Niko grabbed my arm happily, unable to hold back his joy and relief. "Thank you so much, I-I don't even know what to say. Thank you, I…"
"For the record," I interrupted, frowning. "I'm only doing this to avoid causing any trouble. I'm choosing not to beat them up… or kill them."
Both vampires glanced at each other, their surprise evident, but they chose to stay silent.
"Tomorrow morning, or he's dead" The first vampire sounded out again, before turning to leave with his partner.
Once they were out of the club, Niko slid off the bar stool and stood close to me. "Ten thousand dollars is a lot"
I glared at him. "Yeah," I emphasized. "Yeah, it is. What did you steal?"
"A necklace" he admitted, his voice lowering in guilt. "For Anna Beth"
I shook my head. "What were you thinking?"
He shrugged. "I wasn't. It was right after I gave it to her that she left town... left me."
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Women," I muttered. "Anyway, hand me your phone."
He handed it over without hesitation.
As I started working on it, Niko leaned in, curious.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Installing something so I can track you if you get into any more trouble before tomorrow."
"Oh. At this point, I owe you my life. I'm forever in your debt, Dragos. Anytime you need to cash in a favor, I'm here."
I turned to face him, handing him back his phone. "There is a way you can help me."
"I'll do whatever I can" Niko replied. "What do you need?"
"Allies. For the future"
Niko raised an eyebrow. "What future?"
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. Explaining everything to Niko from scratch would be a long process, but then I realized I had nothing better to do.
Taking a deep breath, I looked up at him. "This is going to take some time. We'll need more drinks."
"If there's one thing we vampires have, it's time," Niko replied with a smile, hopping back onto the stool. "Bartender!"
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The next morning, I woke up with a painful hard-on and a hangover.
Yet another reason to fear the curse. It was weakening me enough to give me a hangover, something I hadn't dealt with in centuries.
I clenched my teeth in frustration and tossed aside the bedspread.
It had become a regular thing—waking up hot and angry, tortured by sex dreams ever since Dawn and I couldn't finish our business in the garden. Running a hand through my messy hair, I glanced down at my arousal.
A hangover and a painful hard-on were not a good combination at all.
I got out of bed and headed to the shower to cool off. But as the water hit my body, it only made things worse. A flashback of the time we'd had shower sex flooded my mind.
Angrily, I slammed my fist into the wall, laying curses on the universe and Dragavei.
After a long shower, I stepped out of the bathroom, not bothering to wrap the towel around myself, when Dawn walked in unannounced. She froze, her gaze trailing down my shirtless, ripped body, her cheeks flushing a deep, rosy pink. When she finally managed to tear her eyes away, she cleared her throat and looked up at me. I stayed silent, watching her.
The way she'd ogled me made me want to pin her against the wall and take her there.
"I'm taking your car," she said, brushing past me as she headed to the drawer where I kept my keys. "And your credit card. I need to shop for a few things… make a few visits too."
"Doesn't look like you're asking for permission," I replied, moving closer to her. Her face flushed even deeper as her eyes kept wandering down to my growing erection, which only made me harder.
"Why are you really here, Dawn?" I asked softly, my voice seductive.
She met my gaze, and I traced a finger slowly down her cheek.
"I came for the keys and the card," she said stubbornly, removing my hand from her face.
"You don't smell like that's what you came for," I said again, staring down at her.
She smelled of sex hormones.
Furious, she pushed against my chest, and I stepped back, letting her walk out of the room.
The hard-on wasn't going away. In fact, it was worse after seeing her… how her body flushed the same way it did when she was about to orgasm.
I threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. As I ate breakfast alone, I contacted my financial advisor about the money issue. By the time I finished, everything was sorted, and the clan Niko was indebted to had been paid off.
Leaving the house later at night, I dialed Niko's number so we could meet at Desire once again, but he didn't pick up.
I'd sent the proof of payment to him in the morning, and we'd agreed to meet up later that night. Now, he wasn't picking up.
I tried again. Once, twice, three times… still no answer.
Maybe he was sleeping, but even I knew it was unusual for a nightwalker.
Or maybe he was in trouble again.
I wasn't willing to risk the latter, so I decided to track him using the software I'd installed on his phone.
After renting a car, I followed the signal to a deserted area. The Fiji roads were unfamiliar to me, but thanks to the GPS's guidance, I was able to navigate my way.
As I rounded a corner, I saw Niko on the ground, surrounded by a group of vampires.
One had his foot pressed into his chest, while another, a short, wiry vampire, laughed wildly at him.
"Hey!" I shouted from a distance. In an instant, I was at their side, shoving the buff vampire with his boot on Niko's chest, and helping him to his feet.
"What is the meaning of this?!" I demanded furiously. "We had a deal. You'd take your money and leave him alone."
The short, wiry vampire, still grinning, shrugged, throwing a stub of a cigarette to the ground. "We did leave him alone. Just figured we'd give him something he wouldn't forget."
"A reminder," added one of the men who had approached us at the bar yesterday. He was a lanky, hollow-eyed vampire with a snake-like tattoo crawling up his neck. "A parting gift so he knows not to mess with us in the future."
I clenched my teeth in anger. Why was it so hard for some people to keep their word?
I loathed that kind of character. The whole reason I'd agreed to give them what they wanted was to avoid this kind of violence.
"Oh really? From where I'm standing, it looks like you had plans to kill him after taking my money. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" I bit out. "How do you explain the stake in his waistband?" I pointed to the last vampire, who looked shocked that I'd noticed.
He was the second one who had approached us at the bar.
"Dragos, let's just go," Niko whispered, trying to pull me away, but I stood my ground.
"No." I turned to glare at the two vampires from yesterday. "I hate being betrayed."
"Is this the guy who made that corny joke yesterday about sparing your lives?" The buff vampire I'd shoved aside asked.
"Yes," the lanky vampire from yesterday answered, smirking.
"You've already got your money, Viktor," Niko said, addressing the buff vampire. "And yes, you've very well taught me a lesson. I won't steal from your clan in the future. What more do you want?"
I frowned, looking at Niko. "Don't ask, because they're not getting anything."
Viktor, the apparent leader, swiveled to face me, a sneer on his face. "Who are you? And why are you even butting into his business?"
"Who I am is none of your concern," I replied, staring Viktor down, my anger barely contained. "Your deceptive actions have made me change my mind. Now, I'm going to need my money back."
Viktor laughed loudly. "What?" He turned to his men. "Did I hear that right, boys?"
"You heard me," I said. "I'm going to need my money back."
The laughter died from Viktor's face, his expression hardening. "You've got balls. Just because you go about with a chilling aura doesn't mean you can…"
"You were going to kill him if I hadn't intervened," I interrupted. "After taking my money. You're going to transfer it back, or you won't live to see tomorrow's moonlight."
Viktor's eyes narrowed, and one of his goons, the short, wiry vampire, scoffed. "Who's this bozo?"
Niko shifted closer to whisper in my ear. "I thought you said you wanted to keep a low profile? It doesn't look like you're going for that anymore."
"They asked for it" I muttered back.
"Listen up, whoever you are," Viktor said again, inching close. "I'd advise you to leave while I'm still permitting it. We don't want things to get messy, do we?"
"I thought I made it clear?" I crossed my arms. "I'm not leaving till I get my money back."