Chapter 64: Speak Of The Devil..

Esme was confident Lenny was not a hunter, so it was strange to see another human who was aware of the existence of vampires and in close contact with the King of vampires. The pair stared at each other, almost in a battle of will; who would buckle first? It wouldn't be Esme; she was too curious about this gangster. 

"Do you expect me to answer that? I will not be on the end of Gabriel's wrath," Lenny replied smoothly, leaning back in his chair as he raked. He pulled out a thin cigar and started twirling it between his fingers.

Esme leaned forwards, still holding his gaze and planted her hand on the table. "Like you said, I'm fearless. If Gabriel does ever find out, you told me.. I will simply explain that I …" She smirked with an evil glint to her eyes. "Had my way with you."

"Pahahaha!" Lenny burst into a peal of laughter. "Your way?" His dark eyebrow arched at this. "I get the feeling you don't mean it in the way I would hope."

Esme smirked again and looked away. "No, it is not. Gabriel would know what I mean."

"I am even more curious now to know what you are. There's always that little spark in you," Lenny smirked, tapping his cigar on the table in thought. "How about a trade? You tell me what you are, and I'll tell you how I know of vampires and working with Gabriel."

Esme chuckled and grabbed the champagne bottle in the ice bucket between them. She poured more into Lenny's glass and put the bottle back into the bucket before leaning forwards and reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out the gold flip lighter. Holding his gaze, she flipped it open and pulled the lever for the flame, watching as he placed his cigar between his lips and leaned towards the flame. "How about you just tell me? I quite like the way things are between us now," She winked, flipping the lid to the lighter shut. 

Lenny inhaled and pulled away before exhaling and holding his cigar again. "Hmmm, if you won't tell me, then I will assume you are a siren of some sort," He glanced at her with a sly smile on his lips.

Esme placed the lighter down and giggled. "Oh yes, this scruffy girl here in a hoody is very alluring! Now, tell me. I want to know, pretty please!" She fluttered her eyelashes and clasped her hands together dramatically. 

"When you put it like that.." He grumbled and shifted in his seat before puffing on his cigar again, watching her again with a cheeky grin. "It's actually very simple. My family have known Gabriel for.. a good five hundred years."

Esme blanched at what he just said and parted her lips to question but instead grabbed a glass ashtray from the kitchen and returned to Lenny so he could use it. "Thanks, love. It would be a little odd to be working with the same man who has not changed or grown old in all that time.. The Alfano family has worked with and kept his secret for centuries. Only a select few know about Gabriel; they don't know he is a vampire or King at that but is someone to fear."

"You say you work with him.. How could a human help someone like Gabriel?" She asked, then started to think more. Maybe he helped with feeders? She didn't know how stuff worked for vampires.

"There are many tasks I help him with. But one of them is selling his blood as medicine to royal families, and the other is selecting feeders. My family set it up so that anyone to become a feeder go through a certain.. education first and that they don't have certain addictive personalities," Lenny continued his explanation. Still, Esme felt like there were more questions than answers. 

"Don't humans get addicted to.." She gulped, "it anyway?" 

She knew from other vampire towns that even an unwilling victim of a vampire who is struggling in their grasp can turn docile and enjoy the experience. It was one of the most dangerous things about vampires. 

"They can. But that is why, if you haven't noticed at Gabriel's.. The feeders rotate. He has about twenty feeders all looked after and others for the public for the bar below." Lenny answered before inhaling on his cigar again, watching her in amusement. "I thought someone who is now the King's.. friend would know about these things."

Esme chuckled, but it was forced as she stood up and walked to the window to the other side of Lenny. She stared out at the glimmering lights and focused on the building that read ONYX. Esme had not noticed the changing of feeders because when she worked in the VIP bar, he drank from the bags she provided, except for when that leggy blonde entered. But she rid her thoughts of that annoying person and about the feeders in general.

Lenny sells Gabriel's blood. 

She turned to look at him and crossed her arms against her chest as she leaned against the window. "You sell to royal families.. Do they know of vampires?" She frowned at the very thought. The whole point in the witches was to keep all creatures undetected by humans, and the hunters were just as quick at hiding their bodies from the world. 

"No," He dabbed his cigar in the ashtray and stood up from his seat and looked over Esme's head. "It's made into a pill. Each pill is.. very expensive." He stared back at her. "Very. And when I deliver it, I make sure they take it then and there. There have been instances in the past when they have tried to recreate the pill, getting scientists to analyse it. Any data they found was swept clean, and Gabriel sent his men to.."

"Get rid of any evidence. Including the scientists," Esme finished, nodding her head. 

It was a simple clean up job. 

Lenny tilted his head to the side, watching her curiously. "Exactly. Maybe I can see why he keeps you near him," He muttered more to himself.

Esme stared at him expectantly. But he waved his hand and stubbed his cigar out in the ashtray behind them. "Hmm, you're more interesting than I ever expected, Lenny," She grinned, grabbing her champagne glass and starting to walk around the far end of the table. 

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Lenny scoffed. "I think that was a compliment. If not, then an insult that you believed me boring, kid."

Esme halted and leaned her forearms over the chair at the other end of the table, glass in one hand and sipped on its contents before replying, "Lenny, you could never be boring. But this.. It's more than I expected. Selling Gabriel's blood.." She trailed off thinking about how many people could be healed with his blood, but instead of giving it to hospitals and to people who need it, it was going to royalty. 

"You can't help everyone," Lenny replied quietly. Her thoughts must have been written on her face again; she rolled her eyes and placed her glass flute on the table. 

"Yeah, yeah. There's meant to be a balance.. And vampire's were never meant to be a part of the world.." She trailed off, biting her lip and glancing at Lenny. He knew somewhat more about vampires than she did, but she couldn't be too comfortable with him. 

Lenny parted his lips, then paused, and Esme jumped at the sudden ring of her phone. 

Who the hell was calling her now? 

"Always ever so popular," Isana remarked. 

Since coming to Chester, she was. She'd ignored Leo's message earlier when she was chilling on the grass; she wasn't used to so much socialising. It was rather tiring. 

Pulling out her phone from her jacket, she read the screen and gulped lightly. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear," She mumbled, looking away from Lenny's raised brows at her comment, and walking away as she flipped her phone open and placed it against her ear. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and she didn't know if it was due to nerves or something else.

"Hello?" She breathed. 

"We need to talk. Come to my place," Gabriel spoke through the phone, his voice low and husky. Her lips and throat felt suddenly dry, but before she could respond, he hung up.

Esme shook her head and put her phone away before looking over her shoulder at Lenny, who watched her curiously. "I've gotta go," She muttered and grabbed her backpack from the floor. 

Lenny strode up to her, his footsteps pounding against the marble floor. She stopped from quickly exiting and looked up at him, his hand on her wrist where she still held onto her bag. "You will take this place?" He asked though it didn't sound like a question and more of a command. Esme pursed her lips then relaxed her tense shoulders after he stared down at her like he would scold her.

"Okay.." She whispered and blinked profusely again as he put his hands on her shoulders, and he kissed each cheek again. 

She half-heartedly followed his lead, and he chuckled warmly, "Ah, don't worry, you will be even better next time." He pulled the keys out of his jacket and dropped them into her hand, and he placed his hand gently against her back. She tensed slightly, feeling a little awkward at the action.

"Oh, but kissing your cheeks didn't bother you?" Isana commented with a growl. What was up with her? 

They walked out of the apartment and down the hallway to the lifts. Esme frowned when she saw him press two buttons. "I didn't realise just how close you and Gabriel were," He commented lightly, though she could hear a slight bitterness in his voice. "To be going to his in the middle of the night."

She shook her head as she stepped into the elevator after he gestured for her to go in. Facing him, she replied, "If we were so close, I wouldn't be telling you to hide the location of my apartment to him."

"That's true," He replied and buttoned his suit jacket up again. 

"Aren't you coming?" She inquired her frown back on her features.

"Oh, no. I own the top three floors. I'm going home now."

"W-wait… You live here!?"

The doors closed on his arrogant smile and her gobsmacked face.

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