Page 19 of Demons and Debts
He shrugs again. ‘Who gives a shit? She’s one of ours and she’s alive, just blissed out of her mind.’
I try to gauge his expression without being obvious, my fingers playing with my stethoscope in my pocket absently. It’s definitely Monique. I can’t see much, but I recognize the dress. She was wearing it earlier when I called for her. I sucked a lot out of her this evening, and I know she was already tired. How much of her did Sie take? And, now that I’m thinking about it, why Monique? He usually sticks with Carrie. Did he seek her out for the same reason I did? Because she resembles the other,uncontractedfemale? The one that’s right now being put back in my bed, but that the rules say I’m not allowed to touch? Fuck. Just thinking about the rules makes me want to break them.
‘You sure she’s ok?’ I ask, not letting him know my concerns.
Sie snorts. ‘Even if she’s not, she signed on the dotted line. Vic makes sure they know the risks they take to get their fixes.’
I can’t help my frown. ‘We have the girls contracted to the Club around for our own convenience, not so we can take too much from them and endanger their lives.’
‘No, you sanctimonious fuck, we have girls contracted to the Club because of the Council’s bullshit laws against taking from unwilling humans.’
I don’t let my concern show, but this isn’t like Sie. He’s always been fine with the rules before, more than fine. He’s usually the sanctimonious one when it comes to the underdog.
He’s worse than I thought he’d be and I’m afraid I know what the problem is. I need to talk to Vic.
‘You want me to take her with me?’
He glances back at the prone woman on the bed. ‘No need,’ he says, coming out into the hall.
I’m forced back a step.
He leaves his door ajar and walks purposefully towards the stairs, ignoring me now. I guess we’re done talking.
‘She’s a big girl,’ he calls back. ‘She’ll find her way back to her bunk when she comes to. You might wanna see to yourself instead of worrying about me. I can hear you messing around with that ’scope in your pocket. Maybe go see one of the girls or something. Get rid of some of that nervous energy…’
I watch him go, taking my hand out of my pocket so I stop playing. Fuck Sie’s great hearing.
My friend is definitely on a downward spiral though. I guess I’ve known it for a while, but I hoped I was imagining at least some of it. He’s been antsy and pissed off for weeks, but this was a whole other level. The look in his eyes has me worried. He should be sated after Monique; well fed and sex-drunk. Hell, I still am, and I fed from her hours ago.
But Sie doesn’t look like he’s eaten at all, though he clearly has if Monique’s state is anything to go by, and that’s not a good sign. It’s taking more to satisfy him and he’s trying to hide it, but he won’t be able to for long. If the beast inside gets too hungry, my brother will go feral. I’ve seen it before. The madness is rare, and no one knows why it happens to some of us and not others, but if Sie doesn’t get himself together, he won’t be able to control his hunger. He’ll feed fromuncontractedhumans. He’llkilluncontracted humans. And if he goes rogue, even Vic won’t be able to save us from the ton of bricks the rest of the supes will bury us under.
Hurting humans is no big deal because it can be swept under the carpet pretty easily with cash, but the supe authorities shut down murder real fast; makes the humans nervous and they might be weak, but there are a hell of a lot more of them than there are us. No one wants anymore bad press. Not after the shitshow last year with those girls’ bodies found in that club in Houston.
I stare down the hall though Sie is long gone. We’ve been brothers a long time. Could I kill him if I need to? I already know the answer. To save the MC? Yes, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
I make my way back up to my own room and find the girl still unconscious. Vic will want to talk to her soon.
I take out a pair of cuffs and attach her right wrist to my headboard, telling myself all the while that it’s for her own safety first and foremost and not because I find immobilizing her hot AF.
Truthfully, I don’t need her running off again as soon as she feels able and not just because she was knocked around pretty hard tonight and shouldn’t berunningat all. There’s also the fact that, though I’d swear up and down that the Club follows the rules with humans to an outsider, the truth is that if I hadn’t been there when Kor caught her or if Sie had found her first, Vic would probably have had to try to get answers from a dead girl. Not impossible to do, sure, but not optimal either.
I leave her in the bed and grab the syringe off the table that I’d been filling before she rabbitted. Taking in the pale skin and blue veins of her arm, I inject her carefully, so she won’t bruise.
‘It’s just a painkiller,’ I murmur even though she’s not awake to hear me.
I feel a presence at my back.
‘She’s not awake right now,’ I say without turning around.
‘So I see.’
Vic comes into my periphery, looking down at her with a detached expression. He eyes the restraints speculatively.
‘She ran as soon as she woke up last time, so I’ve had to take precautions.’
‘Uh huh.’
He doesn’t sound convinced and I cringe a little while my back is to him, a tad embarrassed that my motivations are so easy to read.
