Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  “No, thank you,” Cassidy said for the second time. She didn’t bother to try to step around the man but stared at him as she waited for him to move. “I have a boyfriend.”

  “So?” the man inquired.

  “So that means back the fuck off,” Dante growled as he came up behind him.

  When Dante leveled the man with a look that clearly said he’d tear out the guy’s throat, Cassidy stiffened. She held her hand out to Dante, who nudged the guy out of his way and clasped her hand. He didn’t take his eyes off the man as he pulled her against his side.

  Stepping closer to him, Cassidy rested her hand on Dante’s chest to soothe the tension vibrating through him. The guy glanced between the two of them before edging back toward his seat and sitting on the stool. The other man at the table looked like he was trying not to laugh as he stared into his glass, but he couldn’t hide his smile.

  Dante shot the guy one last, fulminating stare before leading Cassidy to the bar.

  “You can’t glower at every guy who hits on me,” she told him.

  “Yes, I can,” he said.

  Cassidy chuckled. “In my line of work, you’d spend most of the night glaring at people.”

  She was right, and he hated it. As long as she was on stage, men would become enamored with her and hit on her. However, he would never ask her to stop doing this. Even if she hadn’t told him how much she loved singing, he saw that love whenever she was on stage. He’d rather spend an eternity glaring at men and maybe getting into a few fistfights than ask her to stop doing something she loved so much.

  He hugged her against him and kissed her forehead. “I’m okay with that.”

  Cassidy heaved an exasperated sigh as her fingers curled into his T-shirt. When they arrived at the bar, Kyle was there with Julian and Aida. Kyle grinned at them, and Julian gave Dante a sympathetic look as he held Aida a little closer.

  “We’re heading out,” Julian said and gave Cassidy a quick hug.

  “We’ll see you guys later,” Aida said with a small wave.

  Dante watched as they made their way through the crowd and out the door. He was turning back to Cassidy when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He lowered his arm from her shoulders and pulled out his phone. He didn’t recognize the caller, but that was nothing new as he gave his number to a lot of people.

  His finger slid over the green button, and he lifted it to his ear. “Hello.”

  “Hey, asshole,” a gruff voice greeted.

  “Who is this?”

  “It’s Zan. I know I told you I never wanted to see you again, but I’m at a party, and your boy’s here.”

  “Preston?”

  “How many boys are you looking for?”

  Dante ignored the question. “Is Julie with him?”

  “He came in alone, and I don’t see anyone resembling your girl, but there’s a ton of people and vamps here.”

  “Where are you?”

  “What? No flowers or some sweet talk before you start demanding shit?”

  Dante’s teeth ground together. “I’m sorry, what can I do for you?”

  Zan snorted. “I’m just fucking with you, man. I’m in New Beige; that’s New Bedford to you lay folk.”

  “I know what New Beige is.”

  “Of course you do. There’s a party in one of the old warehouses.”

  “Is this one of Opal’s parties?”

  A jolt of adrenaline ran through Cassidy when Dante mentioned Opal, and she shot Kyle a look. She almost seized Dante’s wrist when he removed his pad and a pen from inside his jacket. He couldn’t go alone; she wouldn’t let him go alone.

  “Yeah, it’s the last hurrah,” Zan said. “Opal’s getting out of the business, but she’s throwing a major goodbye party. Your boy got word of it.”

  “Can I get the address?” Dante asked.

  “There better not be any problems here; I called you because no kid should be involved in this and because you helped me in the fire. However, you start anything while you’re here, I will personally beat you down, understood?”

  Between him and Zan, it would be a pretty good fight, but if Bull decided to join in, he’d probably end up cozying up to some trash. “There won’t be any problems. I’m just going to ask him some questions.”

  Zan hesitated before replying. “Okay.”

  Dante wrote down the address Zan rattled off before ending the call. Dante returned his phone to his pocket before putting away his pad and pen.

  “Is Preston there?” Cassidy asked.

  “Yes.” Dante braced himself for what he knew was coming.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “You have to work, and I’d prefer if you stay out of this one.”

  “You don’t know what’s going on; he could be setting you up.”

  “Zan’s not that type of guy.”

  “You barely know him; you can’t know what type of guy he is.”

  “I’ve been around enough of his type to know.”

  Zan worked with Opal and ran these parties because it was fun for him. The fights and the possibility something would go wrong helped keep the adrenaline junky in him happy. He’d probably turned a blind eye to a lot over the years, both figuratively and literally, but he retained a sense of morality.

  That was the real reason he called and not because Dante helped him in the fire. He would never admit it, but Dante would bet one of his toes that Zan had been looking for Julie and Preston since the night of the fire.

  “I’m not letting you go alone,” she said.

  “I’ll go with him,” Kyle offered.

  Cassidy glanced between them. She’d never be able to sing while knowing they were out there and possibly in trouble. “No. I’m coming with you. I’ll convince Rick I had arranged to leave work early with Kyle. Don’t leave; I’ll be right back.”

  Before Dante could protest, she was already vanishing into the crowd.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Dante paid the taxi driver and climbed out of the car to stand behind Kyle and Cassidy on the broken sidewalk. The chunks of concrete standing up at awkward angles reminded him of alligator teeth. Like a hungry alligator, these pieces were waiting to snap someone’s ankle.

  His head tilted back to take in the warehouse before them. The blacked-out windows, probably boarded over with plywood from the inside, revealed no hint of light, and no one was on the street outside the building.

  Turning his head, he inspected the other worn-down buildings with their broken windows, sagging doors, and brick facades. The forgotten buildings stood testament to the old whaling and manufacturing days when New Bedford was a booming city. Whaling died out before the factories, but many of them eventually followed whaling to the grave. The city was rebuilding some of the run-down areas, but they hadn’t made it here yet.

  Now, the hush and darkness of the place reminded him of a graveyard, minus the flowers and headstones. There were probably some ghosts floating around too.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Cassidy asked as she once again questioned if Zan was trying to set Dante up. She couldn’t think of a good reason why Zan would do it, but when it came to Dante’s safety, she didn’t trust anyone outside of her family.

  “It’s the right place,” Kyle said. “I’ve been to a party here before. The entrance is around the back.”

  “Where are all the cars?” she asked.

  “No one brings cars to these parties,” Kyle said. “They’d give away that something was going on. Trust me, if this is Opal’s last hoorah, then the place is packed.”

  Cassidy glanced up and down the road. No streetlights illuminated the area, but she could still see fairly well. From somewhere down the street, a cat howled and something metal clattered against the pavement.

  She restrained herself from jumping at the sound and shoved her hands in her pockets before she rubbed at the goose bumps forming on her arms. She hated that she didn’t see anyone but felt like hundreds of eyes were watchin
g them from the surrounding buildings.

  “Come on,” Kyle said and jerked his head to the right.

  Dante settled his hand on her hip and nudged her forward as her brother followed the deadly sidewalk to the side of the building. They entered an alley between the two buildings. Cassidy tried not to let her imagination run wild as they walked, but she still felt as if a thousand eyes followed her.

  When they came around the back of the building, Kyle led them to a door. “Here we are,” he said as he stopped outside the solid metal door.

  The metal vibrated when Dante stepped forward and knocked loudly. A sliding window pulled back, and Bull looked out at them. The man grunted before sliding the window shut again. Locks clicked as they turned, and the door swung open to reveal the shadowed interior lit only by multiple flashlights resting on a set of stairs fifty feet away.

  “Zan told me you were coming,” Bull said. “He’s upstairs.”

  “Thanks,” Dante said.

  Dante kept Cassidy close by his side as Kyle led the way to the stairs. He didn’t hesitate on the second floor but continued to the third. As they climbed higher, he detected the muffled beat of the music. It wasn’t until they made it to the third floor that he saw why the music remained so faint. Across from the top of the stairs, a single dangling bulb illuminated a metal door.

  Grasping the knob, Kyle turned it and pushed open the door. A rush of music drifted out as did the drone of voices and laughter. The music wasn’t overly loud, but Cassidy winced as the influx of noise grated on her ears. The scent of blood and alcohol mingled with the aroma of the numerous vampires and people gathered inside. Beneath it all, she detected the smell of sex.

  She wouldn’t let them do this by themselves, but she wished she wasn’t here right now. After her last experience in a vamp bar, she loathed the idea of being locked inside a place again. However, they had no other choice.

  Cassidy glanced at her brother to discover his hands fisted as he surveyed the room. His eyes lingered on a couple of women dancing together. It could be another year or more before Kyle fully matured, but she suspected her brother was on the verge, and because of that, he was having a tougher time controlling himself.

  Her heart ached for her twin, but the only help she could give was to stand by and support him. Resting her hand against his arm, she gave it a tender squeeze. His head turned toward her, and he gave her a pained smile.

  “Welcome to the party,” he said.

  She could tell he was trying to sound carefree, but his voice came out flat and strained.

  “We won’t be here long,” Dante said.

  He didn’t know what was going on between the siblings, but being here was not making Kyle happy. When they moved further into the room, Dante shut the door behind them.

  He surveyed the room for Preston or Zan, but it was Zan he spotted first as the tall man broke away from the crowd and glided toward them. The dim overhead lights reflected off the dark glasses shadowing his eyes.

  “I didn’t know you were bringing company,” Zan said when he reached them. His head turned toward Kyle, and though Dante couldn’t see his eyes, he sensed his disapproval. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

  “He’s my new brother-in-law,” Kyle said as he pointed his thumb at Dante. “I have to protect his back.”

  Dante did a double take at his words; Cassidy was his mate, they’d established a bond, but he hadn’t expected her family to accept him so easily. Her family… his family. The realization sent a jolt of alarm through him. He’d already lost one family; he couldn’t stand to lose another.

  He would not lose another. He didn’t care what he had to do to make sure that didn’t happen. He wouldn’t lose anyone else.

  “Still, you knew the rules, and you broke them,” Zan said to Kyle.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Kyle offered. “And I’ll never come back again… unless my family needs me.”

  “There’s nothing to come back to,” Zan said. “Opal’s out of business after this.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that; whether I’m welcome or not, Opal’s a good lady.”

  “I know.”

  “I broke your trust and hers,” Kyle said. “I never should have told my sister about any of it, but she’s family. I also didn’t expect her to go to Opal’s, but you know how women can be once they get an idea in their heads.”

  Cassidy scowled at her brother but bit her tongue. He was making headway with Zan, and she didn’t want to separate from him.

  Zan’s shoulders relaxed a little. “If Opal ever reopens, I don’t want to see you again. And none of you are to be here for any longer than necessary.”

  “You’ll never see me again,” Kyle promised.

  Zan stared at him before turning to Dante and pointing across the packed room. “Your boy’s at the bar.”

  Dante couldn’t see the bar through the crowd, but he trusted it was there. “Thanks,” he said to Zan, who grunted in return.

  Zan was more bark than bite, but Dante wouldn’t push his luck here. Right now, they weren’t friends, but they had mutual respect, and he meant to keep that. Zan was a lot better as an ally than an enemy.

  A glance around the packed area revealed speakers high on the wall. He couldn’t see the electrical cords and figured that, after what happened last time, they’d figure out a better plan for those. There were also no candles this time, and all the light came from battery-powered lanterns hanging from hooks on the walls.

  Plywood, with metal nailed over it, covered the numerous windows. At least a hundred people and vampires filled the room, and he suspected that, given the size of the building, there were more in places he couldn’t see.

  “Are the lanterns new?” he asked Kyle.

  Kyle frowned at them before looking to him. “How did you know?”

  “Lucky guess.”

  “The fire,” Cassidy said.

  “The fire,” Dante agreed.

  “At least they’re not stupid, and it’s safer here.” However, she wondered how much safer it was.

  Kyle led the way through the party. As he walked, he returned the greetings he received with a wave and a smile. They were halfway through the crowd when a pretty vampire ran out and threw her arms around him.

  “Where have you been?” the woman gushed. Her blonde hair swayed about her hips as she leaned back to beam at Kyle.

  Cassidy sensed her brother’s discomfort as he pried himself from the woman’s embrace, but she didn’t intervene. This was Kyle’s world, and it was an entirely different one than the one they shared for years.

  Holding onto the girl’s arms, Kyle studied her face. He doesn’t know who she is, Cassidy realized. She almost rolled her eyes, but the consternation on her brother’s face stopped her.

  The woman stepped out of his hold and playfully hit him on the arm. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been busy,” Kyle said.

  “That’s okay.” The woman looped her arm through his. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

  She tried to tug him away, but Kyle planted his feet and carefully removed his arm from hers. “I’m sorry…” Kyle hesitated before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m not here to party tonight.”

  She gave him a flirty pout as she planted her hands on her curvaceous hips. “Yeah, right.”

  “I’m not. I’m here with my family, and we’re not staying.”

  The woman turned toward Dante and Cassidy. Unsure of what else to do, Cassidy gave her a small wave while Dante shifted impatiently beside her. Confusion followed by anger flickered through the woman’s eyes.

  “I have to go,” Kyle said.

  He walked away before the woman could respond, and judging by the irritated look on her face, that wasn’t something she appreciated. Dante led Cassidy past the woman who turned to glare at Kyle’s back.

  Usually, she would have given him shit about the woman, but the flash of self-hatred in his eyes stopped h
er. Cassidy knew his lifestyle was taking a toll on him, but she hadn’t realized how much until now.

  Dante followed as she hurried to catch up with her brother. “Kyle—”

  “Not now, Cassidy,” he said.

  “Kyle.”

  She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a stop. Turmoil churned in his eyes when he turned to face her. Her hand tightened on his wrist.

  “You’re going to get through this,” she said.

  A vein throbbed in his temple as his jaw locked. “I don’t even know her fucking name.”

  She didn’t know how to respond, and before she could think of something, he squeezed her hand and removed it from his wrist. Tears burned her eyes as she watched him walk through the crowd.

  “What is going on?” Dante asked her.

  Cassidy blinked away her tears and started walking again before they lost Kyle amid the sea of people and vamps. “I’ll explain later.”

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  “Yes,” Cassidy said with a conviction she didn’t feel.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The bar came into view as they caught up with Kyle. At the far end of it, Cassidy spotted the man she recognized from the boy in Lindsay’s pictures. Preston rested his elbow on the bar as he leaned against it. His resemblance to Julie was evident in the shape of his face, brown hair, and blue eyes.

  Dante led the way to where Preston stood surrounded by three girls. The girls hung on his every word as they laughed loudly. Cassidy and Kyle hung back a little when he stepped closer to the quartet.

  “Preston Parks?” he asked.

  Preston’s eyes flicked toward him before returning to the girls. When he touched the back of one girl’s hand, she giggled. These three humans were quite enamored with the vamp.

  “Who wants to know?” Preston asked without looking at Dante again.

  “My name is Dan Vares.”

  Preston brushed some of the blonde’s hair over her shoulder before touching her cheek. “And?”

  Dante reminded himself to keep control of his temper in this place. The last thing he needed was a battle with Zan and Bull. However, he understood why Zan called this pretentious prick a pretty boy, and he itched to make him a whole lot less pretty.