It was deeply satisfying whenever he managed to shock her into silence. Francesca looked entirely nonplussed as she reached over to unlock and open the door for him. Using the toe of his now scuffed dress shoe, he wedged it open enough for them to slip through.
When they entered the living room, he found Tomas behind the bar, Maxine pacing restlessly by the windows, Easton sitting as far away from a glowering Milo as possible, and Alvin just stepping through the door.
Alvin took one calm, sweeping look around the living room and dryly inquired, “How come I wasn’t invited to the party?”
Luis rolled his eyes. “Because you’re creepy.”
Gently depositing Francesca on the unoccupied couch, he demanded, “Come do your job and make sure my girl is all right.” Gesturing to the doctor, he told Francesca, “This is Alvin. He’s the Amauri doctor. I know he looks like a dork, but he’s actually pretty good at his job.”
Carrying his doctor’s bag in one hand, Alvin strolled into the living area at a leisurely pace. “She seems fine. You, on the other hand…”
“He wasstabbed,”Francesca snitched.
“Again?” Alvin shook his head. Dropping his bag onto the coffee table, he sighed, “Better than a bolt shot, I guess.”
“What about me?” Easton whined. “Iwasactually shot!”
Luis pointed a livid finger at the man. “It skimmed you, idiot. If you were in any danger, you’d be dead already. And you can fucking wait until my girl gets the all clear before you open your damn mouth again. Understood?”
The other vampire shrank into his seat with a weak nod. His cousin, meanwhile, circled the couch to sit on Francesca’s other side. Draping an arm around her friend’s shoulders, she asked, “Are you okay? I’m so sorry I left you in the box. I never thought it would get so out of hand, and then I saw the gun pointed at Easton and I panicked?—”
Francesca was a lot more forgiving than Luis. She patted her friend’s arm and offered her a wan smile. “I had Milo with me. Nothing bad happened.”
“Except one of Malachi’s men tried to kidnap her,” Luis snapped. He gave his brother a questioning look. “Did you recognize him?”
“No, but he had Malachi’s bullshit tattoos.” Milo looked about as pleased by that as Luis was. “I don’t like that. It’s one thing to try and throw a fight, but he clearly had a plan to take her in case he lost.”
Luis turned his attention to Alvin’s inspection of Francesca’s pupils with a sleek pen light, but his mind was in the same place as his brother’s. “I’ll need to handle him.”
“Do you?” Milo rolled his eyes upward and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “His reputation is ruined. His businesses will be next. We could just wait for one of his little snakes to take him out when they smell weakness.”
“He tried to take myanchor,”Luis snapped. “Even you have to understand there’s a price to be paid for that.”
“Wait, wait,” Easton butted in. “There’s no reason for that. Mr. Burke lost. You’ve got the contract. Can’t that be the end of it?”
“What on Burden’s Earth makes you think the man who didthattonight will respect a contract?” Maxine snarled. It was the first time Luis had ever truly seen the cool-headed lawyer lose her composure. “Gods, Easton, you have got to start using yourbrain.This isn’t about winning anymore. He feels disrespected by Mr. Amauri, which means he’ll do whatever he can to get one over on him now.”
Prestige wasn’t just about who had the nicest things or the most money. It was about the strength of one’s reputation. Malachi’s had been dented when Luis killed his man in front of everyone, then further tarnished by his loss in the ring and whatever money the people betting on him had set on fire.
That meant he lost out on business deals and the ever-important social standing that governed syndicate life.
And that was the second time the Amauris had made him look like a fool. No self-respecting vampire would allow that to stand.
Catching Francesca’s worried look, Luis slashed his hand through the air. “Enough. I’m done talking about him. I’ll handle it.”
“Well, aside from signs of fatigue, light bruising, and dehydration, you’re fine,” Alvin told Francesca. He tucked his pen light into his coat pocket. His smile was cool and composed when he added, “It’s nice to meet a new member of the family.”
He found it a little insulting how quickly she paled. Waving her hands, she denied, “Oh, no! I’m not— We’re not like that. I’mnotdating Luis, let alone…” She trailed off with a nervous laugh. “People just keep making that assumption.”
Luis ignored the way his brother poorly disguised a snort of laughter behind a cough. Tomas didn’t even bother with that small gesture of politeness. He guffawed behind the bar as he splashed a generous pour of synth into a crystal glass.
“You know what?” the Bowan heir chortled. “Everything that happened tonight? Ruined suit, wasted evening, terrible company… Totally worth it to witness that. I cannotwaitto tell my uncles.”
Turning swiftly in a way that made his vision go a little foggy around the edges, Luis pointed a finger at him, too. “Shut up!”
Crouching next to him, Alvin poked at the wound in his side with a freshly gloved finger. “I’d advise you not to do that again.”
Ignoring the doctor, Luis turned his ire onto Easton. “You! Hand over the contract. Now.”