Page 7 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
Shifting to face us, Grayson scowls. “We should have brought more men.”
I shake my head, clenching my fist at my side. “If Blaze wants to meet in private, we’ll meet in private. I don’t need more men. I can take care of him myself if need be.”
“I know that,” Grayson says. “We need to present a strong front.”
Colt laughs. “The boss showing up with a dozen men isn’t a strong front. Mateo doesn’t need a show of force, he is scary enough.”
Flicking my gaze to his, I dip my head in acknowledgement. Colt’s quicker to anger than Grayson, but he’s smart and he’s part of my inner circle for a reason. Grayson is a smooth talker, and while he’s been by my side for hundreds of years, ever since I sired him, he prefers theatrics.
The human stops outside of a seedy warehouse. Blaze said he had something of import to discuss, and while I suspect there will be a war for the death of the Santa Cruz enforcer, I won’t cower to a dog. Not even the Heir Alpha of South Western USA.
I roll down my window and glance around. If not for my supernatural eyesight, I might’ve missed Blaze’s black wolf form blending into the shadows. “Stay here,” I tell my men.
Blaze shifts from wolf to man, standing naked as I approach him. He’s taller than I am, and his muscles are bigger, but that doesn’t mean he’d beat me in a fight. I’m nearly four hundred years old, and vampires have always been stronger than wolves.
“Mateo,” he says, dipping his head respectfully.
I press my lips into a hard line, waiting for the moment where he tries to assert his dominance. After a minute of waiting, I let a small smile lift my lips. “Blaze.”
There are no pleasantries between us. This is a business meeting, nothing more, nothing less.
“The elders have a proposition.”
Consider me intrigued. I lift one eyebrow. “Oh?”
He sighs, probably hating that I’m making him work for it. He expected me to be salivating at the news.
“We need to have some trash taken out, discreetly.”
I cross my arms. “Am I to assume you incapable of doing the job?”
He growls in warning, but reels it in. Smart wolf.
“The elders would like to hire a contractor.” He lifts his gaze to meet mine; his eyes are glowing yellow in challenge.
He just couldn’t help himself.
Unleashing the full strength of my vampire gaze, I stare him down. It takes him a few moments before he looks over my shoulder. Not exactly submission, but an admission of lesser strength at the very least.
“I’m listening,” I say.
“We would like Richard taken care of.”
I’m silent for a moment, letting him think he’s stunned me. “You want me to kill an alpha? At what cost, war?”
The smile he gives me is all sharp teeth and danger. “Two million dollars and the promise to pull back the Santa Cruz pack.”
The deal is good, but I narrow my eyes, waiting for the catch.
“We want the woman too.”
“What woman?”
He lets out a put-upon sigh. “You know which one. Three weeks. Do we have a deal?”
I consider his outstretched hand. I have nothing to lose, not really. Richard is a pain in the ass, and I’m bored of thwarting his overeager attempts to take my city. The elders and I have a long-standing agreement on territory, but Richard’s taken it upon himself to break the accord.
“Three million and Santa Cruz forgets about San Francisco.”
