Page 97 of Missing Piece
“Terrorizing your friends and one still-recovering human doesn’t strike me as the best way to go about that,” Marcus replied. He placed his hand on Vincent’s back, gently pattingit.
“You don’t think I know that? I’m spinning my fucking wheels here,” Vincent snapped, but he didn’t push Marcus’s hand away. The steady thump on his back was somehow keeping him grounded.
Marcus studied him for a moment. “How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Fight Richard’s power?”
Vincent was caught off guard by the question. His mind flashed back to those harrowing moments. “I don’t know. Adam told me he focused on his anger and pain to break through it, but when I tried that, I just felt like I was drowning.”
Marcus leaned forward slightly. “Then what did you focus on?”
Vincent paused, looking down at his hands as embarrassment washed over him.Just be honest.“Love. How much I love him and his stupid human face and the way his eyes sparkle when he smiles and how his laugh makes my chest hurt. How, under all his armor and bravado, there’s a sensitive, kind person I want to see more of—” He stopped himself.
Marcus remained silent before letting out a soft sigh. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” He laughed at the deadly look Vincent shot him. “A few weeks ago, I would have teased you, but now…” He rubbed his chest. “I felt the fear right here. I had no blood stored when the hunters attacked, and I almost killed Caleb feeding on him. The fear of losing him hurt me and my beast. Had Ophelia not talked me out of it, I’d probably be out there hunting them down right now. My beast wants to rip them apart and send a piece to every hunting group in the state. But that’s not going to help me, and it’s not going to help Caleb.”
Vincent looked up sharply. “What do you mean? It would let those bastards know not to come down here.”
“In the old days, yes. But times have changed.Wehave changed. Making hunters and vampires alike afraid used to work, but it never lasted long. There was always someone waiting to take a shot. The way we’ve been doing things here has worked, and we didn’t do it through brute force. If I gave in to what the beast wants, it would remind all the hunters we have alliances with not to mess with us, but it would also give them permission to put my name back on their kill list. That would make me vulnerable, and it would make those I care about vulnerable. Knowing when to pull your punches is a form of strength too.”
“It’s time to redefine what strength means for you,” Marcus said gently. “Fear isn’t the only way to protect those you care about.”
The words hung in the air between them. Vincent’s mind raced, trying to reconcile his old ways with this new reality Marcus presented. “So what do I do now?”
“Go apologize to Adam.”
Vincent knew Marcus was right. With a deep breath, he grabbed the bottle of champagne and finished it off, the last drops sliding down his throat. He stood, renewed determination coursing through him.
As he turned toward the curtain, Marcus’s voice stopped him. “I hear you’re much more pleasant now that you have some love in that cold, dead heart. So do me a favor and beg for forgiveness if you have to. I like seeing my friends happy.”
Vincent nodded, the weight of Marcus’s words settling onhis shoulders. He could hear Marcus’s parting shot as he walked toward the main floor of the club. “And stop being such a fucking dick all the time!”
A chuckle escaped Vincent’s lips despite himself. The club’s neon lighting and pulsing music seemed distant as he made his way toward Adam, his thoughts singularly focused on the man who had somehow wormed his way into his heart.
He’s weak. He’s going to drag us down,the beast hissed.
Vincent pushed it back, refusing to let it take control again. “Stop backseat driving,” he muttered under his breath.
A knot of unease formed in his chest as he pushed through the crowd, ignoring curious glances from patrons and staff. He couldn’t see Adam or catch his scent.Where is he?Panic grew with every step as he waded through clusters of people, his gaze darting around desperately. No sign of Adam anywhere.
When he reached the front of the building, he bolted to the sidewalk, his eyes immediately landing on Matteo, Luka, and Petrov standing together. They were signing rapidly at each other, their expressions tense and anxious.
Matteo spotted Vincent first, his green eyes widening with alarm. Vincent didn’t even have time to raise his hands before Matteo’s fingers moved frantically.
“He’s gone.”
Chapter Thirty-Six - Adam
Adam’s apartment door creaked open, the scent of stale neglect hitting him like a wall. Darkness swallowed the room, save for the slivers of streetlight seeping through broken blinds. His heart galloped, erratic with anxiety. He groped for the light switch, flicking it on to reveal chaos. Clothes scattered across the floor, drawers yanked open, their contents spilling out like entrails from a wound.
Dad must’ve had a field day.
Adam stumbled over to the futon and collapsed into it, its worn fabric embracing him with the familiarity of old regrets. His skin stung as the painful overlap of being both too hot and cold hit him, a reminder of his mad dash through the night, shirtless and desperate. He’d told Luka and Matteo he needed a smoke to calm down but bolted as soon as he was out of sight. The adrenaline from running had barely begun to wear off.
He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the roots as if he could pull some sense from his mind. A million thoughts raced through his head, each one crashing into the next like waves in a storm. Vincent’s face swam into view, those icy blue eyes that once seemed almost warm.
“Stupid,” he hissed. “So stupid.”
