Page 35 of Born Reckless
"Does this mean you’re the vampire doctor who owns his own hospital?" I ask. I don't miss the way his eyes trail down me, a smooth, slow slide down the entirety of me, before they once again return to meet my own. It’s almost flattering, except he’s supposed to be my eventual boss.
Sebastian smiles, and there's something a little… sensuous about it. When Mason smiles, it lights up the entire room. When Sebastian smiles, I expect candles to instantly flicker to life and for a bed with black, silk sheets to magically appear. "I am."
Dr. Vincent. I say the name in my head, though I don't speak it aloud. Looking at him now, I realize why a suit looks so different on him than how it looks on Mason. Mason exudes CEO. He exudes wealth and financial power.
Sebastian looks good in a suit. But I can just as easily picture him scrubbed in for surgery.
"There are four main divisions in Chicago," Elena says. She sinks into her seat and crosses one leg over the other. There is still something tight in her eyes when she looks at me, and some of the heat and awkwardness from last week remains. "Mason and I cover the financial district. We are in charge of most of the finances, and the majority of the employment for those who need it here in the city. Sebastian runs the medical center."
"Hospital," Dr. Vincent corrects her. He casts a dark glare in her direction.
Elena smirks, and it's obvious this is a running thing between the two of them. "It's not frequent that vampires have a need for a doctor, but it happens. He is also our constant supply of blood. You could say he is the kingpin of Chicago."
I arch a brow and look at the man.
Sebastian gives a smile, and I can honestly say he is the most vampire-looking person I have seen here yet. "I employ a few dozen dealers. They cover the city, distributing a steady supply."
"Distributing," Sigrid says with a snort. "Do not make yourself sound so noble. We all know how you afford that penthouse."
He doesn't distribute the donated blood for free.
"Costs have to be covered somehow, right?" he says with a smirk.
Sigrid just glares at him with a dark stare.
This ought to be interesting. I’m supposed to work for this man?
There are strong personalities here at this table. It leaves me wondering how they do not tear each other apart.
I don't have to ask about the other two that hang back in the shadows. I'm here. Tabitha is here. I recall Elena saying that every member on the Night Council has a bodyguard, except for Roman.
Just then, the doors behind us open, and like the dark shadow of the devil, the man himself strides inside.
"You're late," Elena says.
In his hands, Roman holds a rag. He wipes at his hands, and I realize that they are coated in blood. "You'll have to forgive me. I had a few bodies to bury first."
A wave of cold rushes across my skin. I thought he was a prick before. Now I see that he's just plain dangerous.
"Anything we need to be worried about?" Mason asks. He walks around the table and takes a seat beside his sister.
"Just a recent arrival who thought they could get away with having a couple of Bitten in their Debt," Roman says, his voice low and rough.
An instant death sentence, that’s what Roman said. Apparently, he makes good on his threats.
"Let's get started," Sebastian says as he, too, takes a seat. "I have a surgery early in the morning."
When I think of vampires, I think of a completely nocturnal schedule. Light certainly sears my eyes with pain. I assume it is the same for everyone at this table, except for Mason and Sigrid. But from everything I've seen, these vampires do not keep an exclusively nocturnal schedule. I guess power and duty never sleep.
"Onto the first order of business," Elena says. "You have all asked about Juliet. You asked about our history and our connection." Her eyes slide over to me, and there, I see that things might be awkward and tense between us right now, but she is still my best friend. "We met a year and a half ago. There's nothing complicated to it. I was in New York on business and had a dinner meeting. Juliet was our waitress. We hit it off and had a good time that night. I had no idea then that she was one of us."
"It was all over her when she came back," Sigrid speaks up. "It was more than just a coincidence. The friendship between these two? It was fate."
And something kind of makes sense. Very briefly, Elena mentioned that when she returned home after we met, that someone told her that she had met someone who would be her immortal friend.
How? How could Sigrid know this?
"We grew closer," Elena says, moving on. "I had hoped that things would go differently, but two weeks ago, my best friend here thought she needed to defend me against a mugger."