AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I looked up at them. “What kind of story? I’m a computer geek, not a novelist.”
“Why don’t you tell them how you met us?” Shadow said. “I remember the day like it was yesterday.”
“Me too,” Venom said around a mouthful.
I looked at the girls. “Fine.”
“What are we talking about in here?” MyAnna asked, walking in. She began tidying up and cleaning. I remember her complaining but I secretly thought she liked being the mama boss around here.
“Face is gonna tell us how he got into the Nighthawks.”
“Ooh!” MyAnna said. “Yes, please!”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Well, you guys know I used to model, right? Of course you do,” I said, glaring at Shadow who had a mischievous glint in his eye since he was the one who’d put my underwear ad up in the breakroom. “Well, the guy who turned me was a movie producer. He tricked me into being turned, actually. Told me the vial of vampire blood was some immortality elixir. It was just his blood mixed with mine. I was so stupid and naïve.” I blew out a breath.
“You were only twenty-one. Nobody’s very smart at that age,” Bloome said, her hands folded on the table.
“I know, but still. I wanted fame so badly, I just wasn’t thinking. Well, this man, this movie producer, I believe he thought he had a shot at me. Turned me and then spent two years guilting me into staying. Saying I owed him, and that we would make a great team. He made passes at me, but I just wasn’t the one for him. I truly only think he wanted me because of my looks.” I winced inside. I hated even bringing up my appearance. “I told him several times that I was straight, but he thought he could convince me otherwise or something… I don’t know. Anyway, one day I just left. Packed my shit while he was on the set and took a car down to the nearest Greyhound station. The bus to New Orleans was the next one leaving, so I bought a ticket and disappeared from Southern California.”
“That sounds like Vane’s story. Very similar,” MyAnna commented.
I smiled at her. “It is. He did the same thing after being turned. California is no place for vampires. The Lost Boys be damned.”
They all chuckled.
“I enrolled in online classes for computer science with a minor in engineering and worked an online job doing IT repair remotely while I finished schooling. I got my degree in three years and landed a sweet job with the biggest tech company in the area. I told them I could only work at night for personal reasons, and they let me work remotely.
“One night about a year ago, I saw a listing on the supernatural job listings site, and—”
Andy—Eagle—wandered into the breakroom. “What’s a supernatural job listings site? That’s seriously a thing?”
I looked up at him to see amusement dancing in his light-blue eyes. “Yes, it’s for supes who only hire other supes.”
“Interesting. So, I have a question. How are you that tan?” Eagle asked, pointing at my arms.
“Spray tans,” I murmured.
“Why?” he asked, folding his arms across his cut.
I blew out a breath. “Because I like them, okay? I fit in better with humans when I look like them.” I looked at Jemini and Phoenix. “Anyway, Vane had put in a listing for an IT guy. We met at the Devil’s Den for a quick interview, and I was patched and tatted the next week. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Viper came into the breakroom. “True story.”
Smiling at him. “Vane saved my ass. I was severely depressed at my new existence, and he showed me I could live a mostly normal life despite all the negatives that came with vampirism. That we could do good in the world, in spite of our sunlight problem. I have not regretted one day being a part of this Nighthawks family. Not once.”
MyAnna wiped a tear. “That was amazing. Thank you for sharing with us.”
Viper kissed the top of her head and squeezed her to him. “Face has been a godsend. We’ve saved so many people thanks to his knowledge of computers. Us old geezers have no idea how to navigate that shit.”
“Speak for yourself, Gramps. I ain’t no geezer,” Shadow quipped, chuckling.
“No, you’re not,” Bloome replied, leaning over to kiss him on the mouth.
Damn, I missed Devon so much. My stomach lurched again at the thought of her in any sort of danger or being hurt.
“Looks like y’all saved each other,” Jemini added.
“It’s true,” Viper said. “We wouldn’t be the strong club we are now without that big brain of his. We were a force to be reckoned with before. But now? We’re un-fucking-stoppable.”
