“You should know me better than that, Olivia.”
The male voice, edged with sadness, drifted over from the far side of the club. They swung around toward the voice and aimed their guns in the direction of the VIP booths on the other side of the dance floor. The rapidly changing colorful lights were messing with Doug’s vision, and for the first time since he was turned, his night vision was failing him.
He and Olivia moved toward the center of the dance floor.
“Vincent?” Olivia said sharply as she looked around the club. “You fucking coward. Show yourself.”
Seconds later, to the left of the VIP booths, a tall, regal man stepped out from behind a small wall divider. Doug fleetingly remembered that the hallway behind it led to the restrooms.
Vincent had his hands behind his back and moved toward them cautiously.
“Hello, Olivia.” His voice was etched with sorrow. “This is not what you think, my child.” His eyes widened when they landed on Doug. “My, my, my. I never forget a face, especially yours. The only human I couldn’t glamour.” His brow knit in confusion. “And here you are, and now you’re one of us? Fascinating.”
“Vincent?” Olivia’s voice was shakier as soon as she set eyes on her maker. “Why are you doing this?”
Doug tightened his grip on both guns as a glint of silver caught his eye. Partially hidden behind Vincent’s disheveled shirt and tie was a rope of sterling silver. It was wrapped around his neck, and Doug glanced down to see that the chain dragged behind him.
“Olivia,” Doug said evenly. “It’s not him. Vincent’s not The Maker. Look at his neck.”
As he uttered the words, Vincent’s face twisted in pain as he was yanked backward and fell to his knees. A man Doug had never seen before stood behind him, holding the rope of silver in one gloved hand and a gun in the other. Next to him was the little blond waitress, Suzie. She wept quietly as he pointed the gun at her head. Doug immediately sensed that she had been turned.
“Hello, Olivia,” the man growled. “Long time, no see.”
“Oh my God,” she said in a rush. “Brutus.”
Olivia had never been more shocked in her three hundred years. Brutus, Augustus’s son and the vicious piece of shit she made sure was sent to hibernation, was standing before her, larger than life. Olivia kept her guns trained on him, and the only reason she didn’t fire was because of Suzie.
“Nice to see you haven’t forgotten me.”
“I should’ve put you down when I had the chance, you sick piece of shit.”
“Do you really think that my father, a czar for the Presidium, would allow that? I don’t think so.” He tugged on the chain, causing Vincent to howl in pain and hiss at his captor. “Stop your whining.” He sighed. “Actually, I’ll stop it for you. You’ve served your purpose, old man.”
A split second later, Brutus yanked viciously on the chain tied around Vincent’s neck, and Olivia watched in horror as his head popped off like a macabre party favor. As he exploded into a cloud of ash, white-hot pain shot through Olivia and bloomed in her chest as Vincent died. She arched back and screamed in excruciating agony as Doug swept in and caught her with one arm, cradling her against his broad chest.
“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it? I remember when our maker bit the dust. It hurt like hell. My father and I cried like a couple of younglings.” Brutus laughed and pulled Suzie in front of him, still holding the gun to her head. “But you know what hurts worse? Starving in a hibernation chamber for fifty years and going mad with hunger.” His hate-filled eyes glared at them. “The blood thirst? Damn, girl. That shit will make you crazy.”
Olivia scrambled weakly to her feet with Doug’s help and pointed her gun at him again, even though her head felt like it was going to split open like an egg.
“You did this?” Her voice wavered, and her vision blurred as Doug’s voice touched her mind. Let me take him out with a clean shot to the head.
Olivia glanced at Suzie’s tearstained face. No. It’s too dangerous for Suzie.
She cleared her head and sharpened her focus, looking for other vampires in the club, but her senses were wonky from the impact of Vincent’s death. As her dizziness faded and her senses cleared, the distinct foul stench of Rogue One filled her head. Brutus was the rogue? How could that be? Olivia shook her head as if she could shake off the confusion.
“Do you know what I had time to do when I was in hibernation?” His voice dropped low as he walked slowly toward the center of the dance floor, taking Suzie with him as he stopped behind Damien’s dying body. “I had time to think about how I’d kill you for putting me there.”
Olivia and Doug countered Brutus’s movements, keeping a safe distance but keeping him in their sights.
“Your father isn’t going to be happy with you, Brutus,” Olivia said as calmly as possible. “I’ll bet he’ll give me a flipping medal for dusting your sorry ass.”
“Are you kidding?” Brutus laughed, and his long brown hair fell across his forehead. “He’s been bored as hell, and I finally livened things up.” He smacked Suzie on the ass, and she winced. “She interrupted me, lover. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Making you suffer, Olivia. Oh, I came up with many wonderful ways, but I ultimately decided that killing you would be too easy. So, why not bide my time and hit you where it really hurts? Wipe out this little family you’ve made for yourself.” He kicked Damien’s chair with his foot. “Even this human. Kill them one by one in front of you.”
“Stop it,” Olivia screamed. “Don’t touch him!”
“Well, he’s almost dead anyway.” He lifted one shoulder. “I was going to kill this one too after I followed her home the other night,” he said, squeezing Suzie closer to him. “But I decided to turn her instead and have some fun with her. I always liked blonds, and this one is a virgin. Bonus.”
Suzie whimpered and tried to pull away as he kissed her head, but he was too strong.
“When I saw your little bartender leaving the club with that human buffoon, I realized that I found the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling. I would’ve had a slaughter fest, and we did get off to a nice start, but you had to make a big fat mess with my rogues in the tunnels.”
“No.” Olivia shook her foggy head. “An unregistered vampire killed Ronald Davis. It was Rogue One, not you.”
“Please.” He sighed. “The Presidium’s computers aren’t hacker-proof. I glamoured a Google geek, and he changed my ID in the system so when they ran the blood sample it came up as an unregistered rogue. Then I ate him. Dinner and a show. Really, Olivia,” he said wearily. “It is the twenty-first century. Get with the program.”
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure,” Doug interrupted.
“No.” Brutus winked. “But I met your partner, and he tasted great. Did you know that the sweetest bit of blood is that last pump of the heart as the life fades from the body?”
Before Olivia could stop him, Doug screamed and squeezed off two rounds, but Brutus, who was two thousand years old, shot up to the arched ceiling in a blink. Frantic, they pointed their guns in the air, but Brutus was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Suzie.
A gust of wind whooshed behind them, and Olivia felt something slash her across the throat. She tried to get out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough. She covered her neck with one hand and could feel the blood seeping through her fingers as she stumbled, struggling to regain her footing and still hold her weapon out in front of her. Doug linked his arm around her waist and held her against him while keeping an eye on their surroundings.
Doug glanced to the front door and started backing up toward the entrance with Olivia tucked in his arm. We have to get him by the entrance to the club. His grip tightened on her.