Thomas, Scanguards’ IT genius and master of mind control, was tutoring him to help him over his issues. He was making progress, but he was nowhere near mastering the skill. At best, he succeeded only fifty percent of the time.

“Still, you’re not—”

“Damn it, Maya!” he flared up. “What do you want from me? You’ve already made up your mind about my guilt, and now you won’t even allow me to talk to the only witness who can confirm my innocence. Even in a court of law I’d have a better chance than with you!”

And he’d seen the inside of more than one courtroom. In his days as a human, before Samson, the owner of Scanguards, had taken him under his wing, he’d been in and out of jail for possession of drugs and other offenses. He’d never committed any violent crimes, but he knew if Samson hadn’t come along and taken pity on him, he would have gone down that road. The crowd he was running with was on that path already.

“We have our own rules,” Maya insisted.

Before he could reply, he heard the front door opening. Was the girl leaving? Panicked, Oliver fairly jumped at the door and ripped it open, peering out into the hallway.

Relief and dread collided instantly. The person who’d opened the entrance door was Blake, and behind him, Cain entered. Their gazes immediately landed on him.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Blake said, his tone accusatory.

“Fuck you!” Oliver replied. He wasn’t in the mood to have another confrontation. The one with Maya was enough for one night. He turned away.

A moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He swiveled and faced Blake, shaking off his hand in the process.

“I’m not done talking. Cain and I searched the entire city for you.”

“You’ve found me. Now leave me alone.”

“Not so fast, little brother. I wanna know where you went tonight.”

“I don’t owe you any explanations.” And if Blake annoyed him any longer, he’d instead get a beating.

Cain suddenly looked past his shoulder. “Hey Maya, what are you doing here?”

Oliver turned quickly, tossing her a warning look. “It’s none of their business.”

“What’s none of our business?” It figured that Blake wouldn’t let go. Once he had gotten something into his head, he held onto it like a dog to a bone.

“Nothing!” Oliver bit out. “Now get out of my house, all of you and leave me alone!”

“Not gonna happen,” Maya insisted.

“I live here, so you have no right to throw me out!” Blake interrupted.

“Guess, I’m not wanted here,” Cain added and turned toward the door.

But Maya stopped him. “Don’t leave, Cain, we might need you.”

By now, Oliver was fuming. “The fuck we do! I’ll handle this! There’s no need for all of Scanguards to get involved.”

Cain stopped in his tracks, his eyes suddenly narrowing as if he perceived a threat. “What happened?”

Oliver thrust his chin up. “Nothing happened! Would you all stop meddling in my affairs and leave me alone!”

He caught Cain exchanging a glance with Maya.

“I want you to keep an eye on Oliver while I confer with Gabriel and Samson,” she said to Cain.

Disgusted at her treachery, Oliver glared at her. “I can’t believe you’re doing this! I trusted you. That’s why I called you!”

“It’s for your own good.”

He raised his voice. “The fuck it is! I’m telling the truth! But you don’t want to see that. You don’t believe there’s any good left in me. You’ve given up on me, just like everybody else!”

Maya put her hand on his forearm, but he shook it off. “That’s not true. You’ll see that when you’ve calmed down.”

“I am calm!” But the tightness in his jaw belied his words. His gums itched, and he could feel the tips of his fangs extending.

“Yeah, I can see that!” Blake mocked.

Oliver pounced on Blake, before his last word had even left his lips.

“Stop it now!” Maya warned, but Oliver ignored her.

Instead, he slammed Blake against the wall and held him there, his body suspended in the air. “You little jerk! You wanna know what it’s like to be a vampire, do you? Maybe I should just turn you and see how you cope with it, huh? Is that what you want? Is that why you’re constantly provoking me?”

“Get off me, you fucking bastard!” Blake ordered, aiming his fists at him.