Page 44 of Club Blood
“I need to take care of some business just outside of this door.” I could feel them rapidly approaching now, all of my heightened senses buzzing with a warning.
“You said you wouldn’t let me out of your sight.”
“You won’t be, little flower. I have eyes everywhere. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
I knocked my hand roughly against the bartop, catching the attention of a vampire I had not yet learned the name of. After Wade killed that girl last week and then died like an idiot, I’d neglected the club more than I’d have liked. His replacement wasn’t someone I’d met yet, but he seemed friendly enough. The vampire looked young, but I couldn’t smell fresh blood on him. His eyes weren’t the bright shade of fuchsia I was used to seeing in many new vampires, which slightly calmed my rapidly beating heart. My worry of him drinking from Cecelia, and by direct correlation,Ambrosiahaving to find yetanothernew bartender, decreased, but he still wasn’t someone I wanted alone with my girl. I could trust hardly anyone.
“M-Mercy!” the vampire exclaimed nervously. He turned to grab an aged bottle of blood, but I shook my head.
“W-w-what can I get you?”
“Where is Warren?” I demanded. The vampire shrugged.
“I saw him with a beautiful woman at some point, but that was a while ago. I can’t say I’ve seen much of him since. He likes to stick to the walls. Watching, prowling.”
I groaned. He was probably getting in his fill of that tasty woman on his arm, probably in a back room himself. It was his first night out in Vegas since traveling here. He was distracted.
“Yeah, well, he’s a shit bodyguard.”
The vampire’s eyes widened in fear.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Petrova. I’ll go and find him if you need me to?”
“No.” I waved him off. “Let him fuck his way through tonight. I will speak with him tomorrow.” Thoroughly irritated, I turned back to Cecelia, who had started swaying again with her eyes shut.
“Cecelia?” I asked cautiously. She popped one eye open, smiling contentedly.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay here on your own for a second?” A slow look of fear washed over her features. “I promise it’ll only be a minute.”
Reluctantly, she nodded, wrapping her arms around her body to protect herself. “I’ll be okay,” she whispered, “If it’s not for too long.”
I didn’t want to leave her, but I had no choice. Kissing her temple lightly, I let go of her hand and unclipped the button to my wristlet. I took off the thing, wrapping it around her own wrist instead.
“You’re stillmine,” I growled, “and if anyone tries to talk to you, you show them this and tell them I will come back and rip their head clear off of their body if they touch you. Do you hear me?”
I waited for her feeble “yes ma’am,” which sent a tingling down my stomach, before turning my back on her and walking away.
It felt wrong, but I kept my feet going forward, my mouth curling into a distinct frown as I pushed through the entrance doors toAmbrosia. Cool, crisp air met my skin as I exited, a welcome alternative to the Vegas heat when the sun was high in the sky. I walked forward still, two officers strutting towards me and my building in return.
Neither of us seemed surprised to see the other. Although there was a thin layer of worry for my girl, I knew I’d made the right choice. Any later and these two would have breached my club, and police officers in a club were a real buzz kill. My nose twitched from the smokey smell of gunpowder residue, and of the salty metal that adorned them, getting stronger the closer they approached.
“What a surprise,” my voice dripped, a pretty smile pasted on my thin lips, “Officers, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
One of them, a short man with dark features and a noticeable, frustrated look about him, snarled in my direction. Though my teeth were hidden behind my lips, I radiated vampirism. Officers didn’t particularly like my kind. They found every reason to come after us, and that was why I made sureAmbrosiastayed clean of any . . . unkindly activities. The kind that brought these two sniffing for a reason to shut me down.
“Am I correct in assuming that we’re talking to Ms. Petrova?” The other, a woman with shoulder length auburn hair, looked less disgusted than her partner, but her frustration at being here was not unnoticed. I tried to feign my surprise.
“Why, of course!” I said, gesturing towardsAmbrosia. “This here is my baby. May I ask why you both are stopping by? Surely you have better things to worry about.”
I felt my phone rattle from inside of my bosom. There were hardly any clothes this tight that had pockets, and I could feel my chest rumble with the vibrations. Sending the two officers a look of apology, I pulled the phone from my chest and glazed quickly at the caller ID screen.
Warren.
I was still pissed at him for not being readily available, and so I clicked the END button and dropped my hand with my phone back to my side.
“We’ve been told to perform nightly checks on your establishment,” the disgruntled officer noted, as if I was the one forcing him to stand here.