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Zan let go of Walker’s hair and then wrapped his hand around his throat before yanking him back. Walker choked out tortured breaths as Zan ripped him away from the bar hard enough that the blades tore through his bone and flesh as he was forced backward. He howled in excruciating pain, staring down at his mangled hands for a split second before Zan spun him around and shoved him against the edge of the bar.
“I want her to receive the same respect you give me,” Zan growled. “That shouldn’t be a hard thing to understand. I hope everyone else in here can learn from your mistake.”
His threat wasn’t lost on anyone, and a couple of vampires shifted uneasily as they watched. Viggo was smoking, seeming amused by the entire situation. Pax was focused on me. His intense stare had me almost squirming. He was looking at me like he didn’t know who I was and was trying to figure it out.
“I’m going to need someone to take Walker’s job,” Zan said. “Any volunteers?”
“I can do it,” Walker cried. “I swear, I won’t fuck up again.”
“I’ll do it,” one female vampire spoke up. “He was never on time anyway. I’m sure the others will be happy he’s gone.”
I watched in shock as other vampires murmured in agreement. This was their way to prove to Zan that they supported him. I wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or respect, but either way, it was what Zan wanted.
“Give me one more chance,” Walker pleaded, his voice trembling.
“I did,” Zan replied simply. “This was your second chance. I should have done this the first time you spoke to her.”
With those words, Zan shoved his fist straight into Walker’s chest. Walker choked out a gurgled string of words, his body going rigid from pain. Until Zan pulled his hand out, and in his grip was a bloodied heart. Walker slumped against the counter, his lifeless body only being held up by Zan.
My mouth went dry, a tingle of fear jolting through me. The emotion wasn’t from seeing Zan act like a monster. It was because, even after witnessing this, I still wasn’t scared of Zan. Still didn’t hate him. Because in my mind, I believed he would never do that to me. He’d done all of this for me. That thought terrified me the most. How could I have feelings for him? I didn’t fucking know.
Zan let go of the heart, and it landed on the floor with a sickening plop. Walker’s body dropped when Zan stepped away. I nearly jumped when someone brushed my shoulder, and I turned to see Gia standing next to me. She handed me a shot glass full of a brown liquid.
“You need this,” she stated with her cheery smile. “Calms the nerves.”
Without asking her what it was, I downed the drink. The alcohol burned my throat and then warmed my chest. Zan snagged a rag from the counter before wiping the blood that was coating his hand. The music was turned back up, and the vampires slowly went back to partying as if none of this had happened. Two of them approached the bar and carried Walker’s body away.
“Come on,” he said gruffly. “We need to pack.”
“For what?”
“We’re going somewhere.”
“Where?”
He didn’t answer, making my pulse thud. Other than the beach, we never left the city. So where the hell was he taking me?
Chapter 27
Kali
Five hours.
That’s how long I’d been sitting in the back of this truck between Zan and Pax. And I still had no idea where the hell we were going. Viggo was sitting in the front passenger seat with another young-looking vampire who was driving that I’d never met before. He introduced himself as Jasper, but after one glare from Zan, he didn’t speak another word to me.
Zan was tense. The frown had been a permanent fixture on his face since we left Impulse, and Pax looked even more dismal than Zan. Viggo was chatting it up with Jasper in the front, but even his smile seemed forced. In the back of my mind, I knew where we were going. There was only one reason they would all be so uptight. Why they wouldn’t tell me.
I had a feeling I’d be seeing Amaros Kane soon. That thought had fear racing through me. I hadn’t been able to calm my heart the entire drive, and at this point, I didn’t care. I could act however I wanted, but guessing that I was going to face Zan’s father again wasn’t something I could relax about.
“Thank fuck,” Jasper muttered, his eyes darting in the rearview mirror. “Only fifteen more minutes until sunrise. We would have been screwed.”
Well, Jasper clearly didn’t know that Zan and his brothers could walk in the sun. I stared out the windshield, wondering how many other vampires knew their secret. I had a feeling it wasn’t a lot.
We were driving through a forest, one so large that it was impossible to remember the way we’d come. At first, I tried memorizing the directions just in case I needed them later, but I had no idea where the hell we were. It didn’t help that Jasper was driving with the headlights off.
“Shit,” I muttered when I was jerked forward as he suddenly slammed the brakes.
My eyes shot up, and I peered out the window, trying to see why we’d stopped. The sky was slowly getting lighter as sunrise came, making it easier to scope out my surroundings. My stomach flipped when I spotted what was in front of us. Zan’s hand suddenly dropped to my thigh, and he squeezed gently. My gaze shot to him, but he was staring forward, his jaw clenched tight. Was he touching me in an attempt to comfort me or himself? Because I wasn’t sure he was even aware that he was doing it.
