Page 60 of Dark Obsession

“Maybe your rules are too strict. We’re starving.”

That came from a woman sitting in one of the booths. She gripped the edge of the table as her eyes jerked between the three of them. The back of Demetrius’s throat was hot, and his heart pounded. But he held his ground in front of Cody, hands in fists.

“Cassie, we’ve talked about this,” Marlowe said, her eyes lowered to whatever she was working on. “And you, too, Jordan.”

The man by the pool table who had spoken first bared his teeth, and even in the dim lighting Demetrius could see his fangs. They looked extremely long and sharp.

“Talk is cheap,” Jordan said, his voice hissing. “Blood is forever.”

“These two have maimed and murdered our kind,” said the second man by the pool table.

“Leo, you’d better think about the consequences of your actions.” Marlowe lifted her eyes a moment before dropping them again. “I drew a line in the sand years ago about biting the unwilling. Once you cross it, there’s no coming back.”

Demetrius couldn’t seem to focus on one person—vampire, for fuck’s sake—long enough to figure out a defense. The smartest move they could make was to leave, but he didn’t want to put his back to the room. And more hungry vampires could be waiting out in the parking lot.

The door behind them opened. Cody swore under his breath, and Demetrius glanced over his shoulder. A man with several days’ worth of beard, wearing a leather coat and a hollowed out expression stood just inside the bar.

“The brother,” Cody said quietly, “Andy.”

Demetrius nodded as he returned to watching the room.

“You!” The shout from behind made Demetrius jump and turn. Andy charged them, dodging around Cody and pushing Zenona up against the bar, forearm across her collarbone as he shouted in her face. “You kept giving her blood. You kept getting her ready for him, encouraging her to go to him. And now she’s one of them, and it’s all your fault!”

“Who are you?” Zenona shouted back. “Get off me!”

A flash of light, a crackle and pop, and Zenona crumpled to the floor. Demetrius rushed to her side, hands hovering over her twitching, writhing body. Cody spun Andy around and punched him, sending him staggering back against the wall. Something clattered to the floor and Demetrius stared at it before the shape registered. He cursed.

A taser.

“He tased her,” Demetrius said, taking Zenona’s hand. It spasmed in his grip. “For fuck’s sake.”

“Son of a bitch.” Cody stalked toward Andy, hands fisted. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

Andy whirled on Cody, sneering. “Fuck you. She deserved it. You don’t know what she’s been doing.”

Silence pressed in around them. An even deeper silence than what had followed Jordan’s announcement about Cody being bit. Zenona’s limbs had settled a bit, and she was blinking rapidly as she stared at the ceiling.

“You’re okay,” Demetrius whispered. “We’re here. You’re safe.”

He looked over his shoulder and went cold from his head to his feet. Every vampire in the place had gotten to their feet and moved closer. Their attention, however, wasn’t on him, Zenona, or even Cody. Now they all stared at Andy. Demetrius followed their lines of sight and watched Andy run the back of his hand across his mouth, saw the smear of blood. His heart slammed in his chest, and his mind went blank. All he could do was stare at the dark smudge across the back of Andy’s hand and along his lips.

Marlowe lifted the bar flap and came out from behind, casually stepping over Zenona and around Demetrius. She wore thickly padded gloves and gripped a long metal bar. Taking up a defensive position between the four of them and the others, Marlowe held it like a baseball bat, gloved fingers adjusting their grip. Light played along the smooth, gleaming surface, and that was when Demetrius understood. The bar was pure silver. Marlowe kept it close in case her undead patrons got out of hand. She wore the gloves to protect herself.

“I don’t want to use this on any of you,” Marlowe said. “We’ve all been through a lot together. But if we don’t follow the rules in here, there’s no chance for us to make it out there.”

“What?” Zenona muttered, eyelids fluttering. “What happened?”

“Take it easy,” Demetrius whispered. “You got tased.”

“What’s going on?” Andy demanded, eyes darting around the room.

“Dude, you’re bleeding,” Cody said, watching the vampires crowding closer. He pointed at the door. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“What?” Andy gingerly touched the corner of his mouth, saw the blood on his fingertips, and stared at Cody. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to make you bleed, but you fucking tased her. What the hell, Andy.”

“She deserved it! She’s been⁠—”