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“…that’s why I don’t like them,” I finished, my voice trembling a little.

“Those foul beasts!” Matthias thundered. “You are right, those big teeth and their beady eyes… horses are terrifying. It’s a good thing you don’t have to work with them.”

“Yes, it would be horrible if I had to…”

The door banged open to reveal a smugly smiling Carl.

“Victoria, my dear,” he said with cloying sweetness. “I’m glad to see you. Here I thought you had been avoiding me, but that couldn’t possibly be true, right?”

“Of course not… sir,” I said with a blank face.

“Hey, we are busy here. What do you want?” Matthias interjected, using his reputation as a brute to just shove the false pleasantries aside.

Carl glared at the man but didn’t dare to say anything. He just ignored him and turned back to me.

“I wanted to find you because I have a task for you. You will attend to my horse.”

“No, I can’t—”

“Nonsense! It’s a great privilege,” Carl stressed with glee. “I will leave you to it.”

With a grin on his face, he sauntered out of the door.

We made our way to the stables as quickly as possible. The moment I saw Clementine, the beautiful chestnut mare Carl took a liking to, I pressed my head to her neck.

“Good girl,” I cooed, petting the mare who happily huffed into my hair.

“Your ruse worked like a charm,” Matthias beamed at me. “Let’s see if I can find an apple for this beauty. Score! Here’s one!” He extended his hand with a red apple towards Clementine and she gobbled it up.

Not only were we out of the house, but we could spend the whole day with the animals we loved. Maybe even make a picnic out of our packed lunch. This day was turning out to be awesome.

Chapter Thirteen

Tristan

The next meeting with Jonas started with the man asking if I would turn him. When my answer didn’t change the mafia boss scowled but kept his composure better than yesterday. Instead of leaving in a huff, he tried to use the perceived snub as another item on the scales of our negotiations, trying to strengthen his position and gain concessions from me.

I gave him the Persimmon club.

That put the talks back on track but I was pretty sure Jonas wasn’t going to leave the matter of becoming a vampire so easily. I counted on it. I had already put a trap in place.

A bit of digging had shown that Jonas regularly spent his evenings outside of his home, in New York’s clubs, so I asked a vampire colleague who owed me a favor to dangle some bait in front of the mafia boss’ face. I couldn’t wait to see my plan come to fruition but, for now, I had to keep negotiating and stall for time. That was what Theo was perfect for.

“As for foreign trade... we have quite a few contacts in Asia,” Theo pulled out neat sheets of information to cross-reference. “We are willing to exchange some of them for your contacts in Europe.”

“Are those contacts for legal trading?” Jonas leaned forward with interest. “Or for smuggling?”

“Legal. Smuggling en masse, such as counterfeit items or drugs, is not our specialty. But if you want to talk about specialized cases where a single item or person has to be smuggled in and out of the country...”

I let Theo explain the minutiae of what we were willing to trade for. It pained me that his meticulous attention to detail was seared into him by his cruel family but he took the skills that were forced into him and made them his own.

I was proud of how far he had come. Even though Matthias was the older one it was Theo who had effortlessly slid into the position of my right hand. Learning how to live with trauma was a slow process but Theo was strong and we were patient. About seven years after being changed into a vampire Theo stood in front of me, trembling but resolute, and informed me he was going to enroll in a university. Not only that, but he wanted to truly experience the life of a student, of a young man, and decided to live in the dorms. It was incredible, watching him blossom into himself, make friends, party, and study something his father would disapprove of: to be a marine biologist. Years later, after achieving his degree, Theo stood in front of me once more and this time he asked to be made a part of our business.

Theo’s decision to leave his love for the sea creatures as a hobby and to forgo a career in the field blindsided Matthias but I was somehow expecting it. Theo wanted to prove to himself that he could be independent and do whatever he wanted and, when he succeeded, I felt it was only a matter of time before the youngman let himself settle into the soothing rhythm of our bond and stay close.

We were a team. Forged by choice and destiny. I felt like adding Victoria into the mix made the bond between us even more unbreakable. I needed her. Wanted her so much.

I couldn’t wait for the trap to close around Jonas, letting me move forward with my plan.