Page 32 of Endlessly Raphael
I twist my neck, no longer holding back my beast, and let the monster within me rise to the surface. In a flash, I’ve got both men by the necks and slammed against the wall. Midnight swoops in and grabs Mike.
As I tear open the first man’s throat, the other screams, kicking and clawing me to break free, but it’s useless. He hits me in the head with his gun while I’m feeding on his friend, but all that does is piss me off, so I slam him against the wall so hard that he gasps for air and clutches his throat.
I release the first man and pull the other one closer, sinking my teeth into his throat and gorging myself on his blood while he whimpers and claws at my hand. Slowly, the life drains from his body, and I drop him on top of his lifeless friend.
When I turn to look at Midnight, he’s straddling his victim, his face buried in the crook of Mike’s neck. I lean against the brick wall, waiting for him to finish, but immediately my thoughts shift back to Haven. What would he think of me if he knew what I truly was? Would he fear me? Run away?
We’ll be married and he’ll be living at my place. Is my secret something I can keep safe from him when we’ll be so close together? Do I even want to?
Midnight lifts the victim’s decapitated body from the ground and carries it toward the dumpster. After we take our pictures for evidence, we toss all three bodies in the dumpster and Midnight torches them with the very cool fire potion Viv cooked up. By morning there won’t even be any bones or teeth left to identify the bodies. Viv was careful to tell us the fire had to be contained in metal, or it would just keep burning.
Midnight hands me a wet wipe and I laugh before cleaning my face off.
“I never remember to carry these with me,” I lament.
“I prefer it over the glamour potion. Just because no one can see the blood doesn’t mean I can’t feel it.”
“Ha, good point. I don’t mind it really. It makes me feel alive.”
“Want to grab a drink? The target tasted terrible. How were yours?”
“Fine, I guess. I didn’t feed much.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Didn’t feed? Why not?”
“Not hungry.”
He studies my face for a second before chuckling. “Dude. It’s Haven. It has to be.”
“Pssh. It’s not. I’m just not hungry.”
“When’s the last time you fed?”
“I had some this morning.”
“You know it’s not the same as it is from a fresh donor.”
I rack my brain trying to remember, then it comes to me. “Um, well, Haven let me bite him last night. Not feed though. Just a little taste.”
“Uh-huh, and now you’re not hungry. Coincidence? Unlikely.”
“Whatever, dude.”
Midnight grabs my shoulder as we walk back to our cars. “Whatever,” he mocks. “Just don’t say I didn’t tell you so when you figure it out.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Once we say goodnight, I decide that since I have nothing but time on my hands until Haven gets off work, I’ll go hover around the restaurant and make sure he stays safe. This is not the nicest neighborhood in New Onyx. May the gods help the person foolish enough to harm Haven.
The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Okay, so I’m feeling a little protective of him. It’s just because I like him, and I hate seeing good people suffer. That’s all. It doesn’t mean anything.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself for now.
TWELVE
Haven
I hate it when the restaurant is slow. Time crawls, and now that I know my money problems are close to being solved, it’s that much harder to focus on half-drunk customers and wiping down already clean tables.