Chapter One
*Ryan
Kevin was getting angry at me.
I grinned, continuing to spin the chain around. He'd lost four weapons so far, and was evidently deciding on a fifth.
He grabbed an actual sword from the rack, and spun, throwing the sheath at me. I snapped the chain at it before I realized what he'd done, and had to backtrack damn quick. He came at me again as the wood clattered across the floor, and I had to work to stop him. We were actually sparring for a crowd of teenagers. They were sitting around the edges of the floor watching intently.
It meant that I couldn't let loose with the kusari, and it also meant that if I actually hurt Kevin, we'd have one of those fights that made him stop talking to me for a month.
Kevin heaved out an annoyed breath, and I wondered what he'd decided to do. He and his brother had been my friends for years, since the days of our apprenticeships. We'd gone to war together, too, and no one seemed to realize how skilled he actually was.
The master here thought it'd be great to show the students real weapons, and I had a feeling he was teaching us something about self-control since the kids were way too close. Who that lesson was for probably depended on who got hurt.
When Kevin moved, I moved. He came at me with the sword, and I realized that I had to get that from him, too.
A man came from the front of the building to speak to the master a moment, pointing toward Kevin.
I dropped the chain, catching it quickly and wrapping it up, bowing to Kevin easily.
Kevin, who'd assumed I was making another move, nearly attacked me. It was amusing, because as I bowed I saw the 'oh shit' in his eyes. He managed it, though. He got the sword in his waistband and bowed in response to me as the kids realized their show was being stopped and looked around in confusion.
"Message for you," the second man muttered, gesturing for Kevin to follow him.
Kevin looked nervously to me, and I moved to join the teacher. We'd been nearly done with our lesson, so I thanked the man for thanking me, then the class for thanking me, thanked them for thanking Kevin, and so on. By the time I'd reached the locker-room, he came to the door.
"Thank you for sparring me," I noted.
"What?" Kevin asked blankly, stopping to look at me, then shook his head, moving forward and passing me a piece of printed paper.
It was an address...in Las Vegas.
I blinked at it.
"We have been summoned," Kevin said quietly, looking around. "Brian."
I frowned, wondering what had happened. I was actually in contact with L, still, and she'd kept me up to date with Josh, but Brian hadn't been a personal friend of hers.
"I need your help," Kevin noted, studying my face. "I don't know what I can do on my own."
"What?" I asked, giving him the same blank look he'd given me before. "I don't know the train schedule. Do we want to chance cars?"
He stared at me, and I huffed at him, moving to the showers.
It didn't take us long to scrub and change, and he was fidgeting with the message as we headed into the lobby.
"Thank you for coming," the pretty little receptionist muttered, smiling up at me in particular. She passed me an envelope, then one to Kevin and waved as we headed from the building.
Cash, awesome.
"We need to get to the apartment and get stuff," Kevin noted quietly, looking around. "What's the weather like in Vegas in winter?"
"L said it's been windy as hell and cold. Evidently it got down to sixty the other day."
Kevin guffawed at that.
"Is that really all it says?" I asked, looking to the letter he was still fiddling with.
Kevin nodded, smacking it against his hand.
We regularly sparred at the Coral Palace, and had taken on classes. We'd arranged with them to be our message phone, and kept a small apartment across the street above an old warehouse.
"I'm worried," Kevin noted quietly as we climbed the old rickety stairs. "When I told Brian I'd come for him, I didn't think he'd ever really call."
"But we offered him the out because we know the community he lives in," I reminded my friend.
"I'm not planning on going back on it," Kevin retorted, turning into his room. "It's times like these where I long for the internet."
"We have to report that we're going there," I mused as I moved into the tiny bedroom that was mine. It had once been an office, so it had upper-shelves that worked for my storage. I dug my duffel bag out and turned to start throwing clothes on the bed.
"Can you...call L?" he asked quietly. "Because if she can get her incubus on this..."
"You get to call and tell them where we're going, then," I pointed out.
"I know," he sighed. "But I'm worried."
I realize that he'd just asked me to get the incubus to do us a favor and thought a long moment about what I wanted to do.
The note had been very simple. You promised to come get me. I'm ready to go, I'd rather not start a new addiction.
The receptionist who took our messages had interrupted our lesson, which probably meant that Brian had sounded scared.
I finished throwing things into my bag, then turned and grabbed my sword and staff. I considered my blasting rod a long moment, then decided against it. If I needed the rod, I'd probably be much better off with something else.
I smirked slightly, turning to grab a heavy rope; I usually practiced with it instead of the kusari.
I moved into the main room, moving over to our ice box and taking a moment to divest it of its contents. We'd left food in it on accident before when we'd been called away, and we'd been shocked we didn't have a police search because the smell of spoiled meat.
Kevin appeared a few minutes later, his road atlas in hand and a pencil between his teeth. He slowed to look up at me as I gathered the trash, then turned and headed outside. I made a last sweep of the apartment, then ducked out after him. He'd stopped on the landing outside the door, so as he took the moment to lock up, I headed out to the trash and payphone. There was another payphone a few feet away, they still worked for who knew what reason, so I pulled out a handful of change and dialed L.
*L
I smiled at my cellphone as the normal number for Ryan came up, answering as I flopped back on the bed. "Ooh baby, you spent a nickel on me."
"It's like sixty cents now," he retorted. "And we're on our way there."
"Huh?" I asked, realizing that he wasn't calling to catch up. "What's going on?"
"We told Brian we'd come get him if he wanted out. He wants out. Do you know where he is?"
"I don't go to Secrets," I muttered with a frown. "I haven't seen him in a while."
"Can you get your incubus to help?" His tone was serious. "I'm willing to repay within reason...as long as it's not him who's grabbed the guy."
"No, Brian is Josh's go-to," I sighed. "I'll call him and see if he can start. When will you get here?"
"I'm not sure," he sighed. "Kev has the atlas."
My first thought was how pointless that was, but then I realized that they had issues with technology. It was a minor miracle that his calls connected ninety percent of the time.
"So...call me when you figure it out," I decided. "And I'll do the go-between thing. You guys can crash here at my place while you're in town."
"I think we shouldn't," he countered as the phone clicked slightly. "Time's almost up. We'll get a room, alright? No one needs to connect us with you, he specifically noted that he doesn't want to start a new addiction, so I'm thinking the whites are doing something to him."
I groaned an agreement as the call clicked over. He'd evidently only paid for a minute. Well, the next thing to do was call Josh.
*Josh
I stretched as I grabbed my phone. I'd been binge watching a show all day, and wasn't really inclined to talk to anyone, but...L.
"Hello?" I asked, pushing myself forward a bit as I looked over my mess of dishes. "What's up?"
"Hey, sweetie," L returned happily. "I got a request."
"I try to go slow, but can never manage it," I teased.
L laughed. "I'm actually serious. I just got a call from Ryan."
"From your wizard?" I demanded as I shoved off the couch and moved to my mini-fridge. "Explain to me why I care."
"Have you talked to Brian lately?" she asked, ignoring the baiting.
"At the club the other night," I noted curiously. "You wanna bed him, I can arrange it."
"Yeah, I'm still not having sex with someone else so you can have sex with me again," she retorted.
I snickered, then frowned. "Brian said he didn't feel good. Why? I imagine he's at home, sick."
"Well, Ryan and Kevin are driving here to get him; he told me he'd repay you within reason for finding him."
I blinked as I thought about that. "But...I just said he's probably home sick."
"Can you check for me?" she asked quietly.
"But..." I hesitated again.
"Josh," she protested, "Ryan and Kevin are coming here to pick him up; I'm not sure of any details beyond that. Find him. After you do that you can figure out if you're going to help me or not."
"It's not you, it's the damn wizard," I retorted instantly.
She didn't say anything.
I sighed tiredly, rubbing at my face as I dug out a can of soda. "Fine. I'll call him and see what he says."
"Thank you," she said quietly. "Wanna do dinner tonight?"
"Let me find out what's up with Brian first," I suggested. "Once I know that I'll see if I'm in a mood or not."
She made another noise, ending the call.
I sighed and dialed the bartender.
"Hello?" Brian sounded strained.
"Hey, where ya at?" I returned, relaxing slightly.
"Busy," he replied, huffing slightly. "What do you want?"
I blinked, pulling the phone away to make sure the screen said the right number and time. "Where are you?" I asked seriously.
"Busy," he stated through gritted teeth. "D...Don't call me again."
"Oh fuck off," I retorted, ending the call. So much for being worried about the asshole. I dialed L.
"Hey?"
"He told me not to call him again," I noted dryly. "I somehow think he's fine."
"That doesn't sound like him," she protested. "Isn't he usually willing to run around for you because you pay him?"
I hesitated.
"Where is he?"
"He would only say he was busy," I admitted, thinking about it.
"Josh," she muttered nervously, obviously hesitant to say more.
"Yeah," I agreed, realizing how out of character that actually was. He really did run around for me, and come to think of it, he'd never been outright rude when I'd called him. I sat back down and digging my laptop out from under my snack trash. "I think I paid for one of those tracking sites a while back. Let me look if I can find his phone. Why is your wizard coming? That seems weird to me...that you're even involved at all."
"Ryan specifically asked me to get you to help," she pointed out. "Because you're the reason they met him."
I snorted, remembering Kevin saying something about Ryan protecting Brian. It didn't take me long to find that I'd paid for a month of tracking service a year before, which meant the account wasn't active.
And, of course, Brian's phone was at his apartment. I went through the hassle of re-upping my account for another month, and the thing zeroed in on his house.
I snorted.
"What?" L asked curiously.
"He's at his apartment," I supplied, reading through the provided information. "He's probably getting laid," I decided. "I'll hit the club tonight and see what he's up to."
"Ryan said that I shouldn't get involved," she noted quietly. "I offered to let him sleep here and he said he didn't want me getting any backlash."
I scratched at my hair, looking my suite over. "Well, if you want to send the wizard to the club, we can both check on him. What time are they getting here?"
"I don't know yet," she groaned. "Ryan said Kevin had the atlas."
"Where do they live?" I asked blankly.
"That falls under the 'information you don't need' label," she informed me happily. "Something about bloody whites and pink blood, something something manipulative dick."
"Most of those are your words," I pointed out, studying my fingernails. I needed a manicure. "Get your dress on and come play?"
"Let me see what Ryan says when he calls back," she decided.
I felt a jealous thrum and huffed. "Fine."
"Don't pout," she retorted. "Did you forget the part where he said backlash and keeping me out of it?"
"I don't think there's anything wrong," I retorted.
"Then why did Brian call them?" she snapped back.
"Maybe they're special friends," I shot back. "Ryan could have been all over you a few times when he was high, and he didn't do a damn thing. Maybe there's a reason for that."
"You're stupid," she stated, hanging up.
I ended the call and tossed my phone down, glaring at the beacon on my computer screen.
Well, I needed to shower and find Lucy for my nails. I didn't even remotely feel like shaving, so if it didn't look scruffy I wasn't going to bother.
Then I was going to find that little shit of a bartender and see if maybe it wasn't time to bring him under my influence.
Don't call me again, indeed.
*Ryan
I yawned as we pulled into some random mostly empty parking lot on a random side road in a random area of a random part of Vegas, pulling the car to a stop and rubbing at my face.
The drive had taken us seven hours, and I felt a little numb. Kevin stumbled out of the car, and we both tottered around to the trunk.
"What is this place?" he asked, looking around at the half-full parking garage behind us. There was no business that could account for it, and the area had an abandoned feel to it.
"Evidently that club," I muttered, looking around and spotting the building. It looked entirely industrial on the outside, like some factory, but it had to be Secrets.
We both took a moment to wipe up a bit, though the wind was cold. It was gusting at random, and I wished it'd stop because the temperature wasn't that bad. We both finished with the wipes, and I dug out my pack to find a shirt that wasn't drive-wrinkled. Kevin took a moment to change his jeans, and I snickered at him since he managed to step wrong and nearly fall.
"You bringing that?" he asked, focusing on the rope.
"I can't think of a way to wear it," I countered, tilting my head at it. "It's too long for the belt idea."
"What are you bringing?"
"My thinking stick," I retorted, digging my staff out.
The car's engine was clicking, and I frowned slightly. I really didn't want it to die, it was hard to find the old cars anymore. I'd have to find one that'd been built in the eighties next, and who knew how well that'd hold up.
We finished getting ready and started locking the car down as a white Ferrari turned into the parking garage.
"Mm," Kevin muttered as he watched it. "That was one fine piece of work."
"I didn't see her," I yawned, digging out the key Brian had given me the first time we'd been on the strip.
"I meant the car," Kevin retorted.
I snickered, double checking that I had Josh's personal card. The letter he'd given me had said that I'd need it and the key to enter the club.
We worked our way across the large lot as the wind gusted a few more times, and I slowed as I felt something cold coming at us.
Kevin turned to look at me with interest, and I focused on the parking garage.
Josh was coming out of the pedestrian entrance. He stopped to look at us, then rolled his eyes.
"That was your car?" Kevin complained. "That wasn't supposed to be your car; I liked that car."
Josh laughed at that, his eyes lighting up as he looked between us. "I don't know what L told you, but Brian was at his house today after you called."
"She said," I agreed, falling in with him as he headed for the building. "Thanks for meeting with us anyway."
He didn't reply, stopping at the door. There were stairs down to it, and we watched a he took out a key and unlocked the thing.
It was then that I noticed the engraved word at the top corner.
"Keep your mouths shut," Josh noted quietly over his shoulder to us, then moved into a tiny curtained off area. The next section had a guard, who was busy greeting Josh as he pulled the club's door opened and looked at the pair of us with severely limited interest.
He did notice my staff, but averted his eyes wordlessly.
The music was loud, and I felt a chill come from the damn vampire. I focused on him as he smirked at me, leading us to a set of stairs to the side. He was smirking as he stepped up...and the music changed.
I felt the cold roll off of him, narrowing my eyes. My lungs almost seemed to be burning, and I realized that I might have a serious problem. It'd been months since we'd met him, months since I'd been drugged by incubus blood.
The crowd screamed. The music sounded more demanding than whatever'd been playing before, and Josh slowed at the top of the steps to look the area over.
"What?" Kevin asked shoving me up after him.
I shook my head, deciding not to make an issue of it. The damn vampire strutted forward toward the long bar, stopping briefly to kiss a female. She melted against him as other females darted forward, and I realized that I could still feel the coldness in the air as I looked around.
"Damn it," Kevin muttered, moving up to thump Josh in the back. Josh let the woman go, looking us over with silvered eyes before his attention moved to the bar.
Brian was standing at it, staring at him with an almost sick expression. He was shirtless with a little bowtie, and there were dark rings under his eyes. I was almost certain I could see bruises on his arms.
Josh moved across to the bar, leaning into it as he studied the bartender.
Brian looked away, shivering hard before noticing Kevin and I. I saw hope and fear burn through his eyes, and he looked away from us, too.
"We're taking a room," Josh stated. "Come."
"No," Brian said, not looking at him as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I said come," Josh snapped back, turning to stride away.
Brian looked after him with an almost sick expression again, then looked back between Kevin and I. He turned to type at the console, and even as he started for the employee entrance, another bartender was coming out. That male beamed at Kevin and I, but we turned to follow Josh.
It took until we were at the weird lake in the middle of the club for me to actually notice the club. I'd seen a few ladies dancing provocatively in the throng, but it was nearly midnight, so I'd assumed they were drunk...but the pavilion in that lake was full of people. It was a giant orgy.
I stared in disbelief, but Josh didn't look around. Instead, he led us down a hall into an area with curtained off sections. He turned to the right at the first hallway we reached and we moved down it until we reached walls that were wooden instead of curtain.
"What is this?" I asked the man skeptically, gesturing back. "And I'm pretty sure that pavilion thing would break regulations."
"We don't get inspected," Josh retorted in amusement as he inserted his key into the door and swung it open. "And this is a private room."
I hesitated, but the coldness had faded from him. Kevin pushed around me into the room and whistled.
There was a large and thin tv hanging from every wall. The entertainment stand had a ton of tech on it that I couldn't even place. There was a large square table in the middle of the room, and the floor wasn't carpet, it was a giant pillow.
Josh slid his shoes off, walking over and dropping down against what looked like a sofa back that stuck out of the floor as he shoved the table toward the entertainment systems with his feet.
"This is...pointless," I noted, looking around.
"Shoes off," he instructed. "And tell me what's going on."
I sighed and slid my shoes off, moving onto the pillow-y floor.
"Sit?" he asked, looking between us. "Something about guest rights?"
The sound of a door opening made us both jump, and Brian appeared from the back wall. The door was so well fitted that it was indiscernible from the rest, and he was carrying a tray with a pitcher of dark liquid, two bottles of alcohol, and cups.
"Hey," I greeted him.
He set the stuff down carefully, then tried to jump away hard. Josh lunged up and grabbed him, pulling back at his hair. Brian made a scared noise, flinching away from Josh's mouth.
"If you ever talk to me like that again," Josh hissed in his ear.
"Do it," Brian gasped, still tensed. "Please...now."
I exchanged a look with Kevin, noticing that Brian was trying to dig his nails into Josh's arm. Josh was looking down at him with shock on his face.
"Please!" Brian gasped, pressing himself back into Josh. "Do it..."
"What the fuck?" Josh demanded, letting him loose.
"I can't talk to you," Brian gasped in obvious panic as he tore away. "He'll make it worse if I talk to you..."
Josh went still, unnaturally still.
Brian turned away toward the table, then looked up to us with tear-glazed eyes.
"What happened?" Kevin asked quietly, moving forward to him.
Brian collapsed into Kevin without saying a word, wrapping his arms around him and starting to shiver.
I sighed, pulling off my button-up. I moved around Kevin to drape it over the young man...and saw the bruises.
His skin was covered in makeup, but the lighting in the little personal room was harsh.
"I can't," Brian said as I tucked the shirt around him. "He's...going to..."
"Who is?" Kevin asked seriously. "Brian, what happened?"
"I can't," he gasped, clinging even harder.
"Someone's torturing him," Josh said quietly, watching the young man.
"Come on, Bry," Kevin muttered, shifting and pulling him. "Come sit down."
Brian cooperated as Kevin sank down to lean against that weird couch-back, and he huddled into Kevin's body, obviously trying to keep contact wherever he could.
I sighed, moving to pour us drinks. It was cool in the room, wearing only a wife-beater, but I had a feeling Brian needed that warmth far more than I did.
"Who is it?" Josh asked quietly, then looked around to me. "I don't dare talk to him anymore, whoever it is will ask him."
"And I wager he can't lie," I muttered, passing him a glass.
"I always wanted to demand what you put into a drink you mixed me," Josh noted as he sipped. "But this isn't the time—and there's a white somewhere who has gotten to him," he looked Brian over. "And...I can't do the soul-gaze on my own."
I made a face at that as Kevin looked up to me seriously. He took the glass I'd poured and offered it to Brian, who sipped it before even thinking about it. He had tears on his cheeks and he turned to look at me again.
"Do it," I told Kevin quietly. "He's your friend, and you know how people react when I do it."
"No, you do it," Kevin retorted. "Because as scary as your shit is, you give them the choice."
"Yours isn't that bad," I complained. "That one said mine was black like midnight," I indicated the vampire with my thumb.
"Someone do it," Josh snapped.
I felt a ripple of coldness through the air, and Brian froze entirely.
I huffed, sitting down near my friend and leaning over. Josh was right, we had to see what we could of Brian's problem, and he obviously couldn't talk about it. I touched his shoulder, and when he turned to meet my eyes, he looked utterly confused.
The soul-gaze started immediately, and I looked around a random sort of room a long moment before seeing Brian off to one side. He had been wearing casual clothes at some point, but the shirt was ripped and torn so only the sleeves were still on him. He had his feet tucked under him, and was half gasping as he tried to find a way to sit comfortably. There were long red marks along his skin, and spots across his throat and collar bone that looked like hickies, and small wounds down his chest.
There was a white collar around his neck chaining him to a post. His eyes were frantic as he looked around, and I realized that his wrists were tied with more white cord.
I moved up to him, noticing him focus on me, trying to reach for me before the ropes caught his arms. He tried to say something, straining against the bonds, and thrashed backwards away from me.
Brian was full-on crying when I could see him again, and he threw himself to me as he sobbed.
"What was it?" Josh asked in a tight voice.
"White collar," I supplied. "White ropes binding his arms. You been in a bad mood lately, vampire?"
"I didn't do it," Josh snapped irritably, lowering the drink to glare at me.
"What do we do?" Kevin demanded. "We can't just break the bonds like that."
"We're going to have to do it the long way," I returned, holding the young man tighter to me. "We're going to have to get him out to start with."
"Hey," Josh protested. "He's got a job here..."
"And he's being tortured by your family," I snapped back. "Maybe even you."
"I gave you guest rights, asshole," Josh snapped.
I blinked, realizing the truth in that. "Sorry," I sighed.
Brian shifted and moved up me, leaning into my ear. I could feel him shaking as he hesitated, then leaned forward to whisper one word.
"Ethan."
I narrowed my eyes as he collapsed against me again, he was seriously trying to touch me with every inch of his body. His pulse was erratic, and the shivering hadn't stopped at all.
Josh looked between Kevin and I...as the cup he was holding broke.
"That's exciting," I hissed to Kevin, feeling my own pulse heighten at the thought.
"Do you want my blood?" Josh asked dryly as he considered his hand. "Make it more fun for all of us? You ever figure out what you were planning to do to me?"
I turned my head to consider the vampire a long moment, then smiled at him. "Why would I tell you?"
He narrowed his eyes at me.
I laughed.
"He said he wanted to feel his pulse again," Kevin noted dryly. "And to breathe the cold air. I told him it was disgusting and he told me that he was going to spike my drink with you."
Josh guffawed at us, dropping back in his seat again. He considered Brian a long moment, then wiped is hand off on his jeans. It only took him a moment to pull Brian to him, and he looked between us. "This is going to get uncomfortable," he noted.
"No!" Brian gasped, trying to fight away from him in a panic. "No! He'll make it worse, he'll make it worse!"
"And it won't hurt him?" I demanded, frowning as I yanked Brian away again. It felt ridiculous to do, but I wanted to be sure.
Josh shook his head, pulling the smaller male from me. Brian was panicking as he tried to flail away harder, but Josh licked his thumb and pressed it to the guy's throat. Brian started crying hard as he turned into the vampire.
It was sickening to see him laid bare like that. Actually, the fact that he was being influenced the way he was meant that I hadn't seen any of what made him who he was. I couldn't even make out the room he'd been in; I was used to seeing details like memories hanging around a room. They'd look like family photos, and it was one way to figure out what sort of person you were dealing with.
Josh licked his thumb again, or maybe it was his fingers. He wasn't looking at us, and Brian calmed after a minute, though he was still shaking. He pulled away to look up at Josh.
"Can you talk?" Josh asked.
Brian swallowed, nodding and sliding away from him. He huddled down with his back against the table, looking down at my shirt in confusion.
"What's been going on?" Kevin asked quietly.
"Ethan showed up," he explained, gesturing vaguely toward the bar. "He said he had a job for me, so I went to meet him at my car when the shift ended. He...he came up behind me and licked me," he made a face as he rubbed at his throat.
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly, studying him over.
"He...was making me beg," Brian muttered without looking at us. "He wouldn't actually touch me beyond biting or licking...and when I got too insistent he'd grab me and throw me," he rubbed at his arms. "He was biting me when you called...I'm sorry."
"No," Josh reassured him. "I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention."
I looked between them a moment.
Brian sighed, laying over so his head was near me as he rubbed at his face. "I barely realized I should call you," he noted as he studied Kevin. He frowned, looking around to me and blinking. "Have you...killed?"
I frowned at him, nodding. Of all the reactions people had to a soul-gaze with me, that was normally the first question they could eventually manage. I'd gathered that I was holding my sword with a puddle of blood around my feet, and Josh had said it was dark. I didn't want to know more; the details I'd heard repeated upset me.
"Don't talk about what you saw," Josh muttered to Brian, shifting back to take another drink as he obviously thought. "And those binds were weak."
"He told me before work today that I couldn't talk to you or he'd..." he looked away. "He's been coming every day for a week."
Josh rubbed at his face, nodding. "I'm going to have to deal with this."
"Thank you," Brian muttered, looking away.
"You are mine," Josh stated, looking from Brian to me, then around to Kevin.
Brian didn't say anything.
"What can we do?" Kevin asked thoughtfully. "Without provoking your house, I mean. We need to deal with this..."
"Well, for one, I'm taking Joey," Josh stated.
We both focused on him.
"I won't hurt him," Josh retorted. "At the most I'll lick him, but probably not even that. I'll do like you just saw," he indicated Brian. "If I do it a few times in a row, it'll get results."
I rubbed at the back of my hand, looking back to Brian.
"But what can we do?" Kevin persisted. "You heard Ry, he wants to tear the asshole up again."
"Well," Josh sighed. "I think the first thing at all is going to be me getting Joey. You two should take Brian somewhere."
"My shift," Brian protested, looking around to him.
"I'll take your shift," Josh gave him a look, pulling his phone out and moving across the room from us. He was smiling as he started talking, and Brian sighed as he pulled the shirt off and passed it back nervously to me.
"You gonna be alright?" I asked quietly.
Brian nodded, rubbing the makeup so it covered his bruises again. "A shower...but it depends on what he says," he looked to Josh with a swallow.
It only took a minute for the door to the room to open again, and a smiling woman swaggered in with a clipboard. She moved to Brian, indicating something, and he filled out the form quickly. She turned to Josh, who wrote something in large letters before giving her a look. She blinked at it, then frowned. She was back to being sweet at him before she turned and left the room.
"I swear they think they own you," Josh noted dryly, moving to us and wrapping his arm around the younger male's waist. "Stay with me, we'll separate outside."
Brian nodded, starting to shiver, he was breathing hard as we left the room.
It wasn't until we were almost across the main floor that I realized Ethan was watching us. I turned when I spotted him, reaching down and caressing my staff as I met his eyes. Everything in me wanted to throw fire at him and see what happened next, but Kevin moved and grabbed my arm. He pulled and shoved me past Josh toward the exit, and I turned back to see Brian was clinging to Josh as the vampire did something at his throat.
I was going to kill him.
Josh started laughing, catching Brian into his arms and moving to join Kevin and I. He hadn't acknowledged his cousin at all, and I spotted the other vampire storming toward the bar.
We moved from the loud building into the cold night, and I crossed my arms over my chest as I stopped at the top of the stairs to look at the vampire.
"I didn't do anything," Josh retorted, supporting Brian up the stairs with one hand. "I asked him if he wanted to make Ethan jealous and we didn't touch beyond me holding him up. Calm down."
"I'm currently thinking all vampires are bastards," I retorted. "And considering what you've threatened to do to me..."
"I don't sleep with guys," Josh noted, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I can influence them, and I do influence them, but I've never wanted to have sex with them, so stop giving me that look."
"You're a bastard," Brian informed him seriously, pulling away and moving over to join Kevin and I. "You've been threatening me for the last two damn years."
"If I had honestly meant any of it," Josh pointed out, meeting his eyes, "I'd have done it. There's an Asian mall thing in Chinatown, on Spring Mountain."
I gave him a blank look, processing that he was done arguing. I mostly believed him, and leaving fast was probably the best thing we could do at this point. I turned to look toward my car. "It'll take us a bit to..."
"I know it," Brian reassured us. "What about it?"
"Meet me there," Josh shrugged. "I'll find you a hotel suite at a nearby..."
"Suite?" Kevin asked dryly.
"Yes," Josh agreed. "Because I'm paying for it."
We all gave him blank looks.
"Go," Josh added. "I'm bringing Joey to you, and he'll be incredibly upset."
Brian shuddered, looking away, then focusing on our car. He blinked at it, then looked around to me.
"Technology hates us," I supplied. "We go old school. Come on."
Josh turned and headed away, stretching.
"You ride shot-gun," Kevin muttered. "It'll help the engine for less magic to be working against it."
Brian shook his head slightly, turning to move around the car.
A/N: So I have the third story in this series finished and none of them are very long. The base idea for this story has been floating in my mind for something like 5 years now, and I finally decided to get it out. I feel I should point out that all the characters are in their early twenties, and fairly untried. I'd appreciate a review if you're enjoying the story. ~Kye