let Evan and Karina know I was all right, but I’d never gotten the chance to, because he had seriously distracted me with his sexy moves and his fascinating story.
The phone began to buzz and chime wildly once it was powered up, and I cringed. I sat up, yawned, and decided I needed coffee before I could deal with all of the things that were blowing up my phone.
I went into the bathroom to take care of business, and after washing my hands, I made my way to the small kitchen. I shoved a pod into the one-cup coffeemaker and turned it on. As I waited, I looked at my wrist and could see absolutely no evidence of any trauma. It felt completely normal, and there was no bruising. I twisted and swirled it around, had zero pain, and was in awe of my healing ability.
I thought about Fiona, the now-dead vampire who had broken it, and shook my head. So she was the one who had turned Alexander into a vampire. I was more than happy that I had ended that sick little homicidal bloodline. The light turned blue on the coffeemaker and I hit the button, watching as the coffee poured into my I Love Vampires coffee mug. I smiled sadly at the irony of those words.
Austyn.
God, I missed him. Every time I looked at the silly coffee cup he’d given me as a gag gift, I thought of him. His goofy, innocent face and stupid jokes. With a sigh, I opened the fridge and pulled out the creamer. I dumped some into the coffee and walked to my nightstand with the steaming mug in my hand. After snatching my phone, I went to my small table and began to clear off my notifications while carefully sipping the hot nectar.
I had twelve texts and six missed calls from Evan. With a sigh, I replied to the last text where he was asking if I was all right, and threatening to come over and check on me if I didn’t reply:
I’m good Evan. It was a long night, and I promise I will call you just as soon as I’m done with my coffee.
His reply was almost immediate: O thank god. Karina and I were are sick with worry. Let your brother and Beckett know you’re OK too.
I replied: Will do
I could see I had similar texts and missed calls from my brother and my friend.
Geez, can’t a girl take a night off?
Smiling that I actually had people who cared about me, I cleared out the junk emails and social media notifications I didn’t care about, and continued to sip my coffee.
Since I seemed to have lost track of the date anymore, I looked at the date in the top corner of the phone to see that today would have been Austyn’s twenty-fifth birthday.
I scrolled through my texts and found my mom’s name and wrote her one: I love you, Mom. <3
Seeing that my coffee cup was empty, and knowing I had to start my night, I found Evan’s name and clicked on the call icon. He answered on the first ring.
“Ayla, where the fuck have you been?”
Yikes, he rarely curses.
“Sorry, I had a bit of a, uh, run-in with a, uh, I mean, some vampires.”
“I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Hi,” Karina said.
“Sorry, guys.” I sighed. “I have a lot to tell you, and I’d rather not do it over the phone. You free tonight so we can meet?”
“Yeah,” came Evan’s voice. “But it’ll have to be after sundown.”
“Understandable,” I replied. “Name the place.”
There was a long silence, and then Karina said, “Porfino’s on Sixth Avenue. Seven-thirty.”
“You got it, see you then.”
After that, I shot off texts to Aden and Beckett, ensuring them I was okay, promising to fill them in very soon. Once I was satisfied I was caught up, I took a long, hot shower and then got ready for my night.
Porfino’s was an Italian hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar in the heart of downtown with the best lasagna I had ever tasted. I arrived almost thirty minutes early and ordered a hearty glass of house red wine while I scrolled through my phone.
Evan and Karina arrived before seven-thirty and took their seats across from me in the small booth. The seats in this place could use some reupholstering, and the restaurant in general needed a ton of upgrades to modernize it, but the food never failed to be less than amazing, so most people ignored the aesthetics.
“Spill it,” Evan demanded after the server set down his water.
I nodded. “I don’t even know where to begin, so I guess at the beginning would work.” I let out a big, dramatic breath. “So, night before last, I had few hours to kill before training time with you guys, so I went to the office building where Alexander and the other vampires hung out...”
I watched as both sets of eyes widened at my confession, and I bit back a smile. I continued on with how I’d killed the female vampire, Fiona, and how I’d called to Kellan for help and had ended up spending the entire night at his house. I left out the deliciously dirty details, because they were none of their business. Proud of myself, I fell silent, and waited for one of them to respond.
“So, was that the first time you slept with Kellan?” Karina asked boldly with a glint of mischief in her crystal-blue eyes.
Well, I guess they were going to make it their business.
The server came by at the perfect moment with a glass decanter of dark red wine and asked if I needed a refill. I quickly nodded my head and pointed to my almost empty glass. I thanked her after she poured it.
She also poured some into Karina’s glass and then walked away.
I stared at the flawless redhead and contemplated my answer. It really wasn’t any of her business, but on the other hand, the wealth of knowledge she and her husband had because of the years of practice and experience they shared wasn’t something I could ever repay. They may need to know certain things to help me or keep me safe. And really, at the end of the day, what did it matter? I was twenty-four years old, and I didn’t think they had any illusions that I was some innocent virgin.
I shook my head. “No, the first time we did it was last weekend when we killed Alexander.”
Evan practically spit water out of his mouth as his eyes widened. “While you were the bigfoot girl?”
I chuckled. “Well, no, not during. Like, after that. If you must know, wolf-boy.” I threw him a wink.
Karina looked around the small restaurant, and then back to me with a smile. She suddenly offered on a whisper, “We’ve totally gone at it while he’s been the wolf-man.”
I snorted and then pursed my lips before replying, “Well, thanks for sharing?”
“You should try it sometime,” she said right back before bringing her wine glass to her lips.
Right! As if Kellan would want to touch me while I’m so disgusting. Totally different for the guy to be all beastly and aggressive.
“No thanks,” I murmured before sipping my wine.
The server brought out our food, and Evan and I tucked into the Italian goodness. Karina sipped her drink and watched us eat. I remembered what Kellan had told me about how he didn’t miss food anymore, and it made me feel less guilty about pigging out in front of her.
Between bites, I asked her, “What do I do now that my target has been eliminated? Do you have any others?”
She grinned over the rim of her glass. “We are supposed to get one soon. You will be paid for disposing of that one last night, though.”
I grinned. “Oh yeah? Well, I won’t complain. She did break my wrist, after all.”
Evan swallowed his bit of spaghetti and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Did it heal okay?” His gaze flicked down to my arm.
I nodded and held it up. “Yep. Just like new.”
Just then, a group of four were seated at the table next to ours. All of them were beautiful beings, and it seemed as though everyone in the establishment was staring at them.
Evan glanced at them, then dragged his gaze to me. “Focus, St. John.”
He’d never addressed me by my last name before, so my attention whipped back to him. “Who are they?” I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
He looked at me with a pained expression. “Well, uh...” He placed his first two fingers of his right hand in front of his mouth and simulated fangs.
“Mature,” Karina said as she jabbed her elbow into his ribs.
The scent of eucalyptus remained strong in my nostrils. “Vampires,” I said loudly, not caring if they heard me.
But... when four sets of eyes quickly flicked toward me, I swallowed hard and smiled demurely at the beautiful creatures. I even lifted my hand in a wave. “What’s up?”
They stared at me, seemingly curious and almost angry.
Karina stood and strode confidently to the table. She attempted to whisper, but failed miserably, and I had a feeling it had been on purpose.
“Blondie over there,” she said quietly, thumb thrust in my direction over her shoulder, “she’s a newbie. I promise I’m training her right, y’all,” she drawled, letting her natural-born Louisiana accent float over the surface the conversation and diffuse their attitudes.
“Well tell her to keep her fuckin’ voice down,” said a guy wearing a leather jacket and in need of a haircut. He was too pretty to try to be rocking the unkempt rough look.
Karina tapped the table with her hand twice. “Will do. We are leaving soon anyway.”
She headed back to our table and I looked at the group. I noticed they all wore leather jackets, actually. On the upper right arm of each jacket was some kind of patch with a symbol of a bird with its wings spread. I knew I was staring at this point, but they seemed to be in their own quiet conversation. I zoned in on the patch and could see Nighthawks written underneath the bird.
“Yes,” Evan said, staring at me, amused.
I cocked my head to the side. “Yes, what?”
“They are a vampire motorcycle... club. I wouldn’t call them a gang because they’re like vigilantes.”
I picked up my piece of garlic bread and used it to mop up the red sauce on my plate. “So, like us, except they have cool jackets, a name, and probably loud motorcycles?”
“I guess, in a way,” Karina answered. “But they only kill rogue vampires or ones who are out of control.”
“And that’s not what we do?”
She glanced at her husband, then to me. “Well, we’re branching out to other creatures.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
The server came by and we stopped talking. “Any dessert?”
“No,” we answered collectively.
She set the bill down on the table with a thank-you, and walked away.
I looked again at the group and that patch. Something in my memory flashed quickly in my brain and I let out a gasp.
Turning wide-eyed to my mentors, I whisper-yelled, “You guys, Fiona was wearing that same patch on her jacket!”
Evan nodded. “I know. Who do you think paid us to go after her? They don’t usually have to discipline one of their own, so they contracted it out. That group, though”—he slightly inclined his head—“I’ve never seen before. I only dealt with their leader.”
“Well that little tidbit wasn’t in the text you sent me about her.”
He glanced quickly at Karina, then back to me. “We thought if you knew she also was a hunter, you would feel intimidated.”
I snorted. “Right. Have you met me?”
Evan chuckled and grabbed the bill. “Let’s go.”
I took the hint and followed him to the front, where he paid for the meal at the counter, and then we walked outside. The air was cool, but not cold, and all the stars were out. It was a beautiful Colorado night.
“Question,” I said. “So... those bikers might not even know Fiona’s dead or who did it?”
He chanced a glance and looked around before talking to me as we walked around the back of the building to the small parking lot. “Yeah, they probably know. They aren’t big on taking out one of their own, but I can assure you their leader told them—or will shortly. After your call earlier, I let him know, and I’m sure he disseminated the information to the club. They just, obviously, don’t know who did or how. It is always part of our agreement when we take jobs that we keep everything confidential. All we’re required is to provide proof of the kill. Unfortunately, we can’t do that, so we won’t get paid. But it’s okay.”
“Well you’re not going to pay me, then.” I shrugged and dug in my purse for some gum. When I found a piece, I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth. “It was self-defense, anyway.”
“Still, we’ll pay you half the normal fee, so you can at least pay your bills.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Okay,” I agreed, only because I knew how loaded Karina’s brothers were and knew twenty-five hundred dollars probably wasn’t a big deal.
“Where’s your car?” Evan asked.
“Ubered here, because... wine.” I smiled.
He chuckled and disarmed the SUV. After opening the passenger side door, he helped Karina in and closed the door. Then he opened the back door and said, “Get in, silly.”
I wasn’t going to refuse a free ride, so I did.