Page 4 of Vampire Lee

Lee poured a beer. It was still early and not a lot of customers were hanging around. Rei would swing by in a few hours. If Maybe-Aaron was there, they’d pretend to be together.

It was Rei’s idea. Lee had objected. Not because he minded pretending to be with Rei, they’d hooked up for real, and half the bar was aware of it, but Maybe-Aaron gave him the creeps. He didn’t want to subject Rei to any danger.

He realized how stupid it was. Rei could take care of himself, but Lee had seen fighting rings up close and personal. There had been something deadly in Rei’s gaze when he’d told Murrie’s group about it, and Lee got the feeling Rei had seen fighting rings up close and personal too.

Blowing out a breath, he tried to shake the unease. Rei could take care of himself, and he had a team looking out for him.

“Lee.” Jala leaned over the bar; her long sandy-colored hair made up in a strict hairdo.

“Evening, Boss.”

She smiled. “I was wondering if you could work tomorrow. I know you’re scheduled to be off, but Conan can’t make it, and I have someplace I need to be.”

Lee nodded. He’d been looking forward to a night off, but…“Yeah, sure. But I won’t be alone, right?” Tomorrow was Friday, which most often meant more people and more drinks per person.

“Farkas and Due will handle the door, Geri and Ozzie have the kitchen, Bernadette and Sula have the tables. You can call someone else in if you think you need it.”

Was he in charge? Bernadette could pour drinks if it got too busy. He’d asked her to help out before, and it had gone well. Once the dinner crowd went over to drinking, she could move in behind the bar with him. “I think we’ll manage.”

“Good.” Jala gave him a cold look, and Lee instantly straightened. She’d never been the cuddly kind, but…It might not have anything to do with him, though. Maybe she’s tired.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.” She walked away. Okay, so maybe it had something to do with him. But she couldn’t know what he was planning with Rei, could she? Nah, she didn’t have a clue what Maybe-Aaron was up to. Jala wouldn’t condone underground fighting.

He went back to pouring drinks, and more and more people trickled in.

“Vampire Lee.” Eli slumped on one of the bar stools.

“Back again?” He grinned and reached for a beer glass.

“Give me a whiskey.”

Hmm, not good. Eli seldom drank anything other than beer. “What’s up?”

“Horrible day at work. The dude I’m working with—”

“What do you do?” Lee should know. He’d been chatting with Eli every week for years.

“Demolition. We’re tearing down a building over on Brook Row.”

Lee hummed. “What happened?”

“We were working, dragging concrete slabs, and all of a sudden, Zain, my partner, was gone. The boss didn’t care, only shouted at me for getting behind, and I had to do the work of two. Fucking asshole.”

“Where did he go? Your partner, I mean.”

“Fuck knows.” Eli reached for the whiskey as soon as Lee placed the tumbler on the bar. “It was as if he vanished into thin air.” He paled a little.

“Maybe he quit?”

Eli frowned at him. “We’ve worked together for two years. He wouldn’t leave me.” Eli looked worried for real, which stirred Lee’s unease again. What the fuck was up with him today? “What…eh…species is he?”

“Cross, but he’s a good guy.”

Shifters were weird with the crossbreeds. They could fuck around with different species, but few wanted to be in an interspecies relationship, and crossbreeds were often shunned by packs, prides, and sleuths.

“Can he shift?” Lee was bad with crossbreeds, but he believed if they were mixes between two shifting species, they could most often shift. If they were mixed with humans, there were no guarantees.

“Partially.”

Lee nodded. So human mix then? It didn’t matter other than it would make him weaker. “Maybe he got the stomach flu or something. Have you called him?”

“Several times. He doesn’t pick up.”

Someone called for Vampire Lee, and he abandoned Eli to his drink. Shortly after, Maybe-Aaron cut through the crowd. Shit.

Lee poured a couple of drinks before nearing him. “Evening.” He plastered on a smile. “What can I get you?”

“Beer, please.”

Lee got pouring, not asking what kind he wanted this time. He placed the glass in front of him and grabbed his phone in his pocket.

“Texting during working hours?” Maybe-Aaron’s voice was neutral, and yet Lee got the feeling he disapproved.

Lee gave him a quick grin with a hint of fang. “Just confirming.” He hit Send on his text to Rei and pocketed the phone.

“Who are you hooking up with?” Eli gave him a curious look.

“I don’t kiss and tell.” Or maybe he did. Grinning, he grabbed a cloth and wiped the bar.

“It’s Rei, isn’t it? You have that gleam in your eyes.”

“What gleam?” What the hell was he talking about?

“You always get a little twinkle when you’re about to do something stupid. Fucking jaguars is stupid, Lee. He can rip you to shreds.”

Lee chuckled. Rei could crush his skull with one bite, but he didn’t plan on fucking Rei again. Not now when they were colleagues, sort of.

“Stupid fucker.” Eli thumped his empty glass. “Give me another.”

He poured the drink and did his best to ignore the way Maybe-Aaron studied him.

It took almost an hour before Rei entered the bar. Lee was afraid Maybe-Aaron would leave before he got there, but he sat nursing his beer the way he’d done the night before.

Rei headed straight for the bar, and when he reached it, he stretched over it as if expecting Lee to kiss him. He did; leaned over and pressed his lips to Rei’s. “Hiya.” He spoke low against his now wet lips, making it sound way more intimate than he and Rei ever had been. Rei smiled at him, which was plain weird. Rei didn’t smile.

“Want a drink?”

“Beer.”

Lee poured him one but made no motion of charging for it. He’d sneak his boyfriend free beers if he had one, right?

“Rei, this is Aaron.” He motioned at Maybe-Aaron. “And you know Eli.”

Rei nodded in greeting.

Eli caught Lee’s gaze and shook his head, but he looked amused, so Lee believed they were selling the story. When someone called for Vampire Lee, he went back to doing his real job—pouring drinks. He noted Maybe-Aaron and Rei talking. Rei drank his beer as if he was there on a night off, and Lee wondered if he should keep them coming. It was a couple of hours until he got off, and they’d agreed they would leave together. On the other hand, he didn’t think a few beers would make Rei any less capable of taking care of himself.

People came and went, he chatted with some of the regulars, and when Rei’s glass had been empty for a couple of minutes, Lee poured another beer and switched out the empty glass for a full. Rei caught his hand for a second and squeezed it before letting go with a small caress. Lee winked at him and moved away again.

He kinda liked Rei touching him. It wasn’t Rei, it was the feeling of being wanted despite it only being for show. Huh. Maybe he should get a boyfriend.

After an eternity, the crowd was finally thinning out. It was a normal workday tomorrow, even if it was Friday. Lee placed another beer in front of Rei when Eli got to his feet. “I should head home.”

“Sleep well.”

Eli grimaced. “I doubt I will. Zain still hasn’t been in touch.”

Fuck. Lee gave Rei a look which was met by a frown. He’d have to explain later.

Soon it was time for the last call. Maybe-Aaron had left a few minutes ago, but Lee and Rei kept the charade going.

It wasn’t until they walked out on the street Lee dared take a deep breath and relax his shoulders.

“Bad night?” Rei moved through the dark like the predator he was; gone was the mellow mood he’d exuded in the bar.

“I’ve had low-grade anxiety all night.”

Rei looked around, and the hair on the back of Lee’s neck stood on end again. He slung an arm over Rei’s shoulders, hoping it wouldn’t hinder him should they need to fight someone. How strong a sense of smell did jaguars have? Better than vampires, but all shifters had a better sense of smell than vampires did.

“Why?” Rei spoke so low Lee almost didn’t hear him, and it didn’t help the tension building in him at all.

“My place?”

Rei leaned into him like a lover would—not the way Rei would—which had him suspect someone was watching them. “Yes, let’s get a move on.” It was said in a flirty tone, but Lee listened more to the words than the tone.

* * * *

Dillon looked around the room. It wasn’t his room, but one of the empty rooms on the third floor. Both windowsills were packed with tomato plants. Or they weren’t plants yet. He’d taken plastic cups, written on them with a permanent marker, and sown tomatoes.

He had filled his windowsills with sweet peas, had beans in the room across from him, marigolds and aster in the room next to it, kale and lettuce in the room next to that, and so on.

Faelan had gone to the store to get him more plastic cups and potting soil, but not before giving him a concerned look. He got it. For months, Dillon had done nothing, absolutely nothing, and now he was watering hundreds of cups at two in the morning.

Devin had come to check on him before heading to bed, so he suspected Faelan had told on him. It was okay. Devin hadn’t given him looks of concern like Faelan had, instead he’d smiled and talked about how awesome it was gonna be to have a garden, and how glad he was Dillon was willing to help.

Dillon wasn’t convinced about the helping part, but he wanted sweet peas. And if he was going to smell them, he’d have to be in the garden. Or he could bring some inside, but…

The house had fallen silent some time ago, and when he looked out the window, he could tell the lights had been turned off in the rooms below. He headed to the door and switched off the lamp before he exited the room. It was time for bed.

He hated when it was time for bed.

His body was heavy, his brain sluggish, but the moment he closed his eyes, the monsters were there. Several times a night, he woke up screaming and shaking. Sometimes only a few minutes apart. And he was so tired. So, so tired, and yet he couldn’t rest. He feared he’d never be able to rest again.

Brushing his teeth for several long minutes, he glanced out through the bathroom door to the bed. Maybe he’d sleep better if he moved it?

No. He’d already tried it. Several times.

His inability to rest had nothing to do with feng shui or whatever it was called. The sparse room held no personality whatsoever, but he didn’t know what to put in it. Murrie had told him he could order things or ask Devin to order things for him.

They’d taken a few hours to order clothes online. Devin hadn’t batted an eye when Dillon had told him he wanted long sleeves and full-length pants even for bed.

Devin made him feel like less of a freak, but it didn’t mean he wanted to spend time with him.

He was grateful. He truly was, but part of him wanted to tell Devin to fuck off. He wanted to snarl at Murrie for looking worried, wanted to punch Faelan for looking at him with concern in his eyes.

He wouldn’t. He was grateful. Part of him was so grateful he wanted to fling his arms around their necks and hug them so tightly they couldn’t breathe, wanted them to hug him back. Another part of him was freaking out at the mere thought of touching anyone.

They were strong. All of them, apart from maybe Devin, could hold him down.

Mars and Murrie had tried to find his parents without any luck. He’d been dumped outside a church when no more than a week or two old.

Murrie had asked for a blood sample, and then a couple of weeks later Rei had given him a toothy grin while congratulating him on having at least some good genes. Dillon hadn’t understood a word he’d said until Murrie, later in the day, had explained the DNA test had come back, and Dillon was twenty-five percent cat. They couldn’t say which type of cat, but there had been a felid shifter in his family tree.

It mattered little. Dillon had no traits, other than healing faster than humans. It wasn’t anything he’d noticed before but considering how many blood slaves had died during the time he’d been in the underground mansion, maybe Mars and Murrie were correct when they claimed he had enhanced healing.

He wished he’d had claws.

With a sigh, he climbed into bed. The ceiling lamp shone brightly when he closed his eyes.

* * * *

Rei stepped away from Lee the moment they entered the apartment building. “Is there another way out? Basement? Fire escape?” It was a low whisper, and Lee nodded a reply.

Instead of heading up the stairs toward his apartment, he tugged Rei in the direction of the basement. There was a laundry room and storage for bicycles for the tenants.

They moved quickly and soundlessly. Lee’s heart was thudding in his ears, but he ignored it. He heard the door to the stairway open and mentally cursed. They’d been followed. He’d suspected but had hoped it was paranoia.

As quietly as he could, he opened the door leading out into the parking lot behind the building. If they crossed it, they’d be in a small park with a swing set, some trees, and a concrete grill and some benches the tenants were allowed to use.

He steered toward the trees. “Who is it?”

“No scent I recognize, but they waited for us outside the bar and followed us all the way.”

Lee nodded. He couldn’t scent anyone, but he’d had the feeling of being followed.

“Let’s head to the house. You can crash there tonight.”

Lee didn’t argue, and they moved fast. Lee could’ve gone faster, but he kept the same pace as Rei, which was way faster than a human. Soon they reached the area where Rei and the others lived.

“What was Eli talking about?”

“Huh?” Lee looked over at Rei, who slowed to a normal walk. Lee followed suit.

“Eli, when he said goodbye. You gave me a look.”

Right. “Yeah, his work partner went missing during the day. Crossbreed. Eli’s boss didn’t care, but Eli claimed he’d never leave without telling him, and he tried calling him several times, but he didn’t pick up.”

“A missing person case?”

“Eli is worried.”

Rei frowned but didn’t speak for several seconds. Then he heaved a deep sigh. “It’s never good when crossbreeds go missing.”

No, of course not. It wasn’t good when anyone went missing, but was it worse when it was crossbreeds? “Why?”

“There is always some shit. A pack who doesn’t want them, a parent or other relative. It’s always a fucking mess, and there is always the question if the pack will claim them or not. If you kidnap a wolf, you know you have an entire pack to deal with. If you kidnap a crossbreed, you might not have to deal with anyone.”

Lee didn’t reply. Part of him wanted to argue, but he suspected Rei was right. Eli had said his boss hadn’t cared about Zain going missing. “Zain.”

“What?”

“Eli’s work partner’s name is Zain. I don’t know his last name. Crossbreed. Can partially shift, which means part human, right?”

Rei gave a short nod right as they reached the gate. Instead of pressing the button to be let in, Rei kept going until they reached a grid door a few steps away. He punched in a combination of digits on the code lock and unlocked it.

“When do you have to leave tomorrow?” Rei motioned for him to go in and closed the grid door behind them once he had.

“I was supposed to be off tomorrow, but Jala asked me to cover for Conan since he was unable to come in, and she was busy elsewhere.”

“Where?”

Lee frowned at him. “No idea.”

“If I set up a morning meeting with everyone, will you be able to attend?”

“Yeah, of course.” How early was morning?

Rei walked toward the house, unlocked the door with a code, and motioned for Lee to enter. Before he’d closed and locked the door, he had his phone up. “Murrie has a Zoom meeting with someone at eight, but it looks like everyone can do nine. That okay with you?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Rei tapped on the screen for a few seconds, pocketed it, and looked up at Lee. “There are rooms on the third floor.”

He strode toward a built-in closet underneath the stairs. “Everyone has their own sheets and towels and stuff in their rooms, but we have a few spare ones here.” He stacked what Lee assumed was a sheet, duvet cover, and pillowcases on his palm, then he reached farther in and pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste, followed by a towel. Then he looked at Lee and pulled out a bath towel as well.

“It’s the best I can do.” He handed the pile over to Lee.

“Better than many hotels.”

Rei chuckled. “Wait until breakfast. I fucking love Devin.” He grinned at Lee. “Breakfast is served at seven, but Devin doesn’t start to clean it away until everyone has eaten. Apart from Dillon. He has his own schedule.”

Lee nodded. “Which room should I take?”

“Dillon’s is the first door you see when you step into the corridor. All the others are available.”

“Okay.”

They stood unmoving for a few seconds, then Rei sighed. “You think they planned on taking both of us or only me?”

Lee hadn’t wanted to think. He still didn’t. “How do you get someone to fight if he’s unwilling?”

Rei’s eyes shifted to yellow. “Blackmail?”

“Got any dirt on you they can use?”

A slow shake of his head. “No, I don’t think so. I…”

“Siblings, lovers, friends they could threaten to hurt if you don’t do it?”

“No. No siblings, no lovers I care about, and my friends are all in this house.” He looked at Lee. “Maybe it’s you they want.”

Lee snorted. “I’m not nearly special enough. You’re a freaking jaguar. They can get a mediocre vampire anywhere, but a jaguar…” He shook his head. Then a thought hit him. “Unless they think we’re a couple for real. Take us both, and you’ll fight to protect me?”

Rei groaned. “We shouldn’t have played a happy couple.”

“But you were such a sweet boyfriend.” Grinning, Lee looked toward the stairs. The house was so silent he never would’ve guessed seven people lived there.

“Got free beer out of it.”

Lee barked a laugh, then remembered people were trying to sleep and clamped his mouth shut.

“Right, we’ll discuss it with the others tomorrow. Maybe we could have a very loud, very public breakup.”

Lee grimaced. “Or I allow myself to get taken.” Ice slithered through his veins. “But then you better get me out of there faster than fast because I don’t do well in those environments.”

Rei looked at him for a long time, seeing more than Lee wanted him to. “I think Murrie will say no, but we can talk about it tomorrow.”