Page 16 of The Serpent’s Bride (Bloodlines #1)

Something about his actions felt…familiar. Tired. Just a weary soul doing their job. And tonight was one night too many. Or perhaps that day had come and gone years ago. Studying him, Nadi stood by the door and leaned against the wall. “Lana told me she deals in cars.”

“Did she, now.” He sounded so bored.

“You must be the company car.”

That surprised him. He lifted his head to look at her in disbelief for a moment before howling in laughter and flopping his head back down on the bed. “Oh, thank fuck you aren’t an idiot.”

“I’m glad they think I am, though.” She sipped her drink. “Makes it easier.”

“Ain’t that right.”

“I’d rather not fuck you, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Usually, I’m the one doing the fucking, but either way I get your meaning. And that is fine by me.” He sat up with a grunt, watching her with renewed curiosity. “Lana will assume we did the dirty, which gets her what she wants. You can go back to Raziel with a clean conscience.”

“It wasn’t my conscience I’m worried about. If he finds out—or even hears a rumor—he’ll probably kill me. Or you. Or both.” Nadi sighed.

“Hm. Nah. He’ll be able to smell it on you. Or rather, the lack of me on you. We’ll rumple up your clothes and hair and get you off to bed before anyone else figures out that you’re unspoiled .” He snorted.

She laughed. If he only knew.

He patted the bed next to him. “Sit. Let’s talk. You seem…interesting. And I don’t remember the last night I didn’t spend either ass up or ass down.” He flopped back on the bed, eyes shut. He looked exhausted. “Oh. And call me Aza.”

She sat down next to him, sipping her drink still. It was good. She really hoped it wasn’t laced with something she couldn’t detect. “Do you have a choice?”

“Nope. Same as you. I’m under a contract someone else signed.”

That detail was new to her. She frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She wasn’t lying. Nobody needed to have their body pimped out because of somebody else’s decisions.

“Eh. I’m good at what I do. And most nights I enjoy it. But I’m just so fucking sick of her games. Oh, and that line about ‘customs’?”

“Total bullshit?” She smirked.

“Total bullshit.” He stretched like a cat before rolling onto his stomach.

Through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could see that his back was an array of criss-crossing scars put there by hand.

Lana’s hand, no doubt. Or maybe one of her more frequent clients. “She just wants to mess with Raziel.”

“I heard the family was close.”

“Oh, they’re close all right. Nobody from the outside can ever fuck with Momma Volencia’s children. They would never suffer an attack from outside the family. But internal drama? Messing with the other siblings’ toys? Fair fucking game.”

“Huh.” Nadi paused. “Do you want a drink?”

“I would love someone to make me a drink.”

Standing, she headed over to the bar by the wall. “You seem like a gin guy.”

“Smart girl.”

She mixed the gin and the vermouth, put in a couple of olives, and brought it back to him. “A dirty gin guy.”

He took the glass with that fiendish grin of his and sipped it. “Ah, fuck, and you mix good drinks. Yeah, I’m sad Raziel’s going to kill you.”

“What do you mean?” Now she wanted to see how much Aza would tell her.

Aza stared at her and his expression went thin. “You don’t know.”

“I suspect. But I want to see what you’ll tell me.”

He sighed, his expression one of pity. “Do you really wanna know?”

Nodding silently, she waited for him to continue.

“Here’s…the thing about vampires. We’re…

a picky bunch.” He grimaced. “At least about who we let into our little club. Lana only turned me because she wanted to make sure the ‘company car’ didn’t need to be brought out for so many repairs.

We don’t just…blindly get married and turn somebody.

This so-called marriage tradition you’re stuck in is—well, it’s based on an old tradition, from—from like the before times . ”

She arched an eyebrow. “Before the metropolis?”

“Yeah. When vampires and humans were just starting to work together. Before civilization beat back those ugly fucks down into the Wild.”

She tried not to take that personally.

Aza shrugged and kept talking. “It’s based on some stupid story. The first of our kind went to a human village and said to the town elder, ‘Give me your daughter as my bride as a sign of your devotion and I’ll keep you safe.’ Well, the elder did. And the vampire…”

“Killed her.”

“Drank her dry, like a bottle of shit champagne.” He took a deep swig from his glass. “Took her to his ancestral lair. They were wedded in blood, whatever, highfalutin bullshit. The vampire kept his word, and that was the start of the partnership between our people. So…”

“I’ve been offered up as sacrifice. I’ll be carted off to the Nostrom family home and popped like a bottle of shit champagne.

” Nadi shut her eyes. She had to play this off like this was new information.

Walking to the edge of the bed, she sat down.

Hanging her head, she let out a breath. “My father knew.”

“I can guarantee it.”

“I guess you and I have that in common, then.”

“What?” He moved to sit next to her, sipping his gin.

“We were both bought and sold like cattle.”

He huffed a sad laugh. “Cheers to that.” He held his glass out. She clinked hers against it, and they each took a drink in silence for a moment before he spoke. “Can we be friends? Well, for as long as you’re alive, anyway.”

That legitimately surprised her. “Why?” Monica was already as good as dead in his eyes. And in hers too. Void, she was also as good as dead in reality. “If what you say is true, a few days after the wedding I’ll be shuttled off to some abandoned estate and murdered.”

“All mortal lives are short. I appreciate them no matter how long they last. Or don’t.” He shrugged. “You’re smart. You seem like you care. And you make a fuck of a good drink.” He paused as he stared down into his glass. “I like being seen as a person.”

“Yeah. We can be friends.” She paused. No harm in having an ally, even if they were a fake one. “Thanks for being the first person here to tell me the truth about anything.”

“The truth won’t do you any favors around here. Remember that.” He stood, downed the rest of his drink, and set the glass down on the top of the bar. “All right, let’s ruffle up your hair. I’ll tell Lana you pulled a muscle with me and want to go soak in your tub.”

“And what’ll you do for the rest of the night?”

“Wrong question.” He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and uncorked it. He took a chug before walking up to her with it. There was an emptiness in his eyes when he finished his thought. “The question is ‘who’ will I be doing. And how many.”

It was then that she made up her mind. Azazel would survive her murder-spree. Lana, however…would suffer. And the best part was, Aza would be a wonderful tool in getting to the vampire mistress. Azazel had her confidence—and therefore, he was her weakness.

And in exchange? Maybe, just maybe, she’d let Aza watch.

That’s what “friends” were for, after all.

Right?