Page 5 of His Mate By Vengeance

Vin could hear the blood-thirst in his deceptively calm words. Kyan’s grunts wouldn’t survive the month, which he’d probably known when he brought them there. He had no loyalty to his people. Bastard.

“Did he say why he thought it was me?”

“No, but my brother’s growing careless. One of his guards was young enough that I could get in his head. There was a suspicious payment made to your account after the bomb detonated. They must’ve had an in with the bank to get that info so quickly,” Dar said.

Age brought vampires increasingly unique powers, and one of Dar’s was the ability to read the minds of the weak-willed or distracted.

“Someone wanted me running fast to take the pressure off them,” Vin guessed.

“Any idea who?”

“Everyone wants a piece of me,” Vin said with a suggestive laugh just as Angel stepped back into the cabin and immediately looked like he wanted to take a bite out of him. Although, he couldn’t tell if it would be a sexy bite or a rip your throat out and watch you bleed out on the floor bite.

Dar snorted, used to his antics. “That’s true, but it’s more likely you’re just a distraction. Collateral damage.”

“Shut your mouth, Darius Valryn. How rude. I would never be mere collateral,” Vin said, fluttering his hand to his chest.

Did Angel’s mouth just twitch like he was going to smile? It totally did. The shifter had a sense of humour after all.

“It could be someone is targeting you as well. Two vamps, one silver stake,” Dar said.

Vin shrugged, even though Dar couldn’t see him. “We won’t know until we get more information. Call me if you hear anything else.”

“I’m going to need you in the coming years. Take care of yourself, Vin,” Dar said.

“Always, Sugar,” Vin said before hanging up.

He didn’t have friends, but if he did, Dar would be one. They’d known each other for a long time. Had built up something like trust because each understood what the other wanted from them. He just wished Dar would hurry up and kill his brother and take over the family business already. Dar was much better at controlling his bloodlust and he wouldn’t be caught undead trafficking humans. Vin and Dar had a code and Kyan fucking Valryn was the antithesis of it. He needed to die.

“How much did you hear?” Vin asked Angel, who was leaning against the door watching him.

“Most of it,” Angel said. “A bit careless to get framed like that, wasn’t it?”

Vin snorted and flipped him the bird. “Fuck off.”

“You said you were on a job at the time?” Angel asked, his voice carefully neutral.

Vin watched him for a moment before nodding confirmation. “Yeah. A human piece of shit. He’d been making trouble for Kyan, but not out of the goodness of his heart. I’m pretty sure he’s in the same line of business, if not worse. I would’ve tortured him to figure out what he was up to if I’d had the chance.”

“Is that what Kyan was paying you to do?” Angel asked, looking adorably annoyed at his curiosity.

“No. He asked me to kill him. But I never take my client’s word at face value, and I always make sure I know what I’mgetting into. I’d been following him for weeks before I let Kyan know I’d take the job and I would’ve kept him alive as long as it took to get to the bottom of whatever his business was.”

Angel seemed surprised by his words. “You really do have a conscience,” he murmured.

“Of sorts,” Vin said with a sharp grin.

“Is he dead then? The human?”

Vin sighed. “No. I was interrupted before I could take him out.”

“Careless. Could he have gotten wind you were following him?” Angel asked.

Vin scoffed at the suggestion he’d given himself away, but then he paused. Angel was right to ask. His mark was the one who’d most benefited from the day’s events because it was the only reason the man wasn’t at the bottom of the harbour right now. Someone in Kyan’s employ could’ve let something slip. The human had to be a suspect.

“Ah fuck. I’m going to have to revisit his movements,” Vin sighed.

“You meanwe.We’regoing to have to revisit his movements,” Angel said.

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