3. Oradea

Roman'sback is to the four syndicate fuckers heading our way. This night is going from bad to worse. "Your friends are coming to have a talk with us. Anything I should know before this goes down? They're packing heat and don't look too pleased, that's for damn sure."

"Just stay calm, Oradea. Let me deal with it. I'll deescalate the situation, and things will be fine." Roman turns just as the goons reach us. "Gentleman, this is Master Oradea. I know everyone is a little excited, but let me just explain a few things. He leads the vampires in this region and has done an excellent job keeping the peace when others would like nothing more than to create terror and chaos. The vampire who just left with the shifters is, I guess I should say was, Overmaster Descallia's right-hand man." Roman pauses, then introduces the men surrounding us. "This is Michael, the oldest of the Benzini family, and his brothers Marcus, Antonio, and Frankie."

I give them a nod. "Roman was telling me a bit about what happened to your father before Lucas arrived. I'm sorry to hear about his death."

Michael nods, but that clamped jaw tells me inside he's wired tighter than a drum whether he looks cool, calm, and collected or not. Roman asks the bartender for a round of drinks, handing them to each of us as they're passed to him, but one cold beverage isn't going to settle the heat that's under those suits.

Roman seems to sense that and turns to the group. "Look. There is a war between them and the original vampires. One group wants to keep things civilized, and that's Overmaster Descallia and Master Oradea's group, and another, who are referred to as the Rogue Vampires, Orchestrators, or Rogues." He looks to me, and his eyebrows raise. "That about sum it up, Oradea?"

I nod. "Close enough. We don't drink the blood of innocent humans and want to keep it that way, and they want to go back to the way it used to be, when humans were a hearty snack."

The syndicate goon named Marcus narrows his eyes at me and scowls at his sister as she joins the group. "I'll say this one time and one time only. Our little sister is in this club. I should shoot you dead just for bringing those fuckers and that war anywhere near her. The families have sat back and allowed the vampires into territory that was rightfully ours in an effort to keep the peace and balance, but when you fuckers start endangering our family, the line in the sand disappears. Capische?"

I try to contain the growl deep in my chest, but it comes barreling forward regardless. "The vampires who work under Overmaster Descallia have been forthright and contributing members of the communities in which they live."

One of the other brothers scoffs, and I restrain driving my curled fist right into his arrogant looking face. "Ask anyone. No one has given us a free ride. We earned and fought for everything that is ours, including the right to live in a world free from what the rogue vampires would have in store for the humans. They want to drain you of your blood, and you sit here talking to me about nonsense? What you should be doing is helping us get to the bottom of it if you want to keep your sister safe from the bloodsucking pricks. Roman knows from first-hand experience what these fuckers will do."

Natalia narrows her eyes at me. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I do not need you or anyone to do it for me."

My eyes track over the blue-eyed blonde's face, taking in the rapidly beating pulse on the side of her neck that tells me a different story. "You can't defend yourself from these monsters, no matter how many guns you have. You are human."

That does not get the reaction I was looking for. It embroils her four brothers into a temper that may not tamp down tonight. Marcus gets in my face. "Are you threatening my sister?"

I take a deep breath. Fuck this night all to hell. "I am not threatening your sister. I'm telling you that if keeping humans safe is your priority, then you should join us in making sure that Lucas and the Rogues have no place in Oradea, or anywhere for that matter."

Michael appraises me with dark eyes for a second longer than is comfortable, while his sister remains quiet and sullen. Then he looks at Roman. "We've all heard the story of your sister and how Master Trentino turned her after she was attacked by her own family. Roman, I can understand and sympathize with your position, but your alliances are divided. We knew that going in, but the escalation of this war between the vampires puts our family right in the middle of a war that's unacceptable to us."

Roman's jaw tightens. "First, my alliance is not in question. I'll not have you use what happened here tonight to get out of our agreement. I manage having a sister mated to one of the masters just fine without any lines being crossed. Second, if you don't want this merger to go through, there's still time to get out, but hear this loud and clear. I'm not about to stand by and let the fuckers who took my sister's life as she knew it to take over territory that belongs to us. Capische?"

Marcus keeps sliding his hand under the back of his suit like I don't know where that gun is or don't know exactly how many seconds it will take for him to get it out and have it in my face. I look to Michael, ignoring his hot-tempered brother. Michael sighs and takes a pull from his drink. "Our success depends on the ability to make, transport, and distribute—end of story. If these rogue vampires get in the way of that, we will help you take them out. Otherwise, we will stay clear of the war and let the vampires fight it out. It may not be what you want to hear, but it's all that we have to give right now."

Exactly what I was expecting from the greedy pricks. As long as they leave us alone so we can find the fuckers, then fine. "Sounds good. This is my region. I know every nook and cranny of its land, every club or villa that Lucas could be hiding in. If you're not going to help, though, I would at least ask that you spread the word to the rest of your families that they not bar us from finding him or do not harbor him in any way. That, my new friends, would put you on the wrong side of this war, and that's not what either of our groups want."

Michael nods. "I'll have the word spread, and at least for now, we agree to stay out of the war." He looks to Roman. "Why don't the five of us meet, and we can discuss the alliance of the families in private. This hardly seems the time after all that has transpired tonight."

Natalia's eyes flash at me with specks of gold in those deep blue eyes. "I guess in private means away from us." Her brothers give her a glare, probably intended to quiet her sass, but that hardly goes the way they expect. She stands up straight on her four-inch heels, glaring up at them from at least eight inches below. "Do not look at me like that Marcus, and you"—she gestures between Antonio and Frankie—"you two could stick up for me once in a while."

Michael intercedes. "You'll have to excuse my sister. She's upset after what happened and is hardly in a good frame of mind." He sends her one of those that's enough looks, but that just infuriates her to no end.

She raises her hands in the air. "I've had it with the lot of you. Absolutely had it." She gestures to them all. "One minute you want me to learn all the family business, but as soon as a little danger is involved, I'm out. Back to Dad's ways of keeping the woman in the house out of the family business." She turns a heated glare on Michael. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. I can't learn about it and be left in the dark like a light switch that you decide when to turn on and off. Go play your little games. I'm through with the lot of you tonight."

Natalia then focuses her ire on me. "You made your bed with these men. I hope you enjoy it." She turns on a heeled foot, leaving me to watch her ass sway across the club and right out the door, until Michael clears his throat. I glance up, and his eyes have turned to dark, narrow slits. "Natalia is off limits, vampire, capische?"