Catlin's Appaloosa(21)

Adalric ’s red eyes turned on him, sending another shiver down the detective’s spine. The man blinked, and the red was gone.“Removing the heart is the most effective way to end a vampire’s life,” he stated, the words coming out much calmer than Catlin thought they should considering what he’d just done.

“ Yeah, I’ll file that little tidbit in my never-want-touse file,” he muttered. He hurried over to the woman on the ground, crouching beside Payson. A search for a pulse confirmed what he’d already figured. There was nothing they could do for her.

“ Bring them both. We can’t leave more bodies,” Adalric said.

Payson heaved the body of the vampire over his shoulder and followed Adalric out of the alleyway. “Where are we going?” the shifter asked.

Catlin cradled the woman to his chest and headed after them. “Brock told me about some abandoned warehouses. We should take them there,” he said.

The other men nodded their agreement. During the ten-minute walk, Catlin watched the blood congeal on her neck and fought cringes as he felt it soak through his t-shirt and crust against his skin. They piled into Adalric’s SUV, and Catlin gave them directions.

Once the bodies were carried into the empty building, Adalric took out his phone and dialed. “Update, Darian.” The muscular vampire nodded once. “Excellent. We are already at the rendezvous point with the other one.” He disconnected the call.“They are on the way with the second rogue. This will all be over soon.”

Catlin rubbed his neck.“I don’t understand.” He crouched down and located the woman’s purse. He pulled out her ID and stood, shoving it into his pocket for later. No sense having to deal with a Jane Doe. His brows creased obviously have in confusion. “You and your friend control over yourselves. Why were these vampires killing at will?”

Adalric focused on him and frowned.“Why does a human beat their spouse? Why does a psychopath play with their victim before killing them? Because they have allowed their desire for power to control them. A vampire drinks blood to survive. Although we can eat other food as well, blood is what sustains us. We don’t need to kill the donor when we feed.” He curled a lip in obvious disgust at the dead vampire, then stalked toward the entrance of the building, apparently having said all he was going to on the subject.

After Kontra arrived with the second vampire, they ignited the building.

The story he and Brock planned to weave was that the murderers brought their latest victim to the warehouse. Then they became trapped inside when the building went up in flames, the blaze caused by some spilled gasoline and a carelessly thrown match. The vampires left, and Catlin really hoped he wouldn’t need to call on their services again, ever. Kontra and the other bikers escorted him and Gallo home, telling them they’d stop by the next day before roaring away.

He led Gallo into the bathroom and stripped down his quiet lover. “What’s on your mind?” he asked curiously, leading him into the shower.

He soaped up his hands, rubbing the suds into Gallo’s skin as he watched the expression flitting across the smaller man’s features.

Finally, Gallo murmured,“I really do want to claim you, but I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Can you tell me why the idea of penetrating me causes such fear?” he asked gently.

Gallo shook his head, and at first, Catlin thought that meant he wasn’t going to answer, so his man’s next words surprised him.“It’s not that, really, it’s just, I’m not allowed.”

His hands paused at those words. Catlin swallowed and got his hands moving again.“Who says you’re not allowed, Gallo?”

“The stallion of my herd,” Gallo whispered.“When it came out that I was gay, I became the one used by others for sexual release,” he admitted,“but if I was found touching myself, I would be punished. They told me—they told me I was there only for their pleasure. I couldn’t come unless they said it was okay.” He shrugged.“Some were nice about it, always making sure I got off, too, and I like sucking cock, so that was no big deal.”

Catlin swallowed hard, fighting back the rage filling him. He’d known his man had been abused, but he’d had no idea of the extent of the torture he’d endured. A renewed desire to track down Gallo’s herd surged through him, but he beat it back, knowing he couldn’t. Forcing his voice to come out even, he whispered,“Is that how you got the marks on your back, love?”

Gallo jerked a nod. “Some liked it rough,” he whispered.“Or if I misbehaved during the tests,” he added.“Then I’d have to be punished.”