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“Heed my warning, Mr. Noble. If anything happens to her, the consequences will be far worse than anything you could ever imagine.” Lawrence’s jaw twitches with his words.
Sawyer doesn’t respond and instead turns and strides away, heading in the direction where Knox and Monroe watch the fight while also glancing at us. I can’t help but look past them at Cooper, wondering what’s going through his mind. He can’t seem to take his eyes away from me, his expression a mixture of indecipherable emotions. The way he handled me after the fight, how he treated me with such care, doesn’t disappear from my mind. Actually, it lingers.
“This is turning into a real shitshow.” Sawyer still doesn’t put me on my feet, and I’m pretty sure he won’t the whole time we are out here among the patrons.
“It shouldn’t last long. I can already tell the crowd grows bored by how long Killer Kassandra takes with her prey.” Monroe crosses his arms, shifting on his feet. “Plus, Lawrence is going to want to leave any second. I just got word from La Vega. The meeting is on.”
My eyes widened, and I want to ask more questions, but a scream, followed by utter silence, cuts through the casino. Sawyer can’t stop me from looking before it’s too late. I stare from his arms as Killer slides her hand from Velvet Rose’s chest, pulling out her heart. She glides her tongue over it and then tosses it at the man who offered the old woman donor in exchange for the show.
I cover my mouth with my hand. I don’t want anyone to see my grimace. But I can’t help it. I can’t get over how unimportant a donor’s life is here. Unlike La Vega, it takes a lot for one of the covens to end a life. But this place? I guess I would consider it a mercy.
Knox grumbles under his breath, flicking his attention to me. “You’re being summoned, Sawyer. Lawrence wants Hayley.”
Sawyer tenses, looking around. “Fuck. I don’t want to take her. They’ll have to get through me first.”
I sigh and touch his cheek. “Sawyer, it’s okay. I’m fine with this. It won’t be forever. The consequences are worse if I don’t comply.”
He opens and closes his mouth to argue with me, but I kiss him again and wiggle enough that he has no choice but to either let me fall or set me down.
I need to be brave. I need to have confidence despite the nerves bunching my stomach. I need to act like a good little donor. Vampires love when donors put up a fight, and I refuse to get to their innate need as predators.
“I’ll be okay. I promise.” I lick my lips and hold his stare until he finally gives in to my need to protect him.
“It’s fucking hard to tell her no, huh?” Monroe asks, rubbing his fingers along my arm.
“Why don’t we take you to a table by Cooper. It might make things a little easier. He can intervene if our jealousy controls us.” Knox motions to Cooper as he still watches me. “He’s proved himself capable of taking care of Hayley.”
Sawyer squeezes his eyes shut for a second, gathering his thoughts and possibly his nerve to follow through with Knox’s suggestion. “Fine, I’ll take her there, but I need you to tell Lawrence about the meeting. Maybe he’ll decide to just let us go to prepare.”
I’m not going to hold my breath. I’ll die first before Lawrence shows me any mercy. I know this is him trying to prove a point that regardless of the deal he made with the Bella Crew, he still holds power and is in control. He’ll flex his authority if he has to. I hate it.
Monroe smacks Sawyer’s back. “You got it. Maybe I can make an interruption or something.”
I sigh. “Please, don’t do anything crazy. It’s just a couple of bites. I’ve been through worse.”
Knox scowls at the thought. “Keep our girl safe, Sawyer. Don’t let any fucker get handsy.”
He doesn’t wait for Sawyer to respond, because he already knows Sawyer will do whatever it takes to keep me safe. He and Monroe abandon our sides, leaving us near the feeding tables. I watch them cross the casino to where Lawrence stands with several men in suits around him. They all look at me while talking to each other, weirding me out. I’m used to being stared at, but it doesn’t mean I like it. I’m not sure how to react here. I would smile and wink back at Aris, but here? Ugh.
Sawyer tugs me toward Cooper, who slides from the table to offer me his place. There are a couple of empty spots, but I appreciate his gesture.
“Hayley, it’s best to keep your gaze down. Don’t look or speak to anyone. They’ll try to get you to but ignore them the best you can.” Cooper murmurs the words, stiff in posture.
I can’t help flicking my gaze over his body, his speedo not leaving much to the imagination. My damn curiosity gets the best of me, and I use my new fascination with him to keep my eyes from betraying me as voices draw closer.
The hairs on my arms rise, the familiarity of Lawrence’s low rumbly voice setting off my fear. I wish I didn’t have such an intense reaction to him. I wish I could be strong. Fuck, I wish I could just get myself to be numb.
Sawyer helps me position myself on the table, but he doesn’t back away. He remains at my head, staring down at me while I continue to drink Cooper in.
“The guys coming are fucking disgusting. I suggest you keep your limbs close to your body. Cross your legs at your ankles.” Cooper tightens his jaw, his disdain for whoever approaches clear on his face.
I don’t react. He doesn’t understand I’ve been trained to deal with being groped. I’ve had my boundaries pushed over and over again and beaten if I even reacted negatively toward unwanted affection. The only thing that was ever off-limits was full-on sex. Most men weren’t interested in anything except getting off themselves. They didn’t care where they stuck their cocks, so I was okay with parting my mouth open for them.
I close my eyes, trying to push away my memories. I want to think differently. I want to not be okay with this kind of treatment. I deserve better. The Bella Crew showed me that. It’s as if the ingrained part of me knows that if I do think I deserve better, it’ll just be that much harder because I’ll never get that. As long as I’m in someone else’s control, my life will be shit.
“Your new addition is stunning, Lawrence. Wherever did you find this donor? Surely, she’s not from the herd, is she? Have you been keeping her all to yourself until you realized what an asset you were wasting?” A man stands by the table, shoving Cooper out of the way.
What a fucking asshole. It’s so strange to see a vampire treated like a donor. It makes me so angry. I know it happens to him all the time, but I feel as if Cooper was cheated out of a better life. All donors think that transforming into a vampire would change everything. Sometimes, they don’t even care if they end up on the Strip. Because being on the Strip was better than being under the fangs of some bastard. At least, that is if they were vampires. Donors on the Strip don’t survive.
