Dead Shifter Walking (13 page)

Outside I was greeted by Jerry’s catcalls.
Laughing, I turned around and gave a curtsy. He was impeccably
dressed as usual in a black suit and tie.

“Mama, you really need to stop hiding behind
those yoga pants,” he said, taking my bag from me as we walked
towards the Beast.

I smiled at Mark next to the Beast.
“Awe-inspiring performance as usual, Olie,” he complimented,
greeting me regally.

“I didn’t know you were a fan, Mark,” I said,
sliding into the back seat. He smiled, shaking his head and talking
with Jerry outside as I checked my lipstick in the rearview mirror,
leaning forward over the center console.

Settling back down, I checked my phone in my
small matching clutch, also a purchase with Jerry. Heading out to
dance. Please hurry; I can’t drink!

I laughed at Kass’s text as Jerry and Mark got
into the Beast.

“So where to?” I asked, shockingly bright.

Jerry and Mark exchanged a look. “Oh, no,” I
said, “we are not going to Flame.”

Jerry cringed. “We aren’t excited about it
either, but Lorraine, Logan’s fiancé, heard about the
re-opening.”

“There is a reason Flame went up in flames,” I
grumbled from the back seat, slouching against the leather
interior.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Mark stated, sharing a
looking with Jerry.

Jerry sighed. “Will you two at least try to make
the best of this please?”

I kept my mouth shut not about to make promises
I knew damn well I wouldn’t be keeping. “At least there is alcohol
in a pretentious mix-species club,” I admitted with a shrug.

“Now, was that so hard?” Jerry asked, staring
holes into Mark.

…

Three hours later, I had lost count of how many
margaritas I had consumed. Lethal tendrils of anger and death
hovering around Kass and me were the only reason we weren’t
engulfed by people at the small table we had been shoved to.

“I think we should leave,” I said again,
shifting uncomfortably at the table. Jerry and Mark had already
given up on this hellhole and were guarding the Beast, which was
actually necessary. Lorraine and her friend Wanda were on the dance
floor, which really resembled more of a brawl just waiting to
happen than actual dancing. My disgust for this place might have
biased my opinion, since dancing was my occupation when I wasn’t
killing.

Lorraine blended into this club perfectly, a
size-2 delicate woman with an Asian cast to her features, a
sculpted ass, and fake boobs. I was fairly certain she was not
wearing anything under the silver skin-tight fabric she called a
dress. The four-inch heels did nothing but make me concerned about
her future back issues.

Wanda, on the other hand, was nothing like I
expected. Plump, short, with platinum hair, and an awful tan, she
was trying desperately to belong in a world that didn’t give a shit
about her. I genuinely felt bad for her obvious lack of self-esteem
and the fact her best friend didn’t mind dragging her into all
kinds of uncomfortable situations. I was personally ready to beat
some asses just because of the looks and shoves she was
receiving.

And where were the darling fiancé and husbands
to these three? Oh, nowhere special, just in the uncrowded smoking
area in the back, where Kass could not be. I refused to leave her.
Have I mentioned they had been there the entire time? My only
impression of Logan was a dark blond head of hair and shoulders of
a linebacker, while I didn’t even get a glimpse of Wanda’s
husband.

I wanted to pound my head against the table
again. Kass checked her phone for the hundredth time it seemed,
sighing dejectedly.

“Hopefully, it means he’s working things out
with this brother,” I suggested helpfully. She gave me a thin
smile.

“I hope so,” she responded, taking another sip
of her water.

I ordered another margarita as my stomach
grumbled. Kass gave me a look, apparently having heard my stomach’s
complaint. “What? Some of us didn’t get dinner.”

She smiled, rolling her eyes. “I forgot,” she
said, clicking the side of her phone to check for any messages.

I smiled and paid the waitress for my drink,
noticing she needed to eat more to support her enormous boobs.

Kass’s efforts were finally rewarded when her
phone pinged at her. “They’re leaving; said they’ll meet us
outside.”

I let out a long sigh of relief. “Guess we have
to get the bimbos.”

She gave a small smile. “At least we’re
leaving.”

“Agreed,” I said, slamming my drink as we made
our painful way to the dance floor to get the girls.

My threatening aurora must have dimmed or the
men here were too drunk to pick up on it, as more than a few tried
to press against me in my attempt to find the girls. I had left
Kass at the sidelines for this exact reason. Twisting and
occasionally pushing, I finally found them both hip deep with
someone who was not their fiancé or husband on their asses. Huh,
call me old-fashioned, but I didn’t think that was appropriate. The
tall dark-haired beauty raised his head from nuzzling Lorraine’s
neck and I cursed violently—vampires. I spared a glance at the
light-haired younger, shorter one on Wanda’s neck, also a vampire.
Fuck me.

I must have said that out loud. The dark-haired
one raised an eyebrow, smiling slow and carnally. Wanda chose that
moment to raise her head awkwardly, pulling away from the blondie
behind her.

“Hi,” she slurred, “we leaving?”

“Yup,” I said evenly.

The blondie pulled her back, muttering sweet
nothings, I’m sure.

“Hey,” I said to him, breaking his attention
from his latest conquest, or should I say possible feeding? Oh, no,
I hadn’t thought of that. We were so in deep shit. I pointed to my
ring finger on my left hand, indicating a wedding ring, and then
pointed to Wanda who was completely oblivious.

His face fell dejectedly and he pulled her
closer to him. “You’re married?” he asked. I glanced at the
dark-haired one, who was listening intently. Lying to vampires
about not being mated was high on their list of things not to do;
they valued the bond between two mates second to the blood being
freely given. The reason was simple enough; clans have always been
governed by a mated pair. To disturb the relationship was to break
apart the clan, guaranteeing masterless vampires (which was
dangerous for everyone) and eternal death.

If they both had led these boys on and lied
followed by letting them feed from them, I was so in the shit. I
wanted to take it outside where my hearing wasn’t so hampered by
the pounding music, but that would mean running into the husband
and fiancé, and I really didn’t need to complicate this
situation.

Wanda gave a halfhearted shrug, to which blondie
tightened his grip, his eyes flashing amber. I sighed. “Did you
feed?” I asked him.

He nodded, not breaking eye contact with Wanda.
Turning to the dark-haired one, I nodded silently, asking the same
question. His face turned into stone as he pushed Lorraine away
from him, nodding. I raked a hand through my red hair. Part of me
wanted to walk away and say, fuck it, deal out punishment as you
see it, but I knew that would only cause problems for Kass. As much
as I disliked these two right now, I had to fix it.

“Your master?” I asked, moving the girls next to
me.

“Who the fuck are you?” the light-haired one
asked.

“Olivia, Executioner of the Council,” I
answered, keeping my hands loose at my sides.

He backed up slightly; he had heard of me.
Turning my attention back to the dark-haired one, I asked again.
“Master?”

His eyes roved over me, and damn if my heart
didn’t flutter slightly. That was a first, I thought, trying to
control it, so he wouldn’t hear it. His lip curled up slightly
before reaching my eyes, and indicated I should come closer with
his index finger, pushing Lorraine out from between us.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, closing the
short distance between our bodies. Brushing the hair from my ear,
he leaned closer, whispering, “Tate.” Damn if I didn’t get goose
bumps that from word. Whether it was from his breath or Tate’s
name, I didn’t care to find out.

My shoulder sagged slightly as I answered him,
“I accept the punishment of their actions only to be delivered by
your Master.”

Tall and dark pulled back a genuine smile now as
he sized me up and nodded. I sighed again. “Let me get them to my
friend for safekeeping,” I requested formally.

He nodded. Turning away, I grabbed both of them,
roughly propelling them in front of me into the crowd, which moved
very quickly; pissed off and deadly had made a return
appearance.

Kass raised an eyebrow at their treatment; not
releasing either of them, I leaned towards her and whispered, “They
let two vamps feed from them under the assumption they were
single.”

Kass pulled back stiffly, her eyes wide as she
mouthed my name. I nodded. “I took punishment.”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head before she
angrily looked at Lorraine and Wanda. “Let’s go,” she said,
treating them equally as rough. Terrified by Kass’s response, they
said nothing, letting her drag them away.

I felt tall and dark behind me before he slipped
his arms around my waist, dropping his lips to my ear to whisper,
“Had you not called our master’s involvement, I gladly would have
taken you for myself as punishment.” His emphasis on that last word
made me smile, and I leaned into him, swaying gently to the music.
His fangs raked temptingly against my skin. “Care to reconsider?”
he asked huskily, responding to my movements.

Turning to face him, I laced our legs together,
earning me a groan of pleasure. “In a different life, I would have
gladly surrendered to your punishment,” I whispered, letting my
mouth graze his neck. “But since I let Tate feed from me the night
before last, you should probably tell him.”

His entire body stiffened at that information.
He wheeled me around to the back, past security and upstairs to a
plush black and red waiting area. What was it about black and red
that all vampires loved?

Tall and dark didn’t wait but instead, burst
through the double door lined with security, not bothering to
stop.

Tate was engrossed in the female on his lap, but
was conscious enough to notice our entrance. “We have a problem,”
tall and dark announced.

“Really, Blake, that’s what I pay you for,” Tate
answered, not looking up.

He shuffled at the veiled insult. “It’s not his
fault. I evoked punishment by his master,” I said.

At my voice, Tate stood, dropping his
entertainment. “Olivia,” he said breathlessly.

“Hello again,” I said to his devilish smile.

“What was the offense?” he asked Blake, not
taking his eyes off me. The fucker was enjoying this way too
much.

“Two of her female companions portrayed
themselves as single and allowed me and Jackson to feed from them,”
he answered stiffly.

He laughed, throwing his head back, ignoring the
woman pulling her clothing on angrily. “Oh, Olie, this is too
wonderful.”

I grumbled, crossing my arms. “In their or,
really, my defense, I don’t believe they had been briefed on
vampire protocol.”

Tate just kept on smiling at me; the tinted
glass window behind him would have given him a perfect view, if he
had been paying attention.

“Bullshit,” Blake coughed from behind me.

“You disagree, Blake?” Tate asked.

“They both were informed of what was expected
once we fed from them; neither gave a fight nor disagreed with
those terms,” he stated almost in a military fashion.

I sighed, throwing my arms up. “Alright, Tate,
fine; you have me dead to rights. I’ll abide by the rules set forth
and my right not to be forced into anything I don’t agree too,” I
stated.

“Oh, Olie,” Tate said, sitting down and
steepling his fingers, “what would the fun of that be?”

“I am certain you will think of something,” I
said, wanting to also sit, but I was in his domain in front of his
people. I was already in shit; I didn’t need to disrespect him to
make this worse.

“Would you like to sit, Olie?” Tate asked
politely.

“Yes, thank you,” I said, coming around and
sitting on the maroon couch.

Leaning forward, Tate had a wicked look I didn’t
like. “Olivia, you being submissive is something I will have
fantasies about.”

I raised an eyebrow, not willing to hint at
anything.

“Jackson, what would you like?” he asked the
vampire behind me somewhere, his gaze holding mine.

“I want a chance to feed from the Kitten,” he
demanded.

Tate raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I
could deliver. Standing, I turned to him. “Now a good time?”

He eyed me warily. “Where is she?”

I smiled. “You’re looking at her.”

Jackson scoffed. “Bullshit,” he said, echoing
Blake’s earlier words.

I sighed tiredly. “What would prove to you I am
the Kitten?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Tate answered. “Seduce him.”

Turning, I looked at him skeptically. “That’s
not a difficult challenge,” I countered, feeling I was getting off
easy.

Tate settled back. “I think you will find it is.
You see, Jackson has a particular fetish for pleasantly round
women, which is why he was smitten with your friend.”

The fucker had been watching. I sighed. “Music?”
I asked

Blake hit a few buttons on a wall panel and the
music from the club was blasted through the small office. Jackson
still had his arms crossed defensively against his chest. “You want
to stand or sit?” I asked him.

He shrugged and again Tate chimed in, “Standing.
And, Olivia, do be a dear and lose the clothing. Jackson is a newer
vampire, and I would hate to ruin that lovely dress.”

The fucker was really enjoying this. I wonder if
he realized I danced half naked most of the time, so this wasn’t
going to affect me at all.