Page 66 of Dark Obsession

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Demetrius stopped just inside the door of the bar and stared. Zenona was on her feet, talking animatedly with a young, handsome man who wore a long-sleeved shirt and khakis. The man said something, and Zenona threw back her head and laughed, her hair tumbling down her back in waves. She spotted Demetrius, and her expression brightened even more.

“Demetrius!” She hurried over to grab him in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Taking a step back, she looked him up and down. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked so different, even from how she’d been back at her condo.

“How’s she do—” Cody’s voice cut off as he came in the door.

“Oh, thank God you’re both okay.” She reached for Cody, but he pulled back, eyes widening.

“What happened?” Cody said. “What’s going on?”

She frowned and looked down, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. “What do you mean? Nothing’s going on.”

“You look…” Cody waved a hand in front of his own face. “Completely different.”

“Tell them, Zee,” Marlowe said from behind the bar. She set out five shot glasses and poured a top shelf whiskey into each. “Or I will.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Zenona snapped back.

“Tell us what?” Demetrius’s breathing picked up, and something knotted in his chest. He was suddenly tired, exhausted actually, and he pulled out a stool. “What’s happened?”

“For God’s sake, nothing’s happened.” She threw a quick glare at Marlowe before sliding a shot glass to them both. Looking around Demetrius at the man she’d been talking with, Zenona said, “Hortense, would you like a whiskey?”

“Absolutely, dear girl.”

Demetrius swung around to look at Hortense. He was young and handsome with a glimmer in his eyes and his thick, dark hair styled into a fashionable swoop. Not at all the image he’d formed when hearing about him. “You’re Beverly Sue’s…”

“Great-great grandfather, yes.” He lifted his shot in a toast and threw it back. “It does nothing for me, but I do love the taste.”

Demetrius grabbed his own glass and downed it. Heat bloomed all along his throat and pooled in his stomach. His eyes watered, and he said through a cough, “She’s very nice.”

“That she is.” Hortense signaled for another.

“What do you need to tell us?” Cody asked from Zenona’s other side as he gestured for a refill as well.

Zenona gripped the edge of the gleaming wood. “There’s some contraband that makes its way around from time to time. It’s kind of a super vitamin, a miracle cure for pretty much everything.” She lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug. “I took some of it.”

“Oh?” Demetrius’s hands tightened on his thighs. “What is it?”

“It’s called…” She licked her lips and tipped her head sideways, grimacing as she said, “It’s called Fang.”

“It’s vampire blood,” Marlowe said in a flat tone. “Just a few drops will fix you up.”

“What?” Cody practically shouted. “You drank it?”

“I didn’t drink it,” Zenona shouted back. She stiffened and shook her hair back out of her face. “I just had a couple of drops.” When Cody opened his mouth again, she rushed on. “All it does is quickly fix the things that would usually fix themselves in a matter of time.”

“And it also provides secondary benefits.” Marlowe gestured to Zenona, who scowled back.

“But those benefits don’t stay around long,” Zenona said, clipping her words. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I don’t have a problem with it. I’m not addicted. But some others can be.”

“Bastian has been harvesting Fang from his followers and selling it for extremely high prices,” Marlowe said. “We’re hoping to get that shut down.”

Demetrius’s head spun. The adrenaline crash was making his muscles feel shaky, and he folded his arms on the bar and rested his head on them. “This night has been a lot.”

“A lot times infinity,” Cody said.