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CHAPTER NINE

ZAND

I was so disgusted with the low life I once called my brother. As soon as I gave him a chance, he went and did this. I stood at the foot of the bed and tried to think about not beating him to death. He was a vampire, so that wasn’t an option, but a vampire could dream.

“Zander, I—” Harlen spoke, something I was wholly against.

“Save it!” I growled, my anger momentarily overshadowing my concern for Morgan. “I will deal with you later. Right now, I need to focus on keeping everyone safe.”

As I turned to leave the room, I couldn’t help but wonder how much more chaos I could accept in my vampire family. My temper got the best of me, and I turned on my heels and walked over to the bed.

I stood over Harlen. The image of him entwined in Morgan’s arms, the woman who meant so much to Chanel, was burned into his mind. I clenched my fists, struggling to contain the fury surging through me. Morgan had been through enough, and now my fiendish brother had to add to her despair.

“Harlen,” I snarled. “Explain yourself.”

Harlen blinked, groggy and disoriented, before his eyes settled on my enraged expression.

“I thought you were going to deal with me later?” Harlen scrambled to sit up completely; the sheet sliding off his bare chest. “Brother, I, it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Really?” I sneered. My voice was laden with sarcasm. “Because it looked like you were in my bed with Morgan, completely disregarding she’s a human.”

“Who cares? Humans are great, sometimes. Your girlfriend is a human. Look, I didn’t know she was off limits.” Harlen stammered, rubbing his temples as if to will away the grogginess. “I met her at the club, and we just connected.”

“Connected.” I couldn’t believe this bullshit. I had enough to worry about.

“I swear I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. She was willing. I mean, she wanted it.”

I took a deep breath. “Get the fuck out of my bed.”

“You told me I could stay here.”

“Get up.” I ordered.

Harlen stood, exposing himself to me. I stormed out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen, where I opened the bottle of blood I left there minutes ago. I opened the cabinet and grabbed a clean, empty glass and poured the blood into my glass and drank it down. This spectacle was exactly why I left L.A. The vampires of my past were living in a Greek tragedy. While I was here, living in a contemporary romance.

After a few minutes, Harlen emerged wearing a wrinkled black t-shirt and black jeans.

“How do you like my haircut?” He joked, rubbing his buzz cut.

I was in no mood for his bullshit. “Fuck you.”

“Zand, I’m sorry. I didn’t think she was some sacred person to you.”

“If you ever put Morgan or anyone else I care about in harm’s way again, you’ll answer to me,” I threatened. My voice was low and dangerous.

“Harm’s way. What are you talking about? I fucked a girl I met at your club.”

“You don’t know everything about her.”

“Well, fill me in. If I had some information, then I would know whom I could fuck and whom I couldn’t fuck.”

“I don’t trust you with anything. At all.”

“I shared with you that Teresa is in town.”

“I knew that already, genius.”

“Well, she’s up to something, and I know exactly where she is.”

“And why do you have this information? Are you conspiring with her?”

“Of course not. I told you, after you left, she’s been a menace. Gillian and I have tried to steer clear of her. I don’t trust her.”

“That makes to of us.”

“Give me a chance to fix this,” Harlen said, his voice reeking of desperation. “Please.”

I sighed, knowing that despite everything, I still loved my brother and wanted to believe in him. But trust was something that had to be earned, and right now, it was hanging by a thread.

“Look, stay away from Morgan.”

“Why? I like her.” His pitch rose a note.

“What? No, you don’t.”

“I do. She’s funny. She’s beautiful. She smells good. I like her.”

“Morgan is Chanel’s best friend. Morgan’s boyfriend died recently. She’s not thinking straight.”

“I know. She told me.”

I didn’t expect that and didn’t know what to say. “She’s human.”

“We were once human. We’re not that different from them. We’re not aliens from another planet. Why is it okay for you to have a human and I can’t have one?”

“Because I said so.”

“Wait, what’s going on here?” He probed.

I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

“Zand, does Chanel know you’re a vampire? Fuck! Does she know that I’m a vampire? Oh, shit!”

My face apparently gave away my answer.

“Zander, why, why, why would you tell a human our most precious secret?” Now he was scolding me. The nerve.

“She’s not just a human, and I didn’t have a choice.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s none of your business.”

“It’s vampire business and I’m a vampire.”

“Look, there was a possible threat.”

“Teresa?”

“No, someone else.”

“Brother, please stop talking in riddles. Tell me what’s going on?”

I poured myself another blood drink in my empty glass and guzzled it down. “I want to make sure Morgan isn’t in danger.”

“Why would she be?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’re immortal. I have all the time in the world to listen to a story.”

“Harlen.” I pleaded.

“What? I can help. I’m here right now, and you can’t be everywhere at once.”

“I don’t need your help. I have my people.”

There was too much backstory. I hadn’t even told Chanel that while I was waiting for her at the police station; I pulled up camera footage from the apartments. After scanning over the last few days, I came across the video of Marisol snooping around the apartment complex. In this footage, her face wasn’t covered. She was alone, and she was clearly looking for her brother or Chanel. It was obvious Marisol was going to be a problem. I immediately sent the footage to Natasha and asked her to look up video from the outside and inside of the club for this Marisol. Before The Castle opens tonight, I scheduled a security meeting. I needed my staff to be on the lookout for Marisol Lopez.

When Chanel suggested coming back here, I was good with it because I didn’t feel it was safe for Morgan to stay here alone. I wasn’t in the habit of killing humans, but the thought of removing Marisol from this earth did flash before me. If she was going to be in town looking for her brother, that would be a problem. I may not have a choice. News concerning Lonzo had to be kept from developing in this city. I needed law enforcement to believe he fled to Mexico.

I didn’t want to scare Chanel with this Marisol news. So, I kept it to myself. I was just going to come up with a way to get Morgan out of her apartment.

“Zand, if there’s something going on, you need to tell me.”

I weighed my options and decided to tell Harlen a fraction of the details. “My girlfriend is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend and his sister.”

“Stalked by humans?” He chuckled.

“Yes.”

“Why? Can’t you just kill them?”

“I’m not going to do that?”

“Why not?”

“It’s a police matter.”

“You think so?” He scowled.

“Yes, I do. But these people are from Chanel’s past and they have been looking for her.”

“And?”

“They want to harm her. This is why she’s been staying at my other place.”

“The Castle.”

“No.”

“How many places to you have in Chicago?”

I ignored his irrelevant question. “These people have been here before, and Morgan is Chanel’s friend. They could do something to her to get at Chanel.”

“So what? Do you want me to watch over Morgan?” He asked as he sat in the chair by the kitchen island.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to handle this quietly.”

I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. “Chanel’s safety is my top priority right now.”

Harlen nodded thoughtfully, his brow furrowed in concern. “I get it, brother. But you know you can count on me if you need help.”

I appreciated his offer of support, but I knew I had to approach this delicate situation carefully. “I might need to ask for your help soon, but for now, I need to figure out the best way to handle this without causing more trouble.”

Harlen leaned back, crossing his arms. “Okay, but just remember that I’ve got your back, no matter what.”

Maybe Harlen had a good idea. I was supposed to give him a job to prove his usefulness. “I think keeping an eye on Morgan might be a good idea for now. If those people are really after Chanel, they might try to use Morgan to get to her.”

He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah, that makes sense. Consider it done. Who the hell are these people? I need details.”

“Can I trust you with this information?”

“Of course you can. I like Morgan, and I haven’t fancied a human in a very long time. I want her and her friend safe.”

“There is a woman named Marisol Lopez from Minnesota. She is looking for her brother, Alonzo. He is the ex-boyfriend of my Chanel.”

“Why would this Marisol think he’s here?” Harlen asked.

“He was here and now he’s gone for good.”

“Oh.” Harlen knew gone for good meant dead and gone.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, trying to decide how much more to reveal to Harlen.

“Marisol believes Chanel knows where Alonzo is because he came to Chicago a few weeks ago looking for Chanel. I have proof she’s been here more than once.”

“Here? At the apartment?” He asked.

“Yes. She seems determined to find her brother at any cost.”

Harlen’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowed. “So, this Marisol woman is willing to go to extremes just to track down her brother?”

“Yes, and I’m afraid she might involve others in her search, putting Chanel and those around her in danger.”

Harlen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And you think Morgan might be one of those people who could be used against Chanel?”

“It’s a possibility I can’t ignore,” I replied solemnly. “These people are bad people.”

“Who could be badder than a vampire?” Harlen snickered.

“They don’t know what we are and they can never know. I have built a life here and I want to stay here and continue to be a citizen.”

“Why? The weather here sucks.”

“The weather doesn’t matter. We’re dead. We don’t feel the cold.”

“True, but don’t you miss the burning sun and massive palm trees?”

“No, I don’t miss it at all. If you do, you can return to California.” I taunted.

“I can’t leave you now.” Harlen let out a low hoot. “Sounds like you’ve got yourself mixed up in some serious trouble.”

“I wouldn’t call it trouble. I would deem it a pesky inconvenience.”

“To-may-toe, to-ma-toe.”

“I never wanted Chanel to be pulled back into this dangerous world from her past,” I admitted, feeling a weight of responsibility pressing down on me.

“Is there anything else I should know about these people?” Harlen asked, his tone indicating his readiness to assist in any way he could.

I hesitated, debating whether to disclose even more information. Finally, I decided it was necessary for Harlen to have the full picture. “Marisol and Alonzo have ties to a criminal organization that Chanel broke free from. She was a witness to multiple murders, and she fled Minnesota to get away from these people. She is free of Alonzo, but he has dangerous family members.”

“Humans can’t hurt us.”

“True, but they can hurt our humans.”

“You’re right.” Harlen’s eyes widened in realization.

“Chanel’s safety is at stake here, and I need all the help I can get.”

Harlen nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, Zand. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“I need you to worry about Morgan, and I can worry about Chanel. Can you handle that?”

“Yes.”

“That means you can’t bite Morgan or drink her blood.”

“Why would you say that? I wasn’t planning on drinking her blood.”

I could tell Harlen was lying.“Seriously, these people have guns.”

“We’ve dealt with guns before.”

That much was true. Harlen could handle himself. I just hoped he had enough humanity left in him to care about the lives of the humans I let him be around. It would be a great help to me if he could look after Morgan. It would be odd for me to interfere with whatever they were doing together. Vampires weren’t savages. We all had the ability to control ourselves. I was going to have to discuss this with Chanel. If she was onboard with Harlen protecting Morgan, then this would work.