Page 70 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts
The wall behind us slid away with a soft whisper, revealing a steep spiral staircase descending into darkness. LED strips embedded in the steps pulsed in time with the bass from below. The deeper we went, the louder the music became until the staircase opened into a vast underground space.
Kit and I followed Marley straight past the bar constructed from stacked speakers, threading our way through the crowd towards a quieter area.
Dominic’s office lay behind a door marked “Master Control Room” in gold lettering. A massive table dominated the space, crafted from hundreds of cassette tapes sealed in resin.
Dominic himself lounged in an elaborate throne-like chair, his platinum hair catching the light.
“Well, well.” His long nails drummed against the arm. “He returns. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, darling?”
Dominic’s lips curled into a smile that made my skin crawl. Despite being nearly three centuries my junior, he’d always acted as though our positions were reversed.
“I require blood,” I said, the words scraping my throat. “To purchase.”
“The bar’s open.” He gestured lazily towards the door with one ring-laden hand.
“To take away.” The bastard was being deliberately obtuse, as always.
Dominic’s smile widened, showing fang. “So, let me get this straight. Four years ago, you barge in here, declare my blood ‘unethical,’ call me a ‘parasitic blood-trafficking degenerate,’ and now you’re crawling back, begging me for some?” He threw his head back and laughed as if I’d just told the most hilarious joke he’d ever heard.
I kept my expression neutral. “It certainly looks that way.”
A soft hissing sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A massive python slithered out from under Dominic’s desk, its scales gleaming in the dim light. Kit and I jumped back instinctively, and his entire body went rigid, his hand closing around my arm. His breathing shifted—shallow and controlled.
I stared at the snake.This was new.
“What the hell is this, Dominic?”
He laughed again, softer this time. “Just my pet.”
The python wound its way across the floor between us, its tongue flicking out to taste the air. My skin crawled as it circled closer. I tried to ignore it.
“Will you sell me the blood, or not?”
Dominic made a show of considering, tapping one finger against his bottom lip before pulling out his mobile and typing out a message.
We waited in tense silence while the python continued its slow, threatening dance around us.
“Do you have a licence for that animal?” Kit asked.
Dominic’s eyes widened with mock innocence. “Does Sebastián have a licence for you?”
A low growl rumbled in Kit’s chest.
Thankfully, the door opened and a staff member slipped in, carrying a tray laden with small metal casks—about a dozen of them, each a litre at most. They set the tray down silently, bowed to Dominic, and departed.
“And how many would you like to purchase?”
I eyed the casks, relief flooding through me despite my best efforts to hide it. “I’ll take them all.”
“That’ll be ten thousand per cask. Cash only.” His grin turned malicious.
“You have to be joking.” Fury rose in my chest.
“Ten thousand for desperate, entitled vampires who’ve burned all their bridges.”
God damn him!I turned to face the door, biting down on my knuckle.
After a moment, I faced him again. “I don’t have anywhere near that much cash on me,” I explained, voice level. “I have twelve thousand.”
