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“The hunger never goes away completely.” He said after a while. “You learn to make it your strength instead of your weakness.” He stood up and stretched. “Morgan don’t even trip. The fact you worried about losing yourself means you won’t.”

Donté moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. “We’ve got your back. Me, Zand, Harlen and Chanel. Gee, you not alone in this.”

As the door closed behind him. I sat with his colorful words. It was information. Data. Something I could learn from and use. He was gone, and I forgot to ask him if there was a funeral and a burial for him. I also forgot to ask him if it was an open casket because it couldn’t be open. If it was, whose body was in the casket? I knew it didn’t matter, but I was confused and curious about the whole damn thing. I’m still nosy as a vampire. That part of me hadn’t changed.

CHAPTER SIX

ZAND

My rage burned cold as I slipped my Cripo Glock into my shoulder holster. The weapon’s lightweight against my ribs felt comfortable. I existed for a few decades without the need for weapons. Times had changed.

Teresa crossed a line when she murdered Morgan. Harlen turning Morgan didn’t erase the loss of life. Nothing could erase Teresa’s sins now. I didn’t think she would go this far. I will never underestimate a rival again. This was my lesson learned. Morgan was the only family Chanel had left, and Teresa took her life. Payback was so near I could feel it, see it, and taste it.

I adjusted my suit jacket, guaranteeing the gun remained invisible beneath the tailored fabric. Tonight, I was hunting my ex-wife. If I would’ve known what she did to Morgan, I would’ve confronted her sooner. Harlen should’ve reported Morgan’s death immediately. This time, I overlooked his behavior. It was clear he had genuine feelings for Morgan.

I left my office and walked down the hall to the Castle’s private conference room. I entered and noticed Natasha standing at the head of the table. Marco bent to slide his weaponinto his ankle holster. Matt checked the clip on his Glock. He was a good shot. Matt was a hunter before he was made a vampire. Josh stood silently by the door. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were always alert. Each of them had served me faithfully for years.

Harlen entered the conference room last. The recent events with Morgan had changed him. There was a new focus in his eyes.It was nice to see he cared about someone other than himself.

“You sure this is the play?” Harlen asked, accepting his weapon from Natasha. “Confronting Teresa in a public place?”

I addressed his concerns. “We need to see how many people she has with her that are vampires. We need our people to walk around so we can get some kind of head count. When the shit goes down, I don’t want to be outnumbered. Teresa thrives on chaos. We’re not giving her what she wants. We’re dictating the terms now.”

“Harlen, do you remember how to use your weapon?” Natasha asked.

He looked down at his own personal gun. “Yes. Point and shoot.”

I advised Natasha to give Harlen a Cripo Glock. There was nothing I could see that made me believe he would go against me. He wanted to be here. We wouldn’t know Marisol was a vamp without his intel.

“Listen up everybody!” I called out. “As you know, the weapon is personalized only for you. Get used to carrying it, concealing it, and wearing it on your body. This tech is something we can’t let get out into the world.”

“Why are we bringing them if we can’t use it to take these assholes down?”Harlen asked.

“This isn’t what we’re there for. Using our weapons are last resort. We are not there to get civilians killed and caught in ourvampire business. Natasha and I have never tested the serum on humans. One stray bullet might kill them, and that’s not what we’re there for.”

“Club Bailar Caliente has a VIP section that’s relatively isolated.” Natasha said while pulling up the club’s floor plan on the screen on the wall behind the head of the table. “Our goal is to isolate Teresa and Marisol and identify any other vampires in the establishment.”

“Every entrance and exit needs to be covered as soon as we step inside. We can’t have any vampires leaving without a head count and description.” I instructed. “I know everyone is ready to use the Cripos and have this over with, but we can’t show them our hand this early. If they see our secret weapon coming, they can run and hide and then we are right back where we started. I don’t want to go back to looking over our shoulders. I’m going in there to stir shit up! So, we can take them out completely!”

The team absorbed my instructions. These weren’t just my employees. They were my soldiers in a war most humans didn’t even know existed. A war Teresa started when she created her own vampire and targeted Chanel. I just hoped Marisol was the only vampire she created.

“If we all are there at the club, who is with Chanel and Morgan?” Harlen asked.

“Donté and Viktor are with them.” I replied. “Donté and Viktor have been issued weapons. Morgan is a vampire now. As far as we know, Teresa doesn’t know that you turned her. The instructions are clear. Time to get the information.”

The ride to Club Bailar Caliente was hauntingly silent. We took two black SUVs, with window tints beyond legal limits. We cut through Chicago’s night traffic in route to our destination. I sat in the lead vehicle with Natasha beside me and Harlen in the back.

We pulled up a half a block from the club entrance. The line stretched down the sidewalk, humans blissfully unaware they were in queue alongside predators. Bass pulsed from within the walls and leaked out into the street.

Natasha approached the bouncer who was a mountain of a man with neck tattoos and hands like sledgehammers. She smiled and slipped him an envelope from her leather jacket. The bouncer’s eyes widened slightly as she placed it in his palm.

“Three thousand.” She murmured. “Me and my friends don’t like waiting or being searched.”

He hesitated only briefly before pocketing the cash and unhooking the velvet rope. “Go right in.” He grunted, avoiding eye contact with the rest of us.

We entered the club. Harlen took the lead because he’d been there before. The club interior was colorful and very different from my decor at The Castle. The dance floor was full of bodies pressed together under strobe lights moving to Latin music.

I scanned the crowd methodically. Josh and Marco positioned themselves near the main exit. Matt drifted toward the emergency exit. Natasha remained at my flank. Harlen moved to the other emergency exit by the bar that led to the kitchen.