Page 59 of Dark Obsession

She slowed, turning left onto a narrow and much rougher asphalt road, the Subaru rattling over multiple patch jobs. Demetrius tried to remember if he and Cody had worked this road back when Parson’s Hollow had a functioning DPW.

Cody peered over the seat at Demetrius. “Did you hear her call me a jerk?”

“I’m not getting in the middle of whatever you two are talking about,” Demetrius said. “Are we almost there?”

After giving Demetrius a long, squinty-eyed look, Cody faced forward again and said, “It’s just up here.”

Zenona turned into a one-lane gravel drive just past a short windbreak, almost hidden among tall grasses and cat tails. She navigated a couple of curves before the drive opened up into a gravel parking lot. A half-dozen vehicles, mostly pickups, were parked close to a one-story cinderblock building painted black, including the windows. No signs lit the exterior, not even the name of the place. So, that was how Marlowe and the others were able to be awake during the day.

They really were about to step foot inside a bar filled with vampires. He drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He tried to calm himself by thinking back to the time he’d spent with Michael. He’d worked with the vampire coroner to figure out a plan of attack to save Cody and the others, fought beside him once they’d set it in motion, and watched him murdered by his own creator. Michael had been a good man. There had to be others like him. He hoped.

Zenona slotted her car into a space beside a lifted truck then turned to point a finger at Cody. “No going off on anyone.” She directed the finger at Demetrius. “Is that understood?”

“You’re sure it’s safe?” Demetrius asked.

She raised her eyebrows. “You’re the one who wanted to come. Having second thoughts?”

“No.” He heard how quick and unconvincing it sounded, and tried again. “Not having second thoughts. I just want to be prepared.”

“Marlowe runs a tight ship. We’ll be fine.”

Zenona opened her door and got out. Demetrius took another breath and let it out before he left the car to stand beside Cody.

“You okay?” Demetrius asked.

“Other than being considered a jerk by two of my friends?” Cody shrugged slightly. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not a jerk, you’re a big tough guy. And I’m more than a friend.”

“Unless I’m being a jerk?”

Demetrius saw the flicker of Cody’s smile, there and gone. “Oh my God. Come on.”

They followed Zenona to the door. She stepped inside but paused to hold it open for them. Demetrius hesitated briefly, then followed her in.

When he stepped through the door, Demetrius noticed two things. First, the outside light above the door made him pause and allow his eyes to adjust to the dimly lit interior. The second was the sound of a Styx song playing softly. He shifted to stand a little closer to Cody, and as his vision adjusted, he took the place in.

The all-black color scheme had been carried over to the interior. A bar of dark red polished wood ran along the left side of the place, a few of the stools occupied by people who had turned to stare. Behind it stood a woman wiping out a glass, watching them closely. Booths along the wall on the right followed the all black decorating theme, and the few people seated there were looking them over. The young man who had run in front of the car, Liam, sat on the edge of one booth, hands clasped on the table and his foot bouncing. In a back area beyond the bar and booths, a group stood around a pool table, the game paused now as they took in the new arrivals.

“I’m sorry to do this unannounced,” Zenona said, taking a step forward and speaking to the room in general. “But some things in town have happened, and my friends here were instrumental in stopping the uprising back in⁠—”

“We know who they are, Zenona.” The bartender’s voice—Marlowe, according to Cody’s description—was low and almost harmonious. She set down the glass she’d been wiping and came to their end of the bar. “We’ve known about them for a long time now.” She grinned at Cody. “Before you even caught on to the fact you like the taste of dick, Stretch.”

Heat flashed across Demetrius’s face as Cody blurted, “What the fuck?”

Zenona put a hand on Cody’s chest, all while keeping her eyes on Marlowe. “Play nice, Marlowe. We can all work together to handle this new situation.”

One of the men by the pool table stepped forward. He was tall and strong, dark hair in an undercut, the top a perfectly styled mess.

“The big one’s been bit.”

All subtle movement around the room stopped after his announcement. The hair on the back of Demetrius’s neck went up, and he immediately shifted position to stand slightly ahead and in front of Cody.

“That’s not how we do things here.” Marlowe slowly looked around the bar.

“He’s ready for it,” said another man by the pool table. “He reeks of it.”

“You know the rules.” The words were a growl, and Marlowe was working with something out of sight behind the bar. “You break the rules, you’re out.”