Page 21 of Blood Moon

Viktor

I felt guilty for telling Delilah about what happened with Kat. I knew that it was vital for her to understand why a part of me would always be off limits, but it seemed as if she were too sympathetic about the whole thing. I didn’t want her to feel bad for me. I wanted her to understand. The look in her eyes was almost too much for me. I couldn’t take the pity.

I could tell that there was more that she wanted to know, but she didn’t ask about anything. I didn’t want to push, so I let it go. Perhaps we would talk about it later.

We headed back to Midnight, as it was getting late. When I pulled up to the bar, I concentrated on parking and didn’t even glance at the building. Delilah’s gasp caught my attention.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, putting the car in park. I turned and looked at her. She was staring out the window and tears were streaming down her face.

“Myshka, what is it?” I turned her head to meet my eyes.

“Midnight, it—it’s ruined,” she sobbed.

At this point, I looked past her to the building. It had been trashed. Glass littered the sidewalk where every pane had been shattered.. The door had been ripped off the hinges and lay on the sidewalk a few feet from the entrance. The sign had been torn from the front of the building, and was nowhere to be seen.

I needed to check it out but didn’t feel safe leaving Delilah in the car alone. I was almost convinced that Strain was behind this and didn’t want to risk her being kidnapped. A snap decision had me taking her along to check the damage.

“Come with me, do not leave my side. Promise me.” I rounded the car and opened her door, taking her hand protectively. I couldn’t let him have her.

She nodded and gripped my hand hard. “Who would do this? Why? I don’t understand,” she was still crying. I understood her pain. Midnight had been her home for the past twenty years.

“I have an idea of who is responsible, but I’d rather find proof first. I need you to trust me. Can you do that? Will you do as I ask without questions?” I forced her to look at me again.

Delilah nodded. “What do you want me to do?”

“We’re going inside to survey the damage. I have hidden cameras everywhere. I should be able to get to the feed. You need to stay focused and be aware of anything around you. The people responsible could be anywhere. Stay close to me.” I hated ordering her around, but keeping her safe was more important than proving that I wasn’t a chauvinist pig.

Delilah followed me inside, carefully stepping over bricks that had been dislodged from the wall. The inside was as bad as the outside. I had expected it to look worse. From her gasp, I gathered Delilah hadn’t considered that someone would have destroyed the interior too.

Every table was broken in half. Every chair, barstool, and bench had been busted up. There were no bottles left untouched. Everything that could be broken was. Glass from broken liquor bottles and glassware was everywhere. It would take weeks and a small fortune to rebuild. At this point, it would make more sense to demolish the building and sell the lot. One look at Delilah’s face, and that thought was out the window. It didn’t matter how long it took or what it cost; I would fix this. For her.

We managed to get to my office. The door had been ripped off its hinges as well. “Stay quiet and stay close.” I kept my voice low, listening for any movement. So far, I’d heard nothing since we pulled up in front. The anxious beat of Delilah’s heart made her fear evident. We crept into my office and over to the far wall where the safe was hidden. It looked like that was the only thing in the building that might not have been touched. This room was as trashed as the bar had been. The computer was destroyed, the monitor busted, and the phone was in pieces.

I could feel her body pressed against mine as I dealt with the wall panel. In another situation, I would have pinned her against the wall and had my way with her. There would be time for that later. I needed the security feed. I refocused my efforts on removing the panel and opening the safe.

The computer housed inside had an external hard drive to record security footage. I was able to remove it, slip the drive in my pocket, and grab the other valuables from the safe. There wasn’t much, but I had put a few things in there for safe keeping.

“OK, we’re going back the way we came. We’ll take the car and go to my place.” I’d been staying above the bar, but I had a condo across town.

There was a muffled noise before she could respond. It came from the backroom. Fear spread across her face as she gripped my arm harder. I pulled her close and pressed my lips to hers. This wasn’t the time to worry about sending the wrong signal. She needed comfort, needed to calm down before something else happened. I felt her relax against my body as I let my tongue assault hers. When I pulled away, she seemed much calmer and more focused.

“Stay behind me. We’re going to check it out.” I led the way, keeping one hand behind me on her arm. It didn’t matter, since she was still pressed against my back as if she was scared to let there be any space between us.

As terrified as she was, I had to admit, it felt nice to be the one protecting her. Part of me wished that we could stay like this forever. Her blind trust would get her hurt or killed though. I didn't even trust myself as much as she trusted me.

Chapter 20

Delilah

I followed Viktor so closely that every time he stopped, I ran into his back. I couldn’t help it; I was terrified. Someone had broken into my home and destroyed everything they could. What if this noise was the person who’d done all of this? What if they’d waited for us to get back?

Even though I hadn’t known him for very long, I trusted Viktor with my life. If he hadn’t been here with me, I would have already run away. Anxiety was taking over, and I could feel it clawing at me. I wanted to hide somewhere, but I knew that I couldn’t.

His kiss in the office had relaxed me for a little while, but staying here in what used to be my home was bringing it all back quickly. I needed to run. I had nowhere to go, but I needed to get away from here soon. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. My heart broke again with every room we walked through.

As we crept along, I tried to ignore the trickle of cold sweat that ran down my back. Viktor stopped short in front of the door to the backroom—the only door in the place that hadn’t been ripped off, and I ran into him again. I wrapped my arms around him from behind to calm myself for a moment. He squeezed my hand before nudging me to release him. Once I let go, he stepped forward into the stock room. I only let an inch of space live between us. I was too terrified to get any further away.

“Vinny, is that you?” Viktor whispered, gesturing toward something on the floor. The room had been ransacked, bottles were busted, shelves were turned on their sides. The sickening smell of all the different types of alcohol mixed together made my stomach turn. My eyes followed his hand, but I couldn’t make out the figure. The only thing I could see was the broken glass and the puddles of liquid.