Page 126 of Let Sleeping Vampires Lie

A muscle jumped in Marcus’ jaw. “That seems fair.”

“You will help Julian with every contact, every broker, every name you have connected to that formula. The serum at the auction may or may not have been a fake. It was destroyed in the fire,” Isra continued. “If there is a lab, we will find it. If there is a handler, we will hunt them. You will help us.”

Marcus nodded once. “Agreed.”

“If I find out you kept even one detail from us,” Isra added, “and I mean even one minor supplier name, I will neuter you on stage during my Friday show.”

Raven choked.

Con groaned a laugh, then winced, hand flying to his ribs.

Marcus lifted both hands. “Understood.”

Isra’s shoulders sagged again, the fight briefly drained. He turned to me.

“How bad is it?” he asked, nodding toward Con.

“He will live,” I said. “But it was close.”

“You almost lost him,” he said.

“Yes.”

Isra studied my face. Something in his expression softened.

“You would have burned the whole district if he had died,” he said.

“Yes,” I answered.

He nodded once, as if that confirmed something he already knew. “Then we should make sure he does not die.”

Raven stepped around to the other side and checked Con’s ribs again, pressing lightly along the bruised skin. He hissed, but did not pull away.

Marcus remained in the corner, for once quiet, one hand resting on the case.

I stood with my back against the wall, taking in all of them.

A broker who lied to protect the man he loved.

A drag queen who ruled a club and now stared down an apocalypse.

A queen who had captured the hearts of our clan and its overseer.

A warrior who threw himself between me and death without thinking twice.

And me.

The vampire with too much fire in her veins and not enough sense to stop using it.

I felt sympathy for Isra, torn between love and betrayal. I felt sympathy for Marcus, who had finally stepped into the light and found it far harsher than he had imagined.

I felt something else too, watching them.

Determination.

We were all flawed.

We were all compromised.