Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Having said what needed to be said Beatrice lead the way inside. The Master vampire had chosen the location – probably not a smart move for the invitees – but Beatrice had dictated where they were meeting within the store, which was on the top floor; the floor dedicated to seasonal items. Currently, that meant anything related to summer, beaches, and cookouts.

It felt appropriate, to meet a vampire at a place that screamed ‘fun in the sun.

Not wanting to deal with the closed quarters of an elevator with four halking wolves and one fledgling vampire, Beatrice opted for the escalators. Everyone seemed to want to use them as actual stairs, and looked annoyed when she stepped on one and stood there, letting the machine bring her to the top without exerting any of her own energy. Did they think she wanted to meet this Master vampire sooner than necessary? Even if it would only amount to a handful of seconds, it was still a handful of extra seconds she planned to enjoy before things turned annoying yet again.

On the top floor were a handful of shoppers milling around but Beatrice ignored both them along with the wares on display. They were to meet in the area with all the cookout supplies. Why? Because there would be tables and chairs available, of course Lawn chairs, those lounger-style ones… lots of surfaces for someone to park their butt for an unwanted conversation with a scary vampire, if they so desired.

It wasn’t a surprise that the Master vampire and four of her brood had arrived before Beatrice and her posse. Unlike the wolves, all of whom had a look to them that screamed ‘I’m a big bad wolf’, the vampires’ appearances varied.

A boy lounged atop a closed grill, grinning in that way all cocky teens did because they thought themselves invincible. A little girl who looked seven years old – but was probably far older – sat just inside a tent that was on display; she looked bored out of her mind, which wasn’t a surprise. Beatrice wondered exactly how long the child vampire had been ‘alive’. The thought of being stuck in the body of a child for an eternity sent chills down her spine.

There was a man, tall and lean, idling just off to the side. He looked awkward, as if this was the last place he wanted to be, and shifted from foot to foot

every few seconds.

The final two vampires were both women; one must have been Turned in her late seventies and the other sometime in the prime of her life. They were seated at the lone picnic table and were in the middle of a game of cards.

Since none of the vampires had greeted them, Beatrice said nothing, choosing instead to stand there and look them over. The Master vampire was a woman, that much she knew. That ruled out the teen and awkward man. A child vampire being Old and a Power was just too fucking creepy to entertain, so that one

was crossed off with great prejudice.

That left the two woman at the picnic table. Old or young? There was no way to tell. Beatrice glanced at Riaghaire, but he was focused on keeping the enemies in sight. Trying to grab his attention now would be counterproductive and only put him more on edge. It was best to let him do his shing and figure this out for herself.

Or… since the vampires were playing some kind of ‘who’s really in charge here’ kind of game, Beatrice had half a wand to turn around and leave without saying anything at all.

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