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ChapterNineteen
Needing a distraction from what should've been one of the best moments of his life—the claiming—but had ended in a fucking disaster, Leo had taken advantage of nightfall to leave his establishment and walk to meet with his brother. It was high time he discussed the possible French vampire threat in person with Laurie.
The East End had a reputation for being dirty, and chaotic, and full of poverty. Much of that had changed in the last hundred and fifty years or so since the paranormals had taken it over from the humans. But there was still plenty of desperation, and thievery, and people struggling to merely keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.
Leo did what he could to create new businesses and job opportunities, always on the lookout for investments and new industries. With the river so close, it was easy enough to ship out to other parts of the country or even Europe.
But unlike his usual walks through his territory—when he monitored how things were going, determined where he might next try building a new factory or warehouse, or even stopped to talk with his people to gauge how things were going—he kept wondering what Yesenia would say about his domain. As he toured with her, what she might suggest to improve things, or even if she'd like another residence, away from the gaming hell.
Clearly, claiming her once hadn't been enough to banish her from his thoughts. And yet, judging by how she'd shoved him out the door earlier tonight, he wasn't sure it'd ever happen again.
He resisted a sigh. Nora had assured him the fae witch knew what to expect. He trusted his sister; she'd never skirt the truth for him.
No, some sort of misunderstanding had happened. It'd taught him one thing—to never again assume Yesenia fully understood anything about his kind or his time.
Although it could already be too late. She clearly hadn't wanted a child, and if it resulted, she would probably hate him.
It seemed all he'd done to try and be different from his father had been in vain. His sire had impregnated his mother against her will—his father had taken joy in telling Leo so as often as possible. And even if Yesenia had given herself consensually and hadn't been raped like his mother, he still might've taken the choice of whether she wanted children away from her.
Just like how his sister's choice had been taken from her all those years ago. Yet again Leo had been useless to a female he should've protected.
Grunting, he sidestepped a large puddle of filth and turned down a side street toward the western edge of his territory. He needed to push aside thoughts of his bride and retreat into his Dark Lord persona—arrogant, unflappable, and commanding. Too many people depended on him to fail them, no matter how alluring Yesenia Vale might be. He could think about her once he was alone again in his office or study, not before.
After a few more turns, he finally reached his destination—his brother's pleasure house, Nyx's Kingdom.
Considering Nyx was a lesser-known Greek goddess of the night and darkness, Leo didn't think many of Laurie's patrons got the reference of Kingdom of the Night.
But he couldn't care less what his brother and his business partner named their building, or what went on inside the pleasure house. Leo was only here to learn what Laurie had heard from his informants, and maybe plan the next few steps in his quest to determine what the bloody French were up to, and nothing more. After tasting Yesenia's blood and feeling her grip around his cock, he didn't think he'd ever want another.
Bloody hell.There he went thinking of her again.
Thankfully one of Laurie's males who guarded the back entrance to the building grunted a greeting and led him inside. "Yates and Hope are waiting for you in their office."
Since he'd sent an errand boy ahead, it didn't surprise him the pair were waiting. Leo made his way up the stairs to the office of his brother and his business partner, Joseph Hope. Another male stood guard outside this door as well, opened it, and waved him inside.
Laurie and Joseph sat in their usual chairs near the fire, and stood on his arrival. Leo's brother was a slightly shorter version of himself with the same dark hair, brown eyes, and leaner physique. The main difference was that Laurence "Laurie" Yates always liked to charm and often wore a smile, like now.
And right now, Laurie was the only one smiling in the room. His vampire business partner, Joseph, stood next to him with a stoic expression, taking in every detail of Leo's appearance. No doubt Joseph could tell what Leo had been up to since the male was one of the most observant people he'd ever met.
Their expressions weren't the only major difference between them, though. Their looks differed in nearly every way since Joseph had dark skin, with nearly black eyes, and close-cropped black hair that was curly to Laurie's straight.
Nodding at the two males, he approached them. "You sent a note earlier, saying you'd heard something important. Tell me what it is."
Laurie raised his brows. "Not even a 'how are you doing today, brother?' greeting for me?"
Leo growled. "Laurie."
His brother put up his hands. "Don't turn apoplectic, Leo. You clearly have something up your arse and I couldn't resist needling you."
Unsure if he'd ever get what he needed out of his brother, he turned toward Joseph. "What do you have for me?"
Joseph motioned toward the desk, went to it, and handed out a sheet to Leo. He took it just as Laurie sighed and trudged over.
He scanned the contents and raised his brows. "How reliable is this information?"
Joseph shrugged one shoulder. "Fairly good, as I've used this person before to find things. The vampire boy pickpocket managed to get into the main office of the rival hell, found some signed paperwork, and quickly came back here to tell us and collect his guineas."
Leo grunted. "So Antoine Pierre Durand is in London."
