Joker groaned, squeezing around the head of his cock as he came. Little shocks danced down his limbs. Wolly moaned shortly after, and Blade wasn’t that far behind. They all sat there panting. Joker got up, and he picked Master up and laid him back in bed on top of Nyght. Joker yawned.
“At least dry off, you three,” Dox said.
“Aw man, but—”
Joker went back into the bathroom and threw Wolly a towel and one to Dox. He dried off Master, who didn’t budge an inch as he clung to Nyght. Joker joined everyone in bed, lying on top of Gunner and Smooth.
The next time they were up, they had a light dinner before meeting up with the vampire princess.
“Ready, Morri?” Snoe asked.
“Yes, this will be interesting. I’ve never been out of vampire territory before,” she confessed.
Master shrugged. “Honestly, there’s very little difference except we have humans walking around day and night.”
“Food will be supplied?”
Master nodded. “For you and the others you bring.”
Master’s entire body went rigid as his eyes landed on a man on the other side of the lobby they currently waited in.
“Master, are you okay?” Dox asked.
Joker watched the other man; he didn’t look their way one time, and yet he made Master react so.
“I can cut his head off,” Blade offered.
Master laughed and his body relaxed, but there was still a slight stiffness there.
“As great as that sounds, I can’t let you do that. It would cause too much trouble,” Master said.
“What if we just broke his arms and legs?” Joker asked. And maybe his neck.
Master met Joker’s gaze with warm dark brown eyes that held a piece of Joker no one else ever had.
“Maybe,” Master said, winking at him.
Joker enjoyed Master’s playful side; it always came out in the most unexpected times.
“Excuse me, Mr. Whyte, Mr. Clay will see you now,” a woman said.
Unlike the other elders, Adello Clay was harder to pinpoint. He was rarely at any of his homes and finding out where he spent his nights was troublesome. At least Dimitri said so. The only place Parkins knew of for sure was Clay’s office.
“Mr. Whyte, you say,” the man Master had been glaring at said.
He stuck his hand out, but Master didn’t reach out to shake it. Instead, he turned and walked past the lady and toward the double doors that led to Adello Clay’s office.
“Young witches always think they’re hot shit,” the man said.
Joker grunted in annoyance. He, Gunner, and Blade stopped. Killing him was sounding more than great—it’d be a fucking pleasure.
“Joker, Gunner, Blade,” Master called out. He turned, a smile on his face. “We don’t have time for this. Leave him be.”
“Lucky,” Joker said.
The man laughed and scooted his hands in a shooing motion. “Go sit like good dogs,” the man said.
Gunner growled and snapped his teeth at the man. Joker bumped shoulders with him. “Be nice.”
Blade shook his head, but Joker caught his smile. They entered the office, and Master took a seat. Adello Clay was a tall, wide man, balding in the middle of his head. He presented himself as someone of importance. He sat behind a large desk and looked as if he had no worries in life. But there were ten guards in the room, all of them witches, trained and ready to attack. He obviously took Master as a potential threat with so many guards standing around. As he should. Joker rolled his shoulders in anticipation. He hoped Master would let them let loose.
“Mr. Whyte, please have a seat. You wanted to have a meeting with me. I have to say, for a new company, you’ve secured quite a few contracts, not to mention some of them being big names,” Adello said.
“That’s true,” Master said.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Whyte?”
“I wanted to ask if you’d be open to working for my company. We aren’t huge yet, but I’m sure it will grow,” Master said.
It was nothing Joker was expecting. Every time they met with an elder, Master’s approach had been different. Instead, in here, he was deferring to Adello as if he was important.
“Hmm, I have nothing now, but I’m sure we can work something out. After all, investing in an up and coming business, especially one that shows so much promise, is an opportunity I’m rarely ever offered. You’d be surprised how many witches are so intimidated now I am an elder to the head of Blake coven. More young people should be like you,” Adello said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Master said.
There was a knock at the door before the man from earlier walked in. He hadn’t waited to be invited, strolling in as if he was the most important person. The thought of breaking the man’s neck was became even more appealing. Joker glanced around to the others and it seemed as if he wasn’t the only one thinking it either.
“Jero, I didn’t know you were here. Is it time already?” Adello asked even as he looked at the watch on his wrist.
They were both pissing Joker off.
“Yes, sorry to interrupt,” the man said. He didn’t look sorry at all.
“It’s fine, old friend.” Adello held his hand out toward Master. “We shall be in touch. I will have Marcy collect your contact information, Mr. Whyte.”
Master smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He stood and shook Adello’s hand.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet me,” Master said.
As they walked out, the other man watched them with a smirk on his face. If Master would let him, Joker would claw the man’s face clean off.
They made it outside and into their car, Master sitting next to Wolly and Gunner. Joker sat in the front with Dox, and the rotation in the car was getting annoying.
“What the hell was that about?” Blade asked. He was always so blunt with his words.
“Jero Des is an elder but also my stepmother’s lover. When I saw him, I thought it was a coincidence and that he was just there to speak with Adello as well. But he was so familiar around the building—everyone spoke to him as if he showed his face there often.” Master sighed, laying his head back. “I changed the plans, and it’s a good thing, too. They are friends. Too close to risk,” Master said.
“You couldn’t ask him to side with us, and you couldn’t take him out either,” Dox said.
“Exactly, but this means the last elder has to be secured. We have to go in with at least half. Even if I get replacements, initially we need to have at least half the current elders and their families backing me.”
“We will do what we can,” Nyght said from the back.
Master looked frustrated, and Joker wanted nothing more than to pull him up front and hold him. To bring a smile to his face somehow.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Blade
“Can’t we just stay here in bed?” Smooth asked.
Blade rolled his eyes. If it were up to Smooth, they’d spend their life in bed sleeping. Blade much preferred when they went out; it meant the potential of killing. No matter how much time they spent in the regular realm, their craving for death never stopped. Master walked up to each of them, and when he made his way to Blade, he placed a peck on his cheek as he grabbed one of the pancakes Blade was making.