Page 21 of The Vampire Kingpin (The Vampire Syndicate #7)

Spider

M y patience with Grimclaw had hit its limit.

The week I’d given him had been up yesterday, and he still hadn’t paid the tribute.

So after leaving Lark, I grabbed Velma and a couple of men and went to his lair, ready to drag the scumbag out by his scruffy neck and stake him.

But he wasn’t there, and the handful of vampires left in his lair swore they hadn’t seen him or Troll for days.

I ordered them out and blew up the entrance as a warning to anyone else who thought to jerk me around.

His people, I told to either come up with the money I was owed or get out of Manhattan.

They scurried off into the darkness like the rats they were.

Grimclaw and Troll were M.I.A. It figured that they’d bail, leaving their lair to face the music. Just in case, Velma alerted our crew to be on the lookout for them, and the two of us continued making the rounds of the lairs under my protection.

But Grimclaw apparently had a death wish, because as we left the fourth—and last—lair, Monster jogged up with a rumor that Grimclaw hadn’t left my territory. “Looks like Troll’s with him, too.”

A fierce thrill shot through me. I flashed a cold smile. “Time to go hunting,” I told Monster and Velma.

“I’ll scout ahead in the shadows,” Monster volunteered, his own teeth gleaming against his deep brown skin.

“Do it,” I said, and started off with Velma following. For the first ten minutes, we didn’t speak, aware of how voices carry in the Underworld’s tunnels.

Velma broke the silence, speaking at a subvocal level only I could hear. “So you’re taking Lark to the Midnight Masquerade.”

The skin on my forehead pulled tight. I’d been expecting my friend to call me out on it. Hell, I was surprised she’d waited this long. That didn’t mean I was ready to hear what she had to say.

“That’s right,” I replied in equally low tones. “So what?”

“So have you thought this through? You take a woman to something like that, she’s not your thrall anymore.”

“Says who? Half the vampires there are gonna be with a thrall.”

“One they personally invited? One they took shopping for a dress and shoes?”

“It’s just a dance. And she had nothin’ to wear, alright? That’s why I took her shopping.”

And because Lark had sounded so sad when she’d explained why she didn’t want to wear the gold dress.

“Riiiiiight.” If you could hear an eyeroll, it would’ve sounded like Velma. “And how many other thralls have you taken clothes shopping? Or any other females, for that matter?”

We both knew the answer to that. I’d only taken one other woman shopping—Amina. Anyone else, I would’ve handed her a card and sent her out with one of my men.

I shot an irritated look at her over my shoulder. “Who made you my conscience?”

She shook her head. “Get a fucking clue, bro. You have feelings for her, don’t you?”

“Fine,” I muttered. “I do. Satisfied?”

“I like you, Lark—a lot. More than I have anyone for a long time.”

But that made it even more crucial to pull back. To protect her from Amina’s fate.

Velma sighed. “Lark’s not Amina, you know. She’s tougher. Amina was too sweet for her own good. The chick was the most human vampire I ever met.”

My throat closed up. “Yeah,” I said thickly.

“Hey. It’s okay.”

I slowed. “I knew it was a mistake,” I said without looking at Velma. “That Amina wasn’t going to last long in our world. Not at first, but by the end of that first year. That’s why…”

“You didn’t ask her to be your mate.”

“Yeah.” My chest heaved. “It felt…wrong.”

And ever since, I’d had to live with the guilt, to wonder if I’d somehow led Amina on. Because I’d been the vampire who’d turned her.

I sped up again. “And Lark knows the deal, by the way. I told her I liked her but that I wasn’t looking for a mate.”

“Oh, Spider.” She slipped past me and turned to face me, walking backward so I could see her pained expression. “You know that was an asshole thing to do, right?”

“I was being honest. You know, like women say they want.”

She shook her head. “D’you hear yourself?”

I flashed on Lark’s face, and the way her eyes had widened, her mouth turned down in a mix of sadness and shock.

My chest constricted. “Yeah.”

Because now I’d said it aloud, I understood how it must’ve sounded to Lark. Arrogant. Clueless. Like this was only about sex when it had become more for both of us.

My ‘honesty’ had hurt Lark, too. She was good at hiding it, but that shine she’d had after we’d left the shop had dimmed.

I met Velma’s eyes. “I fucked up, huh?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“If she actually is your mate.”

I halted and so did Velma.

“I like you, Lark—a lot.”

Hell, like didn’t come close to covering it. My need for Lark had grown teeth and claws. It tore at my insides, demanding me to stop pretending to myself that there was any planet where I’d let her walk away as promised.

I massaged my chest with my knuckles, trying to dig out the pain. But the sharp-toothed, clawed thing had already burrowed too deep.

“I can’t—.” I shook my head, swallowed. “I can’t lose her like Amina.”

“Hey. We both know there aren’t any guarantees, bro.

” Velma moved closer and squeezed my shoulder, which was unusual in itself—Velma didn’t like to be touched—her face soft with concern.

“But you push her away, you’re gonna lose her anyhow, and I think she’s your true mate, the reason you never claimed Amina.

There’s something between you two—you just have to be in the same room and it’s like sparks going off.

We’ve all seen it. So get your head outta your ass and claim her before she takes off.

” She shook my shoulder and released me. “Okay?”

I tipped my head back, staring at the tunnel ceiling as if the answer might be written on the gritty concrete. “I dunno. I just don’t fucking know.”

Our phones buzzed in unison. Thankful for the interruption, I yanked mine out.

Velma stabbed a finger at me. “Think about, yeah?”

“I will, alright?” I grumbled, pulling up the message.

It was Jacko, informing us that Grimclaw and Troll had been seen about a half mile from the Cavern, at the outer edge of my lair’s personal territory. He included a crossroads where we could meet him.

Velma’s gaze locked onto mine over her phone, a quietly vicious satisfaction on her fine features. “Mr. Tiny Dick finally showed up.”

Monster jogged up. “You heard?”

“About Grimclaw and Troll?” I said. “Yeah.”

“Texting Jacko now,” Velma muttered, fingers flying over her screen, “telling him we’re on our way.”

“Let’s go.” I broke into a run.

We sprinted the two miles to the crossroads in under five minutes. Jacko stepped out of the shadows, halting us. “There.” He jabbed a finger around the corner.

Velma and I peered down the tunnel. Lark was huddled with Grimclaw and Troll, speaking in hushed tones.

Velma stiffened. “What in the name of the Kali?” she said under her breath.

Lark’s voice rose. “I can get the money, okay? Just give me a few days to work on him.”

She might as well have lobbed a live grenade at me. My initial shock morphed into fury. I slid my dagger from the holster on my belt loop and stalked toward them, Velma behind me and Jacko flitting ahead and to the side.

Behind us, Monster whispered, “I’ll be in the shadows.”

I barely registered what he’d said over the angry buzzing in my head, but I managed a tight nod.

Lark spun around, hand flying to her mouth. Her guilty expression added gasoline to the fire in my chest.

“Spider. I?—”

The buzzing increased to the roar of a thousand drones. I grabbed her and pushed her at Velma. “Shut up and wait with Velma.”

“It’s not what you th?—”

My growl came from the primal, feral place. “I told you to shut the fuck up.”

Grimclaw and Troll stared at us, open-mouthed but somehow satisfied, too.

“And you?” I told them. “You’re dead. You should’ve gotten outta here when the rest of your lair did.”

Grimclaw whitened. “I didn’t mean anything. I just wanted to see my cousin before I left.”

Meanwhile Troll sidled sideways, putting space between himself and his alpha, the coward. I ignored him, trusting Velma and Monster to secure him, and drove Grimclaw into a niche in the subway wall. Jacko backed me up.

“Wrong answer,” I told him. “I warned you to stay away from her, didn’t I?”

Lark made a small sound. “You did what?”

I whipped my head around. “Not another word, understand? Velma—gag her if you have to.”

Lark lifted her palms, easing backward. “Fine. I’ll be quiet, alright?”

Velma clamped a hand on her arm, and Monster had gotten a hold of Troll.

But when I turned back to Grimclaw, Monster cursed and I glanced around to see that Troll had taken off, Monster on his heels.

“Troll, dammit!” Grimclaw tried to follow Troll.

I poked his chest with my blade. “Stay.”

He froze. “Please, my lord. I just wanted to see my cousin. What’s so wrong about that?”

“It’s wrong because I say it is. I told you she was dead to you. What part of that meant you get to visit her whenever the fuck you feel like it?”

Velma frowned at her phone. “Troll went into the shadows. Monster says be careful.”

I jerked my head in acknowledgment. Nearby, I sensed Lark coming a step closer. A part of me would always know exactly where she was. “Spider, please. Just listen to me.”

Her pleading tones made me feel like the biggest fool in the world because I wanted to give in. Wanted to trust her. Wanted to believe she hadn’t been playing me all this time.

I snapped my head around. “Dammit, Velma. Keep her quiet.”

Velma folded her arms over her chest. “I think you should hear what she has to say.”

Lark’s pretty throat worked. The same throat I’d kissed just a few hours ago. “It’s not what you think,” she said before I could say anything else. “I’m on your side.”

“Are you? Because it didn’t sound like that to me. Sounds like you were all about getting what you could from me. How much were you gonna ask for this time? Fifty grand? A hundred? Because baby, you’re not that good.”