Relentless (Vampire Awakenings #11) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,22
did his ease with entering the bar and being around Kyle and Cassidy. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Five. And I have four sisters.”
“Damn. Are there any more of them in the city?”
Cassidy grinned at him. “No, but they do visit on occasion.”
When Dante ran a hand through his hair, Cassidy used his distraction to bang on the door.
“What are you doing?” Dante hissed.
A little bolt of electricity ran down her arm when he gripped her wrist to pull her hand away from the door. Despite her annoyance over him thinking she was some fragile thing, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to him.
Dante inadvertently drew her closer as he pulled her back a step. Her scent and warmth enveloped him as he drew her against his side. A metal slat in the door slid open, and a set of brown eyes peered out at them.
Cassidy bit her lip to keep from laughing as the man behind the door brought to mind the man standing guard at the gate to the Emerald City. She half expected this guy to start shouting at them, “Who rang that bell?”
Instead, he demanded in a gruff voice that held the faintest hint of a New York accent, “What?”
Dante edged forward until he stood protectively in front of Cassidy. He recalled the words below the address on the paper. “Opal said it was time for tea.”
He felt like an idiot saying the words, or more like a little kid playing spy, but the man grunted and closed the small window. Dante didn’t want Cassidy anywhere near this place, but it was too late to take her from here now.
The second the door swung open, Cassidy prepared herself for the stench of rot, but the only scents wafting out were those of liquor, blood, and sex. She wasn’t used to those last two scents from Addy’s, but she had a feeling they were normal for these places.
She wasn’t exactly eager to learn what lay on the other side of the door, but Cassidy kept her discomfort to herself. If Dante sensed her dread over stepping inside, he’d take her away, and she would not let a little uneasiness get in her way of helping with this. She’d spent most of her life sheltered and was tired of it. Even if they walked into a giant orgy, she would help him bring Julie home.
“I don’t smell any Savages,” she whispered to Dante.
“Would you be able to smell them out here?”
“Yes. It’s a stench you don’t forget, and you can’t miss it.”
“Are you coming in or not?” the man behind the door demanded gruffly.
“We’re coming,” Cassidy said.
Her eyes widened on the man behind the door. He did not resemble the guard at the gate of Emerald City. The massive man’s shoulders were broad as a bull’s, and his hands could crush a basketball. He removed a cloth from his pocket to wipe away the sweat beading across his forehead and causing his brown skin to glisten.
Cassidy’s breath sucked in as they fully entered the building and the heat of the packed room hit her like a punch to the gut. It was at least twenty degrees warmer inside the building than outside. No wonder the bouncer was sweating; she was considering removing her jacket and shirt. He was only a couple of inches taller, but the bouncer had a good hundred pounds on her.
She almost removed her jacket before recalling the stakes inside the pockets. She couldn’t have one fall out or be unable to get it if there was a problem. Nope, she had to suck up the fact she’d stepped into a sauna.
A sauna that was nothing like what she expected to discover here. She’d expected the place to be so dark only a vampire could see their way through it. She’d anticipated a haunted house setting with coffins in the corners, blood on the tables, and maybe an orgy in the back.
And though she wouldn’t be surprised to discover back rooms with orgies taking place, she was shocked to discover that shadows didn’t enshroud the building, blood wasn’t flowing everywhere, and no coffins were used as furniture. There were no windows.
Instead, the dimly lit room was no darker than Addy’s. In the center of the room was a cleared space. People and vamps packed the open dance space as the music flowed from the speakers in the corners.
While a lot of it didn’t seem hastily assembled, some of it did as the speakers were plugged