Whenever they were caught, Raul preferred to deal with them in house. A call to the police was a waste of his valuable time and rarely resulted in any sort of real punishment to the culprit. But time alone with him in a locked room ensured that the cheater or thief wouldn’t show their face on a Sanguis Syndicate property ever again.
As they sped down the highway, their headlights flashed over a small blond figure in a yellow hoodie and shorts walking on the shoulder. Something about him made Raul twist around and he caught a glimpse of the person’s face as they drove past. That single glance was enough for recognition to hit. Ji-Su? What was he doing walking down the highway in the middle of the night?
“Stop the car!”
The driver immediately slowed down and pulled over on to the shoulder.
“Wait here.”
Raul got out of the Cullinan and started heading back to Ji-Su. He was still walking, taking slow, unsteady steps. Raul noticed that he wasn’t wearing any shoes. What the hell? When they met on the shoulder, they both came to a stop. Rage started to build in Raul’s chest when he saw the twin trails of blood on Ji-Su’s neck. By the look of the wounds, someone had bitten him roughly and left the bites unsealed.
“Ji-Su.” When Ji-Su didn’t look up at him, he crouched down to get near the shorter man’s eye level. “What happened?” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise of the traffic shooting past them mere feet away.
Ji-Su blinked. “I was going for a drive to get something to eat.”
“Then why are you out of your car and walking? With no shoes? And bleeding?”
Ji-Su put a hand to his neck. It came away sticky with drying blood. “I don’t know what happened...” he said in a thin, confused voice.
Raul had seen and heard enough. Ji-Su was obviously in some sort of distress. “I’m going to take care of you, okay? I’ll take you to get some food.”
“Okay.”
At Ji-Su’s wobbly nod, Raul scooped him up into his arms and carried him back to the waiting Cullinan. As he drew close, the driver jumped out and opened the back door for him.
“Thank you, Sam.”
Raul slid into the backseat, still holding Ji-Su in his arms. They continued on to the ranch, Sam knowing without being told to get there as fast as possible. Ji-Su didn’t utter a single word during the drive. He simply sat there silent in Raul’s lap, an occasional tremor shaking his small frame.
Curiosity burned within Raul. He wondered what had happened to Ji-Su and was thankful that he’d happened tobe driving by at the right moment to see him. In his dazed condition, Ji-Su could have stumbled into traffic or someone with bad intentions could have snatched him away. He realized that as far as Ji-Su knew,hecould have bad intentions. He was going to have to be sure and set his mind at ease as soon as he could.
After leaving the city limit of Dear Lake behind and a few minutes’ drive through a quiet, rural area, they arrived at the entrance to his estate. They drove through the gate and up the long, winding road to the main ranch house. Sam opened the door for him and Raul stepped out with Ji-Su still bundled up in his arms. Raul whistled sharply and two guards immediately came out to offer their assistance.
“Yes, boss?”
“Send someone to pick up his car and bring it here,” he directed. “It’s a white Kia on the north bound highway at the Mill Springs exit.” He softened his tone to speak to Ji-Su. “Do you have your car keys?”
“They’re in the ignition.”
Raul winced. The car might not be there when his guards went to retrieve it. “Okay. Let’s get you inside.”
He carried Ji-Su up the porch steps and into the house. The sound of his boots alternated between loud clicks on polished hardwood floors and muffled steps on the carpeted runners as he went back to the great room. Ji-Su’s weight was so negligible that it didn’t tax his strength at all as he walked. He didn’t want to put him down, but since he needed to check him over, he gently deposited him on the couch. Noting Ji-Su’s shivers, Raul grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders.
Quick footsteps entering the room announced the arrival of Gloria, his mayordoma. Remembering that he needed to put Ji-Su at ease, he calmly introduced them. “Gloria, this is Ji-Su.We’re going to be taking care of him for a bit. Ji-Su, this is Gloria, the ranch’s very capable mayordoma.”
Gloria smiled at Ji-Su, her small fangs white and sharp. “Welcome to the Muerdeme Mustangs ranch,” she said kindly. After greeting Ji-Su, she addressed Raul. “Sir, what does he need?”
“Water, some fruit and crackers, antiseptic ointment, bandages, and a towel to wash his feet.”
“I’ll have those for you right away, sir.”
Raul nodded his thanks but his attention never moved from Ji-Su. He kneeled down so Ji-Su didn’t have to look up as they talked. “Can you tell me what happened? Did Cedric hurt you?” His gaze was drawn again to the ugly, open bite marks. If Cedric had abused him, he would kill that vampire before the sun rose.
“No. He just said some not so nice things. But it wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure why I reacted this way.” He shook himself but the move didn’t do much to remove the glassy expression from his eyes. “It’s not that bad,” he repeated. “I’ll go back.” He tensed as if to stand.
Raul lightly pressed a hand to Ji-Su’s knee to hold him in place. “No. You need to rest for a few minutes at least. And your car isn’t here, remember? My men have gone to get it for you.”
“Oh, right.” Ji-Su slumped back onto the couch cushions and closed his eyes.