Blud

Part 5: Eve

I watch the color drain from Liam's face as he processes my request. Marcus smiles, completely amused as he slurps his little fucking drink.

"Choose a human to be," He swallows and looks down at the floor, "to be sacrificed."

My sudden outburst of laughter startles him, his eyes popping up in shock as Marcus and I both chortle to the point where we can't breathe.

"Sacrifice?!" I repeat through wheezing laughter. "Is that what you think we do?" I calm myself, wiping actual tears from the corners of my eye as the lingering giggles subside.

"Well, don't you?" He asks honestly, not finding it funny in the slightest.

"NO, you incredible idiot." I sneer, making Marcus snort into his glass of blood. I lean forward on my elbows, looking into his eyes, speaking slowly. "Why would we want to kill people that come here? How will we make money if all the humans are gone?"

He stares at me, his brows coming together in the middle and making a deep crease on his forehead. "So what do you do with them, then?"

"We drain off twenty-five percent of their blood volume, which is the maximum a human can lose before suffering organ damage. Then they hang out in a very safe, very comfortable room for a couple days or until our doctors clear them. Completely unharmed. Then they go on their merry way." I shrug. Simple as that.

"How do you convince them to be drained? Or do you just force them and hope they understand when they wake up?" He shakes his head, trying to put it all together. I smile at his curiosity, happy to teach.

"We pay them." I say simply. "Most of them leave pleased. Some of them need a little more..." I rock my head back and forth, "convincing."

"What about the people that go missing?" He asks skeptically. "Missing persons reports come from all over town, and most of them were last seen at this club." He narrows his eyes at me, and I smirk, amused at his boldness.

"You ask a lot of fucking questions, Liam." Marcus sneers, setting his glass on the desk with too much force and it tips over, the tiny bit of blood left dribbling out onto the wood. I roll my eyes at that.

"I just," He struggles to find the right words, I can see on his face he doesn't want to give the wrong impression. "I just assumed..."

"That because we're vampires, that we must kill every human we come in contact with?" I'm deadpan.

"Well, yeah." He shifts nervously.

"Yet somehow," Marcus claps his hands together loudly, stepping toward the door, "You're still alive, aren't ya." He opens the door and holds it open for Liam, who looks at me with wide eyes. I can tell this didn't go how he hoped.

"All I want you to do is point to someone. Marcus will do the rest. I'll be watching." I nod to the cameras, and he clenches his jaw and turns out the door. When it shuts, I swivel in my chair and rest my elbows on the table and put my head in my hands.

"What the fuck are you doing, Eve?" I mumble to myself. If this guy is telling the truth, what would the purpose be for Nicolas to send a human into our unit? A test of loyalty? Are we meant to kill him? Or a test of acceptance, to show that we will literally do anything he tells us to do. That certainly seems like the safer bet. The worst that can happen is he finds out and kills Liam if he's lying. If he's telling the truth, then we obeyed orders and everything is hunky-dorey. I massage my temples, groaning. I really need a drink. Lifting my head and finding my two men on the cameras, I watch them eagerly. I can't wait to see who he picks.

On the screen, Marcus stands a few steps beside Liam on the balcony, looking down over the railing at the dance floor. He scopes out the crowd, squinting around at the dancers and chewing on his lip. I find myself distracted by his physique and the way his shoulder muscles flex as he leans on his hands on the railing. He licks his lips slowly, deep in concentration, and I can't help but lick mine too. I imagine his lips on my skin, warming me as he kisses down my neck.