Revelation of Blood (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5)

by J. L. McCoy

  “Did you happen to see who she left with?”

  “No,” she shook her head as she piled my table’s order on a tray. “We were really busy. Rat Bastards were playing that night and it was a crazy crowd.”

  “Hm,” I frowned. “Okay, thanks. Just thought I’d ask. I’ve been wracking my brain all day trying to figure out where she could be.”

  “My guess?” Fiona arched an eyebrow at me. “She probably partied too hard and is sleeping it off.” She leaned over the bar and whispered conspiratorially, “I’ve noticed she’s been hitting the bottle pretty hard lately. Been going out partying almost every night then dragging ass in to work the next day looking like hell. One day, she opened in the same clothes she closed in. I don’t think the girl even went home the night before. Can you believe that?”

  Straightening my back, I frowned at her attempt to gossip. If there was one thing I was, it was protective of my friends. I did not like the fact that Fiona seemed a little too happy to be dishing on Nikki’s dirt and I made that clear to her. “Nikki’s life is Nikki’s business, Fi. As long as she comes into work and does her job, it’s none of anyone’s business how she chooses to live it on her down time. You know what they say about loose lips. Be careful, Fi. I’ve got a mind to poke a hole in your boat.”

  With that, I grabbed my tray and ignored her indignant gasp as I made my way back over to Jackson and Johnny. Since Fiona was dating Dan, I figured it would only be a matter of time before she ran to him and told him what I said to her. But, honestly I didn’t care. She should have known better than to talk shit about my best friend. I had zero loyalties to Fiona and didn’t give a single damn if she knew it.

  “Here you go, boys,” I smiled brightly as I emptied my tray onto their table. “I’ve got a pitcher of Bud and two Johnnie Walker Blue doubles for you. Now you enjoy and I’ll be back to check up on you in a bit.”

  “Thanks, Skye,” Johnny smiled at me as he lifted his glass in salute. I gave him a friendly wink and turned to the table behind him.

  Dan’s newest hire, Tori, came bouncing up to me at eight thirty and relieved me of duty. I filled her in on a few of the tables needs then grabbed my receipts and headed into Dan’s office to cash out.

  When I walked in, Dan was just ending a call and turned to me as he hung up the phone. “You done for the day?” he asked.

  “Yep,” I said, placing the credit card receipts on his desk. “Tori just got here and relieved me.”

  “Well, at least she’s on time for once,” he quirked wryly as he grabbed the stack and started going through them. After a few silent seconds, he sighed. “I want to apologize for the way I acted this morning. I was in a bad mood.”

  “Don’t worry about it, D.,” I shook my head. “No harm, no foul. We all have bad days.”

  “This shit with Nikki is just getting to me,” he said, turning to me and running his fingers through his hair.

  “It’s getting to me, too,” I admitted as I put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

  “I know. I heard about what went down with you and Fiona today.”

  I pursed my lips and sighed. I knew she was going to tattle tale on me. “I’m sorry I snapped at her. She was gossiping and it just hit me wrong. You know how protective I am.”

  “I know,” he quirked his lips up at me. “I had a talk with her about it. She’ll be keeping her thoughts to herself from now on, doll.”

  That surprised me and I raised my eyebrows at him. I wasn’t expecting him to side with me in the matter. Fiona was his girlfriend after all. “Really?”

  “Yes really,” he smiled crookedly. “I don’t pay my employees to gossip about one another behind their backs. When Fiona is on company time, she’s my employee so it applies to her too.”

  “I can’t imagine she was very happy about that conversation,” I said, crossing my arms under my chest.

  “No, she wasn’t,” he admitted, “but that’s my problem, hon. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I still can’t get over that you two are dating. She doesn’t seem like your usual type.”

  “She’s a good girl,” he said, turning back to the receipts and pulling out his calculator. “We have a lot of fun together. Besides, my type hasn’t been working out well for me lately.”

  “Lola,” I sighed, remembering the time I caught them going at it in Dan’s office.

  “Lola,” he agreed with a nod of his head. He finished totaling up my tips and reached into the cash drawer to fulfill it. “Not a bad day’s work, doll. I’m adding seventy-five to your tips as pay for today.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” I shook my head. “I make plenty at The Mausoleum, D. The tips I got today are payment enough.”

  “I can’t just not pay you, Skye,” he said, looking up at me, confused.

  “You can and you will,” I pursed my lips. “I don’t need it Dan.”

  He took the money out of the lock box and put it back in his desk. “Well, one thing sure hasn’t changed,” he chuckled as he stood.

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

  “Your stubbornness,” he cocked an eyebrow as he held out the money to me. “Still as stubborn as ever.”

  I took it with a laugh and winked at him. “You love me, stubbornness and all.”

  “I do,” he chuckled again and pulled me into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you around here. Thanks for filling in today.”

  “No thanks needed, hon. I’m happy to do it.”

  “Plan on coming in tomorrow unless you hear from me by ten. I’m praying Nikki will show up before then, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  “She’ll turn up, D.,” I whispered as I pulled back, noting the worry on his face.

  “She’d better have a damn good excuse when she does,” he frowned.

  “Damn good,” I agreed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We said our goodbyes and I grabbed my bag, stuffed the cash inside the inner zip pocket, and made my way out to the car. The short drive to Archer’s club took only a minute, but I frowned as I pulled into the back alley. A trash truck was blocking the path and I couldn’t go down it. Reversing, I made my way over one block and parked in back of the club’s customer lot. By the number of cars and the lack of available parking spaces, I knew the club was already at capacity.

  Hooking my bag over my body, I started crossing through the parking lot. Out of nowhere, a young teenager appeared and grabbed the strap of my messenger bag as he tried to get it over my head.

  “Give me the fucking purse, lady!” he growled menacingly at me as we struggled.

  “Oh, HELL no. Are you actually trying to rob me?” I scoffed, kicking him in the shin. “You’re not getting my purse, you little bastard!”

  “I’ll cut you, lady,” he said nervously as he took a small pocket knife out of his hip pocket, his eyes darting around the parking lot watching for witnesses. “I swear, I’ll do it.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him as I jerked the strap out of his hand and took a step back. “You even TRY to cut me with that and I’ll kick your ever loving ass, kid. Your mouth is writing checks your scrawny ass can’t possibly cash. Do yourself a favor and go home before you get yourself hurt.”

  He laughed at me and lunged suddenly. Calmly lifting my hand, I flicked my wrist and used my power of telekinesis to throw him into the side of the building. He hit the concrete hard and crumpled to the ground.

  I sighed and walked over to him to make sure he was okay. He was groaning softly and rocking a little on the asphalt. “Didn’t I warn you?” I asked, shaking my head. Leaning down, I searched his pockets, found his wallet, and pulled out his student ID and Texas Identification Card. “Anthony Lima,” I said aloud, reading it. “Well, Anthony, it says here you live at 1633 Cosgrove Lane. Hm…I know exactly where that is. I also see that you’ll be a junior next year at Anderson High School. Bet your so parents are proud. I wonder if they know that their little hoodlum son likes to go out late at night and steal purses from yo
ung, hard working women.”

  Fear flashed in his eyes as he looked up at me. “P-Please,” he shuddered, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Don’t tell my parents.”

  “If I ever see you around here again, I’ll be paying you a little visit,” I smiled, tossing the cards onto his chest. “And I promise you, you won’t like it, kid.”

  I held my hand out and waited for him to take it. Once he did, I effortlessly pulled him up and dusted the dirt off his shoulder. “You keep doing dumb shit like this and you’re going to get yourself killed one day. Lots of people carry concealed weapons in this state and you’re likely to catch a hole in your head one of these days. Stay in school and quit being a little asshole. The gangster lifestyle only guarantees you prison time or a coffin. Now get the fuck out of here and go home.”

  He was still staring at me slack-jawed and I cocked my brow at him. “What, dude? Got something to say? Spit it out. I’m late for work.”

  “How…how did you throw me like that?” he asked in a timid, fearful whisper.

  “I eat my vegetables,” I smirked then tossed my thumb over my shoulder. “Get lost, kid. Go read a book or something.”

  After watching him leave, readjusting my bag, and smoothing down my shirt, I trekked over to the club’s front entrance and bypassed the block-long line. “Hey, Trey,” I greeted as I approached him and our new doorman, Thorin. “Busy night?”

  “Always, darlin’,” he smiled as Thorin opened the red velvet rope for me.

  A few grunts and groans of disapproval sounded behind me and Trey smirked over at the line. “She works here, y’all,” he explained in an attempt to calm those eagerly waiting for a chance to enter.

  “How do you like the job so far?” I asked, turning to Thorin.

  “It’s interesting,” he said with a tilt of his head. “Never a dull night.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” I chuckled with an arch of my brow.

  “Jameson brought Styvi here tonight,” Trey mentioned just as I’d turned to walk inside. “He didn’t want her to be alone. They’re up in Archer’s office if you want to say hi.”

  “Oh good! I’m dying to see her. Catch you later, guys!”

  As soon as I entered, I knew I was right in my assessment of the parking lot; The Mausoleum was jam packed with dancing bodies. I slowly worked my way through the crowd and sighed in relief when I reached Quinn.

  “About time you showed up,” he smiled down at me. “Athair was looking for you a few minutes ago.”

  I quickly scanned the second floor and found him seated with a group of business men. “Thanks for letting me know, hon,” I smiled up at Quinn. “What’s the ratio tonight?”

  “Same as last night,” he frowned. “We’ve got Dark everywhere.”

  “Any problems yet?” I asked as I eyed the dance floor.

  “A few, but nothing Pádraig and I couldn’t handle. I’ll be glad when they start hanging out at their own bar again though, and I hope it’s soon.”

  “What if they don’t leave?” I asked softly as I leaned in a bit. “What if this is The Mausoleum’s new reality.”

  “It won’t be,” he promised with a stern look in his eye. “This is a nice club…it won’t stay that way if the Dark move in. They’ve got a different way of living and doing things than we do and Archer won’t stand for it.”

  As if on cue, the smell of fresh blood hit my senses and I quickly turned to the floor to find the source. A tall, skinny Dark One had just sunk his fangs into a young man not thirty feet from me. Quinn growled and, without thinking, I stalked over to the Dark One and roughly grabbed him by the ear.

  “Remove. Your. Fangs,” I growled lowly. His eyes got round with surprise, but he didn’t immediately obey. I twisted his ear painfully and repeated myself. “Now.”

  The Dark One withdrew his fangs with a hiss and dropped the young man to the floor. “You interrupted my dinner,” he frowned then grimaced as I tugged on his ear. “He’s a willing donor. I’m not breaking any rules.”

  “Yes, you are,” I said, letting go of his ear with a shove. “There is no feeding allowed on The Mausoleum premises. Donor or not, it’s forbidden. You and every other vampire in here know the rules, so don’t give me that crap. Christ, what is wrong with people today?”

  “You’re Skye Morrison, aren’t you?” he asked as he licked the blood from his lips, seemingly unconcerned with the scolding. “I’ve heard some very interesting things about you. Very interesting indeed.”

  I frowned and met his eyes as I took a step closer to him. “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Like how you’re fucking both Archer Rhys and his child Jameson Doyle,” he smiled as he reached out to touch a lock of my long, red hair. “Keeping it in the family, are we? How’s that working out?”

  I quickly slapped his hand away and thankfully Pádraig chose that moment to appear. “Don’t touch me,” I said, frowning up at him.

  “Sorry, cookie,” he smirked, holding his hands up. “I was just going to offer up my services if they aren’t keeping you satisfied. After all, you’re my family too…sister.”

  I laughed and threw my hair back as I stepped closer to him. “You think you can handle this?” I asked with a saucy smirk. He nodded his head and smiled down at me as I ran my hand down his chest to cup his manhood. “Aw,” I tsked when I reached it, “It’s so tiny. What am I supposed to do with that? It appears you’re not adequately equipped for the task. Just for future reference, I like men honey, not boys. Call me when your balls drop…brother.”

  The Dark One growled angrily and I stepped back to allow a chuckling Pádraig to escort him outside. “How about you add that one to the list of stories you’re all telling about me,” I called after him then looked down at the human on the ground. He was gazing up at me with alert eyes, so I offered my hand to help him stand.

  “Did you offer yourself to that man,” I asked as the young man got his footing.

  “Y-yes,” he replied nervously. I spotted a few fang marks on his neck and frowned. Since he was in the life, the young man knew he’d broken a rule and thus, was consequentially in trouble.

  “You know we don’t allow feeding in here,” I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m sorry but I’m going to have to ask you to leave for the night.”

  He didn’t hesitate to obey and I was thankful as I watched him fight his way to the entrance. Dusting my hands off, I walked back over to Quinn.

  “That was funny as hell,” he chuckled as he slapped one burly hand to my shoulder. “You reminded me of my mom there for a second. She used to tug me around by my ear, screaming at me in Polish, when I acted up.”

  “And I bet that was often,” I shoulder bumped him playfully as I started climbing the stairs.

  “You know it!” he laughed behind me.

  When I got up to the top floor, I sought out Archer. His eyes immediately found mine and he smiled as he waved me over to the table. Archer was sitting with three men in suits and after tuning into their thoughts, I realized they were Dark Ones. Confused, I headed over.

  “Good evening, gentlemen,” I smiled as I greeted them, wondering what Archer was up to.

  Each man stood and took turns shaking my hand.

  “This is Leonardo Castile, leader of the Castile Coterie, and these are his two eldest sons Vincenzo and Franco,” Archer said, motioning to each man.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” I smiled tightly as I nodded my head to each man. I then leaned down to kiss Archer and decided now was a good time to ask him what was going on.

  “You’re sitting with Dark Ones?” I asked silently, in my head. “What’s going on?”

  “They’re old acquaintances of mine,” he explained as he softly kissed my lips. “I called them here to see if they could give us any insight into the Dark arrival.”

  “And? Did you learn anything?”

  “Aye,” Archer said in my head as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “There is rumored unrest within the lead
ership. Some want Atticus out of power.”

  “Well, that’s not very helpful to us. Do they know why the Dark Ones are all here?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m working on it, baby,” he said, taking my hand and tenderly kissing the back of my knuckles. “If Leonardo knows something, he’ll eventually get around to telling me.”

  I looked down at him and smiled as I spoke aloud. “Trey told me Styvi is in your office. Mind if I leave you boys to your business and go visit with her?”

  “Of course not, cion,” Archer said gently. “As soon as business has concluded, I’ll join you upstairs.”

  I bid the men a good night and dodged the Dark Ones in VIP as I made my way over to the bar. Calling out a quick hello to a busy Lochlan and Aoife, I turned to Aziza and greeted her.

  “Looking good tonight, Aziza,” I smiled as I took in her fire engine red leather body suit and thigh high black leather boots.

  “Thanks, love!” she smiled over at me. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “Throw me a bottle of whiskey, will you?”

  “Comin’ right up, beautiful,” she said with a flirty wink then turned to retrieve a bottle from the shelf.

  I loved hearing Aziza talk. She had the sexiest, smoky British accent I’d ever heard. She was a big hit with the clientele so far, too.

  After she handed me the bottle, I gave her a wave and headed up Archer’s private stairwell to his office. When I entered, I saw it was empty. Frowning, I set my bag down on his desk and went to the apartment door. As soon as I opened it, I smiled. Jameson was curled up on Archer’s bed, taking a nap with Styvi Nix.

  Carefully closing the door behind me, I tiptoed to the bed. Styvi’s eyes lazily opened and I swear she did a double take as she saw me. She whimpered and immediately jumped up with a bark.