here. Even though ZeroSum was owned by a vampire, they needed to keep a low profile about who they were.
Over the last century or so, the Black Dagger Brotherhood had become secretive about their identities within the race. There were rumors, of course, and civilians knew a few of their names, but everything was kept on the QT. The subterfuge had started when the race had fragmented about a century ago and tragically, trust had become an issue within the species. But now, though, there was another reason. The lessers were torturing civilians for information on the Brotherhood, so it was imperative to keep on the down-low.
As a result, the few vampires who worked this club weren't sure the big males in leather who sucked back drinks and dropped bills were Black Dagger members. And fortunately, social custom, if not the way the Brothers looked, prevented questions.
Zsadist shifted in the booth, impatient. He hated the club; he really did. Hated having so many bodies so close to his. Hated the noise. The smells.
In a chatty tangle, a trio of human females approached the Brothers' table. The three of them were working tonight, though what they were serving up didn't fit in a glass. These were your typical high-class hookers: hair extensions, fake breasts, faces molded by plastic surgeons, clothes out of a spray can. There were a lot of their kind of movable feast in the club, particularly in the VIP section. The Reverend, who owned and ran ZeroSum, believed in product diversification as a business strategy, offering their bodies as well as the alcohol Page 15
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and the drugs. The vampire also loaned money and had a team of bookies and did God knew what else from his back office in service to his mostly human clientele.
As the three prostitutes smiled and talked, they presented themselves for a buy. But none of them were what Z
was looking for, and V and Butch didn't pick them up either. Two minutes later, the women headed off to the next booth.
Z was goddamned hungry, but he had one nonnegotiable when it came to feeding.
"Hey, daddies," another woman said. "Any of you looking for some company?"
He glanced up. This human female had a hard face to match her hard body. Clothes were black leather. Eyes were glassy. Hair was short.
Fucking perfect.
Z put his hand into the pool of light on the table, lifted two fingers, then rapped twice on the marble with his knuckles. As Butch and V started shifting in the seat, their tension annoyed him.
The female smiled. "Well, all right."
Zsadist leaned forward and uncoiled to his full height, his face becoming illuminated by the spotlight. The whore's expression froze solid as she took a step back.
At that moment Phury came out of a door to the left, his spectacular mane of hair reflecting the shifting lights.
Right behind him was a hard-ass male vampire with a mohawk: the Reverend.
As the two came up to the table, the owner of the club smiled tightly. Eyes the color of amethysts missed nothing about the prostitute's hesitation. "Evening, gentlemen. You going somewhere, Lisa?"
Lisa's bravado came back with a vengeance. "Wherever he wants, boss."
"Right answer."
Enough with the yakkies, Z thought. "Outside. Now."
He pushed open the fire door and followed her into the alley behind the club. The December wind blew through the loose jacket he'd put on to cover his weapons, but he didn't care about the cold, and neither did Lisa. Even though the icy gusts teased her cropped hair and she was close to naked, she faced him without shivering, chin up.
Now that she'd committed herself, she was ready for him. A real professional.
"We do it here," he said, stepping into the shadows. He took two one-hundred-dollar bills from his pocket and held them out. Her fingers crushed them before she disappeared the cash into her leather skirt.
"How do you want it?" she asked, sidling up to him, reaching for his shoulders.
He spun her around to the brick wall, face-first. "I do the touching. Not you."
Her body tensed and her fear tingled in his nose, a sulfurous sting. But her voice was strong. "Watch it, Page 16
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asshole. I come back with bruises and he'll hunt you down like an animal."
"Don't worry. You're going to walk away from this just fine."
But she was still scared. And he was blessedly numb to the emotion.
Usually fright in a female was the only thing that could turn him on, the only