Reckless Abandon - The Secrets of Avelina Chronicles 2

17: Knox

It had been two days since Knox had walked out of Club Renoir alone, with a list of names scrawled on a napkin. He had told the dancer Violet was with, to go home and had a quiet word with the bouncers. He had closed Club Renoir for the last time. The waiting customers had been warned that the club was closed indefinitely and any who took their business to another vampire club had better beware. He was going to close them down as well.

Violet hadn't felt so much pride or admiration in her life as when Knox had walked out with a broken table leg in his hand and thrown it to the gutter in disgust. And over the two days that had passed, he kept his word. They had closed down the last two remaining vampire clubs in town, gathering incriminating information from any who would talk to them, whether out of fear or gratitude.

The information they were getting, wasn't even just about Lord Biggins. Within those two days, they had discovered information against six council officials, two lawyers and one judge, who were regular visitors to the clubs. Scared vampires, who had been blackmailed into terrible things were coming forward. Some walking right up to Knox in the street or at a crime scene and giving him written testimonies witnessed by other vampires, with dates and signatures.

Knox had such a wealth of information that he had decided not to keep the Mayor in the loop. He handed everything straight over to his father, who could deal with the information and the Mayor better than any human could. Bodies were still showing up, however and his work as a coroner was busier than ever. Yet, he found his mind drifting when he was at work, not to the clubs or the helpless vampires he met there, but to Violet.

She was becoming more fearless every day, approaching vampires alone. She was even prepared to threaten them with legal proceedings if they didn't help her get enough information to put the city officials away for good. It was the only way anyone would talk to her, but he was amused by it. They were heading to a club together that night, on the outskirts of town, that Knox felt fell within his fathers domain. The customers from Avelina were drifting there for their kicks instead of heeding his warning. And the clubs there were more extravagant. It didn't take long to scare everyone into talking and getting rid of the customers who were of no use to him.

"We only feed from humans when we're at the club. They come volunteering themselves, like little pets who can't get enough of being used." A female waitress named Kiki complained, as she sat on the bar, smoking a cigarette.

"And Lord Biggins?" Knox asked. She smiled in amusement, intrigued by the mission he was on.

"You're going to have to do a body cavity search on him. He takes girls home with him, locks them up in his cellar for days while he torments them. Human girls are made to watch while he tortures vampires...then the vampires get to feed on the human for his pleasure. The guy's a sick bastard. I'd like to rip his throat out." When she placed the cigarette to her mouth again, with the words, Violet almost wondered if she was going to bite down on it. She was angry and looked as if she wanted to do some ripping right there. Violet was tempted to step back, but didn't dare to move and attract anyone's attention. Knox looked down at her with a smile.

"Me too." He agreed, hating Lord Biggins more with every piece of new information he discovered about him. He got a kick out of torturing people, whether they were human or not. But when he thought about how the Mayor was going to sacrifice his daughter...his Violet...to him, just for election money, he could barely control his anger.

"We could get together some time and practice." Kiki offered flirtatiously. But Knox wasn't in the mood to be nice.

"Thanks, but I'm not interested."

Once he had what he needed, he told Violet to wait outside for him and went about his usual routine of wrecking the club and making sure it was closed down for good. Violet waited outside as she was told to, ignoring the smashing and banging noises coming from within. She'd gotten used to Knox and his methods, but she couldn't stop a frown from forming when Kiki came out with her bag and started talking to another dancer.