Page 38 of Bound in Blood

Logan scoffed, grabbing his hoodie from the apron rack. “Actually, you don’t have to do that because I’m still staying with those friends I mentioned earlier.”

Vik raised an eyebrow. “The twins you just met, you mean?”

Logan blushed. “Uh… yeah. Them.”

Vik gave him a long look, the kind that made Logan feel like he was being sized up. “So, you go from barely letting people buy you a drink to moving in with two guys you’ve known for what? A week?”

Logan groaned, running a hand through his hair as they both headed for the front door. “It’s not like that, Vik.”

Vik crossed his arms, expression skeptical but not outright disapproving. “You sure they’re not weirdos?”

Logan huffed, rolling his eyes. “Defineweird.”

Vik’s eyes narrowed. “Are they gonna murder you in your sleep?”

Logan bit his tongue to keep from laughing.

“They’re not gonna murder me, Vik.”Again, anyway.

Vik hummed like he wasn’t convinced, fishing his keys from his pocket as they stepped outside. “All right. But if theydoturn out to be axe murderers, you better haunt my ass so I can go fullTakenon them.”

Logan snorted, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets as they started down the sidewalk. “I’m absolutely sure that this bar is purgatory, so I’m not sure that’ll be much of a problem.”

Vik’s smirk was short-lived. As he reached to lock up behind them, his expression shifted—something flickered behind his eyes, and Logan barely had time to register it before Vikstopped cold.

His entire body tensed. Logan nearly bumped into him from behind.

“What?” Logan frowned, trying to see around him.

Vik didn’t answer.

Then the scent hit.

Logan inhaled sharply, stomach twisting at the overwhelmingwrongnessof it—thick, metallic blood, but not the usual background scent of a bar fight gone wrong. This wasfresh.

And then he saw it.

A shape crouched in the alley, half-obscured by shadows. The body beneath it wasn’t moving.

Logan’s pulse hammered in his ears.

The mugger.

Or at least, what was left of him.

And the thing on top of him—head bent, hands gripping the man’s slack shoulders—lifted its face.

Black, bottomless eyes focused in on Logan.

His stomach dropped.

Vampire.

Not a friendly one, by the looks of it.

“Oh,fuck.”

Vik moved faster than Logan could track him. No hesitation or shock, just action.