Page 86 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘When the others get back, there are some things I need to tell you. All of you.’

ChapterTwelve

Krase

‘Is that all of them?’ I ask as I shove my crimson-soaked stake through an unconscious vamp’s heart.

It slips in my hand, and I curse the oily blood that’s all over me.

‘Not sure,’ Axel says. ‘I can’t hear anything, but it’s still dark. There might be some still out of the house.’

‘We wait until after dawn,’ Maddox says as he comes into the room with almost no blood on him at all.

I frown. ‘Do you ever get your hands dirty, Maddox?’ I can’t help but tease.

He looks amused. ‘Some of us don’t let the demon rule us, and some of us don’t want to scare Jules when we’re finished here.’

I scoff. ‘Our female enjoys a little carnage.’

Maddox quirks a brow. ‘Does her sensitive nose and stomach at the moment?’

He has a point.

‘We’ll shower before we see her,’ I concede.

‘Daemon has messaged me,’ he says. ‘She’s fine. The vamps didn’t hurt her.’

I frown, still annoyed that Daemon was the one tasked to find her and get her out, though I know Maddox ordered him to do it when we got here for more than one reason. Not only did he know the layout of the house, but, Daemon was clearly having difficulty being back here after what the vamps did to him. It made sense for him to be the one to grab her and get her to safety, even though I don’t like that it wasn’t me. Or maybe I just don’t like that it washim.

Axel turns, looking at the door behind him and getting his stake ready. ‘Portal forming.’

I watch as the door opens five seconds later, and I have to admit that Axel’s sensitive ears are useful. He says there’s a hum when a link key is being used. I can’t hear it, but he can. He’s predicted several in the past few minutes, which makes dispatching the last of these cunts faster, if not easier.

The door opens and Axel stakes the vamp as soon as she steps into the room. She hisses loudly, but she’s dead by the time she hits the floor.

Maddox checks his watch. ‘Sun’s up now. Let’s get out of here. We’ll track down any we’ve missed later or wait for them to try to avenge their coven. Either way, we’ll get them eventually.’

Iron nods as he takes a link key out and puts it on the door. He opens it, and we pile through the portal.

When we get to the club, I realize he’s brought us to the employee changing rooms. They’re equipped with showers, and we all keep some clean clothes here too.

I snort as I go to my locker and open it. ‘Good thinking.’

He shrugs. ‘Like Maddox said, the pregnancy makes her squeamish.’

‘Aye,’ Jayce says as he strips off his clothes, ‘and it’s not just for Jules. If you haven’t noticed, you smell like shite!’

I grin at my brother as I get undressed and grab a shower, staying in just long enough for the soap to do its job. I need to see Jules for myself. Hyde needs it, too. He’s chomping at the bit for control.

‘Do you want her to be happy to see us?’ I finally growl to myself. ‘If you do, we need to not be covered in pieces of vampire!’

He stops fighting me, and I feel him sulking in the back of my mind like a querulous child. I ignore him as I dry off and get dressed. I’m the first, so I leave the others, going out of the changing room and up the back stairs. I go across the main floor. It’s early morning, so even though the club never closes, it’s dead at this time of the day. I go past the bar and down the corridor to Daemon’s office, my heart beating hard at the prospect of seeing Jules, of running my hands over her, of making sure she’s okay for myself.

I open the door, and I’m met with the sight of Daemon sitting on the couch. Jules is asleep on the other side, her feet in his lap that he’s absently rubbing with one gloved hand gently while he taps at his tablet screen with the other.

I try not to let my surprise at everything I’m seeing show on my face, but I’m so shocked by the scene in front of me that I know I don’t manage it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t seeing the one who’s been most vocal about hating Jules sitting on the couch and watching her sleep in just a towel as he rubs her feet and takes care of some clan business.

‘Cozy,’ I mutter.