“Fine, whatever. Just saying. I wish you guys would let me go with you to those raids. I never get to do anything fun,” Blake complained. “No wonder I’m always out of the loop. Even Cain gets to patrol the city for those crazy vampires, and he’s only been with Scanguards for a few months.”

Quinn put his hand on Blake’s arm. “What do you know about those crazies? It’s classified information.”

Blake grinned. “Cain told me ‘cause I’m family. He said they were going crazy in the city, like some drugged out animals.”

Oliver’s ears perked up. Drugged out? He’d never heard them described that way—when the vampire staff at Scanguards talked about them, they used words like bloodlust, but what if those vampires were on drugs? Or rather drugged blood?

Was it possible that there was a connection between the blood brothel and those incidents they’d heard of where vampires had gone completely crazy as if they were suffering from bloodlust?

Tonight, Zane had gotten a call that several of those crazies had been spotted at a nightclub in town. Oliver had to find out what had transpired there. Maybe it would provide the lead he needed to find the new location of the blood brothel.

“Hey, Quinn,” he interrupted. “Listen, it’s great that you and Rose are back. We missed you. Didn’t we, Blake?”

His half-brother nodded quickly.

“I’d better turn in. It’s close to sunrise, and it’s been a busy night.” He hugged his sire.

“It’s good to be home, son.” Quinn smiled when he released him.

Oliver was about to turn, when Quinn put a hand on his shoulder. “About the girl.” He motioned to the upper floor.

“What about her?”

“Don’t do anything you might regret later. She’s vulnerable.”

Oliver was careful not to show that the remark irked him. He knew she was vulnerable; he didn’t need Quinn to tell him that. “If you’re insinuating that I might bite her, let me tell both of you once and for all: I won’t.”

And that was one promise he was determined to keep. No matter the cost.

***

Oliver waited for the noise in the house to settle down. Finally, it seemed Rose and Quinn had gone to bed and Blake had withdrawn to his room. Rose had set Ursula up in the guest room, clearly not wanting her to stay in his room again. But they would have to do a lot more to stop him from seeing her.

He waited an additional hour after all the noise had died down before he snuck out of his room and walked barefoot toward the guest room. The floorboards creaked under his feet, but nobody seemed to hear him.

When he reached the door to the guest room, he listened for any sound coming from inside, but heard none. He couldn’t risk knocking, afraid that Rose or Quinn might hear him from the master bedroom across the corridor, so he simply eased the door open and squeezed inside, pulling it shut behind him.

The curtains were drawn, but some light filtered into the room, enough to clearly see that Ursula was sleeping, even if he weren’t a vampire with night vision. He quietly approached the bed and sat on the edge, leaning over Ursula. With his mouth at her ear, he whispered to her, “Ursula, baby, it’s me, Oliver.”

A choked breath came from her. Afraid she might make too much noise, alerting everybody in the house, he slid his lips over hers and pressed a soft kiss onto them, ready to intensify it if necessary.

“Oliver?” she mumbled.

“Yes, baby.”

“Mmm.”

The humming sound she issued was reason enough for him to urge her lips apart with his tongue and delve into her inviting mouth. Within an instant, his hunger for her pushed to the surface. He had to force himself to pull back, reminding himself why he was here.

“I have news.”

She opened her eyes and pulled herself up to a sitting position. She still wore one of his T-shirts, and that fact pleased him. Of course, if she were sleeping in his bed, she wouldn’t be wearing anything. Instead, he would cover her with kisses and caresses.

“What happened?”

He listened for any sound from outside the door before he continued. “We have to be quiet. Quinn and Rose will be pissed if they find me in here.”

“Are they very old-fashioned?”

“No, just very protective of innocents.”

“But I’m not—”

Even in the darkness, he noticed how she blushed. He couldn’t resist pressing a kiss on her pink cheek. “I’m sorry about what happened earlier.”

“You mean them showing up unannounced?”