Page 5 of Thirst

“What?” Shawn exclaims. “You sure you wanna get involved? You know how your temper gets.”

“Yeah,” I say as I start walking. “I'm very sure.”

The second I reach the table, Von’s eyes shift over to me. “And who the hell are you supposed to be? I already told your boy that he ain't man enough to make me leave, and the same goes for you. One of y’all put your hands on me and it’s gonna take every security person on shift tonight to keep me from whoopin’ y’alls asses. Bet that.”

My first instinct is to lash out—to move faster than anyone is able to see and wrap my hands around Von’s throat. I want to force his head to the side and sink my fangs into his neck before I tear out every muscle fiber keeping his head intact. I want to savor his blood before I stand back and watch him bleed out. But if I did that, I'd have to kill everyone in this room to keep myself from becoming the most wanted villain in this city’s history. So, I force myself to swallow down the fire I feel heating up my throat.

“What are you starin’ at?” Von asks, directing his anger onto me. He doesn't know how much I enjoy it—that with every one of his words, I think of a new way to kill him. “You look like you wanna be the first to step up and try to remove me. I’ve left this place of my own volition before. Now, you're gonna have to force me out, because I told y’all I would chill and you still won't leave me alone. So screw it. Let’s get it poppin’. Come on. I’ll have one of my hoes bail me out of jail before the sun comes up in the mornin’.”

I tighten my jaw, furious that I have to be diplomatic in front of a growing crowd of people watching the scene unfold.

“Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave,” I say, fitting my words between gritted teeth.

“Fuck you. Make me.”

Von lifts up a glass from the table and chugs the rest of whatever was in it. Then he slams it down and stands up straight, his fists balled tight. He’s ready, and has no idea I could pull his head from his body before anybody in here could move a muscle to try and stop me.

But instead of decapitating him, I choose to Influence him. I look him straight in the eye, maintain my composure, and take a few steps closer to him. He doesn't move, but I can see his muscles are tight and ready to react if I reach for him. I want to, but I keep my hands at my side and lean my head slightly forward, speaking softly so I don't draw more attention.

“Leave. Now. Because the last thing you wanna do is be embarrassed in front of all these people,” I tell him. “And once you're outside, make sure you forget all about me. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to make sure you never forget me.”

Von blinks a few times before frowning hard and clearing his throat. He takes a step back and unclenches his fists. “To hell with all of this. I'm not gonna let y’all embarrass me in front of all these people. I’m out, man.”

Without another word, he turns around and walks away from the table. The tension surrounding us quickly evaporates as people begin to walk away, going back to their gambling and drinks.

“Damn, you scared the hell outta him, Mr. Goddard,” one of the security guys says with a laugh. I smirk and shake my head as everyone finally walks away and the game at the table resumes.

When I reach Shawn again, I turn around and stand next to him, watching as Von walks out of the casino without speaking to anyone else. He exits and makes a left out of the glass doors, and I know which part of the parking lot he’ll be going to. Once he's out of view, I turn to Shawn.

“Don't let him in again. I’ve had enough of him.”

Shawn nods. “Alright.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“You okay?”

When I don't answer, I know it makes him tense. But I don't care. I'm running out of time. I walk away, speeding up my steps until I reach an exit on the far side of the casino. The second the night air hits my skin, I run.

When I run, it’s nothing like a normal person’s slow gallop. I run fast enough to dart past someone and never have my movement detected by the human eye. A vampire’s speed will look like teleportation to anyone who doesn't know any better. I call it flashing from one place to the next at the speed of a blink. I flash from the back of the large casino to the front parking lot in less than two seconds, spotting Von in an instant as he reaches for his car door. When he opens it and ducks his head to sit down, I open the back door and sit behind him just as he shuts his door. He never even notices—too busy fuming over the fact that he left the casino after the altercation he started, and wondering why he decided to leave. He never cared about being embarrassed before, so why now. His thoughts play in my mind as if I'm listening to them with earbuds.

“What the hell was that? Why am I even out here? I was ready to turn up, now I'm sittin’ in my car like a coward. I don't know what got into me, but I can't let that slide. I need to get it together. Everybody in there is gonna think I'm a bitch.”

“Yes,” I say aloud. Von spins around, terror bleeding from his eyes when he sees me sitting behind him, and it goes through the roof when he looks down at my mouth and sees that I have fangs. “That’s right, Von. You are a bitch.”

In a snap, I reach out and grab Von by the face, yanking his head until he faces the windshield and covering his mouth with my free hand. As he tries to scream through my fingers, I bite his neck, gulping down his blood and savoring the sweet taste of fear that it’s laced with. I get an instant high from it, plus the satisfaction of knowing I got him for acting a fool in my casino. I'm the one who can't let things slide, and I've given Von enough passes for a lifetime. But the thing about passes is that they always get abused when they're given to fucking assholes, which is why no one should ever get any.

I stay clamped onto Von’s neck, pulling copious amounts of blood from his body with every gulp. His skin drains of its color until he looks ashen, and I know if I go much longer, he’s going to die. There are consequences for this type of thing, when I'm annoyed, I rarely think of them. I want him dead—to never be able to step in my casino or any other to cause drama. The planet will be better off without him, and that’s all I think about until I hear a loud bang on the window next to me, followed by the sound of footsteps before Shawn snatches open the door opposite mine and sits down right next to me.

“Stop!” he yells. “I knew you were gonna do this. You can't kill him, Amari. You know you can't. You have to stop.”

Reluctantly, I pull my mouth away from Von’s neck and look at the only person close enough to me to survive catching me feeding on someone.

“I want to,” I reply. “He deserves to die.”

“Amari,” Shawn pleads. “We have cameras all over the casino. If he goes missing, people will know this was the last place he visited, and that the last thing he did before he disappeared was have a confrontation with you at the blackjack tables. You’ll be a suspect by the weekend. I know this guy is an asshole, but this is not the kind of attention you want.”

I glance at Von and find him already passed out from blood loss. “I don't care. What can human cops do to me?”