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CHAPTER TWENTY

HARLEN

Z and was going to be disappointed with me, but not more disappointed than I was with myself.I was bested by a new vampire, a new girl vampire. My night would be unbelievable if I was there to witness this shit firsthand with my own vampire eyes.

Defeated by the night’s events, I ran back to my car and drove directly to The Castle.

I parked in the private lot and entered the staff door at the side, where a lone security guard nodded when he saw me. It was either Jim or Nick. There was another guy named Viktor too, but it wasn’t him. He didn’t question my disheveled appearance or the wild look in my eyes. In vampire ran establishments, you learn not to ask unnecessary questions.

I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the curious glances. My singular focus was to find my brother.

My key card granted access to the private elevator. With a key card swipe, the doors slide open with a soft ping that felt absurdly mundane, given the chaos in my head. Inside, I punched the button for the top floor. The elevator felt too slow and too confined.

When the doors finally opened. I sprinted down the red painted hallway to Zand’s office. I didn’t knock. There was no time for courtesy.

Zand sat behind his desk. Natasha was standing beside him. They were both poring over what appeared to be security footage on a laptop. Their heads snapped up in unison at my intrusion. Their expressions shifted from irritation to concern as they registered my bewildered state.

All the tact and decorum exited my body, and I blurted. “She’s a vampire. Marisol Lopez is a fucking vampire.”

Zand’s face went completely still. It was a stillness that only vampires could achieve. It was the absence of unnecessary breathing and human fidgeting. Only his eyes remained alive while his body was still and lifeless.

“Explain.” He commanded.

I paced the length of his office, unable to stand still. My hands gestured wildly as the words poured out.

“I followed Marisol from the club. It was the perfect ambush in a dark stretch with no people around. But she knew I was behind her.” I run a hand through my cropped hair. I still couldn’t fully process what happened. “She moved like us. She fought like us. And then, fuck, then, I saw her fangs.”

Natasha stepped forward. “You are certain?” Her accent was thicker with the tension that filled the office.

“She threw me ten or twenty feet into a parked car. No human could do that. She’s been turned.”

Zand stood abruptly. “Teresa!” He snarled her name like it was poison on his tongue.

“Marisol confirmed it,” I nodded. “Said to tell you your ex-wife sends her regards. She said Teresa gave her the power to avenge her brother.”

“That crazy bitch.” Natasha muttered.

“Marisol is a newly turned vampire with a vendetta, driven by human grief and rage?” Zand said through gritted teeth.

“I almost had her.” The failure was like a bitter pill I didn’t want to swallow. “But she escaped in a car. The was a driver was a pale woman with dark hair. Someone new.”

“A vampire.” Zand and Natasha said in unison.

“I don’t know.”

“We should assume they are all vampires.” Zand added, and I thought that was a good assumption.

Natasha turned her laptop around, showing traffic camera footage from downtown. “I’ve been tracking Teresa’s movements. Last three nights, she’s been in this area.” She pointed to a map with a red dot blinking near Lake Michigan. “She’s staying somewhere near Pilsen, Gage Park, Little Village or South Lawndale. Her vehicle keeps appearing on traffic cams in those areas.”

“And look at what’s located in this area.” Zand said with his finger pointing at the screen below a familiar name. “Club Bailar Caliente.”

All the pieces aligned with devastating clarity. “They’re working together. Teresa turned Marisol to piss you off, and Marisol gets supernatural powers to avenge her brother. They both want to hurt you through Chanel.”

Zand’s expression darkens. “Check every camera around that club. Find the car the Marisol escaped in tonight. Track it to wherever they’re hiding.”

Natasha nodded, already working. “I hope the car isn’t stolen.” Her fingers typed across the keyboard, accessing Chicago’s surveillance camera network through channels I was sure weren’t legal. “

“This bullshit has gone on too long. We have to kill them both soon and anyone associated with them. No questions, no hesitation.”

The decree hung in the air. It was final and irrevocable. We were all on board and willing to hand out death sentences, even to our own kind.

“I will double the security at all the entrances to The Castle. I’m going to arm some of the guys with my new weapon.”Natasha added.

“Is it ready?” Zand asked with a worried frown.

“It’s been tested. It’s ready.” She stated.

Was this the weapon Natasha mentioned to me in her office?

“The loft needs additional protection.” I added. “Chanel and Morgan?—”

“Are my priority,” Zand finished. “Josh is already assigned to Chanel. I just need more vampires to work in shifts to protect our humans at all times.”

“If Chanel has Josh. What about Morgan?” I asked, unable to keep the concern from my voice.

Zand’s eyes met mine. “Viktor and Donté will guard Morgan and Chanel under Josh’s command.”

“And Teresa? When we find her.” I asked.

“She’s mine.” The words were ice cold. “I turned her. I’ll end her.”

Natasha looked up from her phone. “I have something.” She turned the laptop again. Clear traffic camera footage showed a black sedan speeding through an intersection. “This is from four minutes after Harlen’s encounter. License plate matches a rental under the name Maria Vasquez.”

“Fake name?” I surmised.

“Probably.” Natasha agreed. “But the car has a GPS tracker. Standard for rentals.”

Zand leaned over her shoulder. “Where?”

“Signal stops here.” Natasha pointed to a location on the digital map. “The abandoned warehouse district near the Chicago River. Perfect place to hide.”

“Or a trap,” I suggested.

“Either way, they’ve run out of time. Natasha, coordinate security here and at the loft. I want updates every thirty minutes.”

“Yes, boss.”

Zand turned to me. “Harlen, go to the loft. Guard Chanel and Morgan until the additional security arrives. Then meet me back here at sunset tomorrow. We are going to hunt together.”

His command brought an unexpected warmth to my body. We were rebuilding trust.He wanted me by his side.

“Zand, I’m sorry I didn’t end Marisol like I promised.”

“Brother, you didn’t know Marisol was a vampire. Under the circumstances, you did well. You brought us this much needed information we didn’t have before tonight.”

His praise caught me off guard. I took it for what it was, a rare acknowledgment and a step toward healing the damage in our brotherly bond.

As I turned to leave the office, I felt the gravity of what was coming. Teresa and Marisol had unleashed something they couldn’t possibly understand, the full wrath of the Valentine brothers. We were united against a common enemy, two common enemies. As much as I wanted to keep Morgan safe, the thought of someone waging war against my brother sent me spiraling.

A human’s love was only for a period of time, but a vampire’s love could last for eternity. If we wanted to end them, they probably wanted to end us. I would burn the city down before I let my brother face the final death.