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Raphael emerged from the hotel’s basement slowly, dragging one leg after another. He felt more exhausted than he had since becoming a vampire. Nothing called to him more than a long nap, though he knew that a dark, quiet room would only give his thoughts a better opportunity to haunt him.
His actions had good intentions behind them. He’d been repeating that to himself on loop since he’d begun digging Heidi’s grave. All the while, he struggled to block the sounds of the newly turned vampire’s screams and whimpers from invading his every waking thought. He didn’t relish sacrificing her for the good of his clan and their whole species. Sometimes, as a leader, people needed to do difficult things to save others. That’s what he told himself.
If the difficult thing involved breaking not only Mundane and Clave laws but the laws of his own people as well, Raphael was sure that the vampires would understand once he was successful.
Tucker, a burly vampire who’d first been bitten in a cornfield in Iowa around the same time Raphael was adjusting to his new life in New York, appeared at the top of the basement stairs, his gaze narrowing as he peered into the dark. His eyes widened as he spotted Raphael and traveled over Raphael’s shoulder, but all that could be seen from the stairs, even by a vampire, was darkness. Raphael was nothing if not careful.
“What were you getting up to down there?” Tucker asked, an amused grin on his lips.
Raphael stared back. It was a friendly question. Tucker had that Midwest kindness about him even after decades of living as a vampire in New York City. Raphael frequently found it infuriating. Nothing in Tucker’s demeanor hinted at suspicion, yet Raphael wanted to snap at him that, as clan leader, he didn’t deserve to be questioned. He held it in. Aside from being overly defensive, he was known for having sung a very different tune when Camille was in charge.
Instead, he fought against the lead weights pressing into his shoulders to shrug.
“Just some planning,” he said. “Boring work.”
It was a good enough excuse. Most of the clan could have cared less about the minutiae of the clan leader’s duties, and Raphael had learned quickly that it got most of the clan off his back if he alluded to that boring work. Lily, who he acknowledged would be the leader herself one day, was the only exception. She was the only one Raphael was really worried about challenging him, but his anxiety was starting to get the better of him no matter who he spoke to.
“Ah,” Tucker said with a nod of his head. “In that case, how about a break? Keaton got this new bike that he’s showing off to everyone. Top of the line.”
As Raphael smiled, he strained his ears. Part of him always worried that the drugs would stop working and Heidi would let out a piercing shriek that rang through the halls of the hotel. Shit would hit the fan before Raphael could properly explain himself.
But there was nothing.
“That sounds great,” Raphael said, joining Tucker at his side as they headed for the stairwell that led to the lobby of the hotel. “I’ve been thinking of investing in something new myself. I should get an idea of what’s on the market these days.”
Tucker laughed.
“Yeah, isn’t your bike from the 80s?”
Raphael gave his subordinate a stern look that made Tucker hold his hands up in surrender.
“If you pay attention to quality and actually maintain your toys, you might be surprised how well you can keep them,” Raphael said.
They were far enough away from the basement that Raphael relaxed slightly. No one was going to hear Heidi’s screams. For another day, at least, he had time to achieve what he needed to.
As he joined his clan gathered around the bike, he could only hope that they would understand his actions if they came to light.