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Wow, talk about a tragic love story. “So…you came back to Vegas?”
“I did,” he confirmed. “I spent the next sixty years or so dealing with my grief in ways that will forever haunt me. I threw myself into building an empire, trying to fill the void with work, women, violence—you name it, I probably did it. It wasn’t until the incident with Maria that I woke up…that’s when the cloud was lifted.”
Leo and Maria had an affair while she was still married to Vance. He had turned her into a vampire as one final fuck you to Vance for messing with his shady business partners. She was a completely willing participant but unbeknownst to him, she was pregnant with Vance’s child at the time. To change, the person had to be drained almost completely of their blood. Their heart must be near the point of death before their sire’s blood can be mixed with their own. Leo felt the baby’s heart stop while he was drinking her blood. He’d never gotten over the guilt of taking such an innocent being’s life. He told me that had been the moment when he ended all ties to anyone that exploited or harmed others. He focused solely on running legitimate businesses and made it his mission in life to atone for his past behavior. I already knew this part of the story, but until now, I didn’t know what drove his nefarious behavior prior to that. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time grief made someone do something they’d later regret.
I didn’t realize I had been crying until Leo swiped a tear from my cheek. “I think that’s enough conversation for the evening, don’t you?”
I sniffed. “Yeah, I guess.”
He stood up from the couch and offered his hand. “Let’s go to sleep.”
The day’s events must’ve caught up with me at once because it only took a moment to drift off after I settled in Leo’s arms.
I awoke sometime later when I heard a strange noise coming from the master bathroom. I rolled over and saw Leo moving around behind a small crack in the door. Normally, I’d give him his privacy, but it sounded like he was having trouble with something. He was grunting, but not in a good way.
I tiptoed across the room so I could take a peek. I really didn’t want to interrupt him if it was the good kind of grunting. I gasped as soon as I saw his reflection in the mirror, totally busting myself in the process. “Oh, Leo, why didn’t you tell me?”
I pushed the door open. He was fully naked, which under any other circumstance would wreak havoc on my hormones. Bloodied bandages littered the pristine marble counter top. The right side of his body was still completely burned from his armpit down to his knee. He must have been examining his injuries in the mirror.
He hissed when I lightly touched his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, I could see that it was also burned, only not nearly as bad. The skin was an angry shade of red there, which was a major upgrade from the blistered, ashy flesh below.
He turned away from me and grabbed a robe hanging from a hook. “I’ll be fine, my love. Go back to bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Bullshit.” I grabbed the robe, silently playing tug-of-war with him. “You need more blood, Leo. You were in pain earlier. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I’ll order some from the blood bank later today.”
“Are you kidding me?” I shrieked. “I did this to you. I will be the one to make it right.”
He released the robe. “No.”
“No?” I repeated. “What do you mean ‘no’?”
“I will not take any more of your blood. I’ll get some from the bank later today and I’ll be good as new in no time.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Leo. I’m not going to let you sit here and suffer for one second longer than you have to. Especially not when I’m at fault.”
He puffed out his chest. “I’m not in any pain. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, yeah, tough guy?” I jabbed a particularly nasty part with my finger. Harsh, I know, but I needed to win this any way I could.
“Karli,” he growled.
“See? You’re not fine!” I grabbed his face, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “Leo, I trust you. I know, without a doubt, that you will be able to stop drinking before you take too much. I need to do this. Please, let me do this for you.”
He sighed. “Fine, but only on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
?
?That if I lose control, you will use any weapon necessary to defend yourself. Do you agree?”
The thought of doing that to him again made me sick, but I knew he wouldn’t let me help if I didn’t agree to his terms. “Fine.”
“I’m serious, Karli.”
“I am too,” I countered. “So, how do you want to do this? The neck is one of the best spots, right?”
