Page 2 of Threads of Crimson 2

He leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head and a smirk on his face. “Lysandro Moretti is taking home a consort.”

“Don’t look so smug. He’s not my consort. If your people had been doing their jobs, this wouldn’t be necessary.”

Damien rolled his eyes. “Nice try. You’ve wanted Benji from the beginning.” Like he was actually trying to piss me off, he kicked his feet up onto his desk and crossed his ankles. “Yep. You held out longer than I thought, but Ronan—”

“What about Ronan?” I growled, cutting him off. “Your lapdog doesn’t know his head from his ass.”

Damien sighed. “I don’t know why you two have always hated each other so much. Can’t we all just get along?”

Keeping my face passive, I regarded him. We’d talked about this before, right when Ronan first appeared and began working his way up Damien’s organization. It was unusual for someone such as Damien, as successful and powerful as him, as necessary to our survival, to promote up anyone who wasn’t his own child.

To me, that was suspicious in itself. I’d voiced my concerns once, long ago, and Damien had ignored me. That was his choice to make, and since I had no intention of involving myself in the politics of our world, I’d left it alone.

“You have to admit; he was useful with Mordie. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since I sent Ronan to deliver a message.”

Flicking my hand because I wasn’t praising a man for doing his job, I asked, “Why am I here?”

All humor fading in an instant, he dropped the casual pose and sat up in his seat, leaning toward me intently. “I want to talk about you and Benji.”

“What’s there to discuss? I offered to bring him home, and he agreed.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Did you ask nicely, though, or did you demand it?”

I bit back a snort. Had I really given Benji a choice? Not really. I’d stated a fact, and he agreed with it. “I don’t really see how this is any of your business.”

“I can’t have you plucking one of my donors out of my bar without me being sure that it’s his choice, and he’ll be properly cared for.”

Standing, I stared down at him. “While I appreciate your dedication, I’ve read the NDA you supply the humans. They still have free will, and you don’t own them. If that wasn’t the case, I can’t imagine you’d have let Benji’s friend Eric run off with…what do him and Rafe call him…his vamp Daddy.”

Displeasure crossed Damien’s face so swiftly that human eyes wouldn’t have been able to track it.

“So you see,” I said, calling him on his bullshit. “This is none of your concern. I gave him a week to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his friends, so I think we’re done here.”

As I moved toward the door, he stood up, planting his fists on his desk. I was pretty sure he’d look intimidating to anyone else, powerful and dangerous, but all I saw was a child. I knew it. He knew it.

“Lysandro, I at least need to know where you’re taking him.”

With my hand on the doorknob, I stopped and glared back at him. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To finally know where I reside? It’ll never happen. Don’t even try to follow us. I’ll know, Damien, and you won’t like my reaction. I promise you that.”

I slid into the driver’s seat, and Benji flashed his bright, sunny smile. Good grief. What was I going to do with him? Until now, the days between sitting with him, talking to him, feeding from his veins, had stretched endlessly. He’d become this light in an otherwise solitary existence. But I was a vampire, and too much light very well might kill me.

“Put your seatbelt on, Benji.”

Obedient to a fault, he pulled the strap across his body and clicked it in. “I’m surprised you showed up in an SUV. I wondered if you’d just…I don’t know, carry me.”

I’d thought about it. That would’ve been the easiest way to ensure that we weren’t followed. “You have too much stuff.”

He rolled his pretty eyes, making me feel fond. Really, him being so close was going to test my limits. “You can say a lot of things about me, but saying I have too much stuff is a stretch.”

Putting the vehicle in drive, I pulled away from the curb. I hated driving in general when running was so much quicker, but I had expected him to have more stuff than a few boxes, a couple of suitcases, and his backpack.

“Did you actually bring everything?” I asked curiously, hoping that he hadn’t stored things with Rafe in case he decided to come back here. That would not be happening.

He shrugged. “Yep. I gave Rafe and Sadie my TV, but I’m used to living light, you know, so even after I had the money and space, I…” He trailed off.

I’d discovered a bit about him from my own research, even before our first conversation, but in the last several months, he’d shared enough here and there for a clear picture to have formed in my mind.

“I…” Licking my lips, I admitted, “I get it. There was a time long, long ago when I also found myself adrift.”